It wasn’t exactly a scene from “Night of the Living Dead,” but on Thursday night downtown Lawrence was invaded by a variety of bizarre characters.

“We’ve seen a lot of Batman, dinosaurs, lions and a few Harry Potters,” said Terry Comfort, director of sales and marketing for the Eldridge Hotel.

Children, accompanied by their parents, paraded up and down Massachusetts Street to take advantage of the Halloween “Beggars Night” activities.

A steady stream of trick-or-treaters streamed through the hotel’s Massachusetts Street doors to collect their goodies at the entrance to the Jayhawker Room, where Comfort and other employees passed out candy.

Among the trick-or-treaters were Nilo Pena, 8, and his sister Nyla Chaudry, 4, collecting their treats in plastic jack-o’-lanterns. Although Nilo enjoyed showing off his spider ring, he and his sister were more interested in getting on to the next store than describing their costumes.

For the record, Nilo was a Ninja and Nyla was Ronald McDonald.

In less than an hour at Silver Works, 715 Mass., owners Jim and Cara Connelly had already given out three baskets containing about 300 pieces of candy.

“It’s been great fun,” Cara Connelly said. “The kids have been a great delight. I just wish it wasn’t as cold.”

Kali Conrad, 13, and Ashleigh Allam, 12, check out the costumes of various trick-or-treaters as they pass out candy downtown. The girls were busy on Halloween night as the cold weather didn't seem to affect the costumed turnout.

Dana Wilkerson and her 2-year-old son, Sheldon, got a late start on their candy quest.

“He’s still got too much,” Wilkerson said of the candy her son collected while walking the streets dressed as Scooby-Doo.

Downtown wasn’t the only popular spot for children out on Halloween night. By 8 p.m., about 60 children had dropped by the “haunted house” belonging to Joe and Katie Northern, 1405 Riverside Road.

Once inside the house, visitors were treated to Dracula rising from a coffin, a wolf mysteriously coming out of a wall and a ghost sitting in a rocking chair.

“We enjoy doing this,” Joe Northern said.

Jimmy Fernandez, 8, left, dares Jesse Jacob, 8, to touch his fangs as classmates leave Pinckney School, 810 W. Sixth St., for Lawrence Memorial Hospital. Fernandez was dressed as a haunted skeleton and Jacob appeared ghoulish in his goblin outfit on Thursday during the school's annual Halloween parade to LMH.

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