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Lui and A.J. Bairan and their 2-year-old twins, Lui Andrew (green Luigi hat) and Lui Matthew (red Mario hat), of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, get their picture taken with the Jack and Sally characters from "The Nightmare Before Christmas" movie at the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Marilyn Mena, 8, of Pelham, Alabama, gets her photo taken with "The Nightmare Before Chrismtas" decoration at the entrance to the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Sarah Moore, 3, of Hoover, Alabama, gets ready to turn into a blueberry in the "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" section of the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Sarah Moore, 3, of Hoover, Alabama, turns into a blueberry in the "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" section of the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Ela Oner, 7, of Hoover, Alabama, turns into a blueberry in the "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" section of the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Vivienne Koch, 4, of the Riverchase community in Hoover, Alabama, makes a squirrel at the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Meeka Hildreth, 8, of Woodstock, Alabama, goes fishing in the Chocolate River in the "Charlie & the Chocolate Facotry" section of the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Mackenzie Reyes, 6, of Hoover, Alabama, makes a hat in the Mad Hatter's haberdashery in the "Alice in Wonderland" section of the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Ella Prevatte, 7, of the Trace Crossings community in Hoover, Alabama, at left, and Attlena Zou, 5, of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, make hats in the Mad Hatter's haberdashery in the Alice in Wonderland section of the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Robbie Crawford, also kown as the Mad Hatter, welcomes guests to his haberdashery in the Alice in Wonderland section of the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Michael, Kady and Samantha Ho, of Vestavia Hills, Alabama get their picture taken with the Queen of Hearts (Maggie Banger) in the Alice in Wonderland section of the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Linus and Edmundo Olivo of the Lake Heather Apartments color roses for the Queen of Hearts rose garden in the Alice in Wonderland section of the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Rosie Martin, 5, of the Loch Ridge community in Hoover, Alabama, dresses as a deer at the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Jade Monterrubio, 5, of the McCalla community, also known as Snow White, plays flamingo croquet in the Alice in Wonderland section of the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Logan Auvil, 2, of the U.S. 280 area places his rose in the Queen of Hearts rose garden in the Alice in Wonderland section of the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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A young boy places his rose in the Queen of Hearts rose garden in the Alice in Wonderland section of the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Camille Jolly, 5, of the Russet Woods community in Hoover, Alabama, gets an Auburn University temporary tattoo at the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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People mill around in the Nightmare Before Christmas area of the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Sillian Walker, 3, of Pelham, Alabama, also known as the Skye character from Paw Patrol, does the Boogie Woogie with Oogie Boogie at the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Tiffany and Bailey Payne of the Highland Crest community in Hoover, Alabama, make a Jack holiday ornament at the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Children play with sock puppets at the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Children play with sock puppets at the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Trent Stone, 6, of the Ross Bridge community in Hoover, Alabama, makes his way through the Holiday Forest Adventure at the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Liam Price, 4, of the Bluff Park community in Hoover, Alabama, makes his way through the Holiday Forest Adventure at the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Andrew Kilgore, 7, of Birmingham, Alabama (dressed as the Pikachu Pokemon character), has his silhouette drawn at the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Chad Lee (also known as Hulk Hogan) of the Bluff Park community in Hoover, Alabama, was among guests at the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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The Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, was thoroughly decorated for its Nightmare Before Halloween event on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Claire Spooner (Thing 2), Ava Robinson (Thing 1), Michael Robinson (cyborg) and Anna Robinson (mermaid) of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, pose for a photo at the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Barae Hammouti, 5, of the Rocky Ridge community in Hoover, Alabama, gives his scary dragon face as his image is projected into a movie scene on a screen at the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
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Photo by Jon Anderson
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Lucas and Nathan Arnold of the Trace Crossings community in Hoover, Alabama, (dressed in Minecraft armor) get their photo taken with Willy Wonka (Anthony Vacca) in the Charlie & the Chocolate Factory section of the Nightmare Before Halloween event at the Hoover Public Library in Hoover, Alabama, on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018.
The Hoover Public Library was overrun with ninjas, Stormtroopers, princesses and cartoon characters Friday night for the library’s annual children’s Halloween event.
Library officials estimated that about twice as many people showed up for this year’s event compared to last year, when 880 people came, but the crowd was so big that library workers had to quit counting at the door after they reached 1,000 so they could help manage the crowds at activity stations, said Jeremy Davis, coordinator of the children’s department.
The parking lots at the library and Hoover Municipal Center were completely full, and overflow parking spilled onto Municipal Lane. Davis said he’s not sure what prompted the much larger crowd this year, but the children seemed to enjoy themselves.
This year’s theme was the Nightmare Before Halloween, and the library was decorated with themes from movies directed by Tim Burton, such as “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.”
Library personnel dressed up as characters from the movies, posed with the children for pictures and helped them with craft activities and games. There also were some snacks.
Eight-year-old Marilyn Mena of Pelham has come to the event every year since she was a baby and loves it, her mother said. This year, she came dressed as the Cheshire cat from “Alice in Wonderland” and got there with her parents 25 minutes before the library opened at 7 p.m. for the two-hour event. She was so excited to see all the library workers dressed up in their costumes, her mother said. The event is always special to her, but this year it was like magic, she said.
Eric Hildreth of Woodstock said this is his family’s third year to come. His wife heard about it three years ago, and they came to check it out and really enjoyed it, he said. “It’s really nice of the library to put on a free event like this.”
Chad Lee of the Bluff Park community said his wife and two children come every year as well. This year, he came dressed as Hulk Hogan, while his wife was a witch, his 10-year-old daughter Sydney was in a Harry Potter costume, and his 6-year-old son Harrison was a pirate.
“The library does everything top-notch,” Lee said. “They’ve helped raise my two kids. We’re here for all the kids’ events.”
