"Are you a good witch or a bad witch?"

On Thursday, when you trick or treat without sugar, Jim Tobin only needs to ask the little girl in a witch costume, and she will walk to the candy bowl on his front porch. "I don't want you to cast a spell on me!" 

The 67-year-old is a long-term resident of Northland and likes to distribute candy to children every year. During this night of beggars in the Northland Woodland Park community, the streets were crowded with young people dressed as Spider-Man, unicorns, witches, and stormtroopers. 

At around 6 pm, children, teenagers and parents began to fill the sidewalks on the North Flanders Avenue, because the night began to be dry and mild. However, as if the Wicked Witch of the West had cast a spell on the neighborhood, it rained 15 minutes later and lasted all night. 

However, the damp weather did not prevent trick-or-treating people from collecting candies. 

This is where Tobin comes in. He is giving out sweets with his wife Yvonne and his 98-year-old mother.

"It was a great experience," he said. "This is a great community. Everyone takes care of each other." 

Yvonne Tobin added: "It's fun to watch them (the children) grow up." 

Jim Tobin's sister-in-law, Sirena Tobin, pushed her 9-month-old son Whitten in a stroller, dressed as a pumpkin. She spent her birthday with her husband Michael and their three other children, DJ (aka Spiderman). Ezzie (blue-purple unicorn); and Kylian (Pikachu), and her sister-in-law Jessica Tobin.

Sirena Tobin said that since her husband grew up in Woodward Park, she and her family have come to this community every year. 

"This is an interesting neighborhood, and you can trick or treat without giving it a treat," she said. "We know a lot of people on the street, so it's interesting." 

35-year-old Kim Meeks and her family came to Columbus from Logan in Hocking Hills to trick or treat and visit her mother-in-law. She is wearing work clothes and a farmer's hat, while her five children are wearing barn animal costumes.

Meeks, his favorite part of the holiday is decorations. He said that the children didn't get too many candies, but they still had a lot of fun.

"This is the decoration we grew up with," Meeks said. "People actually decorate the house and spend time with the children so they can enjoy Halloween." 

Even though the rain was getting worse, Mary Kay Hernandez was still sitting on her little front porch. A large plate of Reese's peanut butter cups, Snickers and other chocolate bars sat next to her. 

A teenage girl dressed as a "saw" movie character puzzle, walked to the candy tray and pulled out a few pieces. 

"Let's go, save some for others!" Hernandez joked. 

The 68-year-old has lived in Northland for 35 years, and she or her husband Al distributes sweets every year. 

"There were few years when we had few children, and then one year, I had to take candies from the children's candies bag because we ran out of candies," Hernandez said. 

She said that her favorite trick-or-treating part was seeing the children every year. 

"In the past few years, I noticed that I got more'thanks'," she said. "I like to see their costumes. I like to hear them laugh." 

This story is part of the Dispatch mobile newsroom program, which currently focuses on Northland and operates outside the Karl Road branch.

Micah Walker is a trend reporter for Dispatch. Contact her at mwalker@dispatch.com

Or 740-251-7199. Follow her on Twitter@micah_walker701.