Bill Donahue, the coordinator of Faith Formation at St. Agnes Catholic Church, and Melinda Yates, a member of St. Agnes Catholic Church, dress in their Halloween best for the church's trunk-or-treat event on Sunday night. Larissa Mendy

SHEPHERDSTOWN — In a night filled with spooky spectacles and candy delights, the St. Agnes Catholic Church Teen Team hosted an unforgettable event that brought the community together on Sunday night.

The church parking lot was transformed into a Halloween wonderland, complete with creatively decorated car trunks, eager trick-or-treaters, and a thrilling Haunted Hotel experience, as if it were a spooky apparition. The evening began at 5:30 p.m, with car owners armed with pumpkins, spider webs and an abundance of creativity diligently transforming their car trunks into Halloween masterpieces. Creating a well-decorated trunk was especially important at this event, because at the end of the night, a “Best Decorated Trunk” award winner was named by the church’s youth group.

“The trunk-or-treat was really initiated by our parishioners and our pastoral council, a vision just to reach out to the larger community of Shepherdstown, a safe place to trick-or0treat. There are so many difficult things happening in the world, but we want to just be a loving, generous, caring presence in our community as the Gospel and Jesus were,” said Father Andy Schweitzer. “We’re just here to kind of provide a place for the kids to have fun and enjoy.”

From 6 to 7 p.m., children dressed up as superheroes, princesses and pirates ran around collecting candy from the car trunks.

“This is our second annual trunk-or-treat. We find that this is a wonderful intergenerational activity, where we bring our families together,” said St. Agnes Catholic Church Faith Formation coordinator Bill Donahue. “It’s also a great way for our community to build a stronger community and an opportunity for the kids to realize that they’re part of a bigger community.”

Dressed up as princesses and military personnel, children participate in St. Agnes Catholic Church's trunk-or-treat event on Sunday night. Larissa Mendy

For those looking for an adrenaline rush, in addition to the sugar rush, a Haunted Hotel was held for the first time this year by the Teen Team inside of the church’s parish center, throughout the evening. This eerie experience kept participants on their toes, as they ventured through dimly lit hallways, encountering unexpected scares and scares.

Melinda Yates, a member of St. Agnes Catholic Church, noted that this event was intended to be a community service and fundraiser for the Teen Team’s service projects.

“Tonight, we’re doing trunk-or-treat and a haunted house for the kids,” Yates said. “We wanted to create a safe environment for the kids to come trick-or-treating, to bring the community together.”

For Shepherdstown resident Alice Donald, after experiencing this year’s event, she was already planning to attend it again.

“The St. Agnes Catholic Church Teen Team did a fantastic job!” Donald said. “This event truly embodies the Halloween spirit and the spirit of community. Looking forward to next year!”

A pirate and Army veteran get ready to give out candy at St. Agnes Catholic Church's trunk-or-treat event on Sunday. Larissa Mendy

Church parishioner David Anderson completely agreed with her.

“What an amazing event! The haunted house was so much fun, and my kids had a blast collecting candies from all the creatively decorated trunks,” Anderson said. “It’s great to see the community coming together like this.”