Trolls, shrooms and ghouls: Vashon celebrates Halloween 2023

By Alex Bruell • November 2, 2023 11:55 am

Islanders packed the town’s core on Oct. 31 for an explosion of artistry this Halloween.

Islanders and visitors showed up in costumes that were grizzly, like a decapitated victim holding their own head; foreboding, like Grigori Rasputin and the Baba Yaga; and whimsical, like a knight of La Croix or a living, walking sandwich board.

No fewer than three costumes inspired by Danish recycle artist Thomas Dambo’s Pacific Northwest trolls were seen.

Airplane/aerospace designer Matt McElvogue created a model pirate ship using yoga mat foam, scribed with a pen to look like wood. A mermaid was sculpted on the front, the sail was built with wire and the woodwork was finished with laser cutting.

Along with his wife Halee Dams, dressed as the mothwoman, the couple brought the vessel to Vashon Highway with their son Russell McElvogue, dressed as a pirate behind its wheel.

It took “forever,” McElvogue said, and the night before Halloween, the family was up all night putting on the finishing touches.