Barneveld’s 1998 Halloween Bash

It was 1998, and Halloween in Barneveld, Wisconsin, was about to become something the whole town would remember. I had hosted gatherings before, but this one was the Halloween party of all Halloween parties.

From the moment planning began, I went all in. The yard turned into a haunted wonderland filled with Halloween decorations, glowing pumpkin lanterns, cobwebs, skeletons, and strings of orange and purple lights. Each carved pumpkin flickered with personality, some spooky, some silly, lining the porch like grinning sentinels welcoming guests.

Inside, every inch of the house was transformed. The rec room downstairs became the party hub, decked out with fake spider webs, strobe lights, and a sound system that kept the energy going all night. Even the bathroom had a little ghost cutout on the mirror, because in 1998, we didn’t skip details.

We invited forty people that year, friends, family, and neighbors, but word spread fast. By the time the night rolled around, we had people from all over town. Costumes filled the room: witches, vampires, superheroes, scarecrows, and one unforgettable guest dressed as a walking roll of toilet paper (who won “Most Original Costume,” of course).

The soundtrack was the perfect mix of 90s hits and Halloween classics like “Thriller,” “Monster Mash,” and “Ghostbusters,” with a little Backstreet Boys and Shania Twain thrown in for good measure. A DJ kept the music going, and before long, our costume contest turned into a full-blown dance competition.

And the food, oh, the food. The hors d'oeuvres table looked like a Pinterest dream long before Pinterest existed:

• Caramel apples with crushed peanuts and chocolate drizzle

• Mummy dogs wrapped in crescent dough with mustard eyes

• Pumpkin deviled eggs dusted with paprika

• Cheese and sausage trays (because, Wisconsin)

• And a bubbling witch’s brew punch made from lime sherbet, lemon-lime soda, and floating ice “eyeballs”

Games filled every corner of the house, from apple bobbing upstairs to a spin-off of pin-the-tail on the donkey, only ours involved pinning the spider on the web. Laughter echoed through the rooms as guests took turns blindfolded and giggling, cheered on by everyone around them.

Each guest went home with a small Halloween magnet keepsake marked with the date, a token of the night that would end up sticking (literally) on refrigerators for years. By the end of the evening, the punch bowl was nearly empty, the lights dimmed, and the house hummed with that post-party glow of connection and joy.

It wasn’t just a party. It was a moment of community and creativity, proof that even in a small Wisconsin town, magic happens when people come together. That night in 1998 became more than just a Halloween event. It became a tradition, a memory, and a story that still gets told every October.

Written By: Shelley Iverson