I imagine there were quite a few sad zombies and ghouls on Saturday as the news reached them that the city’s Legends of Sleepy Hole haunted hayride had been canceled for the second day in a row because of rain.

It could have been worse; we could have had a foot of snow on the ground. Even mummies and ghosts can’t deal with that kind of weather at Halloween.

So, as it turned out, all those folks looking for a scary thrill this weekend had to head to Busch Gardens or go to a restaurant or other private party. I just hope that the weather doesn’t interfere with the big event on Monday. There are a lot of children in Suffolk clearing space in sock drawers and kitchen cabinets in hopes of packing in the free candy when they return from their rounds Monday night.

My thoughts about Halloween have shifted back and forth through the years. As a child, of course, I looked forward to it as much as the next kid. I wrote earlier this week about a wardrobe malfunction I had while dressed like a giant pumpkin as a little boy. Other years found me wearing the common range of superhero, ghost and hobo costumes.

And then, as a teenager, I had no use for Halloween. I’m sure I thought the whole thing was beneath me — like most teens, I thought that everything was beneath me. But I remember how much my father seemed to enjoy opening the door and greeting all the little superheroes and princesses and ghosts and pirates, and I wonder today if he was recalling the times that he’d seen me in standing on the front porch, wearing my own silly costume.

And then, I was in college, where Halloween was a great excuse for a party — as if I ever needed a reason. And suddenly, it was fashionable to wear a costume again, though I still lacked the creativity to put together something interesting. The best I ever achieved was the year that my best friend and I got little white hats, blue rubber noses and blue greasepaint and went to a party dressed as Smurfs. By the end of the night, there was blue greasepaint everywhere. Our host was not amused.

Since then, I’ve worn a costume only once — to my goddaughter’s pirate-themed birthday party a few years back. Halloween always seems to fall on a work night, so the opportunity to join the fun is limited. I can easily see, however, that it would be loads of fun to dress up like a zombie and scare people at an event like Legends of Sleepy Hole.

Unfortunately, the event was not meant to be this year, as the weather interfered with everyone’s plans. We can only hope that it will be similarly cold and wet when the real zombie horde is headed our way.

Happy Halloween, everybody!