'Pirates' ship brings boatload of Halloween fun

HAGERSTOWN — When Elena Doss moved into her house on View Street in Hagerstown with its nice yard, she decided she was going to “do it up” for Halloween.

Crowds of people gathered in the yard Monday night for the Dosses’ latest creation: An elaborate scene of a ship based on the popular “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies.

The ship was about 16 feet long with a skeletal-looking pirate at the helm. His hands slowly steered the wheel of the ship, thanks to a contraption made from an old oscillating fan, a rubber band and some string.

Eerie sounds emanated from a CD player, and black plastic surrounded the ship, which allowed the Dosses to have a small body of water around it.

“Go for it! See what lies ahead!” said Michael Doss in his best pirate voice, encouraging children to pass through a black curtain to enter the spooky scene.

Micheal Doss, decked out in pirate garb, said he and his wife come up with a Halloween theme every year.

Michael and Elena said they started gathering their materials for the “Pirates of the Caribbean” scene around June. Michael Doss said he got the wood for the ship from a neighbor who had a wooden shed that collapsed.

The couple built the ship in phases and moved it to the front yard piece by piece.

“I love it. The kids love it. That’s the best part,” Elena Doss said.

Across Hagerstown, kids steadily moved up streets in search of candy in exchange for a shout of “Trick or Treat!” at doors.

Gloria Anderson and Kim Dickens were leading a group of about five kids up Locust Street in a candy search.

Kim Dickens said it was a good night to be out.

“A lot of (people) ran out of candy too,” Anderson said.

At the Fraternal Order of Eagles on Locust Street, trustee Rich Zeger handed out candy while a costumed partner waved to kids walking past.

Zeger said the organization used to hand out candy in past years but stopped. Now the group wanted to get back into the tradition, he said.

“It’s important to get out here and let all the young faces know who we are,” Zeger said.

Everyone seemed well-behaved during trick-or-treating, which was held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., according to a 911 dispatcher.

Capt. Mark Holtzman of the Hagerstown Police Department said five extra officers were out working overtime for the evening.