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Dressed as ghosts and goblins, Allspice Drive residents have spent the past six Halloweens hiding behind trees or under a small bridge, giving people a fright as they pass.

Neighborhoods around the county are getting into the spooky Halloween spirit as Saturday approaches. And a Germantown family is collecting candy for troops in Afghanistan and Iraq for the fourth year.

The Haunted Woods tradition began in Cinnamon Woods six years ago because the adults of Allspice Drive in Germantown wanted to have a safe place for the children to trick-or-treat, said Misty Bloom, who helps organize the event in the woods off Clopper Road.

"It's fun," said Chris Quinones of Allspice Drive. "I get to do activities with the kids and then scare them a little."

People hiding under a bridge during last year's Haunted Woods walk almost scared Malik Perez, 8, of Germantown, away from this year's event.

"The scariest part was the people under the bridge who kept grabbing my ankles," Malik said. "But I'm going back this year because the rest of the party is fun."

Bloom and Jose Perez started the event with a small party with candy and Haunted Walk, which has grown in popularity and attracts people who don't live in the neighborhood. This year's Haunted Walk through the woods begins at 6 p.m. Saturday. The walk starts in the woods on one end of the 18400 block of Allspice Drive and ends at the other end, Perez said. The free event will go on this week regardless of the weather, he said.

"The biggest thing we do this for is to build the community," Perez said. "By far, this is our biggest production around here, and it gets everyone involved."

Before passing through the woods, children receive goodie bags filled with candy and Halloween trinkets. Perez said toddlers through teens can participate in a costume contest, too.

"We make every child a winner, so we've been creating categories for all the costumes," Bloom said.

The Haunted Walk in the woods around Allspice Drive will be filled with scary creatures, animated, spooky decorations and for the third year, a man with a chainsaw. Perez and Bloom spend between $200 and $300 on decorations and candy, Perez said.

Goodie bags and a piñata are filled and ready for the more than 50 children expected Saturday, Bloom said.

"People associate us with Halloween," Bloom said. "It's really fun seeing the young people come out and having fun."

Just about all of the adult residents on Allspice Drive help put on the Halloween party in some way, Perez said. People donate decorations, dress as ghost and ghouls or bring food and drinks to the party. The party will be in a courtyard in the 18400 block of Allspice Drive near Clopper Road.

While Cinnamon Woods is preparing for a Halloween party, Renee Sirulnik and her sons is gathering candy to send to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Sirulnik said four years ago, she started sending care packages to a family friend stationed in Iraq. When he returned home, she got addresses and names of some of his soldier friends still overseas and started sending them care packages.

"When I realized how easy it was to send care packages, I started sending more," she said.

As her two sons sort through their Halloween candy after a night of trick-or-treating, they make a pile of what they don't like.

"That's what we would send to the soldiers," she said.

Sirulnik is collecting candy from students and staff at Great Seneca Creek Elementary School where her sons are in fourth grade and pre-kindergarten. A box will be set up at the school from Nov. 3 through Nov. 6, she said.

"My sons really get excited about sending candy to the troops," said Sirulnik, who finds the soldiers on anysoldier.com. "Just for them to have an appreciation for the soldiers and what they do makes me very happy."