FAIRMONT — Woodland Avenue in Fairmont has been the place to go for top-quality trick-or treating on Halloween for years now.

With its rows of decorated houses and homeowners who participate in the festivities, Woodland gets anywhere between 1,000 and 1,500 trick-or-treaters every year.

Diane Luedtke, a Woodland resident, wanted to do something more for all the people who come out for the evening.

“There’s several of us on Woodland who have been dressing up and handing out candy over the years,” she said. “We wanted to entertain more. Last Halloween was the first year the witches performed.”

Known as the “Woodland Witches,” there are seven women, including Luedtke, who dress head to toe in witch garb and perform dances around a big cauldron. The witches live either on Woodland or Shoreacres Drive.

They perform their dances on Jodie Geerdes’ lawn at 310 Woodland Ave. Dances will be performed by the group at 5:30, 6 and 6:30 on Halloween night, with each dance lasting five to six minutes. Large speakers will play music, including a song from the popular Halloween movie “Hocus Pocus.”

“Between dances, we’ll all go back to our own homes and hand out candy,” Luedtke said.

This year, several Woodland residents went before the Fairmont City Council to ask if Woodland could be blocked off for several hours on Halloween night in the interest of safety. The council granted their request.

“We want to make it safe and fun for all of the trick-or-treaters,” Luedtke explained.

Even though this is just the second year the witches have performed, they are looking toward the future and hope to see the festivities grow.

“Maybe as we grow this, we can get other groups involved,” said Luedtke, saying it would be fun to have a food stand and other activities on Woodland on Halloween.

“If Woodland is going to be busy anyway, we may as well make it into a sort of Halloween festival,” she said. “It’s all just for fun.”