This Thursday, Oct. 31, from 4 to 6 p.m., Ballard businesses will be opening themselves up to trick-or-treaters, be they Dracula or be they Iron Man. You can spot participating merchants by the orange notice posted outside (see above). It's for "goblins 12 years and younger."

If that's not enough, maybe you should make the trek up to Loyal Heights, which was named the best neighborhood to trick-or-treat at in Seattle by Zillow. They say they calculated using the Zillow Home Value Index, population density, Walk Score and local crime data. Phinney Ridge was named the second best neighborhood. (Seattle placed a respectable fifth in top cities to trick-or-treat at around the nation.)

Follow Ballard News-Tribune on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ballardnewstrib

And Twitter at http://twitter.com/ballardnewstrib