Few signs of Halloween in Bixby Knolls

The upscale, mostly white Long Beach neighborhood of Bixby Knolls has, over 50 years, built a reputation for going all-out with Halloween candy and decorations: haunted graveyards and mazes rigged with spooky lights and sound effects.

This year, however, a few pumpkins and scarecrows are about all there is to see along Linden Avenue, the area’s most popular lane for trick-or-treaters, where three white women were severely beaten by a mob of black youths last Halloween night.

After a series of homeowners meetings, the residents of Bixby Knolls -- where the median age is 36 and the average household income is $93,000 -- have agreed to scale down their displays and, as one resident put it, “go dark on Halloween.”

In addition, the Long Beach Police Department will be out in force with patrol cars, gang enforcement units and plainclothes auto theft teams. Girl Scout troops will post signs on street corners with a message for outsiders: “Trick-or-Treating is for kids: 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.”

In the meantime, many residents have been donating money normally set aside for fancy treats and life-size plastic ghouls and skeletons to a nearby church, which presents an annual Halloween festival.

An 8 1/2 -by-11-inch paper taped on the window of a house near where the attack occurred simply says, “Boo!”

The aim of the low-key attitude is to get beyond the tensions, complex emotions and relentless negative attention the incident brought to Long Beach -- a port city of 475,000 people that has long touted its diversity in marketing campaigns and economic development brochures -- and to avoid another violent confrontation.

Even before last year’s incident, the neighborhood had grown wary of older and often rude trick-or-treaters in street clothes from outside the area.

“Because of our reputation for extravagant haunts and king-sized candy bars, we got too big and could no longer control the neighborhood,” said Long Beach City Councilwoman Rae Gabelich, whose district includes Bixby Knolls. “Now, we’re trying to bring the holiday back to the way it used to be, for children.”

With that goal in mind, police Cmdr. Scott Robertson said he had advised residents to “scale down to a pumpkin and a porch light, that’s about it.”

“Of course, two or three homeowners said, ‘Damn it, we’re going to do it anyway,’ ” he said. “We’re telling them they may end up with thousands of trick-or-treaters they didn’t anticipate, and a few problems.”

Carol Pedersen, whose backyard maze constructed out of chain-link fences and artificial cobwebs drew nearly 1,000 visitors last year, is among the converts. “We’re not going to do our Halloween maze for the first time in 10 years,” the certified public accountant said. “After what happened last year, we didn’t want to feel responsible for kids’ safety -- and we want to be a good neighbor.”

Across the street, elementary school teacher Terri Stuart had decorated her frontyard with nearly a dozen plywood gravestones festooned with amusing epithets including, “Here lies Hank R. Chief: He was Snotty and Nosey,” and “Here lies Al I. Moni: Killed by his ex wife!”

But she uprooted the boards and put them back in the garage. “I don’t want to be the only house on the street attracting lots of people,” Stuart said.

One Linden resident, who asked that her name not be used, said, “This Halloween, I’ll be hiding from view behind potted plants and patio furniture, scanning the street for signs of trouble with a cellphone in my hand already dialed to 911.”

The Halloween incident unfolded about 9 p.m. Oct. 31, after three women walking away from a haunted house on Linden Avenue were taunted by teenage boys. The crowd yelled racial slurs at the women, who were pelted with pumpkins and lemons as they tried to retreat.

The women were mobbed by up to 20 people and beaten to the ground. One of the victims was hit in back of the head with a skateboard.

Ten defendants, ages 12 to 17 at the time, were arrested in the case, which generated public outrage after a young female witness’ car was allegedly trashed by gang members in retaliation for testifying during the trial.

Although the story of the car being intentionally rammed by gang members was repeatedly raised during the trial by a prosecutor, Robertson said police did not find a connection between the accident and the beating.

Nine defendants were sentenced to probation. Two additional defendants were convicted in a separate trial.

“What happened here was a pretty big shock; I doubt anyone will even have a porch light on after 7:30 p.m.,” said Bixby Knolls resident Ron Simpson. “The problem is that the number of trick-or-treaters grew exponentially over the past 10 years, turning what had been a celebratory community event into a big grab.

“There’s not going to be much of a Halloween this year,” he said, “not in Bixby Knolls.”

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louis.sahagun@latimes.com