The pumpkins are in the patch, the owls are hooting and the cats are on the prowl. That’s a sure sign that Halloween is just around the corner.

And, so is the Troy Public Library’s Halloween Bash, which will be from 6 until 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 24 and it’s for kids through age 11.

Teresa Colvin, children’s librarian, said the library has a night of spooky-kind of fun planned with lots of prizes in the bag.

“We’ll get the Halloween Bash underway promptly at 6 p.m. with Monster Story Time for children ages five and under,” Colvin said. “The children will be introduced to the delights of slightly scary stories. Then at 6:15, we’ll have games and activities especially for that age group.”

The games will include the Monster Toss, Ghost Walk, Witch Pitch and Candy Corn Bowling. The children will be have an opportunity to decorate a mask for Halloween and it can be funny or scary or somewhere in between.

The juvenile Halloween program for ages six through 11 will begin at 6:15 p.m.

“The juvenile program will have games of skill and maybe a little chance, “Colvin said.

“We’ll have the Zombie Hunter, Witch’s Broom Limbo, Spin for a Prize, Disk Drop and Wheel of Fate. And, we’ll have the very popular Mummy Wrap back again this year. Everybody likes the Mummy Wrap.”

A fun and exciting Costume Contest will begin at 6:15 for all ages through 11.

“The costume contest is for all children through age 11 who like to get dressed up and be something or someone they are not,” Colvin said. “Those who enter the Costume Contest will have their costume judged in the programming room. Just drop by in your costume and we’ll have judges there to decide the winner in several categories.”

Prizes will be awarded at 7:30 p.m. for the funniest, costume, silliest, most original, most spooktacular, creepiest, cutest and the scariest costumes.

“All the children will want to drop by the circulation desk and ask to have a look at our spiders and try to guess how many are in the jar,” Colvin said. “The winner will get a sweet treat.”

As the Halloween Bash winds down, the children will get to do something they love to do – reach in the cookie jar. But on Halloween, they’ll have a chance to do what goblins do – grab things– and the things to grab will be candy.

“The Candy Grab is always a fun way to close the Halloween Bash,” Colvin said. “We’ll have plenty of Halloween treats on hand and the children can reach in and grab but we warn them that they may find more than they bargained for.

Spooky music will be an appropriate backdrop for the Halloween Bash but the kids will provide all the fun.

“We encourage parents to mark their calendars for Thursday, Oct. 24 and bring their children for night of Halloween fun,” Calvin said.

The Troy Public Library is located at 500 East Walnut Street in Troy.