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11 year old Shawna Howe looked forward to Halloween every year. She was enthralled by the

spooky decorations, scary stories and costume parties that started a full week before the

holiday, culminating in the most exciting event of all. Trickle-treating on the night of October

31st.

In late October 1992, like every other town in America, oil city in northern Pennsylvania's

Venengo County was preparing for Halloween.

Oil city sits on a band of the Allegheny River at the mouth of oil creek about an hour

and a half north of Pittsburgh. As its name suggests, the city was founded on the nearby

oil fields and the wealth that came with the oil boom and later the steel industry.

At its peak, the town boasts that a population of 22,000 residents, with job seekers attracted

by the thriving employment prospects. But after being hit hard by the collapse of the

...