Teens slip, slide in pumpkin goo

CHAGRIN FALLS, Ohio, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Pumpkins are disappearing left and right from porches in a Cleveland suburb in advance of the 44th annual Pumpkin Roll.

No, the pumpkins aren't rolled down the Main Street hill in Chagrin Falls, as the name implies. They're smashed and then about 100 teens slide in the mush, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported Wednesday.

The actual date of the Pumpkin Roll floats -- but it's generally around Halloween, the newspaper said.

Rowdy behavior threatened to cancel the event after 2002, but brazen Pumpkin Roll observers said they'd continue despite predictions of dire consequences -- and they carried on the messy tradition in 2003.

Instead of shutting down the 2003 event and arresting anyone who tried to maintain tradition, police barricaded the streets, alerted drivers to slow down and even had an ambulance ready in case of injury.