"Small crowds of hostile attendees briefly chanted and taunted police..."

But other than that, Madison's "Freakfest" seems to have gone well:

By 2:05 a.m. post-daylight saving time on Sunday, State Street was clear of Halloween revelers, and police didn't need to use riot gear or pepper spray to do it. Soon after the staged event was over, and again when the bars closed an hour or so later, people for the most part simply left....

There were hints throughout the night that the event might end well, with the crowd never building to the maximum 80,000 attendees.

For most of the night it was still possible to walk comfortably on State Street without getting poked by pitchfork-wielding devils or whacked by the sticks of the guys dressed as the Duke University lacrosse team....

"I think everyone just wants to see no trouble this year," said [Jesse] Holst, who was wearing camouflage plants and a referee's shirt. He said he was a civil war referee.