by VDC staff

When thousands of Rutlanders lined Center Street Saturday night for the city’s annual Halloween parade, they were celebrating not just one of Vermont’s most beloved community traditions, but also the quirky imagination of one local newspaperman who started it all — with a little help from Batman.

The first Rutland Halloween parade began in 1960, thanks to Rutland Herald reporter Tom Fagan — a comic book enthusiast whose love of superheroes helped transform a small-town idea into a cultural landmark.

“Tom was wild about Batman,” recalled former Herald colleague Bob Bennett of Shelburne. “Every day, when other reporters came to the office wearing ties, Tom wore a sweater with a Batman image on it — one his wife had knitted for him.”

According to Bennett, Fagan wrote to the publisher of Batman comics and persuaded them to send a Batman impersonator to Rutland to headline the parade. That publicity stunt worked better than anyone could have expected. The following year, comic book creators began writing Fagan — and even the parade itself — into their stories. Rutland soon became known among fans nationwide as “the comic book town.”

As the years went on, the parade grew in size and fame. Local schools, businesses, and civic groups built floats inspired by comic books, movies, and Halloween folklore, turning downtown Rutland into a spectacle of creativity and community spirit.

“Tom marched at the head of the first parade wearing a full Batman costume,” Bennett said. “It was pure Tom — imaginative, playful, and bigger than life.”

Fagan passed away in 2008, but his influence lives on each October as thousands of spectators fill the streets for what has become Vermont’s largest Halloween event.

It’s also been well-covered by both Marvel and DC Comics, the October/November editions of popular titles in both publishing titles often placing their superheroes in Rutland for the parade.

This year’s parade stepped off at 6:30 p.m., with street closures in effect downtown. Organizers with Rutland Recreation & Parks invited everyone to bring their costumes, their cameras — and a little bit of that superhero spirit Fagan first brought to town 64 years ago.