Halloween has faced a divisive reception in Australia over the years, with some embracing the spooky season and others shunning it as a commercial display.
But consumer data shows the annual tradition is catching on.
Originating in ancient Ireland centuries ago, Halloween, or All Hallow's Eve, once marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter, and a time when those who had died were believed to return home.
After being popularised in the United States, today the October 31 date is marked with bowls of overflowing lollies, carved candle-lit pumpkins and streetside plastic skeletons.
For Kerry Forsythe's neighbourhood in the inner-city Brisbane suburb of Paddington, Halloween has grown into such a bustling celebration that her street had to be shut last year to accommodate crowds of more than 400 trick-or-treaters.
"We had so many people that were spilling out onto the street and kids wandering across the road," Ms Forsythe said.
"The community aspect is by far and away the thing I enjoy the most about Halloween because I get to meet my neighbours.
"It's a nice and joyous reason to start a conversation … and people who are onboard are usually very giving and friendly, so it's really fun."
One in four Australians celebrate Halloween
The mother-of-three said it all started a decade ago when she decided to throw a private trick-or-treat party for her eldest daughter and a group of friends.
"We went around to some of our participating neighbours who very graciously gave out lollies and jumped onboard – and it grew from there," she said.
Ms Forsythe said Halloween had been her husband's favourite tradition due to his American upbringing, which motivated her to recreate the experience for their family.
"It didn't involve a religious holiday. It didn't involve the stress of having to buy presents — it was just good fun," she said.
"So we made a conscious decision to continue that for our kids and make it a tradition in our family.
"What we love the most is we are creating some unusual and unique memories for them."
Andy Andromeda, an online administrator for the Brisbane Halloween Lovers group, said more than 335 homes across Brisbane had joined a map of trick-or-treat friendly locations this year.
It is a figure that has steadily climbed every year for the past five years, he said.
The map helps the group's 10,000 members find properties that are participating in Halloween festivities and includes details about whether a location has a display or an interactive haunt.
"As more people go out and do the trick-or-treating, or participate in decorating their house for Halloween, more people want to get in on that action," he said.
Retail spending to hit $430m this Halloween
A quarter of Australians have said they would celebrate Halloween this year, with retail spending forecast to reach $430 million, according to new research from the Australian Retailers Association.
A consumer behaviour expert from Deakin University's Business School, Paul Harrison said Halloween had grown in status in Australia.
"It's just become part of the fabric of how we do things. It's not seen as something extraordinary anymore. So it's been accepted into the normal process of the year," he said.
"I think that's partially driven by the way retail has adopted it and seen it as an opportunity to make money."
'Americanisation at its worst'
Melbourne man Howard Moon said while he's not against people having fun, he will not be celebrating Halloween.
He said the October date represented "Americanisation at its worst".
"Halloween in Australia, and more precisely the way in which it has bewilderingly entered our cultural landscape like a cheap show bag, really kind of angers me," Mr Moon said.
"It was just dumped here as a commercial exercise.
"Christmas and Easter are significant to me because they are deeply rooted [in Australian tradition] — plastic spiders not so much."
Dr Harrison said the commercialisation and consumerism that surrounds Halloween can be a deterrent for many Australians.
"It's when it becomes overtly commercial and people feel obligated to participate in the consumption element of it that they start to resist and become unhappy about it," he said.
"It is also why some Australians might push back against Halloween because they see it as a foreign ritual.
"People are mostly resistant to new ideas that they believe haven't come from a grassroots level.
"In reality, most of the rituals that we have in Australia are adopted rituals."
"There's no doubt that you can be part of Halloween without spending huge amounts of money."
For Mr Andromeda, celebrating Halloween as an adult is about the creativity that goes into constructing a 5-metre-tall display of a Victorian-style haunted house.
"When I was a kid, trick-or-treating wasn't a thing, but I certainly saw enough of it in movies and television shows to think it would be really cool to do," he said.
"The people that participate are those that like to be creative, they like to make something and put a little bit of effort, and then go out and have some fun."
This year, Ms Forsythe said she planned on converting an office building in Paddington into an even larger haunted house than the one she had resurrected in previous years.
She said it had become easier to prepare the themed rooms of the haunted house over time, as Australian retailers increasingly stock a wider range of spooky decorations and props.
"It's becoming much more acceptable, and when big [retailers] are selling Halloween things, that normalises it a bit more," she said.
"I really enjoy the creativity of having to have themed rooms and thinking about the way people will walk through the haunted house, and what might be spooky.
"[John] still really enjoys it, but I think maybe I enjoy it more than him now. I take the ball and run with it, and he's just trying to catch up with me."
