In Pictures: Spooky castles and skeleton crews mark Halloween

Lights illuminate the ruins of Whitby Abbey in North Yorkshire to mark Halloween (Danny Lawson/PA) - (PA Wire)

Homeowners have been embracing the spooky season throughout the day by transforming their cosy homes into haunted mansions for Halloween.

Trick-or-treaters in search of sweets face braving spooky gardens across the UK and Ireland if they dare.

Electrician Ken Carraher continues preparations on his Halloween House of Horrors in Killiney, Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA) (PA Wire)

The charity installation, featuring all kinds of macabre monsters, is expected to attract thousands of trick-or-treaters (Brian Lawless/PA) (PA Wire)

Halloween decorations in the garden of a home in Larbert, near Falkirk (Andrew Milligan/PA) (PA Wire)

Ahoy, me hearties! Brave sailors must cross the seven seas to knock on this door in Rainham, Kent (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire)

There was no holding back on the decorations at the house in Rainham, where a crew of skeleton pirates were waiting for trick-or-treaters (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire)

Lavinia Hedges putting the finishing touches to a Nightmare Before Christmas themed display raising funds for the My Shining Star charity, at her home in Gillingham (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire)

The garden is ready to welcome trick or treaters on All Hallows’ Eve (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire)

Arachnophobes should certainly steer clear of this impressively-decorated house in Notting Hill, west London (Ben Whitley/PA) (PA Wire)

And beware, things can get even creepier for those invited indoors.

Nine-year-olds Freddy and his sister Darcy at their home in Woodbridge, Suffolk (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

Their home has been decorated by dad Lorrie Thackeray for Halloween and dubbed ‘Suffolk’s Scariest House’ (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

At the home of Dracula, visitors to Whitby Abbey were treated to an illumination display and a production of If These Stones Could Talk.

Lights illuminate the ruins of Whitby Abbey in North Yorkshire to mark Halloween (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Wire)

Visitors to the English Heritage property, which was the inspiration for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, can also see a production of If These Stones Could Talk from the Time Will Tell theatre group (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Wire)

The eeriness ramped up several notches as night fell and darkness swept across the land.

A house decorated for Halloween in Ashford, Kent (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Wire)

Famous faces even got in on the act as Jonathan Ross held his annual Halloween party at his home in north London (James Manning/PA) (PA Wire)