Getting up to mischief on this fright night from days gone by

In the same way that the entire month of December used to be a celebration of Christmas (I say used to be as it now appears to begin in November), October is now dedicated to Hallowe'en.

- Kate Wobschall

The houses round by us have been decorated with cobwebs, blood stains, severed heads and dire warnings to keep out for the past four weeks now.

At least I think they're Hallowe'en decorations, one or two could be for real.

The supermarkets had no sooner packed away their Back To School stash of pens, notepads, weapons of maths instruction and water bottles than out came the orange and black tat ready for October 31.

One even has the Hallowe'en section sitting bang opposite the Christmas stuff, maybe to create a time travelling experience if you wander down one side of the aisle then back up again.