Hundreds of thousands of trick or treaters will take to the streets of Britain tonight, hoping to snag themselves a spooky snack or two – but these households have taken Halloween to the next level.
Visitors around the country will be greeted by scary households who have spent time, money and effort to outdo their neighbours for the scary holiday.
Homeowners in Ashford and Brighton have decked out their properties with film themes to attract crowds to their homes and raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Linda Oussalah, from Ashford, has spent more than £1,500 on decorating her home for Halloween. She opens the attraction for just a few hours on the evening of Halloween but it takes about a month to prepare.
Visitors this year will be greeted with a mausoleum. Once inside, they will need to keep their wits about them as volunteer neighbours and relatives dressed as famous horror characters could jump out at any moment as they navigate the creepy clown room.
This house in Norris Green, Liverpool, will give trick-or-treaters a fright if they have the courage to knock on the front door
Freaky tombstone adorned with skulls and bones are scattered around the Norris Green house, alongside scary ginger dolls and skeletons
Maria Keeny, 55, and her son Conor Pilkington, 20, have gone all out to decorate the inside their house at Rodsley Avenue, Gateshead
Maria Keeny, 55, pictured inside her house at Rodsley Avenue, Gateshead, surrounded by Halloween decorations
Rachel Wood & her friend and co-creator Alexis Nascimento at their Halloween grotto in Wallingford
Then they face reenactments of scenes from Friday the 13th, Jigsaw and this year’s blockbuster remake of Stephen King’s It.
Mrs Oussalah, 51, decorates the house with help from her 22-year-old son, Samir, and 20-year-old daughter Amina, as well as a whole street of neighbours and friend James Quinn, who is recovering from cancer treatment.
She added: ‘We decided to raise money for cancer research this year to support the work and treatment which has helped James.
‘I am so grateful to him because he has helped me so much with the preparations for the garden.’
She added: ‘I love everything about Halloween. It’s for the children, but it is brilliant when you see the adults are more scared. I just think it’s great fun.
‘I’ve spent about £1,500 of my own money just to make it worth it and we have transformed the driveway. I try not to think about how much money I spend on it. I just want it to be really good fun for everyone.
‘We’ve used a large gazebo as the main structure and wood to create the effect. We have smoke machines, animatronics, and music.’
This house has not let scaffolding spoil the scary fun of Halloween as they have decorated their property using fake cobwebs placed across the frame of the outside
Decorations have been placed by the entrance to this house in Norris Green, Liverpool, and the lights have flayed men and severed heads hanging off them
She added: ‘We decided to raise money for cancer research this year to support the work and treatment which has helped James.
‘I am so grateful to him because he has helped me so much with the preparations for the garden.’
Meanwhile another couple have transformed their ordinary terraced house in what may be Britain’s spookiest haunted house.
Paul Beck, 51, and his partner David Ball, 61, spent three days transforming their home in Salford, Greater Manchester, into the Hells Gate Cemetery, but began buying props and other parts way back in March.
Their home has become a unlikely tourist spot, with locals and passers-by now keen to inspect the display.
Ghosts and ghouls haunt the garden of this property in Wallingford
The home of the Wood family in Wallingford is transformed into a Halloween Grotto to raise awareness and funds for Bloodwise Family turn their home into charity Halloween Grotto, Wallingford, Oxfordshire
Paul Beck, 51, and his partner David Ball, 61, spent three days transforming their home in Salford, Greater Manchester, into the Hells Gate Cemetery
Their home has become a unlikely tourist spot, with locals and passers-by now beating a path to inspect the display
Mr Beck and Mr Ball are using their decorations to raise money for Salford by the Sea, a holiday camp that takes disadvantaged kids from Salford on a holiday in north Wales.
Halloween is their favourite holiday and Paul and David had been decorating their house for years
Halloween is their favourite holiday and the couple have been decorating their house for years, each time adding more and more details.
Paul said: ‘We were doing the decorating anyway, it was other people saying we should do it for charity. We wanted to see if we can do some good with it.
‘It’s good fun coming up with the themes, we pretty much make everything from scratch.
‘We go to Disney World Florida a lot so we get good ideas and tips, we see what they do, but on a smaller scale.’
Last year they collected a hair-raising £830 and they hope to raise even more this year for a great cause.
Paul added: ‘It’s quite nice doing local charities. It’s held in really high regard locally, and a lot of people have been to the camp. We’ve had people coming up to us and shaking our hands in the street.’
Although the decorations completely cover their garden as well as the neighbouring houses, they save money by buying them from car boot sales and building everything themselves meaning 2017 has been their cheapest year yet.
Paul, who works as a joiner, builds the structures while David, who is retired, paints everything and adds the special effects.
But their neighbours have been supportive of the decorating and bring their kids down to enjoy the spooky spectacle.
Mr Beck (pictured) and Mr Ball are using their decorations to raise money for Salford by the Sea
Paul said: ‘We’re really supported by the local people, it’s a real family round here.
‘We do our neighbours garden as well, and two years ago we did three gardens so we did both sides. They’re all really supportive.
‘After we’ve done it we said ‘never again’, and we’re not thinking of an idea for next year now. We don’t really start planning it now, it’ll come later.’