CHRISTMAS may be the most wonderful time of the year, as the impeccable Andy Williams once sang, but I have always had a soft spot for Halloween. 

I cannot join the ranks of those who complain about the Americanisation of certain holiday events in the year, because I must confess that I am all for it. I was always drawn to skeletons and vampires and witches as a child and now that I am a (silly) adult, I get to hang them up in our home.I

can’t think what it was about spooky subjects that was so appealing, but I, decades before Twilight, adored books about elegant bloodsuckers. Perhaps it was because teenage girls are so over-dramatic that vampiric life or death scenarios written into an overblown romance were irresistible? Regardless, I’ve had a soft spot for the blighters since.

It didn’t help that I come from a town in Northern Ireland where the Halloween celebrations are massive, the fireworks display so celebrated that people literally travel hundreds of miles to attend.

It’s a happy day for me when I enter our local Asda and they have assembled their annual Halloween aisle, one of the most outstanding efforts from all of our high street retailers. They festoon one whole area with bats and cobwebs and the like, position key electronic spooky figures – which scare you as you walk past – and lay out such an array of bargainous treats that my eyes are a popping as I walk slowly through.

Kids absolutely love it, and it’s a joy to watch their faces as they scamper around trying on hats and silly glasses and wigs, making ‘wooo’ noises and having a whale of a time. Who would deny them that pleasure?

As for trick or treating on the night itself, we have come a long way since the days when my best friends and I visited our neighbours to collect some nuts and apples in a plastic bag. There was no chocolate then, but we were just so excited to dress up in costumes.      

I now love to see the small children who come to our house on Halloween, and we make it clear by our decorations that we welcome knocks at the door. If you don’t want visitors, by all means make it clear with a lack of the afore-mentioned, and use one of the signs now available.

I don’t, of course, condone those who are silly about all knocking and fireworks and annoy their neighbours, but, as we live in fear of so many things as far as children are concerned, it would be a shame to deprive young people of a relatively sensible night of spooky fun.