LUKE MARSDEN: we're over-egging Halloween

Some house fronts are made up like the set of a Tim Burton set

I’ve walked past countless houses in Wigan and beyond this week who’ve decorated their fronts like a set for a Tim Burton film.

When did Halloween become Christmas? What next, Halloween trees? Actually, they are a thing: you basically replace the fake pumpkins with baubles in December.

I even had a Halloween cocktail this week, which basically involves making a usual drink (gin and tonic which I tried pineapple gin from Agnes Arber which is a taste revolution I may add). But basically if you add a Halloween character to the start of it, a zombie for example, it auto becomes a Halloween drink. Yes, it’s that simple.

My mum told me this week she was disappointed in the lack of trick or treaters last year and is unsure if she will buy a multipack Haribo this year. I pointed out that trick or treating was illegal last year. Wasn’t 2020 the gift that kept on giving?

Will you welcome the return of trick or treaters this weekend? Will you brace yourself for a window egging? Like Christmas, I feel Halloween will become more of a season than a night. In years to come we’ll start pumpkin carving in July and cutting out holes in bin bags in September. Come October we’ll be too exhausted to say “boo.”

If you’ve never carved a pumpkin before, don’t bother. I found it an incredibly messy experience and my pumpkin looked like it had been in a serious car accident.

Let’s keep the really spooky stuff to the Halloween films. At the moment the world is scary enough without adding in months of Halloween. In fact I read this week that the word spooky has been cancelled. Scary times indeed.

Thanks for reading. If you value what we do and are able to support us, a digital subscription is just £1 for your first month. Try us today by clicking here and viewing our offers.