Halloween was a spooky affair in the Hunter on Tuesday night, with hundreds of children dressing as their favourite character for an evening of fun.
At Maitland Gaol, families enjoyed a Halloween spectacular in the haunting confines of a heritage-listed former maximum security gaol.
Kids trick-or-treated through the old cells, winding corridors and barbed wire fences.
Organiser Shaina Craig said the gaol hoped to create a "safer"- though no less spooky - alternative to trick-or-treating, which is not always received well by residents.
"We have offered a scavenger hunter for kids to collect their lollies," she said.
Mum Bec Vawdrey took her children, Ellie 5 and Opi 3, as an alternative to "roaming the streets".
"They are just loving it,' Ms Vawdrey said as her daughters raced to a new station in the gaol. "There is much more to do than if we were just out [on our suburb]."
More than 500 people attended the Halloween spectacular. The goal expected just 100.
"It's fantastic," Ms Craig said. "This will definitely be an annual event. Next year will be bigger and better."
Stephanie McIsaac knows how to do Halloween large. Her yard was decked to the nines for a spooky evening and by 5pm, she had more than 40 little trick-or-treaters come by her door.
"It's been massive," she said. "I had an entire crew of about 30 ghosts all at once. That was pretty scary."
The popularity of Halloween in the Hunter points to a broader trend. Aussie expenditure for the holiday is increasing each year.
It is now a $490 million event nationally, with retail data suggesting more than 5.3 million people buy costumes, decorations and catering.
Across the nation, sales of Halloween-themed merchandise such as decorations and tableware are up 25 per cent from 2022, a consistent trend over five years.
Overall spending on Halloween including food and costumes has increased 14 per cent since 2022, with retail spending data forecasting $490 million will be spent on the spooky occasion observed on Tuesday.
Roy Morgan and the Australian Retailers Association conducted the survey of 3633 people aged over 18, which found 40 per cent of people aged 35-49 were making plans for Halloween.
"Halloween is now a global phenomenon and is increasingly becoming a cherished Aussie tradition," association chief executive Paul Zahra said.
Supermarkets have sold almost one million kilograms of pumpkins as part of the decorating craze.
The spending predications come amid cost-of-living pressures and the prospect of an interest rate rise by the Reserve Bank next Tuesday.
Despite those factors, Australians are expected to spend an average $93 each on Halloween in 2023, an increase of $7 from 2022.
But while it might all seem like a bit of spooky fun, people are being warned there could be hazards for birdlife.
Several local Sydney councils have called for increased awareness of the environmental cost of some Halloween decorations, such as synthetic spider webs.
The webs used to decorate front yards and complement pumpkins and skeletons can trap birds. The material can also be toxic when ingested.
