Not so long ago Halloween was a simple night of homemade horror which included making witches\' hats from egg boxes and scaring siblings by telling ghost stories.

It is now a multimillion-pound industry: Britons\' spending on Halloween paraphernalia has risen from £12 million five years ago to an expected £120m this year.

\'It\'s no longer a matter of a few plastic fangs,\' said Francesca Colling, from Woolworths. \'People want expensive gimmicks. They want a wide range of themed food and drink. They want extravagant decorations for their houses. They even want fancy-dress outfits for their pets.\'

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