Halloween popularity in Australia: How creeping commercialisation is leading to dodgy decorations

If you’re thinking of decorating the house for Halloween, Bunnings would like to be your first port of call.

There are string lights or solar pathway lights in the shape of scary pumpkins, bats, spiders, or skulls. Light-up inflatables range from cute ghosts, graveyard zombies, dinosaurs or even a menacing-looking broccoli.

If you really want to get into the Halloween spirit, $199 will get you a 2.7-metre scary clown animatronic that moves and speaks when you go near it. For the younger kids or the faint of heart, stick a Mickie and Minnie Mouse or Storm Trooper in your front yard, courtesy of a Disney partnership.

“We’re relatively new to the Halloween space,” said Bunnings merchandise manager Emma Keir. “We couldn’t do everything for everyone, but this just made so much sense for us.”