As autumn rolls in and summer seems like a distant memory, many look forward to Christmas to get them through the cold winter months.

But there’s been a growing number of people who are dedicating time and a lot of money to celebrating the spooky season of Halloween. Reporter Cara Simmonds spoke to fanatics and businesses in Kent about why it has become so popular...

I love Halloween.

A chill in the air, crunchy leaves under my feet, dressing up, the thrill of being scared, pumpkins, ghosts and ghouls...I could go on.

But it’s strange, I don’t remember this event being a big deal when I was younger. So what has changed?

It first originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, a religious celebration to welcome the harvest at the end of summer. People would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts.

The Celts lived around 2,000 years ago in Ireland, UK and northern France.

Then, in the 8th century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honour all saints and incorporated some of the Samhain traditions.

The evening before became known as All Hallows Eve and this evolved into Halloween, a day of trick-or-treating and carving pumpkins.

In the second half of the 19th century, thousands of immigrants travelled over to America.

Many were Irish, who fled from the potato famine and helped increase the popularity of the event we now know and love.

This year, according to finder.com, Brits are expected to spend more than £1 billion on Halloween.

Generation Zs, like myself, are the big spenders – with 87% planning to fork out an average of £46 on decorations and costumes.

Our spending has more than doubled in the last five years, with 2018 only estimated at £419 million.

One of those contributing to the huge spike in spending is fanatic Kieron King.

“The first thing I do when I get my holiday allowance is book the week off during Halloween,”he says. “I don't even book Christmas or Birthdays.

“I have the intention of taking it easy and try to put out a couple of decorations each day.

“But people start beeping when they drive past and want to see it all. Then I'll rush to get it done within 24 hours.”

The dad-of-five drew nationwide attention last year after creating a spectacular spooky display at his home in Lower Rainham Road, Gillingham.

An enormous spider, along with cobwebs, skeletons, lights and smoke machines filled the family’s front garden.

They also managed to raise more than £4,000 for Demelza Hospice.

This year he has gone even bigger and better than before.

“I've wrapped the entire house and turned it into a castle,” the 38-year-old lift and escalator engineer explained.

“Everything gets reused each year, so costs aren't as bad.

“I rescue all of the wood from a skip at work and throughout the year if I see a decent piece, I’ll grab it.”

After brainstorming in November, Kieron usually kicks off the project at the beginning of June – completing a couple of hours of work here and there every weekend.

His love for Halloween began six years ago and was purely to entertain the children.

“It started out as a thing to do with the kids, just dressing up and being silly,” he said.

“But it took a life of its own. If I ever moved house, I'd be stuffed as I'd have nowhere to store anything!

“Halloween allows you to dress up and not be yourself.

“I suffer from depression and anxiety. I do struggle to interact with people, but throw on a Hagrid outfit and you're not you.

“I'm someone else for an hour - it's quite nice.”

The dad has even considered flying over to America to bag himself the most wanted Halloween item: a 12ft giant animated skeleton, worth $300.

He said: “I've always been after it, but they're only sold in Home Depot. The store doesn't ship to the UK.

“There are specialised groups that look for it when it goes on sale.

“It's only an eight-hour flight. I've spent longer than that driving around the M25 in a day.”

Kieron’s not alone in his love of decorating, and it goes someway to explain how the spending habits are nearing £1 billion.

With our spending habits doubling over the last five years, it is no surprise that homeowners have gone big

And now, local businesses have recognised the gap in the British market.

You no longer have to cross the Atlantic to get a 6ft Texas Chainsaw Massacre animatronic. Or a life-size Chucky doll that will haunt your home for just £489.99.

The Halloween Store in Castle Street, Tonbridge, stocks more than 400 scary props, decorations and animatronics all year round.

“I would say the market has grown about 40% year on year for the last four years,” owner Paul Martin said.

“Some of this stuff is very collectable, expensive and unusual.

“There is a limited supply. It is just the way the manufacturers work, because it comes from America.

“We'll get stock coming in during January and February.

“People start buying from Easter onwards. You'd be surprised what people buy in the middle of the summer.”

The business sells Halloween products in its physical store from September until November 1, then Christmas-themed items from November 7 to the first week of January.

During the rest of the year, they stock second-hand vinyls.

Paul, who lives in the market town, has lived and breathed the seasonal industry for the last 30 years.

He previously ran an electrical wholesaler in south London which focused on manufacturing Christmas lights.

After selling up and semi-retiring, the 58-year-old looked into Halloween and discovered that there was a gap in the UK market for specialist spooky items.

“We take a hell of a lot of inspiration from the USA,” Paul explained. “All the main licences are American horror films.

“You’d think we would take some inspiration from European fairy tales, like Grimms, but none of that is popular at all.

“We have three main suppliers that we buy from in England, but they tend to be a bit generic.

“The specialist stuff we have to import directly ourselves from America.”

He added: “I think it's a good excuse to have a party. Kids love being scared!

“Also, I think it appeals to all generations – children can have parties and adults can have parties.

“You have to invite your family for Christmas, but on Halloween you can invite your friends.”

As with Christmas, Halloween has spread from one day a year to a whole month.

As soon as the first red and orange coloured leaves begin to fall, social media becomes swapmed with pictures of adorable babies sitting on or even inside pumpkins.

And for many families, the annual pilgrimage to a “Pick Your Own” (PYO) farm is as important as leaving a mince pie out for Santa.

Charles Eckley started his business after being inspired by work trips to the States – visiting New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Boston.

The 57-year-old has been running Pumpkin Moon in Maidstone for the last eight years.

“I think there was only one pumpkin patch in Kent at the time,” he explained. “I knew it was very popular in America.

“I just thought it would be worth trying it here to see whether it does work.

“I was in my late 40s and it was time to start something new.”

Growing up on the site in Old Chatham Road, Charles moved to London for a job in banking and finance, which he did for 25 years.

The working farm was originally run by his father, Edward, who passed it on to Charles after dying from cancer.

“When my dad became ill, I came back to the farm and said I'd help run it,” he added.

“Farming is fairly tough. So I looked at potential diversification and things we could do.

“There was a small, enclosed field that had a hedgerow around it and was perfect.”

This year, Pumpkin Moon has produced 50,000 squashes and gourds – all ready to be picked, carved and eaten.

Over the last decade, Charles says he has seen an increase in interest in going to a PYO field, instead of grabbing a pumpkin during your weekly shop.

He believes social media plays a very important role.

“Your children running in a pumpkin field is a fantastic photo opportunity,” he said.

“As a farmer, I think it’s brilliant because they've got basically 40 acres here. They are getting total fresh air and a taste of the countryside.

“It's a great experience for them and becomes a family tradition.”

“Then you're spreading the images – people want to go and be part of that and get their own photos.

“It's a great experience for them and becomes a family tradition.”

He added: “It's really taken off.

“The event starts as soon as we get to October 1, so it's almost running for a whole month.

“People are now getting excited and interested in the four weeks leading up to the big day.”

So whether you plan on locking the door, drawing the curtains and ignoring the ghosts and witches at your door or you’ve got your killer Barbie costume ready to go, the scary season is here to stay.

And it’s only going to get bigger and spookier.

How do you celebrate the spooky season? Comment your ideas down below.