Ghouls are in the genes in the Basili household. Mum Tiffany was raised on horror flicks and ghost stories, and her daughter Samara, 6, is following in those spooky footsteps. 
"I'm into horror - except The Ring," Samara qualifies. Not because it's scary, she says. But it might have something to do with being named after the film's creepy central character, Samara Morgan, who creates a video tape that kills people in seven days.
Naturally, Halloween is a big deal in this family. Trick-or-treating is on the agenda for Saturday evening, before a hair-raising party for 120 ghostly guests at a church hall.
The latest research shows about half of all households with primary school aged children plan to celebrate Halloween, and most of them go trick-or-treating. But they might meet a frosty reception from some: almost half the survey's respondents say they won't give anything to those who come knocking on   October 31.
Police issued a warning on Friday urging families to take caution when trick-or-treating and to respect the wishes of people who did not wish to take part. "Not everyone marks Halloween each year, so it is best to stick to houses with decorations on their properties," chief superintendent Brad Shepherd suggested.
Halloween occupies an odd place in the Australian psyche, says social researcher Mark McCrindle. Despised by many older folk for being a wholesale US import, Halloween has been embraced by younger generations - at least commercially.
Coles expects to sell 50 per cent more confectionery this Halloween than last, while Big W says its sales of costumes, toys and treats has tripled in just a few years - the most popular outfits being bats, devils, skeletons and vampires.
"It's a commercial success [but] it's not yet a popular success," Mr McCrindle says. His data shows 41 per cent of Australians view Halloween as the "least meaningful" event of the year, behind Valentine's Day and St Patrick's Day.
"Of anything in the calendar ... it's still at the bottom of the tree."
For adults looking for an alternative to door-knocking and sugar, thousands of the undead will leave Hyde Park at 4pm on the annual Sydney Zombie Walk - while Luna Park will be transformed into an "abandoned theme park".