You really hate Halloween? Don't be a killjoy!

I think Halloween is hands down the best time of the year.

One of my parents' Halloween parties. Picture: Contributed

I LOVE Halloween, but this time of year brings out the biggest killjoys on the planet - the people who don't like Halloween.

People who are upset because we are becoming "Americanised", even though the tradition did not begin in America.

I'll admit that Halloween is big in America, but maybe that's because America has a better sense of fun than the rest of the world.

Personally, I can't think of anything better than getting dressed up in a spooky outfit and going door to door collecting candy.

Every year my parents host a Halloween party at their home and invite friends and their children around.

They hang glowing paper pumpkins from the tree outside their house and hand out treats to the children who come visiting.

It's a wonderful way to get to know the people in one's neighbourhood in a time, as I so often lament, that we seem to have become more and more isolated and closed off from our neighbours.

Every year I look around my parent's backyard, see the kids who have dressed up and the adults having a laugh and I know we are having a much better time than the people who hate Halloween.

Later, once we've had a barbecue and handed out all of our treats, we take the kids trick or treating.

Yes, they are with a responsible adult at all times and we don't knocked on the doors of any homes that aren't well lit or don't have Halloween decorations outside.

Last year I was heartened to see how many people had amazing decorations outside their homes, including one family who had installed a ghost made from a sheet that came down to the street from a wire.

The kids loved it and us adults got a kick out of it too.

So if you're really not into Halloween, please consider.

It's a laugh, it's spooky fun and it's a great chance to get to know your community.

And it's a wonderful excuse to watch a few horror movies.

Top Halloween horror movies:

• The Exorcist - a story about a girl possessed by the Devil. You can't get much more spooky than that.
• Halloween - a movie about a serial killer who hunts his victims on All Hallows Eve. Very appropriate!
• The Hills Have Eyes - my mother and brother were watching this movie one Halloween when trick or treaters came to the door and startled them. It definitely gave them a scare.
•  28 Days Later - or pretty much any zombie movie. What says Halloween more than zombies?
•  Hocus Pocus - the quintessential Halloween movie. Always worth a watch.
•  Rosemary's Baby - what could be scarier than giving birth to the antichrist?