Search is on for the best Halloween-themed homes in Victoria 2023

Ghouls, goblins and ghastly apparitions are popping up across the state as Halloween approaches, with some houses looking more like a cemetery in a horror movie.

If Halloween, the undead, spinning heads and unexplained noises give you the creeps, an expert in all things from the “other side” has some advice on how to overcome your fears.

It might seem counterintuitive, but paranormal investigator Dolly Adamson, says the trick is not to be negative, but rather, to embrace the spirits floating about us.

After all, they are always there.

“I host paranormal nights and they can all be equally scary if you get scared — if you go with the intention of connecting with the spirits in a respectful way then it’s not a scary thing to do,’’ she says.

“But if you go in and you’re scared, you will be scared if a door slams or the lights suddenly come on.”

Kyneton Paranormal owner and operator Dolly Adamson says people have to be open and not afraid to connect with spirits. Picture: Supplied

Ms Adamson, who owns Kyneton Paranormal, runs ghost tours at some of the spookiest places in the state, including the Victoria Hotel in Woodend, Tahbilk Winery, Kyneton Bluestone Theatre, the Old Convent in St Arnaud, Bishops Palace in Ballarat and the Lancefield Guest House.

Ms Adamson once did a paranormal at the Elmore Memorial Hall. Picture: Supplied

Haunted, however, is not a word she uses.

“I don’t think haunted is a nice word — the spirits are still there and are happy to be there — and they all know me and they all like me coming along and bringing a respectful group in to try and communicate with them,” Ms Adamson said.

But with Halloween coming towards us — wraithlike — on October 31 and people across the state decorating the front of their houses with spider webs, skeletons and pumpkins, is the spirit world about to be more active than ever?

Ms Adamson doesn’t think so.

Ms Adamson hosts ghost tours across the state. Picture: Supplied

“I wouldn’t think Halloween is the most spookiest time of the year,” she says.

Happily, she says, spirits are around us. All the time.

“You just have to be open to it and have all your senses open to it — you can feel changes in energy.”

If you’ve been extra ghoulish this year and turned your house into a scene from a horror movie, we want to know.

Check out the map below to see where the best Halloween houses are.