It's that spooky time of the year once more, when pumpkins and monsters start to creep into shops and our front windows and doors, and the hunt for the perfect Halloween costumes starts.
But when did this custom begin? Halloween is believed to derive from Samhain around 2000 years ago when Celtic people in Europe celebrated the end of the harvest and the start of the new year.
October 31 and November 1 were believed to be when the boundaries between the living and dead worlds blurred, allowing demons and ghouls to infiltrate crops and harvest.
To bring good luck during the dark winter months, rituals involving sacrifices and dressing up in animalistic costumes would take place.
Nowadays, Halloween has shifted and is less about rituals, religion and superstition, and has become the third biggest retail event of the year, featuring costume parties and the traditional trick or treating among children at the core of the celebrations.
With the Halloween celebrations less than a month away, here are 7 Bristol-based independent businesses and charity shops that sell Halloween costumes and accessories we were able to find:
1. St Peter's Hospice Shop, 9 St James Barton Roundabout, Broadmead
St Peter's Hospice shop has a selection of costumes available for children and adults on the ground floor.
2. Chaplins, 9 St Augustine's Parade
The fancy dress shop next to the Hippodrome has a selection of costumes for sale and hire, plus related party and dress-up accessories.
3. Cancer Research, The Promenade, 10 Gloucester Road
The Cancer Research UK charity shop transforms with the countdown to Halloween. Almost half of the shop’s racks are full of secondhand Halloween costumes for both children and adults.
4. British Heart Foundation, The Horsefair, Broadmead
British Heart Foundation has a small selection of Halloween costumes and accessories tucked in the corner by the books and men's clothing.