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:
5. British Heart Foundation, 191 Gloucester Road
This charity shop has a small selection of costumes available with proceedings going towards funding medical research related to heart and circulatory diseases and their risk factors, and running influencing work aimed at shaping public policy and raising awareness. | Adriana Amor
6. Avon Models, St Nicholas Market's Exchange Hall
Avon Models sells a selection of fancy dress accessories, masks, hairsprays and face paints. | Adriana Amor
7. Poppers the Party Shop, 151 Gloucester Road
Poppers the Party Shop has a vast selection of fancy dresses for both children and adults alike. They also sell accessories, wigs and face paints. | Adriana Amor