Topic: Community and Cultural Events
Zoe McKavanagh lives with autism and has found confidence through creating huge Halloween displays. ( ABC Gold Coast: Mark Rigby )
Zoe McKavanagh lives with autism and is using her monster collection of Halloween decorations to engage with the community and boost her confidence.
Mum and carer, Colleen Millard says the change in Zoe "brings tears to her eyes".
A consumer expert says Australia's love affair with Halloween grows every year and retailers are increasingly using the occult occasion as a signpost for spending.
With its webs, witches and werewolves, Halloween draws Zoe McKavanagh further out of her shell every year.
The 30-year-old Gold Coast resident lives with autism and has, for the past six years, slowly collected a monster haul of pumpkins, spiders and skulls of different shapes and sizes.
Zoe McKavanagh is considering a competition to name the giant spider, which is her favourite decoration. ( ABC Gold Coast: Mark Rigby )
"I love Halloween because of how happy it makes everyone," Ms McKavanagh said.
"People often call Christmas the giving holiday but with that you only do family and friends — this way you can do it for everyone."
Speaking with people outside her family hasn't always been easy for Ms McKavanagh.
"I did a lot of her talking for her when she was growing up," her mum and full-time carer, Colleen Millard, said.
"She would whisper in my ear because she was scared of talking to people, she wouldn't go around people, or she would hide from them."
Colleen Millard (left) says her daughter used to hide from the trick-or-treaters who would come to visit their home. ( ABC Gold Coast: Mark Rigby )
She said in the first few years of creating Halloween displays, her daughter would do all the work but then hide in the house when trick-or-treaters arrived.
"Slowly, over the years she's started to stay out … and now it's got to the point where she'll talk to people without me doing it for her," Ms Millard said.
Despite the ghoulish and often dark themes of Halloween, Ms McKavanagh said she saw light in the community's love of the occasion.
Zoe McKavanagh's collection of pumpkins grows larger after every Halloween. ( ABC Gold Coast: Mark Rigby )
"Everyone's so nice, they're so excited about the decorations, so kind about the treats and everything," she said.
Griffith University business analyst and retail expert Graeme Hughes said the national consumer spend on Halloween had increased year-on-year for the past decade.
Research from the National Retail Association and Roy Morgan predicts Australians will spend more than $500 million on Halloween this year.
"If we go back 10 years, very few consumers would celebrate this tradition but now, 10 years on, we're seeing all sorts of people really buying into it," Mr Hughes said.
Some Halloween decorations incorporate movement sensors and electronics, driving up the cost. ( ABC Gold Coast: Mark Rigby )
He said once people started spending, retailers were quick to encourage them to keep it up.
"It's critical for business now to signal that something's happening, to get everybody, young and old, involved in that retail spend cycle," he said.
"We know that this really does have a knock-on effect for those Christmas sales … and we're seeing retailers trying to get as much as they can when we know that consumers are doing it tough."
Halloween display creator Ian Kane draws on his experience as a DJ and lighting technician to put on an annual show in the front yard of his Gold Coast home.
Ian Kane says Halloween allows him to be more creative than he can with Christmas lights. ( ABC Gold Coast: Mark Rigby )
Mr Kane said he'd been doing a Christmas display for the past 20 years, but first decided to "take on" Halloween five years ago.
"I've always loved Christmas, but I find Halloween's a bit more exciting," Mr Kane said.
Mr Kane's display incorporates dozens of creepy characters, smoke machines, lasers, lights, and even motion sensors connected to pneumatic relays and an air compressor.
Ian Kane's favourite Halloween decoration is an animatronic dragon to which he's added a smoke machine. ( ABC Gold Coast: Mark Rigby )
"With all the pneumatics, you can get some really powerful effects and some good jump scares," he said.
"It's just great seeing all the kids happy."
After Halloween, Mr Kane spends days dismantling his display — almost as long as he spends putting it up.
Ian Kane's Burleigh home is transformed every Halloween. ( ABC Gold Coast: Mark Rigby )
Then his attention turns to his Christmas lights.
"Come Boxing Day I turn everything off for Christmas and then get to have a bit of a break," he said.
"I'll get a week off work if I'm lucky."
