In a year of coronavirus misery, Halloween provides a timely reminder that wearing masks can be fun.
With the UK forced to confront the very real threat of the pandemic, some are decorating their houses with the sort of spooktacular displays which provide a reminder of less troubled, more innocent times.
Talulah Hudson, an eight-year-old from Woodlesford, Leeds, looks delighted with the ghoulish display outside her house while Conor Pilkington’s decorations in Gateshead may have made a dent in his bank balance but have given him plenty of sinister housemates to keep him company during the spectre of lockdown.
Meanwhile, a stall in Covent Garden, London has ensured that every pumpkin, gourd and squash taste is catered for with hundreds of varieties available.
Talulah Hudson, eight, adjusts Halloween decorations outside her home in Woodlesford, Leeds (Danny Lawson/PA)Talulah balances a Jack O’Lantern on the doorstep of her house in Leeds which will enter Tier 3 restrictions (Danny Lawson/PA)Halloween props outside Talulah’s house in Leeds (Danny Lawson/PA)Talulah arranges skull decorations near her front door (Danny Lawson/PA)A pumpkin stall at the first ever pumpkin market at Covent Garden in London, with over 200 pumpkins and 14 varieties of squashes and gourds available (Aaron Chown/PA)A woman holding a pumpkin at the first ever pumpkin market at Covent Garden in London (Aaron Chown/PA)(Parental permission given) Theo Henley, 22 months old, holding a pumpkin (Aaron Chown/PA)Conor Pilkington (centre), 23, from Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, splashed out an extra £5,000 on this year’s display (Owen Humphreys/PA)Mr Pilkington wanted to make this year’s display special in light of the pandemic (Owen Humphreys/PA)Mr Pilkington’s interior design is just as scary as his outdoor display (Owen Humphreys/PA)Some of Mr Pilkington’s housemates are not social distancing – but many are complying with mask rules (Owen Humphreys/PA)