More joining the fright club

SINGAPORE - Ghouls, vampires and zombies are running amok as Singapore catches Halloween fever.

The Straits Times' event listings on Friday showed that there were 11 Halloween events, from parties at nightclubs to horror story-telling at The Arts House.

This is without taking into account events which have sprung up in the heartland.

But while Halloween Horror Nights 3 at Universal Studios Singapore (USS) and the Sentosa Spooktacular 2013 at Fort Siloso are among the biggest players in Halloween scare-fests, organisers of spook fests have been seeing more interest, both in organising the events and participation.

In 2009, the Halloween event at *Scape attracted only over 2,000 people. This year, organisers expected twice that number.

This is the first time *Scape is collaborating with Singapore Polytechnic students to organise the event.

Says event organiser Marcus Chee, 35: "The fact that we have more partners shows Halloween is entering the mainstream.

The events have also got bigger.

When the Sentosa Spooktacular was introduced in 2009, it attracted over 3,000 people. Last year, about 11,000 joined the haunted festivities.

When USS first started its Halloween Horror Nights event in 2011, it had over 200 "scare actors". There are twice as many this year.

It has also gone from a seven-night to a 10-night event.

Says a USS spokesman: "The scale and scope has expanded over the years... Now there is a greater demand for guests to get scared during Halloween."

Businesses have also been beefing up their stocks of Halloween merchandise. Children's Costume Specialist has sold 20 per cent more Halloween costumes this year compared to last year.

Its owner, Mr Derek Kitikomolsuk, 28, says: "We also increased the selection of costumes because customers were asking for them."

The popular costumes include witches and ghouls, as well as superheroes like Captain America, Iron Man and Spider-Man.

He says: "Many children wear them to their own parties. Some schools are also organising Halloween events these days.

"And some children even go trick or treating in their estates.

"Halloween has really caught on."

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