You recently launched a Halloween e-magazine in Australia. What inspired you to launch this very specific title?
Halloween is becoming so much more popular in Australia, but there were very few resources for Aussie Halloween fans. When we launched the Hallozween website and social channels in 2019, we were met with an overwhelmingly positive response, so decided to create a magazine as a guide on how to make the most of Halloween 2020.

What types of stories are in the magazine?
We have got everything! From recipes and the best spooky movies to give you the creeps, to costumes and makeup inspiration, and a massive buyer’s guide on where to find the best Halloween decor and props in the country! We are passionate about supporting Australian craftspeople, designers and businesses, so the majority of those in the guide are either Australian, or have an outlet or store here. Next year we hope to include some more personal stories from interviews with Halloween fans, both those who love the holiday and go all out to decorate, as well as those businesses who sell all kinds of Halloweeny goodness.

Tell us about the Halloween industry in Australia. Does the annual holiday have a large following here?
Halloween is becoming more and more popular in Australia every year! There are so many annual Halloween-themed events which bring the local community together, as well as larger scale events such as Fright Nights in Queensland, Luna Dark in Melbourne and Halloscream in Sydney (although some won’t happen this year due to COVID). You only have to walk into Coles or Woolies in the weeks before Halloween and see the aisles teeming with decorations and sweets. You can also buy Halloween pumpkins to carve jack o’lanterns, and they are all grown by Aussie farmers too. The country’s biggest supplier of jack o’lantern pumpkins, Stackelroth Farms in Queensland, sells about 500 tonnes of Halloween pumpkins every year and more and more growers from around the country are joining them.

Will your magazine be restricted to Australian readers, or will you be actively pursuing overseas markets?
Hallozween was created as a one-stop resource purely for lovers of Halloween in Australia, and we will keep it Aussie-focused. That said, people from overseas are welcome to download the magazine too!

Would you like to receive story pitches from PRs? If so, what sorts of content would you like to hear about?
We would love to hear about absolutely anything related to Halloween, and my other passions, horror movies and the paranormal. We have a great movies section on our website which we are hoping to build, so we would love to hear about any new scary film and DVD releases. We are also open to product reviews and information about Australian and worldwide spooky travel destinations and events.

How do you see Halloween being celebrated this year, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic?
Halloween will be a different experience for a lot of people this year, but mainly for those in Victoria. Restrictions on how many people you can have in your home at any one time there may mean you can’t host that annual Halloween party or have too many people gather to view your yard decorations. Most people who decorate are making their homes ride-by or drive-by friendly, just to be safe. Some Halloween lovers have come up with really creative ideas to still be able to make the most of Halloween 2020. For those in other states, life is almost back to normal, so there is plenty of planned community events, markets, parties, and socially distanced trick or treating! It’s great to see so many people getting into the spirit of it, and really, we all need a reason to celebrate after everything 2020 has dished up so far.

What are your top tips for celebrating Halloween safely in 2020 and beyond?
In the Hallozween magazine, we have a section dedicated to celebrating Halloween safely in 2020. From making "candy slides" to safely dispense treats at a distance, to hosting a Zoom Halloween or MASKarade party, we have tried to come up with ideas so that everyone, no matter what their region’s COVID-19 restrictions are, can enjoy the day. Most states other than Victoria are pretty much back to normal, but they should still follow their region's social distancing requirements, of course.

Are you ever worried that you will run out of Halloween-themed content to run? Where do you get your content from?
We will never run out of Halloween content! With Halloween becoming more popular, there is no shortage of new businesses and events popping up around the spooky season. We hope to connect with these businesses, events managers and entrepreneurs over the next few months, so we can make the Hallozween 2021 edition even bigger and more fab-ooo-lous. We will also look at working with some freelance writers next year to give the magazine a broader writer base.

What’s the craziest Halloween story you have ever written?
I wrote a piece for the Huffington Post about the time I was an extra in a Melbourne-based zombie film called The Last Hope. It was seriously the best fun! There were so many of us, and we all had to go through zombie training, which was actually really quite difficult. It was an incredible experience and one I’ll definitely remember. I also wrote a feature for News Corp about the time I travelled all the way to the United States to visit all the filming sites made famous by my favourite horror movie character, Michael Myers from, you guessed it, Halloween!