Hordes of ghosts, skeletons and vampires descended on several localities in Malta on Thursday night as children took to the streets for Halloween trick-or-treating.

It was not only children that got into the spirit of the evening; homeowners armed with hefty supplies of sweets decked out their houses with lights and macabre decorations while parents accompanying trick-or-treaters also donned spooky costumes.

Hundreds of children attended the annual celebration, turning up in droves to knock on doors in Pembroke, with Swieqi also seeing some trick-or-treating – though, according to residents, less than in previous years.

“It’s moved to Pembroke now; that’s where the action is,” said one mother with her children at the park before an evening trick-or-treating.

Small groups of children and parents could be seen walking around Swieqi which, while not without trick-or-treaters, was noticeably less busy than Pembroke.

Nevertheless, Swieqi residents still seemed enthusiastic about Halloween, with Karl Galea saying he had decorated his house since he was a child but now was inspired by his own children’s enthusiasm.

“They really look forward to Halloween; the trick-or-treating and the preparation of it all – it's fun, and in Swieqi we still try to keep it something for little kids,” he said.

He added that while the family was stocked to dish out sweets to trick-or-treaters, they still liked to “scare them a bit as well in a fun way,” while his children Luigi, Eve and Ellie said it was one of their “favourite nights of the year.”

The scene in Pembroke, however, was a different story altogether, with residential streets packed with large groups of children making the rounds on their quest for sugary treats.

Six-year-old Thomas Ellul Sullivan said he was “super excited”, with his four-year-old sister Emma similarly “super-duper excited.”

Homeowners got into the Halloween spirit too. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli.

Photo: Matthew Mirabelli.

Father and “fallen astronaut” Boyan Popov said he wanted to dress up to inspire his kids not to be embarrassed by their own costumes – and for their future self-confidence: “When they grow up, no matter how old you are, you can look as cool as you want.”

One house made quite the impression on youngsters, with tactically placed screens giving the impression of ghoulish hands pressed up against the window. One young boy could be heard saying, “I don’t want to knock; I don’t know what’s inside.”

Rachel Degray said it was her and her husband James’ second year decking the house out for Halloween, noting that last year saw more than 300 children knock on their door.

“We loved it and this year we wanted to do something bigger – it was my husband’s idea, we just love Halloween,” she said, adding that she had started buying sweets in August in preparation for tonight.

Fellow homeowner Patricia Graham said it had taken two days to get her house ready, but it was “a lot of fun, and we get some amazingly lovely and polite children round here,” adding that instead of sweets, the family was stocked with around 1,000 balloons.

Pembroke proved a popular trick-or-treating spot on Thursday night. Photo: Matthew Mirabelli.

Similar scenes were seen in other localities.

"I have lived in Iklin for 35 years and never saw so many children wearing spooky costumes going from one house to another," a resident of that locality said.

Many were accompanied by parents who also got in the spirit and wore masks.

Meanwhile, Żurrieq hosted a paid Halloween-themed street party in aid of Puttinu Cares, featuring live music, traditional games, emergency services demonstrations, a bouncy castle and street food.

While Halloween has traditionally been seen as a foreign holiday, perhaps most closely associated with the United States, over the years its popularity has grown in Malta.

A cultural spectacle

But event organisers and academics say the celebrations are more than just a quest for chocolate.

Earlier this week, Professor Valerie Visanich from the University of Malta’s Department of Sociology told Times of Malta Halloween functioned as a “cultural spectacle” and a light-hearted opportunity for self-expression.

Meanwhile, despite its links to Paganism – in particular, a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of winter – the Vatican insists Halloween actually has significant Catholic roots, with the name deriving from All Hallow’s Eve or Vigil of All Saints’ Day.

Nonetheless, that did not stop the Gozo diocese last week calling on parishioners to refrain from decorating their homes with “symbols of death”, instead encouraging people to adorn their windows with statues of saints and parish emblems.