19 American Halloween Customs That Confuse The Heck Out Of Aussies

What do you guys do with all the leftover pumpkin?!

1. Going all out on Halloween decorations every single year.

NBC

Aussies know how to put up a good Christmas display, but not Halloween. Imagine driving through the neighbourhood and spotting giant spiders out the front of someone's house? You'd think it was just an ordinary Tuesday.

2. Having dedicated Halloween playlists on Spotify.

henry cavill says black lives matter @communistkeanu

When the Ultimate #Halloween playlist pops up on @Spotify

03:08 PM - 20 Sep 2018

That's right, enough Halloween music to last you the whole month of October with dozens of playlists. Americans don't mess around when it comes to their Halloween tunes.

3. Putting up Halloween Christmas trees for some unknown and godforsaken reason.

Kae☪ @KaelaJonae

I finished my Halloween Tree!🎃👻 I’M IN LOVEEEEE🧡🖤🧡

11:41 AM - 19 Oct 2020

Decorating Christmas trees wasn't enough for you guys, huh.

4. Not to mention skeletons being everywhere and anywhere.

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Imagine going into the shops and having a skeleton phobia. You wouldn't be able to outrun the decor this time of year. Also, pooping? Why, what? Does it — aka the spooky dookie — hit differently in October?

5. Spending a scary amount on Halloween each year.

Village Roadshow Pictures

That must be why it's called the spooky season. Imagine the cost they rack up on decorations, costumes, parties and candy! And you thought Christmas was expensive?!

6. Spamming their socials in the lead up to the "31 Nights Of Halloween".

Singer-White Productions

If you're Aussie like me and have no idea what this is, it's apparently a TV channel that shows straight Halloween and horror movies for the month of October. In all seriousness though, where can we sign up to join?

7. Adding pumpkin spice to every single food you can think of.

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If you've seen an American grocery store in October, you'll find it difficult to NOT come across pumpkin flavoured everything. They froth for pumpkins this time of year and it looks delicious!

8. Actually, scratch that — just loving anything to do with pumpkins in general.

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Pumpkinhead, pumpkin spice, pumpkin sweater — are you guys alright there? What is the significance of the pumpkin?!

9. Seriously, what do you guys even do with all those left over pumpkins once October is over?

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This has to be why they have pumpkin pies left and right after Halloween, right?

10. Giving out candy corn during Halloween, even though it looks — and supposedly tastes — bloody awful.

Flickr: Jen Collins / Via Flickr: jenosaur

Is it candy, is it corn? And does it even taste good? From what our American friends have said, no one really loves this Halloween candy and most people will gladly exchange it for a Snickers bar instead.

11. And somehow managing to survive without the delicious goodness that is Cadbury chocolate.

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This trumps Hershey's chocolate any day of the week, trust me.

12. Having whole stores dedicated to Halloween decorations, costumes and props.

(㇏(•̀ᵥᵥ•́)ノ) 🎃 @VampireGhuleh

Americans are so lucky having infinitely better Halloween decor in stores than we do over here. Makes me wanna travel just to stock up. 🎃

12:39 AM - 26 Jul 2019

All we have are party shops, which do have a Halloween range — but it's nothing like what you guys have over in the States.

13. Which probably explains why most Americans are experts on doing insane SFX makeup.

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Aussies didn't grow up with Halloween makeup kits with directions on how to paint your face to match your costume. So, it's no wonder you guys are the masters on this sort of stuff!

14. Doing the absolute most with their Halloween costumes.

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In Australia, it's slim pickings, so we usually throw our outfits together last minute. For example, vampire teeth and fake blood? Done.

15. Treating Hocus Pocus like an entirely separate religion during this time of year.

Disney

Fans quote the movie word for word and you can find Hocus Pocus memorabilia in shops. Plus, it's so popular that the cast reunited for the 27th anniversary and are in talks for sequel. I don't think we have anything even close to that level in Australia.

16. Organising pumpkin patch photoshoots for their babies.

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Okay, not gonna lie — this is actually stinking cute! Aussies definitely need to get their bubs and set up a wholesome pumpkin patch shoot day for Halloween.

17. Dressing up their pets in adorable, but spooky, costumes.

Oriana Nichelle @OrianaNichelle

We had cats in costumes, now it’s the dogs turn

08:42 PM - 21 Oct 2020

How on Earth do they manage to wrangle their furry best friends into these costumes?! Tell me your secrets, please.

18. Having elaborate Halloween-themed weddings

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Any Aussie creating their own Halloween-themed wedding would confuse the hell out of their friends and family rocking up to the event. But honestly, I wish we could recreate that same magic down under.

19. And lastly, treating Halloween as this massive holiday that everyone plans for months in advance.

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I don't understand what you're actually celebrating and why, but I hope it becomes just as big in Australia too because I'm jealous.