Photos | Gymea house of horrors attracts much attention in lead-up to Halloween

On the big night last year, more than 200 children visited to trick or treat and check out the array of skeletons, ghosts, witches, reapers and spiders.

The number is likely to increase this time around, with the couple creating an even bigger display of scary items, including figures which move and talk.

The house is in a high visibility location at the corner of President Avenue and Gymea Bay Road.

"We love doing it for the kids and we get a kick out of it too," Ms Worthington said.

"Our children are grown up so we have the time that parents with younger kids don't have.

"I am from America and so I love Halloween. Phillip now enjoys it as much as I do."

Ms Worthington said they were getting lots of nice comments from passers-by and toots on car horns.

"I think after everything we have all gone through with lockdown and restrictions, people are appreciating a bit of fun more than ever," she said.

"The kids going past on their way to and from school across the road love it.

"We have done more with spiders this year, including a giant red back who lights up and makes noises. He is proving very popular."

Ms Worthington said the best time to view the display was at night when the lights were on.

"We have only put out items that are weather-proof at this stage, and the rest will go out closer to Halloween," she said.

"On Halloween, we will also have a projector screening things like dancing skeletons, and a smoke machine to add to the atmosphere."

The couple created their first Halloween display when they lived for about seven years nearby in Koorabel Avenue, a cul-de-sac on the other side of President Avenue.

"The first time we did it nobody came and we were starting to pack up when one child appeared," Ms Worthington said.

"After that, the local children used to come around.

"Last year was our first Halloween in this house and, being a more prominent location, a lot more people saw it.

"We made up 200 lolly bags for trick-or treat and when they ran out we had to pull out some boxes of candy.

"This year, we have made up the lollies in thin rubber gloves."

For Leader photos, the couple dressed as characters Winifred Sanderson and Billy Butcherson in the 1993 Disney movie Hocus Pocus.

Bette Midler played Winifred Sanderson, one of three witch sisters, who were inadvertently resurrected by a teenage boy on Halloween night.