Halloween enthusiast Emma Scott-Childs has put up her decorations already - and says it is her favourite time of year.

The windows on the art director's home in Hove have turned heads after they started "bleeding" in the run up to Halloween.

The Argus: Emma in front of the decorations on her front window

Emma has poured her heart and soul into this year's spooky display with strings of bright red tinsel alongside the skeletons and pumpkins on her doorstep, crows and a black wreath.

She said: "There is no end to Halloween, you can just go all out. It's a chance to be really silly and kind of gruesome."

The mother of two started the celebrations early, as she does every year, and decorated the house on Sunday, October 1, to "make the most" of the season. 

The Argus: Skulls and pumpkins on the doorstepSkulls and pumpkins on the doorstep (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

However not everyone is keen on the decorations at her home in Old Shoreham Road. "I had an old lady tell me it was far too early," said Emma.

The inspiration for this year's design was a scene in Stanley Kubrick's horror film The Shining when lift doors open to a cascade of blood.

Read more: Spooky Halloween events taking place in Brighton and Sussex in 2023

"Or at least this is where my Amazon search led," Emma said. "Somestimes I have to do serious boring fashion shoots but this gives me a chance to go a bit nuts."

The Argus: Emma posing for a picture with a ghost on her doorstepEmma posing for a picture with a ghost on her doorstep (Image: Andrew Gardner / The Argus)

The 43-year-old said she has gained a reputation in the area after several years of spooky designs.

She said: "I've become known as the Halloween house of Old Shoreham Road. It's quite good fun for children to have something to walk past and look at."

Her daughter Frida Neisch, ten, is "very much on board with it" and helped Emma with putting the decorations up.

However Emma said her antics have reached "cringe level" for her 13-year-old son Elliot Neisch. Not that this has stopped her.

The Argus: Decorations from a previous Halloween at her houseDecorations from a previous Halloween at her house (Image: Emma Scott-Child)

The house, opposite Bhasvic Field, will attract dozens of trick or treaters on October 31 along with other houses in the area.

In nearby Highcroft Villas, self-confessed Halloween fanatic Ollie Slim has started preparations for the big day at his home, which attracts huge crowds every year.

This year it will be inspired by Ghostbusters and he has already ordered a 20ft Stay Puft marshmallow.

“Last year was perhaps a little too scary,” Ollie said. “We will be making it a bit more family-friendly this year as we have children from the nearby schools coming to visit.”