Especially South Dunedin 12-year-old Oliver Salter, who was out trick or treating last night.
Now, when it comes to a 12-year-old’s vocabulary, "sick" does not necessarily mean disturbing, morbid or sadistic.
These days, it means "excellent" or "impressive".
So, when Oliver said the house had "a creep factor of about 9.5 out of 10 — it’s pretty sick", house owner Annette Enkera took it as a compliment rather than a complaint.
"Coming from a 12-year-old, that’s pretty high praise," she said.
And she was pleased the visitors were loving it, because she and her daughter had spent the past three days filling her property with "quite a few thousand dollars" worth of unwholesome and gruesome Halloween decorations.
It was the third year in a row she had "desecrated" her house for children in the area.
"Last year we prepared about 600 lolly bags to give to visitors, and we ran out.
"This year, we’ve got 700 lolly bags, and then we’ve got bags for the 50 best-dressed visitors.
"We get a massive response from everybody. We love it."
She said it gave her a bit of a kick, watching their faces.
"I haven’t got any grandchildren living in Dunedin, so this is my way of celebrating Halloween."
She said the most challenging part of the evening was trying not to spook the children too much.
"We try not to scare them with too many hideous things. It’s more to entertain them."
Oliver was pleased about that.
"I don’t like it when people jump out of bushes at you.
"Once, someone dressed up as a statue and they pounced on me, you know. That was sick in a bad way."
Not good for the heart rate or his underpants, he said.
"This place is epic — really good," he clarified.
