Should you step into the St Clair couple’s home over the next day, you will be met by a 2m-tall werewolf, a storytelling skeleton, cackling witches and a man condemned to the chair.
"Yeah, we just moved back here from Perth, and Halloween is quite big in Australia, so we’ve been doing it for a while,"
Mrs Sperandio said.
"But this is the first time we’ve really made an effort in Dunedin.
"We lost our son five years ago and he loved Halloween — so it’s kind of a tribute to him, too."
Being self-employed meant they had enough time to put together the installations, which meant various creatures hanging from the ceiling, and both the kitchen and dining room converted into the Halloween room.
They were also well-prepared for the onslaught of young trick-or-treaters asking for sweets.
"I was told last year that Halloween wasn’t really a thing here, so I didn’t really buy much in the way of sweets.
"They started coming from 4 o’clock and we’d run out by 5.
"We were woefully unprepared, so I’ve made sure that I’ve plenty this time."
But having settled into things, they were prepared for people being scared — or even laughing — at their house of horrors.
"I just wish it wasn’t daylight saving, because by the time it’s dark, the trick-or-treating’s finished."
