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Severed legs and murdered schoolgirls lay scattered around Auckland shops yesterday.
But this was no gruesome crime scene. Come 3pm, Geoff's Emporium on Dominion Rd in Mt Eden was engulfed by a flood of schoolkids, dutiful parents in tow, as they prepared for Halloween celebrations tonight.
Kowhai Intermediate pupils Jordan Cope and Robbie Hinds, both 12, were planning on going trick or treating with friends.
"I might dress up like Bob Marley with a baseball bat, or something wacky," Robbie said.
In case of miserly householders, they had a bevy of tricks up their sleeves.
"Fart bombs that explode when you stand on them are good," Jordan said.
The boys were looking forward to the lollies, and being allowed out after dark to knock on people's doors.
Fart bombs, fake hands that fall off when pulled and the classic "disappearing thumb" gag all rated highly in the list of potential tricks among kids spoken to by the Herald.
Down from previous years were thrown eggs and toilet paper.
Mum Julie Randhawa said the deluge of Halloween shoppers was all part of the fun.
"It's just great. Where else can you get a nail in the head for $1.95?" she said, arms laden with an array of trinkets.
Manager Geoff Lamb said the shop had been wall-to-wall with people over Halloween for the past five or six years.
"You can see them streaming across from school," he said. "We started running out of a lot of stuff about a week ago."
Witches brooms, hats and monster masks were among the first to disappear, Mr Lamb said.
