Michael Jackson King of 2009 Halloween

An online fancy dress retailer has reported a massive increase in Halloween related purchases. Fabparty.co.uk owner Nick Whiles believes the increase is unlikely to curtail in the near future.

"Over the past two years, we've seen increased demand for Halloween accessories and fancy dress items. We put this down to a large increase in the amount of adults celebrating Halloween. Traditionally, Halloween in the UK was about taking the kids trick or treating, but now, people are throwing parties and really embracing the fancy dress element of Halloween. We've had just over 40% more people coming to our site in 2009 than we had in 2007."

Pop culture references, including celebrities and characters from cult adverts, have become a major factor in encouraging revellers to embrace the fancy dress. Last year, many paid a Halloween tribute to Heath Ledger's Dark Knight character and 2009 saw party goers paying tribute to Michael Jackson.

Whilst Halloween fever is a relatively new phenomena in the UK, it is a well established fixture on the party scene in America. Joel Silverman, an American student who has lived in London since 2005, believes social networking has played a part in the UK's recent enthusiasm for what was once an American obsession.

"When I first moved here, I quickly realised that Halloween wasn't such a big deal. There were very few parties and it was more focussed towards children. However, over the past two years, it has really taken off. With Facebook and other social networking sites, it has been really easy for people to organise Halloween parties - and with the ease of sharing photographs, everyone wants to get into the spirit of Halloween."

Whilst the increase is a welcome bit of good news for fancy dress retailers and party suppliers around Halloween, it has also been revealed that fancy dress in general is increasing in popularity.

Nick explains. "In the run up to Christmas, we're noticing a marked increase in the amount of people seeking out Christmas fancy dress. Compared to last year, we anticipate an increase of about 10% in people coming to us for a Christmas themed costume."

Nick expects Christmas fancy dress revellers to be spoiled for choice this year. "We've learned that there is a huge diversity in taste when it comes to dressing up. That's why we've expanded our range to include potentially thousands of fancy dress ideas. You can find pretty much anything in our range."