THE winter nights are drawing in, there's a nip in the air and the shops are full of skeletons, scary masks and pumpkins.

Many people are preparing to celebrate Halloween next week. But although it's big business in the States, in the UK the celebration on October 31 was always a long way behind Christmas and Easter.

But according to a new report, Halloween is becoming the second biggest sales event in the retail calendar. Asda predicts sales of Halloween products will increase 25 per cent on last year pushing Easter into third place in terms of High Street pay days.

Woolworths estimate the Halloween market is worth £140 million, a tenfold increase on 2001 which is still a fraction of the £2.25 billion spent in America.

Nick Peek, director of Peeks, a party suppliers based in Christchurch, says Halloween is definitely their second biggest retail event after Christmas.

"We certainly get higher sales than we do at Easter. Although we have a bigger turn-over at Christmas - it's over a period of four weeks whereas Halloween is usually our busiest week of the year in the party store.

"I would say it has started to get bigger over the past decade but it really exploded about five years ago. I think people need something to look forward to after the summer. Halloween parties always used to be for children but I think it's because adults are getting in on the act now."

But while Halloween is clearly a treat for the High Street, some church leaders believe it's a trick that encourages bad behaviour and trivialises evil.

Last year Caroline Gatehouse from Bournemouth organised an alternative to Halloween at St Saviours Church in Holdenhurst Avenue.

"I know a lot of people who don't have problem with Halloween, but it is making fun out of something that the Bible says to avoid, witchcraft for example. We organise alternative light parties' because we want children to realise they can have fun without frightening people."

Lansdowne Baptist Church in Bournemouth has produced its own Halloween leaflets entitled Witch Side Are You On?.

It refers to the Harry Potter story to illustrate that there are both good and bad forces in the world and reminds the reader that we all have a choice.

Church member Dave Smith said: " I don't know that it's right to make light of things that can be dangerous, but on the other hand I don't think we need to be too worried that Easter isn't such a big commercial event.

"That's not what it's all about. Easter is more important than that - this is an event that has changed millions of people's lives around the world."