Carmen’s son Ethan adores Halloween.

But not for the lollies, or the decorations, or the Halloween-themed movies (shout-out to the Nightmare Before Christmas!).

The six-year-old boy loves the gore, the horror, the fear. In Carmen’s words, “the creepier the better”.

“He desperately wants to be as scary as possible in his costume, and to him that means swords, masks, ‘bloody things’ and ripped up clothing,” she wrote on Reddit.

“I’m obviously not going to let him wear any of that to school for Halloween, and most of it isn’t allowed anyway (no weapons or masks), so he’s happily going as Pikachu because we compromised and said he could be something creep for trick-or-treating.”

But Carmen was worried Ethan’s chosen costume was too scary and might upset other kids when they’re out and about in their suburb.

“He’s picked out a yellow one-eyed zombie mask with a sword that has fake blood on it. He wants to wear all black clothes.

“Is this an inappropriate costume JUST for trick-or-treating for a six-year-old?”

Carmen said Ethan was inspired by an amusement park that did a “Halloween Haunt” event every weekend.

“We have season passes… he sees actors in crazy costumes and make-up and over-the-top décor in their haunted houses. It’s his favourite time of year and his favourite place to go.”

And although she wanted to support her son’s vision, when she told her husband about the bloody sword, he was hesitant, which made Carmen second-guess herself. Was Ethan’s costume too much?

The Reddit consensus was that Ethan’s costume was appropriate for the season and his age.

“I don’t think it’s inappropriate for his age, but I’d worry about him being in all black at night though, depending on how late you’re going out,” one person said. “Maybe put some reflective tape on his back.”

“I would talk to him about not scaring smaller kids,” said another person. “He may not be scared, but other kids may get scared of him and it would be very uncool to chase them.”

“Let the kid have fun,” a third person said. “That’s more important than what snotty parents think. If anyone says anything, just have him run up to them and scare them!”

Another parent shared they have a child with similar interests.

“My five-year-old is obsessed with all things horror, an obsession that started before he could talk… he started copying zombie noises while I was watching a zombie show,” they said. “His costume this year is a shredded and bloody hazmat suit and gas mask.”