Hallowe'en is a great time to be dressing up and scaring the heck out of someone up the road, but it's also a time to be scared witless yourself, be it from a horror film or a scary computer game, it would seem. According to a report by Reuters, the latter seems much more likely in the future, with horror video games having a “record year” and consoles getting called the “new home of horror”.

The article then goes to mention videogame analyst overlord Michael Pachter from Wedbush Morgan Securities, who says that in the US around $147 million worth of horror games have been sold from January to September 2009, compared to $131 million for the entirety of 2008.

“Whenever horror movies do well, Hollywood always rushes more into theaters and people get a little burned out on them”, said actor Kane Hodder – you know, Jason in Friday the 13th - who's also worked in the game industry. “But with games, there are fewer choices in the genre and they tend to be spaced out better.”

Perhaps it's the argument that there aren't that many fresh ideas for horror movies in Hollywood any more that's driving scare-a-holics to their consoles. Immersion is a key factor, according to Freddy Krueger (sorry, we mean actor Robert Englund) - “Halloween gives fans the chance to dress up in costumes and celebrate horror, but video games are the best way for fans to actually participate in these worlds.”

The article also states that Dead Space 2, EA's sequel that hasn't really been announced, is on track for a 2010 release date. A slip of the fingers, perhaps, or early confirmation? We'll find out soon enough.