Halloween may be months off, but Courtney Love did a good job of frightening onlookers with her ghoulish appearance in LA yesterday.

The singer's deathly pale skin drew gasps as she stepped out for a shopping trip in Malibu in a 1920s see-through lace dress, as did her painfully frame.

Her once Rubenesque figure has been reduced to just skin and bone, sparking concerns over her health.

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Ghoulish: Courtney Love drew gasps as she stepped out in Malibu yesterday

Skin and bone: The singer looked thinner than ever

Love's weight has long been the focus of attention  - she lost 52 pounds last year on a strict diet of shakes combined with minimal fish and vegetables.

She denied reports gastric bypass surgery and liposuction aided her initial transformation.

Now it appears emotional strain is to blame - Courtney recently revealed she was feeling suicidal after the ashes of her husband, Nirvana's Kurt Cobain disappeared from her home.

Shrinking: Courtney now looks a shadow of her once Rubenesque self

The mother of one believes a former friend is responsible.

She said last month: "I can't believe anyone would take Kurt's ashes from me. I find it disgusting and right now I'm suicidal. If I don't get them back I don't know what I'll do."

Most of Cobain's ashes were originally scattered at a New York Buddhist temple and in the Wishkah river in Washington state.

However, Love says she kept some for herself, in a pink bear-shaped handbag and hidden in a wardrobe at her Hollywood home.

She added: "They were all I had left of him. Who has their husband's ashes stolen?"

Kurt Cobain committed suicide in 1994.