Photo courtesy of Flickr
Maybe it’s routine, or maybe deep down I’m just a nerd, but I love back-to-school shopping. Last week I made a beeline for Target to find the perfect planner and an array of colored gel pens, among other school supply necessities. But in the midst of my giddy spree, I spotted something horrifying: Halloween decorations.
While, of course, the very point of Halloween is to be scary, the decorations themselves didn’t spook me. Rather, it was the fact that they were on display in August, two entire months too early.
Tim Burton-loving teens on Tumblr have long advocated for an extended Halloween “season,” but their efforts have always occupied a very small niche of the Internet and remained exclusively online. Now, it seems the excitement for the late October holiday has spilled over into the real world, and is practically paralleling the anticipation for the upcoming 2016 presidential election: widespread, passionate and ridiculously premature.
This year the head start on Halloween has hardly been limited solely to flimsy plastic skeletons and chintzy candy-holding cauldrons. Several stores and sites started spotlighting some costume trends for this year during the summer months. Controversy already brews around questionable costumes released by online costume retailers that resemble, and seemingly mock, recent headliners Caitlyn Jenner and Cecil the lion.
Hollywood, too, seems to have been bitten by the Halloween bug. September is crowded with thriller films. M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit opens Friday, followed by a constant stream of horror and Halloween movies, including the animated Hotel Transylvania 2, the Jack Black-fronted Goosebumps reboot, and the newest installment in the ever-dependable Paranormal Activity franchise.
Even Starbucks decided to roll out its infamous Pumpkin Spice Latte on Sept. 8, despite the fact that very few pumpkins are more than germinating seeds right now.
It’s not all too surprising that businesses, from retailers to film studios, are trying to reap the commercial benefits of a holiday, however significant or not. After all, the Christmas season often begins even before the Thanksgiving turkey is in its Tupperware. But when the December festivities finally do roll around, they are often lackluster in comparison to all of the lead-up.
I’m not a Halloween-hater. I enjoy the holiday for what it is: an excuse to get in touch with my creative side and indulge in some DIY costume-making, attend a few great theme parties and, of course, eat candy at any hour of the day. But any extended celebration only serves to deflate the fun (not to mention lead to probable tooth decay).
I’ll have no qualms when the leaves start falling and the pumpkins are ripe in their patches. Right now, though, it’s still sunny and 95 degrees outside, so let me buy my highlighters and dividers in peace.
