Ghosts and ghouls are all over your favorite stores. It’s time to embrace ‘Summerween.’

Boo! You might see something spooky — spine-tingling, even — when you walk into a Home Goods or Walmart this week.

And you might shriek in horror when you see ghosts and pumpkin decor on display. Summer has only just begun! How could they be stocking Halloween stuff when school barely just let out?

Relax, it’s Summerween! The fake shopping holiday for those who want to put out Halloween decor in July.

This isn’t the first Summerween, by the way — it’s been around for a few years now. But it’s growing: It appears to have started at the craft store Michael’s, spread to T.J. Maxx/Marshalls/Home Goods. And now, this week, Walmart is adding “Summer Frights” decor to its stores.

In fact, rapper Princess Nokia just released a new song, “Drop Dead Gorgeous,” that has a lyric: “Summerween and I wanna get my spooky on.”

Summerween’s origins appear to trace back to the cartoon show “Gravity Falls,” where in a 2012 episode, the characters carved watermelons and went trick-or-treating.

But there’s another element afoot: some adults (and you probably know one) just freaking love Halloween.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Like those who love the holidays, Halloween superfans have become their own subculture. They use phrases like “code orange” to alert others on social media when they come across fun themed merch. Retailers are using it to get a head start on fall, spurring people to buy their decorations now—a time of year when shopping enthusiasm is typically muted.Lowe’s first “Halfway to Halloween” push came in April 2024, and the retailer repeated it this year, even adding a second wave of products in June. Target released some of its more popular Halloween items, like $5 decorative birds, in May and more is planned for later in the summer. Michaels had its earliest Halloween launch ever this June. By late July, the merchandise will completely take over the front of stores, said Melissa Mills, senior vice president of merchandising.

I went to check out the selections in my local T.J. Maxx, Home Goods, and Walmart. I was particularly excited to see the Walmart offerings, since this is apparently the first time it has them. But my local store didn’t have anything yet. (I did notice some open shelf space in the “Seasonal” section.)

Over at T.J. Maxx and Home Goods, the Summerween selections were in full effect.

There were pink candles with ghosts, dish towels, magenta velvet skeletons, painted driftwood candy corns, and framed art of ghosts and Mr. and Mrs. Frankenstein at the beach.

Pink and purple were as prevalent as orange and black, which sets these Summerween items clearly apart from their October cousins. It was cute, not scary.

For a moment, the thought crossed my mind to actually buy some of this — a fuzzy pastel candy corn caught my eye. I am not one of those Halloween enthusiasts, but I’m sure my kids would love celebrating Summerween.

Halloween is one of the few non-denominational, non-political, purely fun holidays throughout the year — why not double up on it?

Is this all just an excuse to sell people more junk? Well, sure.

But so what?

Do you think Thanksgiving is “real,” too? That Christmas isn’t overly commercialized? Or that Mother’s Day isn’t just a racket by greeting card companies? Do you worry about the real meaning of Toyathon? Grow up. Open your eyes and your heart and embrace Summerween.

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