Don't Be The Toothbrush In Someone Else's Pumpkin Pail//October 303rd, 2025

 It's that time of year again, boils and ghouls!

Spooky season has officially arrived on the scene, and Summer Summers of Summerville is just sick about it. She and her cronies are out here acting like that ghost pillow in their local HomeGoods means the beach is now closed until Memorial Day 2026 and the sun will not be seen again until next June. Did you know Halloween decor in July actually shortens people's summers? What a phenomenon! 

Obviously, this is not the case. It's still, sadly, meteorologically speaking, very much summer. But those of us who want to look ahead have as much right to do so as thought that don't wish to look ahead have every right to do a strange little thing I'll never understand called "enjoy their summer". It doesn't have to be a battle, and yet, ever year, it is. 

Sometimes I think summer people dwell on autumn and Halloween more than those of us that actually live for it. If you're so focused on what other people are doing with their autumn and Halloween decor, that's honestly on you for not being able to focus on what makes you happy, not on the people who are just trying to live their best lives. Like, sure, I get annoyed sometimes when I see Christmas shoving Halloween aside, but I don't dwell on it the way summer people do. You can roll your eyes for a second and simply walk the other way and focus on what brings you joy, rather than choose to expend your energy on something that you don't find as engaging. Christmas decor in stores doesn't make Halloween end before Mariah Carey sings, and Halloween in summer doesn't actually make summer move any faster. 

Yet summer people continue to dwell, and try to suck the joy from people who don't find summer itself all that joyful. I obviously have no real frame of references for what happens in other communities where people enjoy a "seasonal" thing all year round, but I truly believe early Halloween brings out the worst in people, more than any other holiday. 

But what truly gets me, more than anything else, is when people within the community won't stop complaining.

I swear, it's only still July, and I have already seen so many Debbie Downers taking steaming hot summer-esque dumps on the 2025 season. I understand that not everyone is going to like everything, but we as a community get so much backlash from the outside, we really don't need to be getting it from within, too. We're all supposed to be on the same side here, and we're all here because we love Halloween, right? 

So, I decided to make a little list of things I've seen people complaining about, and just give my two cents as to why I don't think we need this kind of infighting in the Halloween community.

Item #1: Summerween Hate

It's very obviously no secret that I hate the summer season. You may know this about me already, but I actually have Seasonal Affective Disorder during the summer months as opposed to winter. The second Daylight Savings hits, I'm pretty much down for the count mentally and emotionally until we have an unseasonably cool and cloudy day. My summer is spent waiting for fall, and surrounding myself with summer items, even of a spookier nature, is not really something I see myself doing unless it's in a more nostalgic, "this-brings-me-back-to-a-good-childhood-memory" way. Summerween is not an aesthetic that really speaks to me, but, I am very glad that it exists. While it's obviously not for everyone, Summerween is proof that the Halloween community is doing big things, and having such an influence on the world that the concept has gone from a fun little niche thing on social media to something that is now being treated as very real celebration by the outside world. For my entire life, the main thing I have always wished for was to see the things we embrace at Halloween being embraced during all the other seasons as well. Halloween decor has always felt to me like any kind of themed decor motif; no different than decorating your home in a country or mountain or animal-themed style. And now that things like Summerween and Valloween are catching on, I feel seen in a way that I never have before. Halloween all year is becoming more and more accessible, and whether or not each season's style is to your exact taste, I think hating on the fact that it exists is kind of contradictory. 

Item #2: Pinkoween/Non-Traditional Decor Hate

This is another instance of, it's obviously not for everyone, but there is absolutely no need to ruin it for the people who do like it or make it feel like they're unwelcome in the community because their favorite colors might not be orange and black. Also, think of the up-and-coming Halloween ghoulies out there who may really love this stuff and use it as a gateway into year-round Halloween. I, personally, was much more girly in my younger years and would have absolutely lost it over this stuff. It also works well for integrating decor into the others seasons as well. The color palettes are very spring, summer, and Valloween. Also, the existence of Pinkoween absolutely does not cancel out the availability of more traditional decor if that's your thing. There's plenty for everyone in every different style. It really comes off gatekeepy to act like someone isn't a "real" fan of Halloween if they like the color pink.

Item #3: Shop Shaming

Every year there seems to be some discord over Halloween shopping. There are people who act like all there is to loving Halloween is "Code Orange" and the hauls that go with it, and in turn, this makes the people who don't want to or aren't able to spend as much feel "less than". I wrote a full post about this, and my own experiences with the pressure to overspend, in 2023, and I stand by the title of this post: The Spooky Community Has No Entrance Fee. Love of Halloween is absolutely not determined by how much or how little a person spends. 

But with that said, it works both ways. I don't like to see people act like spending money is all there is to Halloween, but it's also exhausting as all hell to keep seeing posts about overconsumption and capitalism. I'm tired of people acting like Halloween shopping is somehow problematic. Halloween shopping is something that has always brought me joy, whether I'm window shopping, picking up one or two things, or filling a shopping basket. This year, so far, I've been spending less, but there have been years where I've spent a lot, and I don't regret that. Halloween has always been my main hobby and what brings me the most joy in my life. Yes, capitalistic greed is very real, maybe it's the reason Halloween is out so early in stores nowadays, but if spending money on Halloween decor makes someone happy, and they are able to afford it, it's their prerogative to do so, just as if someone decides not to spend a lot of money on Halloween one year. The shopping aspect of Halloween is, truthfully, just a small part of the fun. It just  seems bigger than it is because it's what really kicks things off in the summer. 

And the "official" kickoff of things is extremely important, whether you opt to shop or not. It's a sign of the rest of the world getting on our level. As a child who didn't have much money to spend on Halloween, I still got so excited to see it every year, even if I didn't or couldn't buy. And something that I see going around a lot this year seems to be an intense hatred toward "big box stores" in general. (I'm not talking about politically motivated boycotts, though I do think that is something that should also be up to each individual person has to how they handle their particular feelings about what big corporations are doing, without shaming from the outside.) I understand the importance of supporting small businesses; I feel like my personal collection is a healthy blend of "big box" stuff and handmade things from artists around the community, but please, just let people be excited to see Halloween on the shelves again. It's a milestone in the countdown every year, and an important one. Whether or not you like the offerings or choose to spend your money on them, it's a spooky season rite of passage. A sign that Halloween is coming around again.

And yes, I do understand that art theft is happening and that is an absolutely infuriating thing. I, personally, will never buy an item that I know is a stolen concept, and will try to raise awareness about the original artist if I can. But it is important to keep in mind that not everyone is going to know of every artist in the community. The best we can do is share our favorite artists and remind others where they can get the original designs from. Jumping down someone's throat because they purchased something, completely unaware that it was a stolen concept, doesn't solve anything.

 Everyone that's shopping (or not shopping) is just trying to do what brings them a little joy. While there are assholes in every fandom and community, in most cases, shopping choices are truly not that deep. I don't think anyone goes out Halloween shopping with the intent of feeding some corporate monster and giving smaller shops the finger; we are all just simply trying to survive, and thrive off of our time of year while it's here in whatever form that takes. Shop, don't shop. Shop small, shop big. Do what makes you happy, and don't police others for what makes them happy.  

Item #4: "Too Early" From Within The Community

This is, perhaps, my greatest pet peeve of all.

I am absolutely not one to gatekeep. I understand that there are people who enjoy Halloween on a more seasonal level; people who love Halloween but may not surround themselves with it all year. It's absolutely your prerogative to celebrate as you please, and there is no wrong way to go about it. 

However, I can't think of much of anything within the Halloween community that burns me up more than someone saying something like, "I love Halloween, but it's too early!!!" 

As I said in the beginning of this post, we hear so much of this from the outside. Every year, Halloween lovers, accounts dedicated to Halloween and the fall season in general, seem to be sought out by those that believe Halloween decor shortens summers. People outside the community absolutely love to pick fights and shame us for daring to do what makes us happy when the calendar doesn't explicitly say it's time. This absolutely does not need to be coming from within the community itself. 

If you claim to "love Halloween", even if you choose to celebrate seasonally, you should be able to at least comprehend why others, those that make up the heart of the spooky community, would want to surround themselves with it all year round, or at the very least, be excited to see it earlier each year. No one is asking you to participate earlier than when you feel ready, but understand that that more seasonal love that you feel, extends so far beyond that, for so many of us. Halloween is what makes us feel at home in this world, and the way I see it, the earlier I can start feeling like my best and truest self again, the better. 

If you consider yourself a part of the Halloween community, that shouldn't be difficult to grasp. We are all supposed to be on the same side here, and a single community that's come together for the love of Halloween. Of course opinions can differ, but being such a downer, and attacking each other from the inside, is never the answer.

I suppose all I'm really trying to say is, live and let live. If you love Halloween, respect that the rest of the community loves it too, and it may manifest in different ways, be it a more colorful approach, integrating it into other seasons, collecting a little or a lot, or simply embracing the early onset of it and getting into the spirit as soon as possible. The community is supposed to be home, and the outsiders already make it difficult enough.

Be spooky in your own way, but always stay spooky, my friends.