Halloween Has Been Spotted

Case File #002

Halloween Has Been Spotted

By Duck-9, Staff Reporter

Mission Log

I wasn't looking for Halloween.

Halloween found me.

I walked into the store expecting sunscreen and bug spray...

Instead, I found pumpkins, ghosts, haunted houses, and a six-foot skeleton that somehow looked more comfortable than I did.

It's still July.

The Discovery

Outside, it was ninety-five degrees.

Inside...

October had apparently arrived.

Every aisle held another reminder that spooky season was quietly making its annual advance.

Plastic bats.

Black cats.

Decorative ravens.

Enough fake cobwebs to cover a small neighborhood.

No one else seemed surprised.

The Investigation

Experts continue insisting Halloween is months away.

Retail appears to have opened its own calendar.

After careful observation, I've concluded this happens every year...

...and somehow it still catches me off guard.

Feathered Thought

Maybe it's the promise of cooler weather.

Maybe it's childhood memories.

Maybe it's the excuse to watch scary movies without feeling guilty.

Whatever the reason...

Seeing those first Halloween decorations always feels like running into an old friend.

Final Note

The calendar still says July.

But somewhere between the pumpkins and the haunted houses...

Autumn officially knocked on the door.

Report filed.