Spooky season is arriving earlier in San Francisco

Driving the news: People put up more Halloween decorations — and did it earlier — during the 2025 season, with more hiring help for the job, per Taskrabbit data shared with Axios.

• The Bay Area was one of Taskrabbit's top three markets for Halloween-related requests last year, alongside Los Angeles and Orange County and New York City.

By the numbers: Searches for help setting up skeletons rose 87% year over year, while searches for spooky decorating increased 20% and Halloween lights climbed 16%.

• Overall decoration task requests were up 33%.

Halloween festivities have also been getting a head start.

• The number of Halloween events being posted on Eventbrite jumped 316% from July to August, nearly twice the increase seen during the same period last year, per data shared with Axios.
• Searches for Halloween experiences rose 212%.

💭 My thought bubble: Halloween is one of the few holidays where decorating comes with almost no rules — the campier, creepier and more outrageous, the better.

• So why not stretch spooky season out as long as possible? In my view, the enthusiasts who declared "Augtober" were simply ahead of the curve.

What we're watching: If last year's decorative doorsteps were any indication, we're bound to see even more over-the-top displays taking shape well before the holiday.

• 📨 Have you spotted Halloween decorations already popping up around your neighborhood? Send a photo to [email protected].