WILDWOOD — It was a case of the summer scaries on the Wildwood boardwalk Friday afternoon, courtesy of the folks at Spirit Halloween. Things got weirder than usual.
Art the Clown, the Spirit mascot from the Terrifier movies, honked his horn, waved at the tramcar operator, and tried not to make babies cry, with mixed results.
A Chihuahua named Chada barked at Art from the lap of its owner, seated in a mobility scooter.
An evangelist preacher walked by with his “Are you going to heaven? Free test” sign and paused, thinking about his options, but kept walking.
The Art the Clown impersonator, waiting in line for a bag of Summerween freebies, mutely refused an interview. A lot of people filmed content.
“Why is he here?” asked Djaka Fofana, 18, in Wildwood with a group of friends for senior skip day from Hardy Williams High in Southwest Philadelphia.
The girls tried to get Art to do the Scuba dance from TikTok, but he did not go along.
Her friend Amaira Scruges, 18, pointed out that the Wildwood boardwalk was strange enough to easily absorb a visit from Art in June.
True enough. Most people walked by with only a brief glance.
But for fans of Spirit Halloween, animatronics, terror, and Halloween in general, June in Wildwood was the perfect time to indulge in some freebies from Spirit and photo ops with Art.
Sonny Miller, 5, of Woodbury, a Spirit animatronics superfan, brought his crayon drawing of the Sinister Strawman, got his freebies, and put on his Art the Clown bucket hat.
His father, Tim, 33, and mother, Angel, 31, said it would be the highlight of his summer. Halloween is his highest of holidays.
“We still have our Halloween decorations up,” Tim Miller said.
The horror and Spirit obsessives saw no dissonance, even five months out from the big October day. About 100 people lined up in advance for the three-hour giveaway of a Terrifier towel, an Art the Clown bucket hat, a water cup, and glasses, plus a photo with Art the Clown.
“Halloween has always been special to a lot of people,” said Kevin Swan, 36, dressed in what he described as an overall witchy vibe. He was from Western Massachusetts, on his way to Cape May, when he detoured for the Spirit giveaway.
“I think it’s just kind of the draw of horror, especially with very early summer slashers. It’s cashing in on that summer horror blockbuster vibe. That’s what I think they’re going for here.”
Still, even for the ubiquitous Spirit Halloween, which in any case has a way of showing up earlier than you would expect and in weird spaces, June on the Wildwood boardwalk seemed a little bit of disconnect. Then again, Santa comes in July.
The viral and global brand of Spirit Halloween, owned by the Egg Harbor Township, N.J.-based Spencer Gifts, is looking to capitalize on a Summerween line of merchandise.
The company recently announced an expansion to its corporate headquarters in Atlantic County, adding 81,000 square feet of office space and amenities to its current campus.
Its total footprint, from which it launches nationally, even globally, popular products and memes, will ultimately be the size of five baseball fields, the company said.
And for those interested in jobs, not giveaways on the Wildwood boardwalk, the company says it’s hiring, especially in the tech sector.
First in line on Friday was the Gambino family of Chesterfield, Burlington County: brothers Nicholas, 10 and Carlo, 8, creators of the YouTube channel Spook 365 and self-described Halloween obsessives since the age of 2, plus mom Jen. Dad was off filming from a distance.
They were there to make content, they said, and to get the freebies. They never miss a Spirit event, Jen Gambino said, and their YouTube channel has 34,000 subscribers.
“It’s very top secret,” they said as they waited to see if Art would show up.