By Maddie Grooff

If you have been surfing the internet lately, you have probably come across this month’s biggest trend: skeleton memes. And I’m not surprised that it is popular.

Skeleton memes are not a recent trend. I can’t pinpoint exactly when they started, but I do believe I first saw them in 2016 (other sources even trace them back to 1996). Back then, the memes were just about fighting in the “skeleton war”. However, this October has been the catalyst for a whole new style of internet humor.

Moth memes were the big craze in September, but, as soon as the clocked turned to 12:01, forums of all kinds were spammed by spooky skeletons. While it is obvious that this was planned, it’s still mildly surprising how quickly the trend caught on. The first couple days in October involved a war between the moths and the skeletons, but as the days went on, moth memes became more scarce.

But why exactly are these so popular? The answer is simple: it’s October and October is the “spooky month”. I believe that skeletons became the figurehead for Halloween and people, looking forward to the ultimate spooky holiday, started the hype as soon as it became October. As for the other stuff, like the skeleton war? I honestly have no idea.

In conclusion, as October comes to an end, I believe that the amount of spooky memes will fall again. What comes next, however, we will have to see.

Until then, stay spooky.