Halloween comes early at this horror-themed marketplace in Santa Ana

Because it’s never too early to get started on all your horror needs, a Halloween-themed market is returning to Santa Ana this weekend.

The free October Village event will take over the Double Tree Hotel in Santa Ana on Saturday, Sept. 2. The single-day of horror will be anchored by a marketplace that is scheduled to house more than 70 vendors selling all sorts of Halloween-related goods like costumes, props, artwork, clothes, decorations and much more.

“Halloween has become such a big thing and everyone is really into it and excited to see all the new stuff,” said Sam Secor, a vendor who will be selling her goods at October Village for the first time with her company Abby Belle.

Secor is an artist who creates Halloween folk figures and ornaments like black cats, pumpkins, ghouls and ghosts.

“They’re all cute. My stuff is sort of creepy-cute,” said Secor, who also sells her work at several other Halloween events.

October Village also includes on-site trick-or-treating and plenty of cosplayers walking around in scary gear, so expect to be stalked by horror icons like Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers, plus all sorts of other monsters and ghouls.

While Halloween comes but once a year, the horror business is now year round.

Terror started early this year, with big conventions like Creep I.E. Con horror convention, which took place at the Ontario Convention Center Feb. 4-5. That was followed by Monsterpalooza at the Pasadena Convention Center in June. And October Village comes on the heels of Midsummer Scream, which is the largest horror convention around, attracting about 40,000 enthusiasts to Long Beach back in late July.

Meanwhile, Creep I.E. is set to return for its second event of the year with Creep I.E.: Aftermath, scheduled for Sept. 23-24 in Ontario.