If you see gangs of girls in black dresses, wearing combat boots and staring sullenly ahead this carnival season, they will probably be channelling their inner Wednesday.

According to party shops, costumes for the beloved yet morbid Addams Family character are in high demand, with some outlets reporting they are already sold out ahead of the event at the end of this week.

“The demand is out of this world,” said Charmaine Galea from Bemania party shop.

“I think this year Valletta will be packed with Wednesdays. We sold about 72 costumes and have a waiting list of over 30. I think if we had 300 costumes, we would have sold them all.”

Chehryar Ahmed, from Once Upon A Time party shop, agreed: “We had hundreds and they were sold out,” he said. While most costumes were for children, even adults asked for Wednesday outfits.

Nichol Chetcuti from Mecca Carnival and Toy Center also sold out his supply of Wednesday costumes.

“They are asking for the costumes and the wigs,” he said, adding that had he forecast the popularity he would have ordered more.

Another popular costume, he said, was Pikachu from Pokémon. Then there were the usual children’s generic costumes portraying clowns, princesses, police officers and animal characters.

But Wednesday beat them all.

I think this year Valletta will be packed with Wednesdays- Charmaine Galea, Bemania party shop

It’s all down to the Netflix series, Wednesday, which is one of the streamer’s most popular series of all time.

The Tim Burton series follows the teenage Wednesday, played by Jenna Ortega, who is banished to a boarding school after emptying a bag of piranhas into her former school’s swimming pool.

The American coming-of-age supernatural comedy horror television series revolves around the sharp-witted but emotionally reserved teen as she attempts to solve a murder mystery.

Her colour palette is strictly black and white, but the updated, modern version of the look has attracted the Gen Z generation – those born between 1997 and 2012 – and younger children.

Wednesday, played by Jenna Ortega, has inspired a sell-out trend. Photo: Shutterstock.com

But the story of Wednesday started decades ago. She was one of a series of unnamed and unrelated cartoon characters created by cartoonist Charles Addams in The New Yorker in 1938.

He named Wednesday based on the Monday’s Child nursery rhyme line: “Wednesday’s child is full of woe”. The characters were named and brought together, under the name Addams Family, for a 1964 television series.

The Addams Family – consisting of Gomez and Morticia Addams, their children Wednesday and Pugsley, close family members Uncle Fester and Grandmama, butler Lurch and Thing, a disembodied hand – have made multiple comebacks, including six films.

This latest iteration of Wednesday appears to be the most popular yet.

And for those who really want to get into character as the morbid teen obsessed with the macabre, there is a Wednesday dance, which has taken TikTok by storm.

Carnival takes place from Feb­ruary 17 to 21 with the main celebrations taking place in Valletta.