Spirit Halloween Stores

[@mushroomfusion245]

“Every year for a month or two, the spirit of Halloween possesses a dead building, then disappears.” When you put it like that, it makes complete sense.

[@Meals-sh9fs]

Fun fact: Sears is the company responsible for this!

[@79bigcat]

Their niche is protected because other, more generalized stores start rolling out their christmas stuff. So you will have skeletons staring at fake pine trees and nutcrackers like the climax to a Nighmare before Christmas sequel where halloween is getting invaded.

[@cxfxcdude]

Tim Burton, we need you. Make this movie

[@SueDonym-qx7or]

If somebody manages to convince him to do this, I assure you, my heart will beat out of my chest in joy.

[@thesadisticskitty]

Actually sounds like a cool idea for a sequel, a bunch of elves rallied together by Krampus to seek retribution against Jack for ruining Christmas that one time by trying to extend Christmas festivities up to consume Halloween's timeslot.

[@Eternus_transmogrifus49]

I think that might’ve actually been the inspirational prompt that was the basis for the movie

[@RaichuWizDom]

@@thesadisticskitty Toss in a massive knife-wielding Stallu/Stallo, constantly followed by the ominous howling of a dog, but with no dogs to be seen, and you've got my vote. They're the perfect monster to use in something both Halloween and Christmas-themed. Heck, a Stallo would have a legitimate reason to want to go after Rudolph with that glowing nose of his; Rudolph would be a legitimate threat to him. (Seriously, look that one up, especially the version that's being popularised these days. It's an absolutely mental thing concept- and design-wise, and it's a crime that monster isn't in any DnD manual.)

[@meltingmug]

Spirit Halloween is objectively the most liminal store experience possible. It literally _ceases to exist_ once Fall is over. You’re there. You buy a silly costume. You leave. It’s gone.

[@valbrown3352]

It’s always fun to see which recently deceased business will get possessed by spirit Halloween each year. This year it was the party city. Last year it was a store in the mall (sears I think). Next year? Who knows!

[@ConstantChaos1]

I think mine is an old aromatherapy shop/salon this year (it's in nebraska every store is large enough to hold the spirit of Halloween reincarnate)

[@characookie241]

Calling it getting possessed by spirit Halloween now. (It's even a spirit lol)

[@darienb1127]

I know i've seen it possess the corpse of a K-Mart.

[@sabliath9148]

My local Spirit Halloween seems to rotate between several different storefronts. Usually, it's in the mall in a corner slot adjacent to the food court. One year, it was in a much larger building across the street from Target, and this year it's in the former Sears location, which has also lived a life as a multi course race track for slot cars (or something to that regard, I never went inside while it was in that configuration).

[@thehunterator520]

can confirm, spirit halloween stores exist. the one near me is in an old sears, and there was a different one that was in a toys r us a few years ago.

[@Axolautism]

I've never heard it described like this but yeah that's 100% how Spirit Halloween works

[@CassiDS]

And lemme tell ya, it's no less magical just because there's a logical explanation to its existence.

[@meeb_consumer]

It's real life worldbuilding!!

[@MTExactly]

In my home city, there's a single building on a bustling main street that, for at least the 25 years I've been alive, has never been used for anything other than a Spirit Halloween. It's just *there* for like, 8 months, and then BOOM, Spirit Halloween. And just as soon as it came, it vanishes once more into the void as the witching hour reaches its conclusion. I'm actually gobsmacked by just how stealthy they can be.

[@darienb1127]

It's always fun (and sometimes frustrating) to see where they'll pop up next. I say frustrating because sometimes they pop up in areas with really high traffic.

[@sanga1380]

I can attest, even in a small town there will be a random storefront that is never used. Then POW, it becomes a Halloween store over night. You could say Jack Skelington visits each store delivering Halloween spirit.

[@YouveBeenMegged]

1:47 Omgs this is the _best_ way of saying it Can confirm this phenomenon, one just set up near my campus. Don’t even know what the place used to be.

[@xdonthave1xx]

“So you’re telling me that every year for a month or two the Spirit of Halloween possesses a dead building then disappears?” When you say it that way, that’s adorable.

[@RubyCheetahCub]

I heard that one Spirit Halloween store used a mall. Not one of the store fronts in the mall, but the entire mall itself.

[@arbikiuszelemelek3347]

Migratory bird business model

[@coacobird]

The place where our sears used to be is now a spirit halloween (and it had been empty for YEARS) so yes, yes they do get haunted by the spirit of Halloween

[@Spark_Chaser]

There's a Whole Foods near me that got a new location built across the street from its old location. They moved into the new location within the past few months. The corpse of the old Whole Foods was possessed by Spirit Halloween in September.

[@chonflis3834]

Necromancy for stores

[@UvularBean81269]

I have one in my town as well. I hear it's a very fun place to work. The business also probably makes a ton of money because they are only open at their most profitable times. Then, they don't have to worry about paying for workers or buildings for the rest of the year. You would also think that such a temporary store would be done kind of poorly, but no. They actually have a ton of effort put into them. The atmosphere is properly spooky. The workers are friendly and helpful. And everything is super well organized.

[@henreymichelson]

I love the little evil circus or whatever they have

[@UvularBean81269]

@@henreymichelson I've never seen that.

[@henreymichelson]

@@UvularBean81269 relay it’s made of cardboard with a bunch of those animatronics

[@Arkylie]

I just wanna know whether they have a warehouse somewhere with stock, or whether they only ever specifically buy items right that year and don't have to house anything between years.

[@The_Huntsman]

Can confirm, a spirit Halloween took over the local Costco corpse

[@nutella_wewerehere]

The company that my dad used to work at before it shut down years ago was turned into a Spirit Halloween last year. It was hilarious to see.

[@CrustyFox87]

I’ve only been to one Spirit Halloween store when I was much younger, and the atmosphere and decorations definitely did their job because I was freaked out lol

[@justaghostinthesea]

Hey, I work at one of these! I'd recommend getting a job there, they're much more likely to hire you given the nature of the store. Pay tends to be pretty decent (not liveable, but it's better than nothing),and it gets you experience. Plus, if you do well, there's a chance you could get your employment transferred over to a Spencers, the parent company!

[@Darranis_Kuningasverinen]

Yeah no working for them is the worst mistake you can make if you don't want to rip people off

[@timfunnydragon]

​@@Darranis_Kuningasverinen No, the Halloween stuff is worth it

[@axelprino]

Wait, Spencers is an actual store? I thought it was a made up thing by the author of this webcomic I used to read.

[@timfunnydragon]

@@axelprino yes, it's real. Imagine hot topic but more sluttier

[@justaghostinthesea]

@axelprino Honestly, I've never been to one and I'm not even sure they exist, but there name is on all the merchandise, so I'm inclined to believe it

[@brickandmortor1251]

i went to a spirit halloween store the other day and found a book that i thought was interesting, one of death and rituals, but when i went to check out the cashier mentioned they never had seen this book in their store before. we laughed at the thought of this being a classic horror moview set-up.

[@fib900]

Spirit Halloween’s are the undead of stores.

[@beingmegucaissuffering.5326]

The funniest part of living in the rust belt is that spirit halloween gets to set up shop in the same empty storefront every year

[@fictionfan0]

I love this store. Even if I don't go there every year, it's always a good spot to look for whatever costume I'm working on that year. And even beyond that, seeing all the decorations and spooky stuff they have just scratches that Halloween itch.

[@LightIceAurora]

You could say….They… they… they are the spirits of other dead stores!

[@RANima71498]

Anyone else grew up thinking the name of this store was Spirit OF Halloween and then found out years later the OF didn’t ever exist?

[@LadyBakeneko]

I work at a Spirit Halloween! If you don't mind me explaining some of the magic, the walls and shelves are all constructed from pegboards framed in metal. Each individual frame can be stood up and connected to other frames by 2-3 people working together. All the stores recieve a thick instruction manual explaining how to set up and power displays like IKEA furniture. A practiced and well-lead group can cobble together a 1600 ft² store in under a week. Theoretically, anyway. Given that Spirit is the very definition of seasonal work, experience levels and leadership skills can vary heavily.

[@murmurghle]

OH MY GOD I thought they were something like a hobby store for the rest of the year

[@jacobcox4565]

I made the mistake of looking behind the curtain labelled " Employees Only." I saw boxes that were presumably full of extra stock in the middle of a dead mall. The storefronts across the way were dark, the escalators didn't move, there was no sound on the other side. It was like going into a level of the backrooms. The store was so full of life. There were decorations and costumes, animatronics and accessories. Halloween themed songs played on speakers throughout the store. It was so busy, but the second you go behind the curtain, it was like stepping into another world, a quiet world, a forgotten world. The feeling I got was eerie, like walking through a cemetery. It's the same feeling you get when you stare down a long corridor that only leads to darkness. Knowing that one day there won't be a Spirit Halloween store anymore until next year, and that for only one month only a fraction of it will have life again is so surreal.

[@hoodiesticks]

I've seen Spirit Halloweens in my city around a half dozen times, and I can never remember what used to exist there before it. Empty storefronts are rare, surely I would've noticed if there had been an empty storefront in that spot the entire time. So what was it? And then, when I eventually return to the plaza and the Spirit Halloween is gone, I can't remember which spot it used to occupy. All the stores feel like they were probably there the whole time. As far as I can tell, Spirit Halloweens just ... *emerge* out of the space between stores, and then reality folds back in on itself when it's time for them to disappear.

[@Ciara_Turner]

As someone who isnt from the US, the idea of spirit Halloween is so alien to me

[@fictionfan0]

What, you don't have any kind of store (holiday-themed or otherwise) that just appears for a specific time of year before disappearing for nine-ish months?

[@grishakaleesh4207]

Or like the fireworks tents that pop up a month or so before the fourth of July and sell overpriced rockets and firecrackers? Then just ☆poof☆​ are gone in a flash (and hopefullynot a bang 😂) @fictionfan0

[@ConstantChaos1]

I'm sorry for your misfortune They also sell some legit occult shit too, at least some purifying incenses and what not.

[@kimberlyramin]

It's pretty much just a niche, themed store that saves money by closing when sales would be poor. It's way more cost effective to dedicate your store space to one category of product (in this case, Halloween merch), and be known for that product, at least for marketing purposes. Then, if the product is something seasonal, like Halloween merch again, you can save even more by only renting a storefront and paying employees to operate that front when the product is in season, saving on taxes, personnel, rent/utilities, and materials all at once. And, if you were to do this often enough, your seasonal business would gain something of a reputation and following among the people that enjoy that season the most.

[@forgedabauditt9955]

The Spirit of Halloween is very real... OOGA BOOGAAA I got you, didn't I?

[@rudeskalamander]

Aaaah!

[@darienb1127]

Unfortunately, in recent years the price for stuff as Spirit Halloween has shot up pretty high. It's fun to walk around in, but it's really not worth the price anymore. Probably a combination of online stores and inflation.

[@katiequeen2275]

found out what the beyond department of a bed bath and beyond is when it shut down and is now a spirit halloween

[@TinyDeskEngineer]

It's like a very real version of the shop that sells cursed items and then disappears when you try to return them

[@GhostBear3067]

And avoiding people trying to return items is part of why they operate like that.

[@RadioactiveBluePlatypus]

Honestly I live in Canada and I didn't even know they worked like that. I just assumed that they were always there and I guess I just didn't notice them. Guess I was wrong!

[@amyallen9509]

Came to the video so early the Spirit of Halloween hasn't finished setting up yet 😂.

[@Bobb11881]

"That's not Taylor Swift!" "Neither are you."

[@DocWyldeCard]

Haha, I dig the way the second to last sentence was worded! It’s perfect! >:D

[@usedtobekrampus]

I live in a relatively small city so obviously ours is in an old mall. I won I gift card in an art contest in the local news paper, and the motion activated animatronics psyched me out so much I haven't been back yet. Probably will wen I get my own place

[@mozzapple]

the difference between how Spirit Halloween works and how Bronner's works really shows where america's loyalty lies

[@ConstantChaos1]

Meh, not really, there are just some Christians who are obsessed with xmas Almost everyone I know would take 2 Halloween over haveibg Xmas ever again

[@mihailos8701]

I'm glad about getting more details of these stores, thanks

[@MissEarthling]

It's like an scp

[@nightowlwriter]

And once again, I'm in spooky fever 😁 The most magic month 🤩 The only thing that ruins it are people singing early christmas songs 😑

[@pokefan213]

canada has this too!

[@phastinemoon]

It’s like the real world version of the fictional trope of the spooky little shop that wasn’t there yesterday, and when the protagonist tries to find it again, it’s gone

[@MrTheRandomBucket]

At from my experience, there is something a bit similar with fireworks stores, where every summer a bunch of stores in tents pop up at the edges of cities to sell fireworks. Of course, this is likely because of how fireworks are regulated where I live, oftentimes not being allowed in city limits and only being able to be fired off around New Years and the Fourth of July.

[@sagacious03]

Man, talk about the horrors of capitalism. & I say this as someone who's received discount offers for Spirit Halloween. Fun video! Thanks for uploading!

[@euosvarietychannel6986]

I've been to a Spirit Halloween once. It used to be an Aaron's, but now it's a JoAnn Fabrics

[@joshthehollow5254]

Fun fact: They sell Pomni costumes now. Doesn't have that much to do with the video, just wanted everyone to know that.

[@darienb1127]

Are they official? Or are they the knockoffs that Spirit usually have?

[@joshthehollow5254]

@@darienb1127 knockoffs most likely.

[@sunandshadow6593]

This makes total financial sense. I want this.

[@JoesMama-ci3yl]

Every time I hear about something Europe doesn’t have it seems more and more dystopian.

[@axelprino]

Where I live those commercial spaces that struggle to get rented tend to spontaneously turn into political bunkers during elections season, it'd be a lot more charming if they were used by stores like this but Halloween isn't really a thing here, just a excuse for bars to have a themed party.

[@_issylilymay_]

I was just talking to my sister about this but she didn’t believe me when I said Americans had shops for only halloween!

[@pinkajou656]

we’ve got one called Halloween Alley

[@RasheedaParker-qn9ec]

Awesome 🤩

[@reachandler3655]

Wish we had those in UK.

[@MelodiTheMess]

that happened to a toys r us

[@SakhotGamer]

Why do these videos always have exactly 10 dislikes? Who are the Legendary Team of 10 Haters?

[@treetheenderhyena1880]

reinventing the hurdy gurdy.

[@Thestuffdoer]

I love Spirit Halloween

[@DragonGirlStar]

Why did this video get dislike bombed???? It's like 2/3 likes and 1/3 dislikes

[@thatkingdomheartsguy9615]

Why is Spirit Halloween the weird thing when christmas season starts halfway through October.

[@SarahAbramova]

I wonder where they go when they aren't working

[@battlesheep2552]

But what if i want to get my spook on in January?

[@leeshajoi]

Internet.

[@SlightlySchizophrenic]

​@@leeshajoi Timmy Turner type shit

[@starlightprincess1230]

Found the bojack horseman fan

[@reginaldeggleston1649]

Happy October, so there are Halloween stores that only opens in fall and October and ......just stay closed till next year ? 🤔🤔. Can someone name one store that does this

[@darienb1127]

Oh, you misunderstand. These are not permanent stores. They rent out a space for like two or three months, then they pack up and LEAVE. It's a temporary fixture. Hell, half the time the store will open up halfway across town since that's the venue they were able to rent out.

[@EverythingTheorist]

Not just stay closed, they vacate the store spaces entirely. They pack up the temporary signs and everything from the rented buildings and LEAVE, because the lease is up. For instance, you cannot enter a Spirit Halloween store in February, even as a burglar or trespasser. It'll be an empty space owned not by Spirit Halloween, but by whoever owns that local mall or shopping center.

[@dacphunguyen1287]

i am back once again

[@FennecFeather-wx7jj]

what the hell, america why

[@rowandunning6877]

Wait yeah why don’t they just…change between seasons

[@darienb1127]

That's because they're not a permanent store. They're owned by Spencer's (think like an edgy Hot Topic with dildos in the back). So the idea is that they have a bunch of merchandise specifically for Halloween, find a venue where they can rent out for cheap, sell a bunch of it for the season, then pack it all up and do it again next year. They can do this since Spirit is not the main company, just an extension of a bigger one.

[@aldar8240]

while i enjoy your videos, the whole "press the algorithm button" schtick played mid-video while I'm trying to read the text is just annoying; since you do it at the end anyway, can't you just... not do it in the middle, please?

[@5192aaron]

Wait, this is ONLY an American thing? Y'all don't have this overseas?

[@GhostBear3067]

Halloween is not particularly common outside of North America. In some places it is assumed to be a fictional holiday for TV shows and movies.

[@5192aaron]

@GhostBear3067 I didn't know that either! Interesting!