A trend that continues to grow year after year in America is the rising interest in Halloween by average adults. Us nostalgia geeks have long loved Halloween for things like its schlocky horror movies, kitschy advertising, and unique or limited edition collectibles, snacks, and drinks. However, with the rise of "nerd culture" in America, regular everyday Americans are getting into the act, too.
One of my favorite things about Halloween as a kid was taking a trip to the party supply store a few towns over in Nanuet, New York. I believe it may have been a Party City, but part of me wants to believe it was a local "mom-and-pop." In any event, it's unfortunately long since closed. Every year, the store would get in the mood for Halloween with spooky music, dim lights, fake cobwebs, and TONS of costumes. It probably wasn't very much compared to today, but it was definitely special back then.
Eventually, Halloween got so big at this store that they used the stock room or some other back room as a seasonal costume-only room. Thinking about things like the fake blood and the cheap plastic vampire teeth... it all brings back so many great memories. I loved it all, even as the scaredy cat kid that I was.
The scene in Pee Wee's Big Adventure when he visits Mario's Magic Shop always makes me think of this store. The room is kind of dark, as was this old store from my youth, as comically creepy music plays while Pee Wee considers his options. He looks at everything from giant plastic ears, trick chewing gum, headlight goggles, and even fake blood. The scene is pretty goofy but has always struck a chord with me and it's one of my favorite scenes in the whole film!
The 80s and 90s proved to be a boom period for the Halloween business, but the holiday first rose to prominence after World War II, thanks in part to a booming economy and companies like Disney opening up licensing of their characters for children's costumes. The holiday experienced another uptick in popularity in the 80s and 90s when the Baby Boom generation had children to share the holiday with. Today, those children have grown up, and Halloween is just as much fun (if not more) for themselves as it is for their own children.
One of the more popular ways to celebrate Halloween these days is to take a trip to your local Spirit Halloween store and come home with an armful of Halloween decorations and goodies.
After seeing my own local Spirit Halloween store "pop up" out of nowhere in early August this year, I began wondering where Spirit Halloween came from. There were always temporary Halloween stores that opened in the mall just in time to buy decorations and a cheap costume, but I feel that in the past few years, Spirit has really taken the reigns on Halloween.
A "pop-up" store is a shop established to be only temporary. You may notice around certain holidays that the empty box store that went out years ago turns into a Christmas ornament store in November and shuts down in January. That's a pop-up.
Never heard of Spirit?
That's a seemingly impossible feat, as these stores have been popping up all across America over the past few years. Drive past any suburban strip mall in the late summer or early Fall, and there's an excellent chance you'll see a bright orange Spirit banner hanging in the place of an old Linens and Things or Toys R Us sign.
Believe it or not, Spirit Halloween has been around since 1983! With four decades in business, Spirit has offered a one-of-a-kind experience that remains unmatched.
Spirit stores begin opening around the country in July and August, marking the start of the highly anticipated Halloween season. Halloween die-hards are ready to celebrate around the clock, but July seems a little early to me. Most Spirit Halloweens will remain open until a few days after Halloween.
Created by Joe Marver in 1983, Spirit opened in the Castro Valley Village Shopping Center in the San Francisco East Bay Area of California. Getting its start as a women's clothing store called "Spirit Women's Discount Apparel," Marver was looking for a change in strategy when his dress sales started to slump.
After watching long lines at a Halloween costume store across the street, he knew he had found his change in strategy. When the costume shop moved to a new location the following year, Marver put his dresses and other women's apparel in storage and loaded his store with Halloween supplies. It was the best October he had ever recorded. The following year, he did it again, but this time, he utilized some temporary space available at a nearby mall. He sold $100,000 in merchandise in just 30 days.
Marver quickly grew Spirit Halloween to 60 seasonal stores nationwide. He said the difference between his Spirit stores and other Halloween shops is the variety and wide assortment of merchandise. Telling The Seattle Times that Spirit's specialty extends "to everything from masks to fake blood." He quipped the blood includes "everything from the fake blood that coagulates to the thin, runny blood, the semi-thick blood, and the one that just lays there like a slug."
Marver's approach to using short-term leases in busy shopping centers while stocking a wide variety of merchandise was considered relatively groundbreaking in terms of Halloween retail stores. Spirit Halloween grew so rapidly that it was acquired by mall-based novelty gift shop giant Spencer's Gifts in 1999. The amount of money that exchanged hands wasn't publicly released, but Marver claims they gave him "a very nice check."
Marver told The Seattle Times in 2000 that he "...didn't invent temporary sales, but I feel like I invented temporary Halloween."
Confirming my feelings that Spirit recently "popped up" out of nowhere, the now Spencer's owned Spirit Halloween grew from 60 stores in 1999 to a 2023 season that includes over 1,500 stores! While the locations may close once the holiday passes, the Spirit Halloween website is available year-round for purchasing your favorite Halloween goodies. In addition to the company website, Spirit has partnered with Insta-Cart to deliver items from the physical stores directly to your house.
The chain carries many name-brand decorations and costumes but also has many store-exclusive items. They carry officially licensed costumes and products reflecting beloved horror and Halloween icons in addition to characters from recent popular culture. Last year, the product lineup included goods from Stranger Things, Disney, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, SpongeBob, Beetlejuice, and Ghostbusters.
Spirit has gained enough of a following of its own that they now sell products based on animatronic characters it created for annual in-store displays. Nightcrawler (a crawling monster), Strawman (a scary scarecrow), and Crouchy (a giant terrifying clown) have all grown so popular that Spirit Halloween produces and sells merchandise and costumes featuring their likenesses.
Today, the network of Spirit Halloween stores is bigger than any other specialty retailer in the category, making an estimated $8.4 billion in sales annually, according to the National Retail Federation. Despite online shopping creating challenges for brick-and-mortar stores, Spirit thrives with in-person purchases due to its relatively low overhead on seasonal rentals of the physical spaces.
Many customers also consider just visiting Spirit Halloween an exciting and interactive event. Store displays, full of giant animatronics and unique decor, are set up to create viral moments or, at the very least, good social media photos. Spirit also provides a selection of costumes for everyone, from infants to adults and even pets.
In 2006, Spencers and Spirit created "Spirit of Children," starting with 11 partner hospitals nationwide. The company's philanthropic arm has raised over $100 million for over 150 partner hospitals, with 100 percent of all donations going directly to the partner hospital's Child Life and Pediatric Departments. This charity aims to make hospitals "less scary for kids and their families."
In 2021, Spirit Halloween reported hiring over 30,000 temporary, seasonal employees. According to a 2020 Mental Floss article, most employees consider themselves "Halloween enthusiasts."
Spirit Halloween doesn't disclose sales numbers, but parent company Spencer Gifts is estimated to bring in more than $400 million annually. After four decades of dominating the market, Spirit Halloween shows no signs of stopping. The National Retail Federation predicts an increase in Halloween participation from 65% to 69%, leading to an estimated $10.7 billion in sales of Halloween goods.
Spirit Halloween has reached such popularity that in April of 2022, Spirit Halloween: The Movie was announced as a film adaptation of the popular store. Christopher Lloyd and Rachel Lee Cook starred in the low-budget thriller that hit theaters on September 30, 2022. Two weeks later, it was available online at several Video on Demand sites. The synopsis on Wikipedia reads:
"In the 1940s, an evil man named Alec Windsor attempts to take down an orphanage so that he can buy the land. He gets cursed by a witch and dies, however, his spirit lived on in the physical realm. In the present day, three friends - Jake, Bo, and Carson - decide to secretly spend Halloween night in a Spirit Halloween store, not realizing it sits on the same land where Windsor was cursed."
The film received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, scoring 4.1 out of 10 on Rotten Tomatoes. At the box office, the film only earned $152,000 globally.
Spirit Halloween was also spoofed in an episode of The Simpsons titled "Halloween of Horror."
Spirit Halloween, searching for viral moments and free advertising, can be proud that two popular internet memes have been created based on the brand. One involves superimposing the Spirit Halloween logo over the sign of a closed or failing place of business. The other superimposes a pop culture object or character onto a costume bag from Spirit Halloween.
Have you visited Spirit Halloween this year? What are you dressing up as this year? Leave me a comment below!
I realize this article may not really be "retro," but we can all remember different Halloweens from our childhood, and Spirit Halloween makes me think of mine.
It also may have sounded like an advertisement for Spirit Halloween, but I assure you, it was not. I did not receive payment for it, nor was I asked to write this. I just thought it was interesting and wanted to learn a little about Spirit, and I thought perhaps you, the reader, would enjoy it too!
However, should Spirit (or anyone else) feel so inclined to sponsor YesterYear, please contact me! :)
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