Horror Report

Tag: spirit halloween

  • When we shop, we shop with the spirit!

    When we shop, we shop with the spirit!

    A couple of years ago, when Spirit Halloween somehow managed to turn itself into an actual movie, it pretty much solidified what had already been happening for years: Spirit Halloween had become part of pop culture and annual traditions..

    For decades, the annual appearance of a Spirit Halloween has been one of the first unofficial signs that summer is dying. Suddenly, your favorite dilapidated former Ames, Kmart, Sears, or whatever other retail chain disappeared 15 years ago has a giant orange SPIRIT HALLOWEEN banner hanging across the front.

    Those sliding doors open once again.. and large animatronics greet you in earnest..

    THE HAUNTING EXPANSION

    Spirit Halloween is part of Spencer Spirit Holdings, the company behind Spencer’s, and now that retail family is apparently about to become a behemoth.

    Spencer Spirit Holdings, Inc. announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Sycamore Partners to acquire Hot Topic, Inc. and its portfolio of brands: Hot Topic, BoxLunch, and Her Universe.

    That would put six pretty recognizable retail concepts under one corporate umbrella and give the combined company a footprint of more than 3,000 stores across North America.

    Think about that for a second.

    Spirit Halloween. Spencer’s. Hot Topic. BoxLunch. Her Universe.

    This is basically the Avengers of people who buy Halloween decorations, Stranger Things shirts, anime merchandise, lava lamps, Funko Pops, and things they absolutely did not intend to purchase when they walked into the mall.

    And this also has us wondering about something else.

    Spirit Christmas has already started appearing. So if the Spirit empire keeps growing, how long before the abandoned retail spaces of America simply belong to Spirit year-round?

    Spirit Christmas.

    Spirit Easter.

    Spirit Valentine’s Day.

    Spirit Fourth of July.

    And while we’re at it, why not Spirit Indigenous Peoples’ Day?

    The Spirit will never leave.

    I think everyone would be fine with that.

    Because Spirit Halloween openings over the last couple of years — and especially this year — have started becoming more than just a date on the calendar. They’re becoming actual events. There’s music. There’s cosplay. There are crowds waiting for the doors to open.

    Adults temporarily pausing their day jobs, bills, responsibilities and ordinary lives for a brief lapse into ghoulish immaturity.

    No judgment here. We will most likely be stopping at just about every Spirit Halloween we see over the next several weeks as the fall decorating season begins.

    So get ready.

    A lot more retail space may soon be donning the Spirit family logo.

    And we have a feeling that someday it might not just be Halloween.

    Coming soon to a closed-down former retail space near you:

    Spirit Everything..

  • Getting the early Spirit

    Getting the early Spirit

    Spirit Halloween’s are slowly opening across the country now that it’s august, the Augtober tradition continues.

    This year’s big draw seems to be the five nights at Freddy’s animatronic along with the really tall Michael Myers.

    When we visited the closest spirit Halloween that’s open near us in Pennsylvania we were greeted with the animatronic of Freddy fazbear but it was sold out. And shockingly the Michael Myers was available but something looks strange about his hair and his giant overbite.

    But that’s okay, ’tis the season and it’s time for the spirit.

    So welcome to the Halloween season of 2026, ready or not the summer heat will fade and the fall leaves will shower your local Spirit parking lot..

  • Keeping the Halloween SPIRIT a little longer

    Keeping the Halloween SPIRIT a little longer

    Halloween is over. The Spirit Halloween stores are packing up, lights going off, signs disappearing, and those empty retail shells will sit silent again… at least until next August when they reawaken like they always do.

    But — you might notice something different this year. A few of those locations aren’t going dark. They’re turning into Spirit Christmas.
    And honestly? That’s kind of amazing.

    We’re completely on board with Spirit Halloween existing. It has become a tradition. A yearly pilgrimage. A seasonal personality trait. And if Spirit Christmas wants to step into the game and bring some of that same energy into December, we welcome it. Why not? Let weirdness continue all year long.

    However — when outlets like Gizmodo start writing about it, it does start to feel like a little product-placement whisper campaign. Their article highlights that Spirit Christmas will be selling an exclusive Art the Clown “Terrifier” Christmas sweater. Yes… Art the Clown. For Christmas.

    We love horror. We love creepy. We love a little darkness mixed into the tinsel and eggnog. But Art the Clown is… let’s just say… a strong choice for holiday cheer. There are plenty of horror icons that blend nicely with Christmas themes — Krampus, Black Christmas, Gremlins, Jack Skellington — but a child-murdering clown who blows up shopping malls might be a bit of a leap for the family fireplace mantel.
    But hey — to each their own. If you want to deck the halls with decapitation, no one is stopping you.

    The reality is that Spirit Christmas will not be nearly as widespread as Spirit Halloween — at least not yet. It’s more of a test run. Only select stores. Only certain markets. But if people show up, if the ugly sweaters sell, if the creepy ornaments fly off shelves… expect this to grow.

    And honestly, we’ve always had a soft spot for keeping a little creepy in Christmas. There’s something fun about breaking the overly-sanitized Hallmark version of the holiday and letting the weird spirits in.

    So we say:

    The more the merrier.
    Deck the halls.
    Light your balls.
    Wear your Terrifier sweater if you dare.
    Let Christmas get a little strange.

    ‘Tis the season. 🎄🩸