Halloween is coming up scary fast, so it’s time for me to take the yearly trip to Spirit Halloween. As I arrive, I’m preparing myself for all the horrors that are waiting for me on the inside. The building is big and made of cream-colored bricks with red, yellow, green, and blue tile, as this Spirit Halloween used to be a Toys R Us. It’s trying to trick me.

As I walk in, I become overwhelmed with nostalgia from all the past years I’ve entered this store. I become very excited. I first notice the display at the front of the store with animatronics surrounding it. Killer Clowns and Spooky Jumping Spiders are always a good treat. I then head over to the costumes, the best part, in my opinion. They have isles and isles of costumes packaged in a nice plastic with a piece of cardboard in the front, demonstrating what the costume looks like. Everything looks better quality compared to the other costume stores. Most are reused from the years before, so I can’t deny the little bit of disappointment I am feeling.

I start at the front, which consists mainly of famous horror killers such as Freddy Krueger from Nightmare on Elm Street, Ghostface from Scream, the clown from It, and many more. I have my eye on the woman’s Chucky outfit, but I look through the others before making my final decision. I move over to the characters from movies, TV shows, and even some video games. This is where I find costumes such as the witches from Hocus Pocus, Fortnite characters, and characters from some of the year’s biggest hit shows. This year it was mainly Stranger Things. As I move to the back, I go through the decades. The 2000s Y2K look, then the 90s, then the 80s, all the way to the flapper era. However, nothing catches my eye like the woman’s Chucky outfit in the front. So, I head back to the front and pick it up along with a Chucky cut-up sweater with the words “good guys” placed on the front in fun, red font.

I then head over to the back of the store. They have many isles composed of different themes. One is The Nightmare Before Christmas, where I pick up a blanket to buy since it would look great on my bed. I pass other isles: wicked witches, masquerades, daunting dolls, Beetlejuice, and crazed clowns, all the way to the left of the store, where I discover all the masks. My favorite is this unique full bunny mask made to look like a scarecrow. It is tempting, but $50, which added to the price of my other items, will go way over my price range. I disappointedly leave the mask behind and go up to the front.

The first thing that catches my eye is the mugs, specifically, an American Horror Story mug. That is definitely going to come home with me. “Ooh, they have Jewelry,” I think to myself as I turn to see the other side. A smile emerges. I look at them for a moment, then make the conscious decision to go ahead and check out. But wait, first a pair of Halloween socks, then I’m all ready to go. I’m a little spooked to see the total price; it is about 170 dollars. Scary but worth it. You’re always in for a treat when you go to Spirit Halloween.