What’s trending at the now-open Spirit Halloween store in South End
The bright-orange sign for Spirit Halloween just went up at 2130 South Blvd. and the doors opened Tuesday. This store (complete with the background noise of blood-curdling screams) is only here in the old By Design space until the first week of November and will have a sale the day after Halloween with items 50 percent off. Other nearby locations are in Matthews, University and Monroe.
I walked in and was promptly creeped out by the first display, which featured a tombstone with an arm coming out of it, a bleeding doll with a dagger, and a skeleton swinging on a swing and singing to himself.
He alternately spit out lyrics like “Has your mother ever told you that it’s OK to play with dead things?” and cackled demonically.
Happy early Halloween, #clt. @spirithalloween at 2130 South Blvd.
A video posted by CharlotteFive (@cltfive) on Sep 1, 2016 at 2:21pm PDT
I moved on and got a look at what’s trending here for Halloween costumes:
A circus freak theme
I once had a jolly clown called “Confetti” at a childhood birthday of mine, but I swear clowns and other circus folk have started looking more deranged since then. Let’s blame slasher flicks. Costume pieces range from a Checked Corset ($29.99), to a Harlequin Kit ($19.99), to a Clown Nose ($1.99).
A Suicide Squad category
Kelly Clark, sales associate at Spirit Halloween, said she thinks this could end up being one of the most popular costume categories this year, since it’s based on a recent film called (you guessed it) “Suicide Squad.” Now that I know Jared Leto stars in this movie, I may have to watch it.
Lighthearted, simplistic options
Maybe you’re more the life-of-the-party, boisterous type who doesn’t need a crazy costume for people to notice you. Consider the Beer Pint ($29.99), Smiley Poo ($29.99) or, perhaps the Beef Taco ($39.99).
Couples’ ensembles
Go ahead, you know you want to. You and your special someone can shop around from Peanut Butter and Jelly ($39.99), to Soap and Loofa ($59.99), to Bacon and Egg ($49.99).
The standard sexy costumes
I always hated it in college when guys would point out that Halloween is the holiday where girls have an excuse to dress “slutty.” But the costumes still show up every year: Sailor Pinup ($49.99), Spanish Pirate ($59.99) and Criminally Sexy ($44.99) are here, for starters.
The fairytale approach
Think Fairytale Darling (basically Snow White, $49.99), Storybook Prince ($49.99) and Bad Apple Cutie (again, basically Snow White, but sexier, $49.99).
Parents, there’s a section of cute kids costumes too, ranging from Batman to Sweet Raccoon.
While you’re here, don’t forget to stock up on face paint or other odds and ends like tiaras and animated chainsaws ($44.99). And definitely don’t miss out on the traumatizing lawn ornaments. You can find them in the back by the haunted hotel setup. Who doesn’t need an Attack Spider ($99.99) or a Roaming Creepy Bear ($69.99)?
Hours
Photos: Katie Toussaint
This story was originally published September 2, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "What’s trending at the now-open Spirit Halloween store in South End."