Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2021/10/19/the-spirit-in-spirit-halloween-doesnt-refer-to-ghosts-and-other-secrets-of-the-bizarre-seasonal-store.html
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Huh, never knew that.
I generally end up buying something from them each year for the holiday.
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So pick up a costume & a fifth of Whiskey, ok I’m good with that.
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You are dedicated to Trick ‘r Treat!
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I’ve got my Halloween spirit.
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Yeah, it’s a fun place. Mrs Peas and I actually use it for our year-round decor needs. Which reminds me that we need to restock on all of the skulls the Littlest Pea has smashed over the past few years. Most of them were disposable, but a few were part of our wedding. 
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As a Halloween fan I guess I’m happy for their success, but I’m amazed at how much money people are willing to spend on the stuff in those stores. I generally make my family’s costumes from scratch so my sense of appropriate prices may be warped, but some of their stuff seems really overpriced. My daughter wants to be a vampire this year so I went into the store looking for fangs. It was $20 for just two fangs that might not have even fit her, so I passed. Got a large assortment of fangs from Amazon for half the price.
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Oh, so kind of like how Party City got its name from “Jedediah Party & Sons Wholesale Plasticware Distributors.”
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Wow, your household sounds quite fun!
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In 1983, the entrepreneur owned a women’s clothing store in California, per Vox . A neighboring costume store did very well during Halloween — and when that store shut down, Marver pivoted his own business to costumes.
The “Spirit” name was pure coincidence. Marver wasn’t inspired by Halloween ghosts, but by the name of his shuttered store (Spirit Women’s Discount Apparel).
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wow, it totally makes sense that it’s related to the old Spencer’s Gifts. same sensibility as far as disposable crap goes.
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Yeah, that’s how we lure them in.
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Closeout sales. You probably won’t get exactly what you’re looking for, but it’s a killer way to stock up.
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I once had a coworker whose home decor was a creepy-cool mashup of Disney villain memorabilia and Living Dead Dolls - it was very whimsical and always made me smile.
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I guess for kids they serve a purpose, but as an adult I never find anything worth buying there (especially for the price). With the upscalification of everything, I would think there is a market opportunity for a brand that focuses on quality.
Wait, so then why was the discount dress store named Spirit?
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I love Halloween but despise this trend of giant inflatable yard props. They look cheap and stupid and will end up as shredded sheets of forever vinyl plastic floating in the ocean. We are a very short-sighted species with bad taste.
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“Not sure if anyone else saw this, but it seems the best use for this corner of my childhood”
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