ONTARIO, Ohio – Those looking for spooky thrills to liven their Halloween season look no further than Spirit Halloween – the seasonal store that specializes in ghoulish and entertaining costumes, decorations, props and more.
Located at 2190 W. Fourth St. in Ontario, the shop made its annual return about six weeks ago.
There are no shortage of patrons looking to take advantage of what the store has to offer. That’s good news for Manager Emily Argo. Of the many popular costumes levitating off the shelves this year are DC Comics characters Batman and Harley Quinn, he said, as well as other superhero wear.
The shop also offers Halloween decorations, partyware, and animatronics, which Friend said also are top items.
According to a store employee, Cerberus, the three-headed dog, is really popular this year, as well as a devil and a rising doll.
Assistant Manager Morgan Guthrie agreed the robotic props do their job.
“I personally love scary stuff, I love going to haunted things and what not,” Guthrie said. “And with our animatronics, it creeps people out.
“You can hear people scream sometimes when it scares them or something happens that they didn’t expect.”
Guthrie, who lives in Shelby, is working at the store for the first time this year and said there is never a dull moment.
“Since we rent this building, and it’s not a Halloween store all the time, it was pretty stressful setting everything up,” she said while admitting tearing down is a dreadful chore.
“But I really do enjoy working here – you see a variety of different people here daily. Every person’s different.”
There’s more to the Halloween-themed store than chills and thrills.
The “Spirit of Children” campaign encourages people to donate locally.
All of the donations to the Spirit of Children program, which began in 2006, are used locally. According to Spirit Halloween’s website, the program brings “funding to hospitals at Halloween and all year long through support of Child Life at hospitals in local communities.”
In its own words, the program is designed to make hospital stays less scary for kids and their families.
“I love how often people will reach out to something that their exact dollar – not just a portion of what they donate – goes exactly back to them, and I really think it’s a good idea,” Guthrie said.
Since its inception, the program has raised more than $22 million between cash and merchandise donations and have partnered with more than 130 children’s hospitals across the United States and Canada.
“Just because [the job] is temporary, doesn’t mean it’s not helping anything,” Guthrie said.
The Spirit Halloween franchise has been operating for more than 30 years, starting in San Francisco. The company now has more 1,100 stores in the United States and Canada.
The Ontario store will end its season Nov. 2.
