Halloween has become big business with millions of Americans dressing up for the big night. Costume couture is catching on with hordes of Halloween shoppers looking for that perfect outfit.
One popular stop is Spirit Halloween located at 1101 N. Atherton St. inside the old Blockbuster video store. Spirit Halloween goes the extra mile — stocking everything from cute children’s costumes to ghoulish masks.
Manager Joe Gersch says that even though the store is only open from the end of August to the very beginning of November, it will sell more than most costume stores.
Spirit Halloween is a chain that has 1,050 stores nation-wide, and are the only ones licensed to carry certain costumes from movies and television, such as “The Walking Dead” and “The Hunger Games.”
“We have such a volume,” Gersch says. “We have more than a regular store. We have props for Halloween and we will sell out most of the stuff.”
This year, some of the most popular items include the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Duck Dynasty costumes.
When asked to name the biggest seller, Gersch simply points to a rack filled with something called a “Twerk It.” It’s a couples costume that unofficially recreates Robin Thicke and Miley Cyrus’ outfits at this year’s Video Music Awards.
“It is by far our biggest seller,” Gersch says. “We tried to order more but couldn’t get any more.”
“College kids are our main source of revenue,” Gersch says.
But not everything at Spirit Halloween is meant for the older crowd. The store still has a wide selection of child-friendly costumes.
Tricia Tilburg bought a costume to be Jesse from the Toy Story franchise, to match her two-year-old son who is going to be Buzz Lightyear.
“This is the first year we can do this together,” Tilburg says. “He was so young last year we couldn’t do much.”
Heather House was shopping for a costume that she could wear when she goes trick-or-treating with her three children.
House says she came to Spirit Halloween because she knows they have a wide selection of costumes to choose from. House says she’s trying to be a friendly cat for her children.
“They would get a kick out of an animal over something that is gross and bloody,” House says.
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