HUNT: Getting into the Spirit

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Six-year-old Myla Milley likes “the scary stuff” when it comes to Halloween.

She’s come to the right place.

Fredericton’s Spirit Halloween is 10,000 square feet of scary — ghouls and goblins and gravestones and all things spooky.

Neither Myla or her dad, Jacob Milley, had made any decisions on a costume just yet – dad was a werewolf last year, but ultimately settled as Beetlejuice. Myla was checking out the display of brains, but ultimately settled on a costume as Sally from Nightmare Before Christmas.

Halloween is next Tuesday. Trick or treat!

Spirit Halloween opened at Fredericton’s Uptown Centre in the first week of August.

Traffic has been “kind of steady…we have our ups and downs,” said Richard Dunham, the district manager for all three New Brunswick locations, including one in Moncton and a newly opened location in Saint John this season.

Dunham believes it’s the displays – whether it be the green ghoul with the bulbous brain, the haunted house with the horror-filled hologram in the roof, or the clown who promises “you’ll die laughing” – that draw people in to look around.

“I’m predicting it’s going to pick up,” said Dunham. “There are last-minute shoppers, the same as Christmas.”

He said Barbie and Wednesday Addams, the child character in the Addams Family, seem to be the most popular costumes this year.

“As soon as they come out, they’re gone,” he said.

Nick Mazerolle and Saxon Lenehan are heading for a musical event in Halifax this weekend – two nights of music and spooky celebration. She’ll be a devil and he will be Jesus – an unlikely pairing, but a neat couple.

“There are a lot of options … a little bit of everything here,” she said as she browsed for accessories.

My whole yard is full of Halloween stuff. And I love horror movies and everything scary

Allie Paul

Byron Plume, 18, and Allie Paul, 17, will be a firefighter and a dalmatian – he’s the firefighter – at a house party they’ll attend with another couple.

“I saw it online and my friend was doing it, so we’ll just do it as a group,” she said.

“I’m looking around now for a fire hat,” he said.

“I was thinking they might have dog ears or a tail or something, and I could just do some makeup on my face,” she said.

They both found what they were looking for, two more happy customers in a spook-filled store full of them.

Halloween is a happy holiday at Allie Paul’s place.

“My mom loves it…she’s everything Halloween,” said Paul. “My whole yard is full of Halloween stuff. And I love horror movies and everything scary.”

So, like little Myla, she was in the right place on this day. There are sections for infants and toddlers, girls, adults – a whole wall of masks and hats. You can even pick up a spooky keychain or a scary pair of socks – and maybe get them scared right off if you walk by one of those displays.