The sun brightened the sky on an unseasonably warm day for trick or treating in Granville this year. Starting at 5:30 p.m., trick or treaters had plenty of daylight to dash through Granville’s downtown and become the first of hundreds of trick or treaters on the infamous Granger Street.
Just days before the big event, Gio Pierson, 9, came across his new scary disguise: the horror character Ghostface from Scream.
Gio’s little brother Leo, 8, was still deciding what his new costume would be during a family shopping trip at Spirit Halloween in Heath. He held a Dr. Pepper bathrobe and Fortnite pickle slippers decked out in gold chains at his side.
“They’re there for style,” said Leo, showing off his slippers proudly.
The first Spirit Halloween opened in 1983 in Hayward, California’s Southland Mall. The store is now considered the largest Halloween retailer in the United States with more than 1,500 seasonal locations. Spirit Halloween stores typically open during August and close a day or two after Halloween.
The Piersons, from Utica, made a swift visit to the store just two days before beggar’s night, because both boys decided on last minute costume changes.
Their mother, Miranda, said that shopping at Spirit Halloween has become an yearly outing.
Since the two boys were homeschooled, “they get to be whatever they want,” said Pierson. “I know the schools [in Utica] probably don’t allow scary things.”
But Gio and Leo want to make a scary impression at Utica’s trick-or-treat.
“Scary stuff would terrorize the little kids,” said Leo. “That’s what I want to do.”
According to the store manager Chrissy Enlow and assistant manager Jacob Grimmett, the most popular Halloween costumes this year are a mix of scary and popular. These include K-Pop Demon Hunters, Coraline, the Joker and other superhero universe characters, Ghostface from Scream, Jason from Friday the 13th, and humorous costumes were all confirmed to be favorites.
“My favorite part of working here is coming in and actually helping somebody figure out what they would like,” Enlow said. “My kids are all grown up so I can’t watch everybody else get dressed up except for seeing them come and get their costumes.”
While younger kids often come to buy full costumes, some older shoppers buy T-shirts, jewelry or other accessories.
“They obviously try to buy something fun or something cute,” said Enlow. “We have discounts on a lot of the accessory items.”
Max Dupler, 19, was already planning on buying white furry leg warmers and ears to complete her costume of “Ned,” a white furry creature created by Tyler Joseph from the band Twenty One Pilots. Cox, also 19, was going to be a zombie nurse.
A study done by the National Retail Federation suggested that this year Halloween costume spending could reach a whopping $13.5 billion this year, and for costumes alone, $4.4 billion.
Dupler, Cox and their friend were trying on masks in an aisle with a bunch of horror characters. One of them put on a mask of Poppy from the popular horror game, Poppy Playtime. Dupler and Cox emitted giggles and patted the forehead of the fluffy blue monster.
The shelves at Spirit Halloween can be a bit sparse on the final days leading up to Halloween, but the customers never leave it well-enough alone.
“If you want to see more shoppers here, I’d come back the day before Halloween; definitely people will be swarming the place to get last-minute costumes,” said Dupler.
Fog blanketed Granville after the sun set during trick-or-treating.
Photo by Dion Coleman
Maddie Miller, dressed as Princess Peach from Mario Kart, said her family wanted to go with a theme recognizable to trick or treaters this year. Her father, an engineer, built a Mario Kart track in the front yard of their home, inviting trick or treaters to stop for a minute and cross the finish line with either a Princess Peach or Mario toy car.
Photo by Maddie Luebkert
Brian Miller (back left), Sonja Miller (back right), Josh Turner (front left), Emma Miller (front center) and Maddie Miller (front right) dressed as characters from Super Mario and Mario Kart.
Photo by Maddie Luebkert
Josh Turner, dressed as Mario from Mario Kart, hands out candy to trick-or-treaters on Halloween in Granville.
Photo by Shaye Phillips
The Millers built a large Mario Kart-inspired race track outside their home as part of their Halloween decorations.
Photo by Maddie Luebkert
Clark Robbins, 6, dressed as the London Tube for Halloween. His father, Justin Robbins, works as a transportation planner.
Photo by Maddie Luebkert
Thomas Albrecht, 6, is already completing 7th grade math problems according to his mom. So it shouldn’t have been a surprise that Thomas chose pi as his Halloween costume this year. Thomas included 32 digits of pi on his costume this year, though he and his parents say that he can name 17 digits from memory.
Photo by Maddie Luebkert
Downtown Granville is a popular spot for trick-or-treating in Licking County.
Photo by Dion Coleman
Dawn Harr and Colin Leveque dressed as a wiffle ball and a pickle ball paddle this year. Leveque coaches pickleball and tennis at a country club, but he says the costume wasn’t his idea.
“Our grandson bought them for us,” Leveque said.
Photo by Maddie Luebkert
The Robbins Hunter Museum, a historic museum in Granville, joined in on trick or treat this year for the first time in five years. Shauna Orr (center), director of the museum, said she was excited to meet trick or treaters and hand out candy this year. Abigail Pawlikowski (left) and Orr’s daughter Caitlin (right), joined her, dressed as a princess.
Photo by Maddie Luebkert
Paul Campbell said his nurse’s aide made his scary mask for him. He was caught surprising and spooking unsuspecting trick-or-treaters throughout the night.
Photo by Shaye Phillips
Alex Graban dressed as Woodstock and Kane Longwell dressed as Snoopy.
Photo by Maddie Luebkert
Mickenzie Beverly dressed as Snow White, but apologized for wearing plain white and gray socks.
“My little sister dressed up as Cinderella and she’s shy so I decided to dress up as Snow White to make her feel more comfortable tonight,” she said.
Photo by Shaye Phillips
Downtown Granville is a popular spot for trick-or-treating in Licking County.
Photo by Dion Coleman
Downtown Granville is a popular spot for trick-or-treating in Licking County.
Photo by Dion Coleman
Downtown Granville is a popular spot for trick-or-treating in Licking County.
Photo by Dion Coleman
Taylor Grills (left) and Ian Walker dressed up for Halloween.
Photo by Dion Coleman
Residents around downtown Granville often distribute thousands of pieces of candy to visitors during trick-or-treat.
Photo by Dion Coleman
Granville residents got creative with Halloween decor this year.
Photo by Dion Coleman
Downtown Granville is a popular spot for trick-or-treating in Licking County.
Photo by Dion Coleman
Trick-or-treaters look at interactive Halloween decorations, including a bubbling cauldron.
Photo by Dion Coleman
Jaiden Webster (right), Taylor Webster (left) and their 1-year-old child Miles Webster went as beekeepers and their bee.
Photo by Eva Altizer
Jefferson Road in Newark is a popular trick-or-treat spot, and residents often go all-out with decorations.
Photo by Eva Altizer
Owen Beamer (back left), Lindsey Beamer (back right) and their children Damien (bottom left) and Ellwyn (bottom right) went as the Scooby Doo gang for Halloween in Newark.
Photo by Eva Altizer
Trick-or-treaters pass by a large skeleton in a yard in Granville.
Photo by Shaye Phillips
Carl the pug dressed as a minion from Despicable Me.
Photo by Maddie Luebkert
Andrea and Ricardo Hall and their dog, Murphy, handed out candy throughout the evening.
Photo by Maddie Luebkert
Ghosts haunting the front of the Granville Public Library.
Photo by Maddie Luebkert
Some houses in Granville created spooky displays for trick-or-treating.
Photo by Maddie Luebkert
Granger Street in Granville, particularly around the Granville Elementary School, is a popular destination on trick-or-treat night.
Photo by Maddie Luebkert
Story by Shaye Phillips, Emily Deck and Maddie Luebkert. Photos by Phillips, Luebkert, Dion Coleman, Eva Altizer and Evy LaBare.
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