If you're looking for a President Donald Trump mask for Halloween there's a variety at Spirit, the Halloween store in Jackson Township.
There's one with a Pinocchio-style nose, a baby Trump and a few others.
"The ones with real textured hair sold out first," assistant manager Shyla Wiggins said.,
As for Trump's campaign rival, there's just one style of Joe Biden mask at Spirit, a caricature with a prominent overbite.
In the Halloween-costume department at Party Place, also in Jackson, there were masks of Trump, Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders and Mitt Romney -- possibly carryovers from the 2016 election -- but no Biden at all. Party Place has a Trump-style wig called Mr. Billionaire.
While COVID-19 certainly will cause Halloween festivities to be scaled-down this year, Wiggins said, costume sales have been solid.
"People are tired of being holed up at home and not doing anything," Wiggins said. Spirit was so busy last weekend, she said, that an employee was counting customers at the door to keep the store within capacity.
Cloth face masks, the kind designed to prevent COVID-19, have been a big seller at Spirit, especially ones imprinted with horror icons Chucky and Jason Voorhees (of "Friday the 13th" fame) and the Camp Crystal Lake sign.
Despite its pandemic timeliness, the hazmat suit costume "is surprisingly not popular this year," Wiggins said. "I feel like people don't want to go there." On the flipside, one of Spirit's top-sellers has been Plague Doctor, consisting of a long black coat and a mask with a really long bird beak.
"It's from the bubonic plague. They'd put incense inside the mask so it wouldn't stink," Wiggins explained.
The 2020 obsession with the Netflix reality series "Tiger King" is represented with costumes resembling main characters Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin titled Mullet Man and Flower Child. There's a T-shirt for people dressing as the vengeful troublemakers known as Karens, displayed with binoculars and pearls.
The DC Comics character Harley Quinn has a wide array of costume pieces and accessories at Spirit, including a clear plastic jacket festooned with caution tape.
Other costumes selling well this year at Spirit have specific pop-culture references, such as the DJ named Marshmello popularized by the online video game Fortnite; the alien mask from the horror movie "Trick 'r Treat"; the astronaut helmet from the online game Among Us; and the characters Akatsuki and Kakashi from the Japanese manga series "Naruto."
Explained Wiggins, "'Naruto' really sensationalized itself during quarantine."
Wandering through Spirit feels a little like visiting a pop-culture museum, with costumes from "Harry Potter," "Scooby Doo," "Beetlejuice," "Rick & Morty," "SpongeBob SquarePants," "The Nightmare Before Christmas," and even Bob Ross and "Teletubbies." (The manager at Party Place declined to answer questions about Halloween merchandise.)
Also popular destinations for Halloween costumes are the local Goodwill stores.
"Halloween is our biggest season at Goodwill and we make a big deal out of it. Every store is set up with its own Boo-Tigue," said Maureen Ater, vice-president of marketing and development at Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio.
At Goodwill stores, people can assemble costumes from donated items and new Halloween accessories.
"It can be a one-stop shop. For a pirate costume, you can pick up donated shirt pants and shoes, then we have new products like wigs, an eye patch and sword. We even have a parrot that attaches to your shoulder."
Other popular costumes at Goodwill are prom queens, princesses and zombie brides -- "anything that involves donated formal gowns and party dresses," Ater said. Used children's Halloween costumes, mostly worn just once, are plentiful.
"Our prices are 50 to 90% less than you would spend at the pop-up stores, and every dollar you spend is an investment in the community," Ater said.
Reach Dan at 330-580-8306 or dan.kane@cantonrep.com
On Twitter: @dkaneREP
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