# Spirit Halloween 2016 Fright Squad Theme Predictions



## Restless Acres (Apr 21, 2016)

Are we sure that the bell tower is a theme? Flanking it are trees similar to last year's, and almost all of the props in the video are holdovers. And half of the Spirit stores I have been to (just discovered Spirit last year [don't ask] but I made it to fifteen) would not be able to accommodate a bell tower. I suspect you are correct, just saying. The gargoyles look new (at least for the stores I went to) and they would be consistent with a tower.


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## CCdalek (May 25, 2012)

Restless Acres said:


> Are we sure that the bell tower is a theme? Flanking it are trees similar to last year's, and almost all of the props in the video are holdovers. And half of the Spirit stores I have been to (just discovered Spirit last year [don't ask] but I made it to fifteen) would not be able to accommodate a bell tower. I suspect you are correct, just saying. The gargoyles look new (at least for the stores I went to) and they would be consistent with a tower.


You're right, he bell tower is not 100% certain yet, but I would say based on the video it is at least 90%. The trees were popular enough last year (At least at the stores I went to) that they were being held early in the year for customers to buy at the end of the season. I actually ended up buying one myself seeing as it was more durable than many of the props there, and made for a great display in a variety of themes. Therefore, I wouldn't be surprised if they made more trees for this year to have in yet another theme. 

As for stores that may not be able to fit the tower, as I can see that being a common issue, I know in the past Spirit has excluded parts of a theme from certain stores that would not be able to fit it, for example the front two islands of the asylum in 2013 and the big toppled tower section of the ruins in 2014. I assume they would accommodate smaller stores in a way similar to this, if this theme is in all stores. Also, as you said, the gargoyles are definitely new.


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## CCdalek (May 25, 2012)

I've updated the original post with the Swinging Scarecrow prop, as he was confirmed to be in the first theme by William Powers Channel.


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## Halloweenperson127 (Sep 17, 2015)

I'll be kinda disappointed if its a classroom. It seems so... anticlimactic.


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## CCdalek (May 25, 2012)

Based on the updated website, unless they are still in the process of changing everything, several more props will be returning to stores this year in addition to Lil' Skelly Bones, Cerberus, and Roaming Rosie. These include the Twitching Banshee, the Incinerator, Rising from the Grave Pumpkin, Werewolf Rug, and Shotgun Blast Zombie. I can see the Twitching Banshee, Rising from the Grave Pumpkin, and Shotgun Blast Zombie all returning because of their popularity, but I did not recall the Incinerator or Werewolf Rug being all that popular last year (At least at my stores). 

Like I said, they could still be updating the status of these props, but as of now there are 8 props returning from last year.  Here is the link I used: http://www.spirithalloween.com/cate.../1005/1011.uts?sortByColumnName=SortByDefault


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## Halloweenperson127 (Sep 17, 2015)

CCdalek said:


> Based on the updated website, unless they are still in the process of changing everything, several more props will be returning to stores this year in addition to Lil' Skelly Bones, Cerberus, and Roaming Rosie. These include the Twitching Banshee, the Incinerator, Rising from the Grave Pumpkin, Werewolf Rug, and Shotgun Blast Zombie. I can see the Twitching Banshee, Rising from the Grave Pumpkin, and Shotgun Blast Zombie all returning because of their popularity, but I did not recall the Incinerator or Werewolf Rug being all that popular last year (At least at my stores).
> 
> Like I said, they could still be updating the status of these props, but as of now there are 8 props returning from last year.  Here is the link I used: http://www.spirithalloween.com/cate.../1005/1011.uts?sortByColumnName=SortByDefault


I notice that the site sometimes glitches. Earlier I saw a remake of the rising phantom. It had a red robe.


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## MichaelCarvajalthehaunter (Aug 2, 2016)

DavidsTV released a video of them going into the main store as a VIP look for 2016, some things are censored due to spirits strict ''No leak" policy, but the 2 thmes confirmed are... A clock tower and a hotel! The video is private now, but it's avalible on Cameron9999's channel!


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## CCdalek (May 25, 2012)

MichaelCarvajalthehaunter said:


> DavidsTV released a video of them going into the main store as a VIP look for 2016, some things are censored due to spirits strict ''No leak" policy, but the 2 thmes confirmed are... A clock tower and a hotel! The video is private now, but it's avalible on Cameron9999's channel!


Thanks for letting me know!  I'll watch that video and see what props we have confirmed for each theme, and make a confirmed prop/theme list.


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## Halloweenperson127 (Sep 17, 2015)

Theme number 2 is confirmed to be a hotel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wVZtsNp4_I&feature=youtu.be


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## Restless Acres (Apr 21, 2016)

The big reveal has dropped.


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## MichaelCarvajalthehaunter (Aug 2, 2016)

Cameron9999 released more videos about the Clock tower and hotel theme, according to the store set up manual, electrified corpse and floating ghost girl will be in the hotel, but the grave grabber doll is still unknown.


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## Halloweenperson127 (Sep 17, 2015)

MichaelCarvajalthehaunter said:


> Cameron9999 released more videos about the Clock tower and hotel theme, according to the store set up manual, electrified corpse and floating ghost girl will be in the hotel, but the grave grabber doll is still unknown.


the doll is probably in the hotel, too.


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## MichaelCarvajalthehaunter (Aug 2, 2016)

Yeah, but then again, grave grabber corpse is in the clock tower theme, so it'd only make sense to put them near each other. Although I have a feeling the doll will be in the hotel.


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## Restless Acres (Apr 21, 2016)

So I guess this is the Spirit Halloween thread, then? 

Anyhoo, I wanted to note that Costco is selling a substantially identical gargoyle to Spirit's for $89, to Spirit's $299. The bases are a little different, maybe Spirit's has a more decorative base, but that could be the only difference. The gargoyle is clearly made by the same manufacturer for both stores. I just ordered two. When I get this year's HD version (I think $79, and only available in store) of a big resin gargoyle I will have six all told. Now I just have to find places for them...


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## CCdalek (May 25, 2012)

Restless Acres said:


> So I guess this is the Spirit Halloween thread, then?
> 
> Anyhoo, I wanted to note that Costco is selling a substantially identical gargoyle to Spirit's for $89, to Spirit's $299. The bases are a little different, maybe Spirit's has a more decorative base, but that could be the only difference. The gargoyle is clearly made by the same manufacturer for both stores. I just ordered two. When I get this year's HD version (I think $79, and only available in store) of a big resin gargoyle I will have six all told. Now I just have to find places for them...


Hmm... I see the one you're talking about, it does look identical other than the base and is WAY less expensive, even less than the half off price of Spirit's. I wonder if that base is exclusive to Spirit. Even if that were the case, though, that big of a price difference may not be worth it.


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## CCdalek (May 25, 2012)

All the props in each theme have been confirmed! I have updated the initial post with all the props, or you can check out William Powers Channel's video here:


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## CCdalek (May 25, 2012)

One thing I just noticed is that the Towering Chained Ghost is absent from both of these themes... I wonder why that is.


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## Shockwave199 (Jan 18, 2007)

I'll do a video from my local spirit. The above video has made me nauseous and that doesn't usually happen. I know these are young kids filming this stuff but good grief, they need to learn how to use a camera. Nice props this year!


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## Penumbra (Jul 28, 2011)

I think the Towering Chained Ghost is online only, which is unfortunate because it's the only prop I'm interested in this year, and I like seeing things in person before I buy them.


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## CCdalek (May 25, 2012)

Penumbra said:


> I think the Towering Chained Ghost is online only, which is unfortunate because it's the only prop I'm interested in this year, and I like seeing things in person before I buy them.


Yeah, I was really interested in seeing that prop in person too. It's a shame they decided not to have it in stores.


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## Ditsterz (Aug 20, 2015)

I was interested in that towering ghost prop too. I really like the look of it. But wanted to see it in person. Plus shipping at spirit online is crazy expensive.


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## lbc (Sep 1, 2014)

Is it definite it won't be in stores? It doesn't say online only. 

If anyone wants to buy now, you can add the $2 magnetic fly to bring the total over $200 and use coupon code SPHA1602 for $50 of $200 and free shipping, but you will have to pay the $20 oversize charge.


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## FascinatinatedFright (Aug 9, 2015)

It's possible they just didn't set up the ghost yet. It was sneak-peeked, so it can't be an online-only prop.
EDIT: None of the locations have it, so it must be in-store pickup with no display.


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## lbc (Sep 1, 2014)

It may have only been available in limited quantities. It is listed as sold out now.


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## CCdalek (May 25, 2012)

lbc said:


> It may have only been available in limited quantities. It is listed as sold out now.


Aw, that sucks.  I was actually considering taking the risk and ordering him online.


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## lbc (Sep 1, 2014)

The Toweing Chained Ghost is back in stock! But I already bought him on eBay yesterday for $165 shipped.


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## creepymagic (Apr 16, 2012)

I consider myself very good at supporting the Halloween animatronic industry, be it whoever. But as far as I can tell this is two years in a row without a recognizable monster character (the last one I remember was Pennywise and Nosferatu). 

I currently have Frankenstein, Jason, Freddy, Scream, Pennywise, Nosferatu, and the Witch of the West. The rest are corpses, zombies, and generic witches. My home is literally overrun with nameless zombies, how many more burned and electrocuted corpses do I need. There's more swing set animatronics than swing sets at our local park. In the past three years there have been more clown animatronics than a circus, more scarecrow animatronics than scarecrow movies, and how many different spiders do we need?

Where are the monsters that actually got their own movie or TV series? The selection this year is minor league bush stuff at best. I want Dracula, Michael, leatherface and the Creature, not something on a swing that looks like it belongs in a Charlie Brown movie. How about a new Cryptkeeper, its only been 20 years since the last one. Maybe a Sanderson sister or two? How about a mummy thats actually dragging its foot with its arm out, perhaps an alien/predator, or even a vampire that doesn't look like a disco era reject.

Check the reviews on this site about whats popular this year - its a horse skeleton and a wolf skeleton. Not one item in a swing so why are they getting shoved down our throat. 

When Spirit sold the Karloff Frankenstein a few years back I think he cost $300 and he was worth it, I would much prefer paying $500 for a name monster than a few more nameless zombies. I don't see these things going down in value on Ebay so they must have sold out. Why not do it again? These classics have earned it. Most have more sequels than a Rocky movie so lets show a little respect for these proven winners.

Other than that I like the 2016 selection.


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## FascinatinatedFright (Aug 9, 2015)

It's genuinely interesting to hear that perspective. In my opinion, the licensed props, while definitely cool, are more of a novelty, while the generic ones are more useful for an individual haunt setup, unless you theme it around licensed characters. I don't know exactly what the swinging prop thing is about, but they're selling, so I don't expect them to stop.


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## Nickthetoyguy (Aug 27, 2014)

HE IS IN SELECT STORES!!!! SEASONAL VISIONS DID NOT SEND ENOUGH FOR ALL STORES HE IS IN SELECT STOREs!!


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## Nickthetoyguy (Aug 27, 2014)

creepymagic said:


> I consider myself very good at supporting the Halloween animatronic industry, be it whoever. But as far as I can tell this is two years in a row without a recognizable monster character (the last one I remember was Pennywise and Nosferatu).
> 
> I currently have Frankenstein, Jason, Freddy, Scream, Pennywise, Nosferatu, and the Witch of the West. The rest are corpses, zombies, and generic witches. My home is literally overrun with nameless zombies, how many more burned and electrocuted corpses do I need. There's more swing set animatronics than swing sets at our local park. In the past three years there have been more clown animatronics than a circus, more scarecrow animatronics than scarecrow movies, and how many different spiders do we need?
> 
> ...


Thank Gemmy and Morbid for that lol. The contact and quality for Gemmy have run out


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## FascinatinatedFright (Aug 9, 2015)

Do you know more? Is he actually on display at any of these stores, or is it an in-store pickup? They've set up towering props before (Corn Stalker), but if the quantity is really that limited, I don't know that they would.


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## CCdalek (May 25, 2012)

FascinatinatedFright said:


> It's genuinely interesting to hear that perspective. In my opinion, the licensed props, while definitely cool, are more of a novelty, while the generic ones are more useful for an individual haunt setup, unless you theme it around licensed characters. I don't know exactly what the swinging prop thing is about, but they're selling, so I don't expect them to stop.


I agree, while it would be nice to see some life-sized licensed props again, they're more collectibles than actual decorations for haunts. They have much less of a scare factor than the props Spirit sells nowadays.


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## creepymagic (Apr 16, 2012)

At our home we theme every room and find the famous monsters (aka novelty) are the attraction and the nameless monsters (aka scares) are the fillers. Problem is there are only so many famous monsters out there and in reality not that many scares that can be associated with the famous monsters. Its frustrating because the combination of these seems to work best. However the deluge of zombies, clowns, and swings seems to have completely replaced the famous monsters. While we do have a skeleton room, pirate room, and zombie room which are without a central character, we find the central character makes the room more memorable. Below is an example of how we theme these.








Our Demon Room has Regan (famous monster) as the centerpiece. She is a recognizable character and immediately convey that this room is a possession or demon room. The scares are shown to the left and (there are a couple more on the other side of the bed not shown in this picture). This room when first done only had Regan, so she was the original inspiration for the room and the rest are secondary players. When people talk about this room later they don't say "the peek a boo penny room" or the "broken girl room", its called the Exorcist room.









This is last years Frankenstein display, we have had him in labs in the past but always with his bride (who is a manikin with a wig and dress). I would must prefer an animated Bride that is the same quality as Frankenstein









This is last years chop shop, notice the Michael animatronic is actually a zombie animatronic (Morbid I believe) with the Halloween mask. I would much prefer the Michael Meyers animatronic but it has not been available for years. Also note how flimsy he looks compared to Scream, Jason, and Freddie who are much more filled out than this animatronic. How cool would this room look with an animated leather face and a real animated Michael Myers? Will Michael end up like Crypt Keeper and not be available for decades? I do not understand why if so.


There are only so many Zombie's our house can hold, and with more zombies coming every year so much so that it almost is an invasion. Half our basement is now the zombie room as shown by the link below (too big to post on the forum). Having more Zombies every year is not a bad thing, otherwise they would be difficult to find if you decided you want a zombie theme for this year. If you can keep making Zombies surely you can send one or two famous monsters on an annual basis as well.
http://www.jameshalloweenparty.com/zombieroom.jpg

This year we (my family) are only buying 1 full size animatronic from Spirit (the seated scarecrow at Spirit because we bought the standing one a couple years back). That's not saying we don't think that the others are worthy, its just we have something similar already. IMO famous monster animatronics have become an endangered species, even the last two (pennywise and nosferatu) were not exactly high quality compared to Frankenstein, Jason, Freddy, and Scream of a few years back. Just an observation from a frustrated customer, sort of the same feeling when buying baseball cards and not getting any players you know.


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## CCdalek (May 25, 2012)

creepymagic said:


> At our home we theme every room and find the famous monsters (aka novelty) are the attraction and the nameless monsters (aka scares) are the fillers. Problem is there are only so many famous monsters out there and in reality not that many scares that can be associated with the famous monsters. Its frustrating because the combination of these seems to work best. However the deluge of zombies, clowns, and swings seems to have completely replaced the famous monsters. While we do have a skeleton room, pirate room, and zombie room which are without a central character, we find the central character makes the room more memorable. Below is an example of how we theme these.
> 
> View attachment 287068
> 
> ...


Wow, you have some really impressive displays with the licensed figures combined with nameless props! Now I can see how well different ones go in certain themes. It is a bummer how the quality is going downhill for these kinds of props. Even if Gemmy or Morbid decided to make more licensed figures, they would not meet the same quality standards as the figures from 2005 on.


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## Halloweenperson127 (Sep 17, 2015)

I just got the Rising reaper of Death!






It's pretty good. Nice and sturdy.


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## FascinatinatedFright (Aug 9, 2015)

You know, I personally don't get the appeal to the reaper. I look at it and see "Bog Reaper with different robes". SV is reusing a few of its voice tracks and mechanisms (The phantom track's got a third usage this time on a nearly identical rising reaper at Home Depot), and it feels like a waste of something that could have been cooler.


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## FascinatinatedFright (Aug 9, 2015)

I discovered a Spirit in a huge mall in my area; last year they only had an outlet location with no decor, but this year, they have more space. The Hotel is barely set up yet, and the Clock Tower isn't complete, but they had enough. The Werewolf is much smaller-looking in person. 

My favorite is the Peek-A-Boo Teddy, though. His action isn't too scary, and his animation works properly. Walmart has him for a better price, though, so I'd go there to get him.


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## Halloweenperson127 (Sep 17, 2015)

FascinatinatedFright said:


> You know, I personally don't get the appeal to the reaper. I look at it and see "Bog Reaper with different robes". SV is reusing a few of its voice tracks and mechanisms (The phantom track's got a third usage this time on a nearly identical rising reaper at Home Depot), and it feels like a waste of something that could have been cooler.


Yeah... But personally, it's my favorite this year. I like his movement.


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