If Ben Franklin were alive today, he could add a third certainty to his now well-known axiom: death, taxes, and the late summer Spirit Halloween flu filling vacant storefronts across the country.

The almost parasitic speed at which the creepy seasonal chain invades vacant storefronts has become a meme. And with 1,525 locations this year (10 years ago it was just over 1,000), it’s easy to feel like there’s a Spirit Halloween around every corner. But just as reliably as the stores appear once August turns to September, Spirit Halloween’s doors close in mid-November.

This year, however, 10 locations will go from witchcraft to winter wonderland and become the first Spirit Christmas shops.

Yep, everyone’s favorite meme-y place to get into the Halloween spirit is here to help you deck the halls this year too. Spirit Christmas will feature “stocking stuffers, holiday apparel, fun gifts, unique decor and all the special bells and whistles to create an unforgettable Christmas,” according to the store’s website. And what Christmas shop would be complete without visits to Santa Claus? Cheerful at first glance, Spirit Halloween’s intrusion into the Christmas season is indicative of the ongoing struggles brick-and-mortar institutions face in the digital age, especially when it comes to the attention economy.

Having everything delivered to your door with one click in two days or less makes it easy to avoid the in-person shopping experience, especially during stressful times like the holidays. Getting the shopping done – whether it’s buying the devil horns to complete your costume or buying an aerosol can to spray fake snow on your windows – is more important than having the experience of waiting in a long line and having to pay more money for things you get out of it. storage only once a year.

How did we get here? Spirit Halloweens may be ubiquitous, but they don’t necessarily offer high-quality holiday items. Their costumes are so cheap that they’ve spawned their own memes. But for more than 40 years, Spirit has had such a hold on the Halloween market that even established players like Party City are rethinking their strategy.

The National Retail Federation estimates that Americans will spend $11.6 billion this Halloween. That’s down from last year’s record high of $12.2 billion, but spending has increased almost every year since 2005, when the NRF began collecting this data, with millennials largely responsible for Halloween’s proliferation.

It’s a pop-up economy held together by short-term rentals, thousands of seasonal workers and last-minute costume purchases. With those kinds of financial guarantees, it makes sense to extend those three-month leases a bit; After all, the Christmas flu starts earlier year after year.

But while Spirit Halloween only offers the bare bones for a spooky holiday, the company’s holiday stores will come equipped with a “life-size gingerbread village” and the chance to take a photo with Santa. And those photos with Santa will be too free.

Just as Spirit Halloween took over the corpses of the department stores that preceded it, Spirit Christmas plants its flag on the North Pole experience pioneered by the mall Santas of old – without the high price tag (and apparently without the long lines: you can visit online books).

It’s just another example of how the tangible shopping experience competes with the attention economy. While Spirit Halloween’s success is largely due to a combination of lucrative short-term rentals and guaranteed seasonal buyers, there’s no denying that it has benefited from a cultural groundswell of all things Halloween and horror. It’s a niche, yes, but so are the people who are interested in that niche passionate about it, despite the disapproving memes.

Whether that will translate into success for Spirit’s latest vacation venture is another question entirely. But if the company’s spooky seasonal dominance is any indication, all the Santas at the mall should be on alert because Spirit Christmas is coming for their bag.