Go behind the scenes at a New Jersey Spirit Halloween store

NPR | By Student Podcast Challenge,

Isabel Jacobson, Adam Sanders

Published October 30, 2025 at 4:08 PM EDT

Each year, about 1,400 Spirit Halloween shops pop up across the U.S. Two student journalists, Isabel Jacobson and Adam Sanders, visited their local shop to meet the spirited employees who work there.

This is an excerpt from "The Spirit of Spirit Halloween" by Isabel Jacobson and Adam Sanders, recent graduates of Princeton University. Their story was a finalist in the 2024 NPR College Podcast Challenge.

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