10.12 Halloween Outlet…Store? Haunted House? Nightmare?

Yes…And So Much More!

By F. Right

If you’re over the age of, say, fetus, you know about the Halloween Outlet. I mean, how could you not? To begin with, the flagship store on West Boylston St. in Worcester (some of us are old enough to remember when they were located on Park Ave.) is 30,000 square feet of pure fun, no matter whether your idea of fun is having the living daylights scared out of you or figuring out how to put together the goofiest looking costume ever…and then forcing your boyfriend to wear it. Try bringing your younger siblings or easily frightened friends to the store without warning them that some of the scariest animatronics ever are going to jump out of them and wish they’d brought an extra pair of pants. Mean? Of course! Great entertainment for you? Oh yeah!

So even though the Halloween Outlet is open year ‘round (except for Jan. and Feb.) and can supply you with costumes for any holiday (or party…or, um, private party, wink wink!), it becomes a veritable promised land for all of us who love Halloween and wouldn’t think of not celebrating the holiday in the grandest ways possible ~ starting with our own costumes…and given that the Outlet has the most extensive inventory of the best masks, props, wigs, hats, costumes (for sale or rental), you can basically create ANY look that you want…from the most gruesome to the sexiest to the downright weirdest. There’s a reason (well, 30,000 square feet of reasons, actually), that The Halloween Outlet was featured on Travel Channel’s “Most Extreme Halloween,” was voted #1 Halloween retailer in Wall Street Journal, and featured on both “P.M. Magazine” and “Chronicle.”

Now who’s behind all this amazing collection of entertainment (seriously, if you or someone you know needs a little push getting into the Halloween spirit, pardon the pun, I guarantee that just walking into the Halloween Outlet…literally just walking through the door…will do the trick), costuming, and all things All Hallows? We have the Arvanigian family to thank (and have for the past 20 years)…and more than one generation, too. Gary and Janis, who started the business, are never more than a shriek away, and their daughter Christine, who’s now at the haunted helm, shows that…well, blood is in her blood, too. Not surprisingly, everyone who works at the Outlet is a Halloween freak and can tell you everything about any item you ask about ~ and if you’re stuck for ideas, no fear, they’ve help you put together a killer costume, downright terrifying animatronic scene for your yard or party, or just the right make-up to make Freddy Krueger look like he had good skin …The store’s motto is, “We do fright right,” and they do indeed, just as sure as October 31 is going to bring out the ghouls, werewolves, zombies, vampires, and…sexy nurses…in droves.