(looking for a dark circus, twisted clown feel) [INTRO — SPOKEN / DISTANT PA ANNOUNCEMENT] Every October, as precise as Pumpkin Spice... It shows up. Nobody sees trucks arrive. Nobody sees it set up. One day the building is empty... And the next morning... The signs are up... And the doors are open. [VERSE 1] They hired me sometime late September Said it was only seasonal work Dead mall, empty store, easy money Couple weeks of costumes and masks Manager handed me a handbook Said, "There's some rules you need to know" I laughed when I read the first few pages Figured corporate made 'em up for show Don't move the props without permission Don't stay inside after closing time Don't open doors you didn't unlock And keep in sight, the exit signs [PRE-CHORUS] First night I worked the closing shift I swear the aisles weren't quite the same The stockroom door was down the hall But I don't remember passing it at all I blamed the signs and bad fluorescent lights Blamed being tired, blamed the long stormy night Thought I heard something behind me... When I turned... nothing was there. [CHORUS] Spirit Halloween Something's wrong behind the scenes Spirit Halloween Nothing here is what it seems The costumes laugh The shadows move The things I see I can not prove Spirit Halloween Just another seasonal store... So why doesn't it feel like Stores I've been in before? [VERSE 2] Third week in, I drew another closing Same dead mall, same weird store I was halfway through the last aisle When I heard somebody call my name Thought it was the manager shouting Turned around, but nobody was there Then I heard it from the next aisle over Same voice, like somebody standing near I called out, "Who the hell is that?" Nothing answered, just the buzzing lights Then my name came from somewhere out of sight... But this time... it sounded just like me. [PRE-CHORUS 2] Then I remembered what the handbook said One of those rules I thought was strange "If you hear somebody call your name..." Don't answer. Don't turn around. Don't stay. [CHORUS 2] Spirit Halloween Something's wrong behind the scenes Spirit Halloween Nothing here is what it seems The costumes laugh The shadows move The things I see I can not prove Spirit Halloween Just another seasonal store... So why does it feel like It's watching me more? [VERSE 3] Halloween night, the store was packed Last-minute shoppers, costumes stacked I was counting down the final hour When I noticed something wasn't there The manager, the other employees No additional voices in the air I checked the aisles, I checked the stockroom I got a feeling of sudden doom The sign ticked closed, the lights went out The front doors locked out the night Then somewhere from the back of the store I heard a heartbeat beneath the floor [BRIDGE] I grabbed the handbook from the counter Flipped through pages with shaking hands Rules I'd laughed at when I started Suddenly I could understand Don't answer when they call your name Don't turn around, don't stand your ground Keep the exit signs in sight And if you see yourself... Run away [OUTRO] November first, the shift in the place No costumes, no lights, no store anymore Just an old dead mall and a vacant space Like nothing had been there before But the posters started showing up Faces of the ones who worked inside Seasonal employees, all the same. Missing since Halloween None seen, no reasons why A year later, somewhere in another dead mall. A sign went up overnight... Spirit Halloween Doors open tomorrow.
