San Francisco Prank Artist Turns Google Office Into Spirit Halloween Store

A well-known San Francisco prank artist is at it again.

Across the city, many tech companies sit empty while their employees work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. Google employees have yet to return to the office, making its campus on Embarcadero a ghost town.

With Halloween quickly approaching, conceptual artist Danielle Baskin found the perfect fit for Google's unused building.

SF Gate reports that Baskin owns a commercial-size printer and put it to use by printing out a 10-foot replica of the Spirit Halloween logo.

The costume store moves into strip malls and vacant buildings every year ahead of October 31.

With the help of some friends, Baskin was able to install the self-made banner over Google's logo at the San Francisco office. According to SF Gate, they even put up construction signage and job flyers for the store.

Baskin and a crew of 10 people pretended to be Spirit Halloween staffers dressed in construction uniforms and carried around boxes.

While the prank is funny, Baskin told SF Gate there is also meaning behind it.

"We thought we would be doing a lot of interaction with people who work in the area, but it is a ghost town here. Which is actually where Spirit Halloween comes in. It's like the grim reaper of dying industries," said Baskin.

According to SF Gate, security eventually came to the building and removed the sign, and reported the incident but took no further action.