Allied Store

A casual stroll around Khan Market might just lead you to a store decked with enough curious knick-knacks to make you stop by. And curious is putting it mildly. Perched atop the Allied Stores signboard is a rather eerie ensemble: a scarecrow, a dead bride mannequin and a ghost. The entire signboard is swathed in bandages. The entrance is just as abundantly cluttered, brimming with ghostly embellishments. Yet, there's enough breathing room to tell you this is, in fact, a toy store.

Tiny mannequins peek out from the shop, perched atop tastefully designed skulls. Pumpkins and lanterns are up for grabs, while a holder displays an assortment of tridents and other long toy weapons. Right in front sits the store's showstopper, a life-sized ghost priced at a cool ₹18,000. A chat with the owner revealed that these pieces are sourced directly from the United States and are of superior quality. That's also easy to tell from the materials and intricate detailing of each of these items.

The store has been in business since the turn of the century, making it one of the first few in India to recognise Halloween as a thing. And if the owners are to be believed, you won't find their products anywhere else in Delhi.

What does the shop sell?

A little bit of everything. The first half of the store is devoted to Halloween, while the other half stocks a more generic assortment of toys.

Still, the store screams Halloween, and in unison, thanks to some rather fun ceiling decorations. Throughout the store, the ceiling is festooned with balloons shaped like pumpkins, lanterns, bats and other spooky staples. A huge rack, occupying the central spot in the store, is stocked with outfits ranging from ambulance-service uniforms to Batwoman and skeleton costumes. Prices start at around ₹5,000 and climb onwards.

The racks on either side of the store are crammed with toys in all shapes and sizes, from severed hands and bats to miniature pumpkins. These sections also complement the costume collection with a smorgasbord of add-ons: long noses, spectacles, moustaches and some creepy eyeballs. Then some accessories take the art of looking spooky up a notch, including bloody toy knives worn on the neck and appearing to stab it.

The prices are certainly on the steeper side, with even the smallest item on the bill – fake blood – costing ₹299. Among the store's bestsellers are zombie costumes and superhero accessories.

When to visit the store?

All merchandise is available throughout the year, although the store pulls out all the spooky stuff for an elaborate display from September onwards, as Halloween approaches. Once the season wraps up, the shop switches gears to welcome Christmas. Owner Chanakya Mehra tells Time Out that the Christmas trees are sourced from outside India. There are handcrafted accessories and decorations alongside. 

Like this, the store also puts together themed decorations for other celebrations like Holi and Valentine's Day.

If you ever fancy lifting the store's aesthetic and transplanting it to your own party, you're in luck. The shop offers a decoration service, putting together everything you need according to your budget. A member of the team will visit your venue and deck it out, incorporating your input along the way. The service goes beyond decorations, too: the team can arrange artists for Halloween-themed painting workshops and game hosts for activities such as pin the pin on the pumpkin.

Time Out tip: Visit the store, but don't buy on your first find. Build your costume around a few DIY elements, then zhuzh it up with accessories from the store. 

Nearest metro station: Khan Market (Violet Line)