If you’re a movie prop replica collector, you know exactly which Beetlejuice sign we’re talking about.
For years, as a Beetlejuice decor hunter, there has been one item I refused to buy on principle because it had one glaring mistake: it was not in-universe accurate. I’ve bought the Adam and Barbara monster face hanging decor, the inflatable Sandworm for my lawn, and the “Here Lies Betelgeuse” tombstone—but never the iconic light-up sign due to the fact that it always featured the ghost with the most’s name spelled wrong.
Here’s what I mean. On the left, the scene from Beetlejuice; on the right, the old version of the sign from Spirit Halloween:
The spelling of Beetlejuice’s name has long been a point of contention. Tim Burton’s classic film spells its title Beetlejuice. But within the movie, Michael Keaton’s wisecracking dead guy always spells it “Betelgeuse.” It’s seen on the lighted sign, the tombstone, and the flyer the Maitland family finds.
Whether it was an oversight or products simply going with the recognizable spelling, it always bugged me that the licensed replicas were technically incorrect. And in my household, we love to collect in-universe-specific items, so when we built up our Beetlejuice decor, we never bought the sign—or any other item that featured the “Beetlejuice” spelling when it should have been “Betelgeuse.”
So you can imagine my surprise when, perusing the Spirit Halloween website, I noticed the change we film snobs have been waiting for in this, our year 2025:
Here it is, the screen-accurate sign in all its glory that will finally complement the tombstone for our annual Beetlejuice display.
We would like to thank whoever made this happen for looking out for the fandom. Now, of course, the hunt is on to find it at our local Spirit Halloween; good luck!
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