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May 15, 2025
Welcome to Cloud 9, where there is a daily sale on terror.
Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but the highly amusing sitcom Superstore (which initially aired on NBC from November 2015 to March 2021) took on a new life when I rewatched it through the lens of a horror movie fan. And I’m not talking about the horror of gross American consumerism and corporate greed that the show parodied so brilliantly. I’m talking about established tropes and themes common to horror movies, books, and television shows.
Allow me to explain…
Superstore was about the staff and customers of Cloud 9, a fictional big-box store in St. Louis, Missouri. The brilliant ensemble cast included America Ferrera as Amy; Ben Feldman as Jonah, Lauren Ash as Dina, Colton Dunn as Garrett; Nico Santos as Mateo; Nichole Sakura as Cheyenne; Mark McKinney as Glenn; and Kaliko Kauahi as Sandra.
Like many of us, I worked in the weird, often appalling world of retail during my early years in the American workforce. And I encountered plenty of unsettling events — from people fingerpainting with their feces on the walls of a public restroom to fellow employees having sex on top of 50-pound bags of dog food. Superstore often peppered its generally twisted plotlines with plenty of disturbing cutaways, probably somewhat inspired by blogs like People of Walmart. Whether it was children locked inside the disposable razor cabinet, sentient cleaning robots stalking the store manager, or a murder of crows that inhabited the store ala Hitchcock, there were enough horrific experiences in every episode to make Superstore into a formidable drinking game.
But for brevity’s sake, I’m sticking to the four examples I feel best illustrates my Superstore-as-a-horror-series premise. I have arranged them in ascending order of ghastliness.
May 15, 2025
Welcome to Cloud 9, where there is a daily sale on terror.
Okay, that’s an exaggeration, but the highly amusing sitcom Superstore (which initially aired on NBC from November 2015 to March 2021) took on a new life when I rewatched it through the lens of a horror movie fan. And I’m not talking about the horror of gross American consumerism and corporate greed that the show parodied so brilliantly. I’m talking about established tropes and themes common to horror movies, books, and television shows.
Allow me to explain…
Superstore was about the staff and customers of Cloud 9, a fictional big-box store in St. Louis, Missouri. The brilliant ensemble cast included America Ferrera as Amy; Ben Feldman as Jonah, Lauren Ash as Dina, Colton Dunn as Garrett; Nico Santos as Mateo; Nichole Sakura as Cheyenne; Mark McKinney as Glenn; and Kaliko Kauahi as Sandra.
Like many of us, I worked in the weird, often appalling world of retail during my early years in the American workforce. And I encountered plenty of unsettling events — from people fingerpainting with their feces on the walls of a public restroom to fellow employees having sex on top of 50-pound bags of dog food. Superstore often peppered its generally twisted plotlines with plenty of disturbing cutaways, probably somewhat inspired by blogs like People of Walmart. Whether it was children locked inside the disposable razor cabinet, sentient cleaning robots stalking the store manager, or a murder of crows that inhabited the store ala Hitchcock, there were enough horrific experiences in every episode to make Superstore into a formidable drinking game.
But for brevity’s sake, I’m sticking to the four examples I feel best illustrates my Superstore-as-a-horror-series premise. I have arranged them in ascending order of ghastliness.
4: The Sandra & Carol FeudWho hasn’t had a coworker-turned-nemesis? Over multiple seasons, the feud between the sweet but spineless Sandra and the calculating and possibly insane Carol (Irene White) transformed into a bizarre revenge plot filled with misdirection, near misses and slow-burn suspense. In the spirit of thrillers like Fatal Attraction or Crimson Peaks where romantic triangles were central to the plot ,Carol became particularly malicious toward her coworker with the introduction of Jerry (Chris Grace), a mutual love interest who seemed tailor-made for Sandra. However, in a surprising twist, Carol began dating him, resulting in an abusive relationship that Jerry eventually ended to be with Sandra. The dangerous dynamic between the two women escalated during the “Tornado” episode (see details below) when Sandra, amidst the chaos, locked Carol out of the shelter of the store’s photo lab as the storm ripped the roof off the building. |
Sandra later defended her actions by saying: “I wasn’t try to kill you… I just wasn’t trying to save you.”
Carol responded by trying to drop a crockpot on Sandra. “Oops,” she quipped when she missed Sandra’s head by inches.
When Sandra and Jerry became engaged, Carol seemed to reform. The nasty comments and aggressive sexual overtures toward her male coworkers were suddenly replaced by positive affirmations and an almost compulsive need to be helpful. The drastic changes kept Sandra, the Cloud 9 staff, and the TV audience wondering if Carol had actually reformed — or if it was all an elaborate deception to ruin the wedding.
The absurdity peaked when Dina discovered that Carol’s plan to derail the ceremony was to throw Sandra’s cat over a balcony.
“‘Oh, I’m marrying Jerry! It’s the best day of my life!’” Carol mocks Sandra. “We'll see about that when your cat explodes on the dance floor!”
“Wait, you're gonna blow up the cat?” replied Dina.
“That was misleading. I'm gonna throw it over the balcony and ideally the impact will make it explode.”
Fortunately for the cat, Dina takes out Carol with a punch to the gut — and the cruel attempt is enough to get Carol remanded into mental health care.
Hey, at least she didn’t boil a rabbit to death.
Carol responded by trying to drop a crockpot on Sandra. “Oops,” she quipped when she missed Sandra’s head by inches.
When Sandra and Jerry became engaged, Carol seemed to reform. The nasty comments and aggressive sexual overtures toward her male coworkers were suddenly replaced by positive affirmations and an almost compulsive need to be helpful. The drastic changes kept Sandra, the Cloud 9 staff, and the TV audience wondering if Carol had actually reformed — or if it was all an elaborate deception to ruin the wedding.
The absurdity peaked when Dina discovered that Carol’s plan to derail the ceremony was to throw Sandra’s cat over a balcony.
“‘Oh, I’m marrying Jerry! It’s the best day of my life!’” Carol mocks Sandra. “We'll see about that when your cat explodes on the dance floor!”
“Wait, you're gonna blow up the cat?” replied Dina.
“That was misleading. I'm gonna throw it over the balcony and ideally the impact will make it explode.”
Fortunately for the cat, Dina takes out Carol with a punch to the gut — and the cruel attempt is enough to get Carol remanded into mental health care.
Hey, at least she didn’t boil a rabbit to death.
3: The TornadoIn season two, the terror menacing Cloud 9 was decidedly existential. The arrival of a killer tornado was foreshadowed several times throughout the season before it finally arrived in the final episode. According to IMDB, there were no fewer than forty thrillers dealing with natural disasters in the decade or two before this Superstore episode — so the show had a lot to pull from when it came to the classic nature’s revenge trope. Perhaps these stories are so endlessly appealing because nature is the one force in which we really have little protection. After all, a chainsaw may help you against some zombies, but against the moon crashing to the Earth… In a subtle homage to this trope, Amy, who wears a different name tag in every episode wears one labeled “Dottie"— a shortened form of "Dorothy." And it is, of course, a Dorothy who is brought from Kansas to the land of Oz by way of a tornado in The Wizard of Oz. |
This is a standout episode largely for its realistic and intense depiction of a tornado and its aftermath, even within the context of a sitcom that rarely took anything seriously. Many viewers found it genuinely terrifying and it was lauded for its blend of humor and genuine emotional moments, particularly the scene where the Cloud 9 employees emerge from the wreckage in shock.
Wrote the AV Club in 2017: “Last year’s finale “Labor” ended on the potent image of the employees of Cloud 9 abandoning the store in a show of solidarity for Glenn, and now “Tornado” ends with the even more potent image of circumstances reversed. The employees are still there, but now it’s the store that’s gone, torn open in the wake of a freak storm. It’s an impressive capper to what’s been an impressive sophomore season, an ambitious move that works because it’s still grounded in the show’s character dynamics…”
The episode ended on many cliffhangers, but one of the most telling was when employee Brett, portrayed by actor Jon Miyahara, says his only line of the show — "Oh, shit!" — when he sees the tornado bearing down on the store. Brett is missing at the end of the episode and presumed dead.
Wrote the AV Club in 2017: “Last year’s finale “Labor” ended on the potent image of the employees of Cloud 9 abandoning the store in a show of solidarity for Glenn, and now “Tornado” ends with the even more potent image of circumstances reversed. The employees are still there, but now it’s the store that’s gone, torn open in the wake of a freak storm. It’s an impressive capper to what’s been an impressive sophomore season, an ambitious move that works because it’s still grounded in the show’s character dynamics…”
The episode ended on many cliffhangers, but one of the most telling was when employee Brett, portrayed by actor Jon Miyahara, says his only line of the show — "Oh, shit!" — when he sees the tornado bearing down on the store. Brett is missing at the end of the episode and presumed dead.
2: The Dismembered FeetAh, the curious case of the dismembered feet—a plotline that had Superstore fans both chuckling and scratching their heads in equal measure. Starting in Season 3, Episode 2, the first severed foot made its unexpected debut in the Cloud 9 parking lot, right after a tornado wreaked havoc on the store. Naturally, the Cloud 9 crew assumed the unfortunate appendage belonged to Brett, their missing coworker, whisked away by the storm's fury. But as the seasons rolled on, so did the appearances of these rogue feet, popping up with alarming frequency. The standing theory was that a Cloud 9 employee was responsible for these bizarre crimes, yet no one could locate a suspect. |
That is, until the series finale, when the truth was finally revealed: the quiet and unassuming Elias (Danny Gura) was the mastermind behind the dismemberments. Elias, who appeared in 106 out of 113 episodes, spoke nary a word and was apparently a presumed serial killer all along. Elias was never caught and his victims remained anonymous.
Finding a body part is a recurring horror motif where a character discovers a body part, usually detached and often in a grisly state. Alternatives can often involve decay, disease, deformity, mutation, or mutilation. Think back, and you’ll probably realize every horror film you’ve ever seen has some version of this trope within it.
Whether intentional or not, the storyline also mirrored the real-world Salish Sea human foot discoveries, where dozens of severed feet washed up on the shores of British Columbia and Washington State. The feet were found throughout the six-year run of Superstore and made international news. As of this writing, the last reported discovery was July 23, 2023.
Finding a body part is a recurring horror motif where a character discovers a body part, usually detached and often in a grisly state. Alternatives can often involve decay, disease, deformity, mutation, or mutilation. Think back, and you’ll probably realize every horror film you’ve ever seen has some version of this trope within it.
Whether intentional or not, the storyline also mirrored the real-world Salish Sea human foot discoveries, where dozens of severed feet washed up on the shores of British Columbia and Washington State. The feet were found throughout the six-year run of Superstore and made international news. As of this writing, the last reported discovery was July 23, 2023.
1: The Case of Creepy SalAh, Creepy Sal, a character whose very name sends shivers down the spine of any Superstore aficionado. Introduced in season one, Salvatore "Sal" Kazlauskasl — portrayed by Sean Whalen — quickly earned his unsettling moniker. Sal wasn't your typical Cloud 9 employee; his interests included a disturbingly intense focus on women and children, which, as one might imagine, wasn't exactly a hit with his colleagues. His resumé, featuring suspiciously abundant experience in "watching children," didn't do much to alleviate the discomfort of those around him. Sal's presence was like a lingering odor near the women’s restroom—unpleasant and hard to ignore, but also challenging to address directly without making things awkward. |
Sal disappeared in season two, only mentioned in passing before vanishing from the Superstore narrative. That is, until the shocking revelation in season three when his desiccated body was discovered behind the drywall, mid-voyeuristic escapade, attempting to drill a peephole into the women's bathroom. This macabre discovery, reminiscent of urban legends where bodies are found mummified within the walls of buildings, gave Sal an infamous send-off. Apparently, his untimely demise was the result of getting his foot stuck on a crossbeam, leading to a slow, tragic end via starvation, all while his coworkers unknowingly went about their daily routines just meters away — and sometimes complaining about the aforementioned foul smell near the women’s restroom.
When Sal's locker was finally opened a year after his death, it was like peering into a bizarre time capsule of his peculiar obsessions. Among the oddities collected were wigs, baby teeth, batteries, a dead turtle, and perhaps most intriguingly, a book that Sal had been writing.
But the saga of Sal didn’t just end here. In a bizarre twist during the Halloween episode where Sal’s body was discovered, Cheyenne made up Mateo's face to resemble Sal's which seemingly unleashed Sal's creepy spirit. For a brief moment, it was as if Sal's ghost had possessed Mateo to skulk the aisles of Cloud 9 one last time.
When Sal's locker was finally opened a year after his death, it was like peering into a bizarre time capsule of his peculiar obsessions. Among the oddities collected were wigs, baby teeth, batteries, a dead turtle, and perhaps most intriguingly, a book that Sal had been writing.
But the saga of Sal didn’t just end here. In a bizarre twist during the Halloween episode where Sal’s body was discovered, Cheyenne made up Mateo's face to resemble Sal's which seemingly unleashed Sal's creepy spirit. For a brief moment, it was as if Sal's ghost had possessed Mateo to skulk the aisles of Cloud 9 one last time.
Books Featuring Scares in the Workplace
Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
Tales from the Gas Station
Volume One by Jack Townsend
Chopping Spree by Angela Sylvaine
Clown in a Cornfield by Adam Cesare
Monsters Are My Business by Cullen Bunn and Patrick Piazzalunga
Horrorstor: A Novel by Grady Hendrix
Paranoid Gardens by Gerard Way and Shaun Simon
Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke
Sign Here by Claudia Lux
The Agony House by Cherie Priest
The Honeys by Ryan La Sala
Five Nights at Freddy's Graphic Novel Trilogy Box Set by Scott Cawthon
The Sandman Universe: Dead Boy Detectives by Pornsak Pichetshote and Jeff Stokely
Ghost Roast by Shawneé Gibbs
Dead Mall by Adam Cesare
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