On a recent afternoon, the Hot Topic store at the King of Prussia Mall, outside of Philadelphia, teemed with teenagers, 20-somethings and stroller-pushing parents. The shoppers sifted through racks of “Harry Potter” plush dolls, “Riverdale” sweaters and “Kiki’s Delivery Service” jewelry, seeking the perfect physical manifestation of their — or their child’s — fandom.

Demitri Benton, 19, of Reading, Pa., had come to browse the shop’s “Deadpool” offerings. “It’s usually the first or maybe second place I come to,” he said. “It has so many things that you probably wouldn’t be able to find in any other store as far as, like, anime, video games, TV shows.”

Former mall goths, punks and emo kids may remember the store differently. In the ’90s and early aughts, one did not so much enter as descend into Hot Topic. The suburban shopping center staple was dungeonlike, with hellish gates that led shoppers into a dark commercial corridor.

Inside, a wall of T-shirts emblazoned with the names of rock bands and irreverent sayings was flanked by piles of studded belts and rubber bracelets. Manic Panic hair dye could be purchased in a wide range of parent-infuriating hues. Often the shopping experience was set to a blaring soundtrack of Nine Inch Nails and My Chemical Romance (whose frontman — fun fact — once worked at Hot Topic).