Popular Halloween Store To Open 50 Spots Throughout Illinois

Halloween time is a very lucrative period for a company that is all about the spooky season, and has been since back in 1984.

The first location of this wildly popular Halloween store opened in a place called the Castro Valley Village Shopping Center in the Bay area of California, and the success quickly spread to other locations. By 1999, there were over 60 locations, and today there are over 1,500 spread from coast to coast.

Here in Illinois, there will be no shortage of them since plans are in place for 50 locations spread across our state.

You've probably already figured out the name of the Halloween store I'm talking about here:

Spirit Halloween Has Taken Empty Stores And Turned Them Into Money-Making Pop Up Spots That Raked In Over $400 Million In Sales Back In 2015, And $1.1 Billion In 2023

It's a fantastic success story, but it's a little sad to see all of the store closings that paved the way for Spirit Halloween to take over their former locations. Look around at what used to be where a Spirit Halloween store is now. You've got closed locations of:

• Bed Bath & Beyond
• Kmart
• Sears
• Tuesday Morning
• Big Lots
• Toys R Us
• Circuit City
• Sherwin Williams

And that's exactly what Spirit Halloween looks for, according to their website. Here's some of their criteria for opening a new location:

• Temporary 3 MONTH leases that include a kick-out clause
• Since Spirit locations open on or about September 1st and remain open through November 1st, our ideal lease would run from mid July through mid-November.
• We like to locate our stores in power centers, strip centers, free-standing stores, major downtown retail locations and in major malls surrounded by a national retailer mix.
• Our aim is to set up in communities that have 1) a population of approximately 35,000+, 2) living within a 3-5 mile radius, and 3) with a car count of at least 25,000 cars per day. Our flexibility is key! While our ideal locations feature between 5,000 to 50,000 square feet of sales floor space with awesome visibility, no store is too large (or too small).

Two Northern Illinois Locations Are Already Open, And The Rest Of Illinois Is Loaded With Spirit Halloween Stores That Are Opening Very Soon Or Already In Operation

The Loves Park Spirit Halloween at 1504 E. Riverside (in a former Sherwin Williams location) is up and running, as is the Rockford location at 6669 E. State Street.

For all the rest of Illinois' Spirit Halloween stores and when they'll be open, click here to be taken to Spirit Halloween's website for a complete list of locations.

Interested in freaking out your neighbors? Of course you are. Check these out: