As the spooky season gets closer, Spirit Halloween emerges like a ghost from the shadows. 

Each fall, the temporary pop-up stores transform vacant strip mall spaces into fascinating themed experiences filled with amusing frights and everything a trick-or-treater could imagine.  

With less than a week left until the spooky season reaches its peak—Halloween night—the store is crowded with shoppers searching for costumes, decorations, and festive goods. 

Inside each store customers are greeted with sounds of creepy music, animatronics, light flashing, and scary masks hanging everywhere. 

Spirit Halloween was founded in 1983, and since its conception the store has evolved into a seasonal phenomenon, drawing eager shoppers looking to embrace the magic of Halloween while filling up vacant rental commercial properties near other neighborhood strip centers and local shops.  

From classic witches and vampires to the latest iconic costume each store offers a large variety of Halloween choices. 

One shopper, Sarah Vizcaino told Northeast Valley News, “Every time I visit Spirit Halloween, I feel like a kid again. The costumes and decorations create such good vibes- it’s impossible not to get into the Halloween spirit.”  

Spirit Halloween supports the Spirit of Children program, an charitable organization dedicated to “make hospitals less scary for children” stated on the Spirit Halloween website.

Oliver Riley, a Spirit Halloween employee, said what he loves most about working during the Halloween season, “Helping people putting on costumes is one of my favorite things – I honestly love it- I love dressing people up and making suggestions.” 

He also told Northeast Valley News that the most popular costumes this year are Deadpool from the movie Deadpool & Wolverine and Art the clown from the movie Terrifier 3. 

Riley recalled a heartwarming story from last Halloween: “Last year on Halloween which is always crazy, crazy— on actual Halloween at Spirit, there was a sweet, little old lady that would come in like twice a week and she brought us like 50 cupcakes…they were all decorated like graveyards. She brought them in because she knew we’ll be stressed on Halloween day. So, she brought them in to help us out, which was very sweet.” 

For many Arizonans, the pop-up stores serve as a seasonal ritual and the “go to” place to find unique Halloween costumes.