Data: Axios analysis of Spirit Halloween store locator; Chart: Brad Jennings/Axios
Spirit Halloweenis haunting the shells of former big-box stores around the Bay Area and across the U.S. again this fall, with 1,500 locations nationwide.
The big picture: The stores appear and vanish each fall, so finding this year’s Spirit often means relaying directions with neighbors in retail shorthand: “Where the old Party City used to be.”
By the numbers: Of the locations analyzed by Axios, 153 — just more than 1 in 10 — were labeled “Former Joann” stores in Spirit’s locator.
- Joann closed all of its fabric and craft stores in 2025.
- Former Big Lots stores ranked second with 103 locations, followed by Party City with 100. Both chains shed hundreds of locations after bankruptcy.
Zoom in: Rite Aid is the most common former tenant among the Bay Area Spirit stores, with four locations; Joann accounts for two, and others include American Freight, Kmart, Kohl’s and Walgreens.
- San Francisco doesn’t have a Spirit Halloween this year. The city used to have one in 2021 at the former Party City in the Potrero Center.
- For San Franciscans in need of a Spirit run, the closest options include Daly City, Pacifica and Corte Madera.
- It’s just one of those things that requires venturing into the suburbs, like a proper Costco run or a trip to Home Depot.
Zoom out: Spirit, which bills itself as North America’s largest Halloween retailer, relies on temporary leases to transform vacant storefronts into seasonal shops.
- The arrangements bring property owners exposure and a few months of rent while they search for long-term tenants.
- Spirit Halloween didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
🎃 Fun fact: Spirit Halloween has Bay Area roots. The seasonal chain got its start in 1983, when founder Joe Marver opened the first location inside a former Castro Valley dress shop called Mallory’s…