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Spooky season means the return of Spirit Halloween — and here in Central Ohio, the purveyors of costumes and ghostly decor are haunting the former homes of one of Columbus' recently departed companies.

Why it matters: It just doesn't feel like October until you drive by a big-box store you once knew and think, "Wait, that's a Spirit Halloween now?"

The big picture: Axios analyzed every Spirit Halloween location this year and found the most common previous tenants were Joann Fabrics, Big Lots and Party City.

The company leans into the bit — its store locator even lists the building's most recent use.

Spirit bills itself as North America's largest Halloween retailer, and 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.

Locally, Spirit Halloween has found a comfy home inside the corpse of Columbus' own Value City Furniture, which went out of business earlier this year following its 2025 bankruptcy.

Here's what our area Spirit Halloweens used to be:

Once a key tenant of the Sun Center, this former Value City is a whopping 43,000 square feet.

Easton's Spirit Halloween is a former Party City, which announced closures in late 2024.

Interestingly, there's a closed Value City just down the street that didn't make the Spirit cut.

This 37,500-square-foot storefront was architecture worth bragging about when it opened as Value City Furniture — now, it's got a big orange sign out front.

The Heath site was a former American Freight, a discount mattress and furniture company.

But American Freight wasn't the only tenant here. It took over part of a space that was, you guessed it, a former Value City.

Another former Value City, this location appears to have once been a Hobby Lobby as well.

This site was once the Sears that anchored River Valley Mall.

Just down the street from the Gemini location, this large space is the former home of Polaris' Pier 1, the decor company that's filed for bankruptcy multiple times.

A Giant Eagle for years, this was earlier a Big Bear until 2004, a classic old Columbus brand.

You already know — it's another former Value City.

Spirit Halloween haunts former local stores 

The Halloween retailer has been climbing inside the vacated homes of a Columbus original.

A bar chart showing the most common previous tenants in retail spaces that now host Spirit Halloween stores. The chart shows the 10 most common former tenants nationally, led by JOANN (153 stores), Big Lots (103) and Party City (100). Local stores are also included. 

Data: Axios analysis of Spirit Halloween store locator; Chart: Brad Jennings/Axios

Spooky season means the return of Spirit Halloween — and here in Central Ohio, the purveyors of costumes and ghostly decor are haunting the former homes of one of Columbus&#x27; recently departed companies.Why it matters: It just doesn&#x27;t feel like October until you drive by a big-box store you once knew and think, &quot;Wait, that&#x27;s a Spirit Halloween now?&quot;

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A bar chart showing the most common previous tenants in retail spaces that now host Spirit Halloween stores. The chart shows the 10 most common former tenants nationally, led by Joann (153 stores), Big Lots (103) and Party City (100). Local stores are also included. 

Spirit Halloween stores: What they used to be

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A map identifying the 24 U.S. states that offer girls flag football as a sanctioned high school varsity sport as of September 2026, as well as 16 states with pilot or independent high school competitions, and remaining states with no current high school programs. 

Where girls are playing H.S. flag football 

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Data: Axios analysis of state Cooperative Extension recommendations; Map: Brad Jennings/Axios

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Featured stories

Spirit Halloween haunts former local stores

Spirit Halloween haunts our retail graveyard

Spirit Halloween brings vacant storefronts back from the dead

Girls flag football is a fast-growing high school sport

When to plant bulbs for spring flowers