Some Big Lots and JoAnn Fabrics stores around Ohio will see new life, just not how you might think.
Spirit Halloween will occupy those spaces, along with some American Freight stores, which closed in 2024, and some former JCPenney stores. The company is known for taking over abandoned storefronts during spooky season.
The New Jersey-based pop-up retailer has "more than 1,500 seasonal locations in strip centers and malls across North America," USA TODAY reports. Hundreds of these incoming stores will occupy spaces previously used by retailers that have since gone bankrupt, including Big Lots, Forever 21, Joann Fabrics, Party City, Circuit City, K-Mart and Rite Aid.
So, when is Spirit Halloween opening this year? And how many are opening in Ohio? Here's what to know.
When does Spirit Halloween open?
The company's website doesn't specify an opening date for most of its stores; only that they are coming in August.
USA TODAY reports that in 2024, the company's flagship store in Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, opened on Aug. 1. In the couple years before that, it opened around the end of July.
Ohio Spirit Halloween locations coming to former JoAnn, Big Lots, JCPenney stores in Akron, Cincinnati, Columbus
Spirit Halloween will operate more than 50 stores across Ohio this season, according to its website. Most open in August, with a few locations "coming soon." Stores, including what the locations used to be, include:
Akron
Former Event Center, 1850 Buchholzer Blvd.
Former JoAnn, 1500 Canton Road
Alliance: Former Carnation City Thrift, 1300 East State St.
Ashtabula: Former JCPenney, 3315 North Ridge Road East
Athens: Former Label Shopper, 1002 East State St.
Beachwood: Former Stein Mart, 23949 Chagrin Blvd.
Beavercreek: Former Party City, 2720 Towne Drive
Boardman: Former Dillard's, 7401 Market St.
Brunswick: Former Bin Things, 1733 Pearl Road
Canton: Former Rite Aid, 3030 Market Ave. North
Chillicothe: Former Aldi, 1853 N. Bridge St.
Cincinnati
Former Dick's, 5555 Glenway Ave.
Former American Freight, 10200 Colerain Ave.
Former JCPenney, 9365 Fields Ertel Road
Cleveland: Former Old Navy, 3399 Steelyard Drive
Columbus
Former Buy Backs, 3749 Easton Market
Former Pier 1, 1320 Polaris Pkwy.
Dayton: Former OfficeMax, 2090 Miamisburg-Centerville Road
Defiance: Former Big Lots, 1524 North Clinton St.
Elyria: Next to Planet Fitness, 1573 W. River Road N.
Fairfield: Former Party City, 3431 Princeton Road
Fairlawn: Former Party City, 3737 W. Market St.
Heath: Former Big Lots, 851 S. 30th St.
Holland: Former Party City, 6639 Airport Highway
Lima: Former Big Lots, 2100 Harding Highway
Mansfield: Former Big Lots, 929 N. Lexington Springmill Road
Marion: Former Rite Aid, 1081 Mount Vernon Ave.
Medina: Former Clothing Warehouse, 1155 N. Court St.
Mentor: Former Toys R Us, 7723 Mentor Ave.
Middleburg Heights: Former Party City, 6935 Southland Drive
Middletown: Former Staples, 3601 Towne Blvd.
New Philadelphia: Former JoAnn, 400 Mill Ave. SE
Niles: Former Dollar Tree, 5791 Youngstown Warren Road
North Olmstead: Former Big Lots, 26425 Great Northern Plaza
Parma: Former American Freight, 7490 Broadview Road
Perrysburg: Next to Hobby Lobby, 10017-B Fremont Pike
Riverside: Former Salvation Army, 4912 Airway Road
Rocky River: Former Half Price Books, 21623 Center Ridge Road
Saint Clairsville: Next to Dollar Tree, 67701 Mall Ring Road
Sandusky: Former Big Lots, 410 E. Perkins Ave.
Sheffield: Former Gander Mountain, 5244 Cobblestone Road
Solon: Former Earth Fare, 33321 Aurora Road
Springfield: Former Office Depot, 979 North Bechtle Ave.
Steubenville: Next to Fabian Formals, 282 S. Hollywood Blvd.
Streetsboro: Former Save A Lot, 1517 Streetsboro Road
Toledo
Former Bulk Beverage Outlet, 3314 Secor Road
Former TJMaxx, 829 W. Alexis Road
Upper Arlington: Former Bed Bath & Beyond, 1717 W. Lane Ave.
Wadsworth: Former American Freight, 180 Great Oaks Trail
Willoughby: Former Party City, 36315 Euclid Ave.
Youngstown
Former Bed Bath & Beyond, 550 Boardman Poland Road
Former Rite Aid, 307 Boardman-Canfield Road
Zanesville: Former JoAnn, 3575 Maple Ave.
What bankrupt retailers will have spaces revived by Spirit Halloween?
Per USA TODAY, Spirit Halloween is taking over some spaces from notable bankrupt companies. Those include:
Big Lots (Filed for bankruptcy in September 2024)
Forever 21 (Filed for bankruptcy in March 2025)
Kmart (Filed for bankruptcy in January 2002, and its parent company, Sears Holdings, filed in October 2018)
Party City (Filed for bankruptcy in January 2023, and then again in December 2024)
Joann Fabrics (Filed for bankruptcy in March 2024 and then again in January 2025)
Rite Aid (Filed for bankruptcy twice, in October 2023 and May 2025)
Circuit City (Filed for bankruptcy in November 2008)
99 Cents Only Stores (Filed for bankruptcy in April 2024)
When did Spirit Halloween first open?
Spirit Halloween first opened in 1983 in the Bay Area, USA TODAY reports. It was purchased by Spencer's Gifts in 1999.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Spirit Halloween in old Big Lots, JoAnn stores in Ohio. When does it open?
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