I tried so hard not to laugh at the Toys R Us/Spirit Halloween meme I saw on Facebook a few days ago. 

It said "nothing says Halloween like setting up your store in the still-warm corpse of our childhood" above an image of a Spirit Halloween store banner hanging over the sign for a now vacant Toys R Us. It's funny because it's happening all over the country, including here in the Treasure Valley.

According to the National Retail Federation, over 179 million Americans took part in some sort of Halloween festivities in 2017 making the holiday a $9.1 billion industry. When people are spending that kind of cash on Halloween costumes and decorations, its no surprise that Spirit Halloween and similar retailers aggressively target empty businesses in prime locations.  This year, they're spooking up the season in some prime real estate on Eagle Road.

For the next few weeks, you'll find Spirit in the vacant Toys R Us building. The costume shop also got it's hands on a great space in the 2C too.  They're also open in the old Cost Plus World Market on N Marketplace Boulevard in Nampa.  The former tenant went out of business in January of this year.  While those are two great anchors for the Halloween chain, you can find them and similar retailers all over the Treasure Valley.

If your kids are already begging you to take them to get their Fortnite or superhero costumes, here's where you can find the seasonal costume shops in our area!

Boise

  • Spirit Halloween | 2110 S Broadway Ave
  • Spirit Halloween | 303 N Milwaukee St
  • Spirit Halloween | 10366 W Overland Rd
  • Halloween City | 7500 W Fairview Ave (Coming Soon)

Meridian

  • Spirit Halloween | 2070 N Eagle Rd (Old Toys R Us)

Nampa

  • Spirit Halloween | 16412 N Marketplace Blvd (Old Cost Plus World Market)
  • Halloween City | 1509 Caldwell Blvd (Karcher Mall)

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