Situated throughout Maricopa County, these spooky stores have something for every kind of horror lover.
In the Phoenix area, the scary good times don’t just stop after Halloween.
A small collection of year round horror media themed small businesses throughout the metropolitan area are making embracing your inner ghoul, goblin or demon an everyday occurrence.
Three of those stores each bring a different business model to the table, from brick and mortar stores to half-bakery, half-horror museum.
Horror Monger Collectibles in Mesa
The newest of the scary stores to the local market is Horror Monger Collectibles. On the northeast corner of Stapley Drive and US 60, this horror memorabilia store is coming up on its first full year of operation. And that year has gifted its owner Aaron Sorenson a lot of personal and professional success, according to him.
“We definitely built a pretty strong community here surrounding the shop,” Sorenson said. “With all the statistics out there for new businesses failing, that is definitely not the case here.”
Sorenson attributes his love for horror and collecting to his mother, who exposed him to the genre at an early age in the 1990s.
While one can find horror merchandise from all kinds of films at Horror Monger, Sorenson says that a favorite among the local crowd happens to be a franchise as beloved as it is controversial.
“Anything Terrifier-related, people have been really drawn to,” Sorenson said.
The Terrifier series–featuring an antagonist as lively as he is cruel named Art the Clown–garnered viral infamy for its violent content as well as word-of-mouth acclaim via TikTok in 2022, when the second installment was released. The third installment earned over $90 million at the box office, becoming the highest grossing unrated film of all time, according to Box Office Mojo.
The draw towards Terrifier from local audiences is evidenced by the turnout for celebrity meet and greets hosted by Horror Monger. Recently, stars of the first film Jenna Kanell and Catherine Corcoran came to meet fans and David Howard Thornton and Samantha Scaffidi–who play Art the Clown and secondary antagonist Victoria Heyes, respectively– will stop by in January, according to Horror Monger’s Instagram.
In the spirit of uplifting local horror fans, Sorenson’s store also buys and sells products from local small businesses.
“We love to support local,” Sorenson said. “I’d say that’s the most important thing in business, is building those business relationships so you get to know people.”
LOCAL NEWS: Phoenix housing market outpaces national trends again in 2025
INDUSTRY INSIGHTS: Want more news like this? Get our free newsletter here
Evil Izzy’s Haunted Emporium in North Phoenix
Spirit Halloween may be closed until next year, but Evil Izzy’s Haunted Emporium is here to stay year round, carrying primarily costumes and special effects makeup.
Established in May 2024 and located just east of Arizona State University’s West Valley campus, owner Jeremy Veal says the seasonal competition between the two–or really lack thereof–actually brings more business to him.
“Spirit Halloween gets people excited for Halloween, and brings me more customers because they’re looking for more places to go,” Veal said.
Veal’s business–named after his daughter–is a culmination of roughly 20 years of dreams being put into action. His love for Halloween comes from his grandmother recording horror films from HBO on VHS for him and from Spirit Halloween.
“I’ve always had it in the back of my mind,” Veal said. “I [wanted] a costume store that sticks around all the time. And finally, I just did it.”
But even though people don’t typically go Halloween costume shopping year round, Veal largely credits the theatre and film community for keeping business going before and after Halloween season.
Spooky’s Swirls in Chandler
The longest running business of the three scary stores also happens to have the most unconventional business model: it is a gluten-free bakery with a small museum full of horror and sci-fi film props.
In its six-year run, Spooky’s Swirls went from struggling to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic to being awarded one of the best gluten-free bakeries in America two years in a row by USA Today.
“It really was terrible timing,” chef and owner Lola Forbes joked in reference to opening just before lockdown. “We have been so blessed by our community.”
After lockdown, Forbes combined the bakery with a mini-museum of her collection of props at the store on the northeast corner of Alma School and Elliot Roads.
In place of glutinous flour, the bakery uses a variety of starches in combination with xanthine, which helps to resemble the texture and taste of non-gluten-free baked goods.
The pandemic hasn’t been the only barrier to the business; tariffs and egg shortages have been a high costing issue for the business, according to Forbes.
“We don’t want to increase our prices,” Forbes said. “We use very specialized ingredients, so sometimes it’s difficult to find the exact thing we know is what we need just because there’s less availability of stuff.”
Nonetheless, the business is showing no signs of slowing down, even further boosted by Forbes’s appearance as a contestant on Food Network’s “Halloween Baking Championship.” The business’s transition between seasons–like the Thanksgiving demand for pies, for example–plays a role in their word-of-mouth success, according to Forbes.
“I don’t spend money on marketing,” Forbes said. “I don’t spend money on advertising. Six years, every year, I’ve gotten bigger because my customers tell my other customers.”
