The Fashion District has taken on a new tenant that is spooky — but not scary.
Halloween House Philly, a haunted walk-through without live actors, has taken over the former Forever 21 store on the second floor of the Center City mall.
The retailer closed its Fashion District location last year amid a shutdown of all its brick-and-mortar stores in the U.S.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind, immersive experience that gives Philadelphians and visitors a fun new reason to come downtown,” Fashion District Philadelphia general manager Dennis Deehan said in a statement.
Halloween House operated last year at the Deptford Mall in South Jersey, then moved into the larger Center City space ahead of this season, according to its organizers. The Center City attraction, double the size of it Deptford location, opened to the public Sept. 25 and will remain open as Halloween House until Nov. 1.
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The Halloween House will then transition to a holiday walk-through, as it did last year in Deptford.
In Deptford, it appears American Eagle has moved into the former Halloween House space, according to the mall directory.
Halloween House has moved into a mall that has struggled since opening in 2019. Yet its owner, Macerich, has no debt on the property. And last year president and CEO Jackson Hsieh said the company was “finally” putting more “energy and effort” into leasing at the Fashion District.
“I’m cautiously optimistic about some of the early momentum that we’re starting to see there,” Hsieh said. “We’re going to do our best to try to figure out how to create the right kind of … merchandising mix.”
The new Halloween experience costs $39 per adult and $29 per child between the ages of 4 and 13. Kids under 4 get in for free.
Organizers say that customers typically spend about 45 minutes walking through 10 themed areas, including a Beetlejuice room, graveyard movie theater, zombie bunker, and haunted hotel room.
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They say the Halloween House is, in fact, for the faint of heart.
“Our goal is to create unforgettable Halloween fun for everyone, with no jump scares,” Halloween House Philly owner Peter Coyle said in a statement.
On its website, Halloween House organizers say the attraction has “creepy spiderwebs, ghouls, and graveyards, but nothing that will make you or anyone you attend with scared or upset.”
“There are tons of people who love Halloween and everything about it,” the organizers added, “but don’t love random strangers breathing in their face and jumping out to scare them.”
Many other popular Halloween attractions in the Philly area bank on customers wanting to be scared. They include Eastern State Penitentiary’s Halloween Nights, where tickets run between $49 and $79 per person, and the Bates Motel & Haunted Hayride in Glen Mills, which costs between $45 and $55 per person.
Halloween House Philly organizers say they strive to keep their attraction relatively affordable, so families can enjoy it. They say guests who would like to attend but can’t afford the ticket prices should email them at info@halloweenhousephilly.com.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with additional information from the Halloween House Philly team.