Spirit Halloween Teaser: The Film Specifically Designed To Pop Up For A Couple Weeks, Take Your Money, And Vanish

Most kids dream of being locked in a toy store overnight. Others think it might be fun to race through the empty halls of a school building or spend a few hours in the aisles of a candy shop. More daring young folk, however, fantasize about spending time in a true-blue haunted house. Often, those childhood horror tales begin with some misguided kids who think that spending a night in a spooky, sometimes abandoned, abode will make them "cool" in the eyes of their peers. Not only does their bid for popularity rarely work out, they often become the victim of ghosts, ghouls, and other shudder-worthy nightmare fuel. 

"Spirit Halloween" is taking that premise to the next level: instead of locking themselves in a haunted house, the five kids at the center of this story are making the uniquely terrible decision to spend the night in a Spirit Halloween popup store.

Who among us hasn't wandered the aisles of a beloved costume chain, stared into the empty eyes of a rubber mask and thought: boy, I'd love to spend the night with you! Sane people, that's who. But when has sanity ever stood in the way of a good horror movie? Making matters so much spookier, these kids will quickly learn that rubber masks are the least of their worries. The movie's synopsis reads:

"When a new Spirit Halloween store appears in a deserted strip mall, three middle-school friends who think they've outgrown trick-or-treating make a dare to spend the night locked inside the store Halloween night. But they soon find out that the store is haunted by an angry evil spirit who has possessed the creepy animatronic characters. The kids embark on a thrilling and spooky adventure in order to survive the night and avoid becoming possessed themselves."

You can check out the first teaser trailer below!

Since that "Five Nights At Freddy's" adaptation is taking its sweet time coming into existence, "Spirit Halloween" is beating it to the punch (unless you count "Willy's Wonderland"). As the kids try to enjoy their overnight star in chez la haunted costume store, they'll discover that the building is haunted by an angry evil spirit who can possess creepy animatroinic characters like Bill Buzzsaw (a lumberjack with a buzzsaw hand), Mr. Dark (a skeleton that feeds on fear) and Nightcrawler (a monstrosity with a twisted body and elaborate backstory that you'll have to read for yourself).

The kid-friendly horror flick will come from David Poag, making his feature directorial debut, with a young cast that includes Marissa Reyes ("Raven's Home") as Kate, Dylan Martin Frankel ("Life & Beth"), Jaiden J. Smith ("Two Sentence Horror Stories"), Billie Roy as Joanie, and Donovan Colan ("Chapelwaite") as Jake. Also starring in "Spirit Halloween" are Christopher Lloyd and Rachael Leigh Cook. Lloyd (yes! It's Doc Brown from "Back to the Future"!) plays wealthy land developer Alec Windsor who disappeared decades ago on Halloween night. His spirit is said to haunt the town ever year for one hour, meaning he might be the culprit of the Spirit store takeover. As for Cook (of "She's All That" fame), she stars as Sue, the recently remarried mother of Jake, one of the unfortunate tweens who decides to spend a night in the Spirit store. Like "Goosebumps" and "Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark" before it, "Spirit Halloween" will be joining the ranks of other family-friendly frights that are perfect in the lead up to spooky season,

"Spirit Halloween" will be haunting a theater near you this fall.