Temporary haunted house, Halloween store to occupy West Dundee's former Target

A haunted house will temporarily occupy the former Target building in West Dundee this fall.

Called the Slaughter at Sleepy Hollow, the haunted house will run during most of the month of October, village Community Development Director Tim Scott said.

To complement the haunted house, a Halloween store will also operate in that building from the beginning of September until Nov. 9, Scott said.

The store at 999 W. Main St. has been vacant for more than a year. Target officials announced last January the store was one of eight across the country that would be closing.

Plans are in the works to turn that lot into a sports complex, which Scott said will hopefully correlate with Spring Hill Mall. Developers are still in the early stages of creating a plan that will likely be reviewed and refined multiple times, Scott said.

"That'll take a little bit of time," he said, noting that the haunted house and Halloween store give the building temporary action. "We're putting a retail use at a retail building to generate some sales tax in the meantime."

West Dundee is working with haunted house operators to make sure it meets life safety standards. The village board will vote on the temporary use of the space at its next meeting, Scott said.

"We're just making sure that it's a safe and smooth operation," he said.

In the meantime, the Slaughter at Sleepy Hollow is accepting applications, which can be submitted at starttheslaughter.com.