LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Caufield’s is one of the Louisville’s longest-running downtown businesses.

What You Need To Know

  • Caufield’s has been a downtown staple for more than 100 years
  • The 10,000 sq. ft. costume shop is a Halloween destination
  • Caufield’s is family-owned and began as a photography studio
  • New blood has helped cultivate a huge social media following

Be prepared and watch your step because you never know what’s waiting around the corner at Caufield’s in Louisville.

“We try to make to make it a destination here.”­, co-owner Tracy Caufield-Johnson told Spectrum News.

Caufield’s grandfather started the business, so she’s grown up in the store and knows all the tricks and treats.

“You know, we started out as a photography studio. My grandfather had a photography studio. We have ads dating back to 1915 from the Courier,” Caufield-Johnson explained. But the family-run store didn’t find its niche until it started selling novelties and costumes full-time in 1920, which means Caufield’s has been in business for more than 104 years.

The sprawling 10,000 square-foot horror emporium is the family’s third downtown location. From photography studio to a novelty store, and finally a full-scale costume shop, Caufield’s is open year-round and certainly one of the oldest family-owned businesses in downtown Louisville.

“I don’t think that we would have lasted as most independent stores have not without changing over the years,” Caufield-Johnson added.

With the help of the horror movie boom of the 1980s, Caufield’s became a Halloween destination, and just like a zombie that can’t be killed, Caufield’s lives on with the help of new blood.

“So, growing up, this was always a staple shop for me, magic, costumes, the animatronics, I loved it. I’ve always been in the Halloween spirit,” employee Brylea Peach told Spectrum News.

The 22-year-old has worked here for six years and helps manage Caufield’s social media account, which has more followers than Friday the 13th sequels.

“I started about three-and-a-half years ago on TikTok and we have grown it into almost 140,000 followers,” Peach said. “It lets everybody around the world know we’re that 104-year-old Halloween shop that’s in the middle of Louisville, Kentucky.”

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