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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Who - or what - will you be Halloween?


Jessica Wissink is the manager of the Spirit Halloween store in Coeur d'Alene. 
 (Kathy Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)
Jacob Livingston Correspondent

Row after row of severed heads stared blankly ahead, some distorted and writhing in agony, others ashen and wholly expressionless, while their lifeless bodies hung just a few feet away. Yet, for Caitlin Cogan, just shy of her second birthday, her attention remained focused on the cranial cavity of a giant mouse just out of reach.

Held in the arms of her mom, Sarah Cogan, while waiting to try on an outfit at Golden Oldies Costumes in Post Falls, the youngster looked at a wall of possibilities, with the masks of her favorite Disney characters, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, the preferred choices.

But Sarah Cogan decided on something a bit cozier for her daughter’s first Halloween outing.

“She’ll be a ladybug. It’s warm – I just picked something that I know she likes,” she said as she rented a costume for herself for an Oktoberfest party. As recent transplants to the Spokane area from California, she said, “It’s a new neighborhood, new town, we’re going all-out.”

As the holiday of grinning pumpkins, haunted houses and overflowing buckets of treats approaches, local costume shops are a flurry of activity ahead of the few fall days when it’s OK – even encouraged – to outwardly express an innermost desire. This year that means the usual cast of characters such as heroes, villains, ghouls, gangsters and the walking dead will roam the streets of North Idaho, as well as some new faces courtesy of pop culture.

“Guys like to be pirates or superheroes,” explained Diane Wahl, owner of the Post Falls’ store, where more than 1,000 costumes crowd every inch of available shelf space and pack each aisle. For girls, she said some of the more popular items include “Wizard of Oz” characters, Southern belles and sexy German serving wenches.

From past presidents and poodle skirts, to “Star Wars” and Snow White, Wahl said she has a costume to fit almost any need. “We have more costumes than we can ever rent,” she said. “If they want something (we don’t have), we’ll special order it.”

Like most other costume shops in the area, this is the busiest time of year at Golden Oldies. Though Wahl’s been in the costume business for nearly 12 years and keeps her doors open year-round, the weeks leading up to Halloween provide the biggest financial boost, with renters typically willing to shell out anywhere between $25 and $45 per outfit.

This year’s business, she added, “seems about the same as usual. It’s usually pretty consistent.”

At Spirit Halloween, a division of Spencer Gifts, in Coeur d’Alene, manager Jeremy Covell watched as would-be princesses, caped crusaders and naughty girls scrutinized the store’s costume-lined aisles.

“The top sellers are movie costumes for the adults, and, for kids, it’s TV shows,” he said, adding that the most sought-after kid’s costumes are anything from the movie “Transformers,” while it’s the Spartan warriors from the movie “300” for grown-ups. “We sell out of those so fast.”

As one of several seasonal shops that open for just a few months a year, Spirit Halloween sees a sprint to the Oct. 31 finish line, after which sales sharply drop off. “As we get closer to Halloween, it picks up,” Covell said.

Then, he said, the store holds a 50-percent-off sale the following day. By the second of November, the store’s doors shut and the remaining costumes are stored away for another year.

According to Lorene Roullier-Bennett, district manager of the four Spirit Halloween stores scattered around the Inland Northwest, most customers spend around $50 per outfit, while a few are willing to go all out and drop several hundred dollars.

That’s the same story across town at the Silver Lake Mall, where the Display House Halloween store recently opened in mid-September for the roughly two-month holiday rush. “Some people really go all-out for Halloween. They’ll spend hundreds and hundreds of dollars,” said employee Hannah Blum.

While it’s not too late to find specific costumes, store manager Heidi Longan’s advice is to act fast since the get-ups go quick, or prepare to get creative when Halloween hits. “The girls are always farther ahead for their costumes than the guys,” she said. “Guys are always shopping the Saturday morning of the party.”