Spooktacular shops for Halloween costumes in Santa Monica

With Halloween just around the corner, costume stores are beginning to become infested with people looking for the perfect garb to wear on the scariest night of the year. Seasonal stores have risen like werewolves under a full moon to lure commission from desperate shoppers searching for reasonably priced costumes, wigs, and makeup.

Party City is one of the largest Halloween chain stores in the United States. Located on Pico and Sepulveda boulevards in Santa Monica, this packed and festive store has everything a Halloween lover would need from traditional pirate costumes to ghoulish creatures for your front lawn.

They have the classics like vampire and superhero costumes, as well as some very obscure items, such as macaroni and cheese, and green lycra full body [Green Man] suits.

Business for Make Believe, another costume store also on Pico Boulevard, is skyrocketing in the past two weeks with the most popular costumes for girls being Elsa from "Frozen" and Maleficent from the movie of the same name. For boys, the most popular costumes that have gone out are Batman or pirates. For couples, the most popular picks are superhero pairs or 1920's flapper-style duos.

Robinson Beautilities, a small wig store located on Venice and Centinela boulevards, has been open since 1935 and still has booming Halloween business every year. Originally, the store was a warehouse, however in the 1970's they started to sell wigs, hair pieces, and film memorabilia. The store has worked with various motion picture studios over the years, such as Paramount Pictures, Miramax, MGM, and 20th Century Fox.

The store has a smaller selection of costumes, with the most expensive mask going for $49.

"The classic costumes are still selling very well," said store employee Bradford Lee. "Things like pirates, vampires, and flappers are very popular choices."

Spirit, located on Jefferson and Sepulveda boulevards, has costume selections for men, women, and children, as well as a plethora of accessories for home or costume decorations. From your traditional bottles of blood make-up, to your fangs, to your theatrical clawed scar adhesives, Spirit is attracting the crowds with its versatile clutch buys.

Sales Associate Sarah Donaldso said, "Costumes have been flying off the racks this whole month. The most sought after choices have been witches, fairies, and police uniforms. The Day of the Dead make-up has been highly demanded, too."

While some of their costumes cost $50, clever shoppers can easily get away with spending the bare minimum on a few props that can be used to create new and unique costumes.

Santa Monica's seasonal Halloween stores provide shoppers with everything a Halloween enthusiast could ask for, with prices that are scary good.