Best costumes already gone for Halloween

Like hungry vampire bats, many desirable Halloween costumes have already flown off the racks, but all is not lost for Iowans still in need of disguises for tonight’s ghoulish parties. Manager Paula Thornton-Greear says her department store in Davenport is still well-stocked with costumes depicting new characters and some old favorites. Thornton-Greear says popular costumes still in stock include the Incredible Hulk, Swan Lake Barbie, Dr. Seuss, Spiderman, Batman and SpongeBob Squarepants. Thornton-Greear says plenty of Iowa adults are getting into the spirit and for many, they’re going with couple-themed costumes. She says couples can go as kings and queens or they can don a gothic look, or carnival phantoms. She says there’s still an inflatable Elvis costume, characters from the Matrix and even Ozzy Osbourne. Thornton-Greear expects more people to dress up this year than usual since Halloween falls on a Friday. She says people are also buying pet-get-ups for their cats and dogs. She says pets can be costumed as pumpkins, witches, princesses or clowns — and the sets actually come with a headpiece, a cape and a ruffled paw bracelet. Halloween is the second biggest holiday for retailers, behind only Christmas.