The Top 3 Halloween Stores in St. Louis, Missouri

These Stores Offer a Ghoulish Good Time

Make sure to read Unique Halloween Activities in St. Louis, Missouri, also by Walt Crocker.

You know the feeling. You wake up one morning and change is in the air. The heat of summer is gone. It's cooler, quieter. The kids are back in school, and you hurry to find that blanket you put away last spring and close the bedroom window. Autumn has arrived. Someone calls you and invites you to a Halloween party. You wonder what kind of costume you'll wear. The kids started asking you about theirs over two weeks ago, as soon as the candy and novelties started appearing on the shelves of your local Walgreens. Should I stick with the traditional? Maybe something more topical…a president Bush mask? That certainly would be scary.

Halloween has its roots, like a lot of other holidays, in pagan ritual. In ancient Celtic times it was called Samhain. (pronounced sow-en) It marked the start of the Celtic New Year. The beginning of winter and the dark half of the year. A time when the veil that separated the worlds of the living and the dead was the thinnest. Three days of no-time when anything was possible. It was a time when strange things sometimes happened : horses were let out of their stalls, milk jugs overturned, and pranks played. These activities were sometimes blamed on either the spirits of the dead or mischievous nature spirits. It was also a time when the dead were feasted and honored. A good time for divination and looking ahead into the future. Those folks took their Halloween seriously and some still do, but for most it's a time for celebrating the changing of the season and going out to have some fun.

Halloween is becoming more and more popular every year. No more is it just a time to walk through the neighborhood with the kids, getting candy from strangers. Just too dangerous. More and more communities are throwing Halloween celebrations for the children as well as the adults. So, you have decided to pull out all of the stops this year. You got the plastic hollow jack-o-lantern and Spider-man outfits for the kids at Wal-Mart, but where do you go to get all decked out? Here are the top 3 places to shop for Halloween in St. Louis: