What is Parkville, Overlea Going To Be For Halloween?

When it comes to Halloween people tend to fall into one of three categories: they either plan their costume way ahead of time, wait until the last minute or don't participate at all.

Normally, this Patch editor is in the first category but, this year, with Halloween just a week away, I have no idea what costume I'll be donning. 

Sure, I have a few standbys I've put together over the years: a pirate, a character from the Final Fantasy video game series, the eleventh Doctor from Doctor Who ... but who wants to recycle a costume?

I've waited far too long to do what I wanted (put together a great Iron Man costume) so I'm turning to you, the readers, for ideas.

What are you going to be for Halloween?

Recently, I made it a point to stop by Spirit Halloween in North Plaza and talk to manager Jack Delaney about what's popular this year.

For kids, Delaney said that the boys are leaning towards ninja costumes, which the shop has a plethora (see the gallery above), while girls are drifting toward the Monster High franchise (Clawdeen Wolf is the most popular).

Among adult costumers, Delaney said that many are making the obvious pop culture reference: opting for some variation on a referee costume, poking fun at the NFL replacement referees.

Zombies and comic book characters like Captain America are popular in the wake of hit TV series and movies like AMC's The Walking Dead and Marvel's The Avengers.

Most importantly, though, Delaney offered some advice.

"Remember that it's gonna be cold out," he said. "And, this year a lot of people are waiting til the last minute to get costumes; remember that the earlier you get to a store, the better the selection is gonna be."

Tell Us: What are you or your kids going to dress up as for Halloween? And remember, when the 31st rolls around and you're in costume, .