The last time I wore a Halloween costume I was a junior in high school. North Marion played Lincoln on Halloween night. Instead of wearing our uniforms, the band got to dress in costumes.

As usual, I waited until the last minute because I could not think of a good costume. (Keep in mind this was way before Pinterest!) I’m not sure how I came up with the idea but I took a large garbage bag and taped leaves all over it. I also taped leaves all over my dad’s hard hat. I wore a brown long-sleeve top and brown pants. . . . and went as a pile of leaves.

Well once again I am in need a costume. The Governor’s Conference on Tourism is later in the month and a costume ball will be held at the WV State Penitentiary in Moundsville.

Not wanting to wait until the last minute and without a good costume idea, I went to the Illusive Skull Costume Castle. All I can say is WOW! WOW for their great selection, great prices and great customer service!

I was more than a little overwhelmed with their collection. They have two floors of costumes for all shapes and sizes and the accouterments to complete the look. You will find subtle accents such as a witch’s hat head band to prostheses.  They also have a large assortment of makeup, wigs, masks, stockings . . . the list goes on.

Back to my costume. What you don’t get from a big box store is someone who takes the time to ask you questions about your event, your tastes, as well as your likes and dislikes. But that is exactly what Pam did for me.  You also don’t get the opportunity to try before you buy. Pam picked out a few costumes for me to try on (in their dressing room) and helped with all the accessories. Thank goodness for both of us we came up with a great costume.

So what great costume did I find? I’m not going to give that away now – you’ll have to wait for the pictures from the conference.

But I will tell you that you won’t be disappointed when you stop in. In addition to all the great costumes (think Star Wars) they also have the cutest (make that scariest) decorations for your home or Halloween party.                                             

Something else I learned today, the Illusive Skull has a “yard sale” every Friday (weather permitting) where they sell costumes for $10.  And as I was leaving, they were unpacking boxes adding to their already extensive inventory.

What was your all-time favorite Halloween costume?