Once a year, on Oct. 31, the paranormal becomes normal, the frightful becomes funny, and witches, ghouls, ghosts and even Elvis are commonplace.

A tradition started ages ago for children and young people from all walks of life to come together with one goal in mind – to scare neighbors and loved ones into giving up Halloween candy. In recent years however, the age bracket for Halloween harassment has become rather undefined, and many high school and college age people set out in search for the perfect Halloween costume.

For more than a decade a man named Jake Marettia has been supplying area costume shoppers of all ages with a wide selection of Halloween apparel. Every October Marettia, owner of Jake’s Fireworks, opens Spooky Jake’s, a Halloween costume, apparel and novelty store. In the past, Spooky Jake’s has rented a spot in the Northpark Mall, however, this year they chose to use the Jake’s Fireworks building on Main Street directly north of Trade-X.

Wanda Moses, Spooky Jake’s manager, has been working at the business for the past six years. Moses said she enjoys the job and the endless stream of people searching for unique costumes.

“It’s fun to meet the people and watch them laugh and talk about the costumes,” Moses said. “Every year is different, and we just hope that we carry the costumes that people want.”

Spooky Jake’s has hundreds of costumes for all sizes and ages. Costume designs include medieval maidens, renaissance era, hippies, prisoners, vampires, count and countess, and a barrage of other disguises. Jake’s also has Medusa, comb-over, and fiber optic wigs to name a few. Other offerings include hooded capes, bleeding ghost faces, and more outrageous stuff like an Osama mask, inflatable ladybug, Tiki warrior and even a Morpheus costume (jacket and glasses included). Jake’s is also the only area Halloween store that has plus sizes.

Theresa Francis of Joplin is a new employee of the business, but

“It’s a lot of fun, it keeps you busy and it’s pretty easy. I enjoy learning all the different kinds of costumes and seeing what the customers like” says Francis, “We can beat other people’s prices and we have more of a selection to choose from.”

Spooky Jake’s is open through the end of October. They open the doors at 9 am and don’t close until people stop coming. Jake’s has already started marking down prices and currently has a sidewalk sale going on.