'Frozen' characters, Ninja Turtles and zombies popular this Halloween

The days of cutting holes in your mother's sheets and calling yourself a ghost are over.

This Halloween, superheroes and characters from Disney's “Frozen” will most likely be ringing your doorbell, according to Alex Brunello, manager of Spirit Halloween in Palatine.

Spirit Halloween is a national pop-up store with about 30 stores in the Chicago area.

“You'll see a lot of Captain America, Batman, Ninja Turtles,” he said. “And we have 'Frozen' for adults and children.”

Because of the release of a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie, Brunello expects the corresponding costumes to sell out quickly; if you have your heart on being Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo or Raphael, better hit the costume stores early. The hardshelled superhero costumes are available from adult to baby sizes.

If you arrive too late for the Ninja Turtles, Brunello assures that Batman, Superman, Robin, Wonder Woman, Spiderman and a wide variety of other heroes are available.

Babies have their choice of a number of costumes for their first Halloween.

“We have superhero costumes, we have Buzz Lightyear, we have Batman and Superman Onesies for boys and girls. The girl variety has skirts. We have Thing One and Thing Two and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” Brunello said.

According to Spirit Halloween district manager Terry Turner, the costumes customers seek out often differ by age and gender.

“Little girls, ages 4-12, will probably wear Monster High, Disney princesses and superheroes. 'Frozen' is the key costume this year,” Turner said.

Aside from the ubiquitous Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, young boys will like old-fashioned ninjas and Power Rangers as well as the perennial favorite superheroes, according to Turner.

For those who march to the beat of their own drummer, Julane Sullivan, owner of All Dressed Up in Batavia, is a go-to costumer.

“We have kids who come in who want to create something other than a costume in a bag and we help them make something extremely, distinctively unique,” Sullivan said.

The store is actually a theatrical rental venue, but costumes are available.

“We do a lot of middle school theater so we can costume that group fairly well,” Sullivan said.

All Dressed Up specializes in people who aren't quite sure what their dream costume might be.

“Typically when someone walks in the door, we ask them, 'What are you interested in, what do you like, do you have an idea?' ” Sullivan said. “Sometimes, we get kids who say, 'I want to be smoke,' and we'll craft something from the accessories we have here.”

Theatrical makeup is also available, and, for those who get their reservations in by the end of September, makeup artists will transform customers into spooky apparitions or princesses on Halloween.

“We normally have three or four artists lined up so kids can get special effects makeup,” Sullivan said. “If someone wanted to be a zombie, we can totally do that with latex coming off the skin.”

“We do The Joker a lot,” she added. “Zombies are always popular. Even if they want to be Elsa (from 'Frozen'), we can put sparkly snowflakes on their face.”

Artists will also teach the skills to those who come in before Halloween and want to try their hand at using the supplies at home.

Orrion Ferguson, owner of Costume and Magic Outlet in South Elgin, also will guide trick-or-treaters through the art of making their own spooky visions come true.

“We have a lot of parts and pieces and people can make up their own costumes,” Ferguson said.

A big seller at the at the outlet is a solid-colored, one piece suit.

“People can paint it with designs and make their own superhero out of it,” he said.

Ferguson has noticed a trend over the years.

“People are doing more makeup than they are masks,” he said.

In that vein, the store carries professional lines of theatrical makeup.

“They have scar products in a bottle so they can do scars with instructions,” Ferguson said.

The costumes for sale at All Dressed Up and Costume and Magic Outlet may cost more than the drugstore varieties, but they are a good resource for those who take Halloween festivities more seriously.

“We're mid-to higher-end than some other costumes,” Ferguson said.

What's hot this Halloween

Who you can expect to see at your door this Halloween, according to suburban costume shop managers:

• Any of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

• Elsa from “Frozen”

• Batman

• Superman

• Wonder Woman

• Captain America

• “Monster High” characters

• “Star Wars” characters

• Zombies

• Spiderman

• Power Rangers