Being in the Halloween business can be a monstrous undertaking.

Spirit Halloween is in what store manager Steve Lerum calls “crunch time,” the final days before Halloween arrives. The traffic through the store has been typical so far this year according to Lerum, despite relocating to a smaller store.

This is Spirit Halloween’s first year at the Evergreen location on U.S. 2. For the last three years, the costume store could be found in the center of Kalispell. The Flathead’s Spirit Halloween is one of six in the state.

Lerum is anticipating a monster year for the Halloween business. Consumers across the U.S. are expected to spend about $6.5 billion on the holiday this year, according to the National Retail Federation, becoming the second-highest consumer spending holiday after Christmas.

In Montana, a margin of those profits return to local programs each year.

All Spirit Halloween stores in Montana take donations of $1, $2, or $5 for the Shodair Children’s Hospital in Helena. Last year, the chain of spooky stores raised $16,000 for the hospital. The Kalispell store raised the most with $5,600.

“We are not the biggest metropolitan area and we beat Great Falls, Missoula and Billings,” Lerum said. “It’s really a testimony to the generosity of the Flathead Valley.”

The donations to Shodair from the Spirit Halloween stores go directly to the child development ward of the hospital, Lerum said.

At the Evergreen store, Lerum employs 18 part-time employees for about seven weeks. A lot of high-school kids walk to store to help customers, while older employees man the checkout counter and dressing room.

In the off-season, Lerum likes to spend time with family in Missoula and visit San Antonio, Texas, for the winter. Lerum said a lot of customers have asked him to open a costume store that operates year-round, but the 30-year Air Force veteran doesn’t have any plans to look at masks for 52 weeks a year.

Lerum — the only full-time employee at Spirit, raking in 10 to 12 hours a day — looks tiredly over at a thin ghoul in a jumpsuit with a giant pumpkin head, sitting on a swing hanging from the ceiling near the checkout counter. The pumpkin head monster lets out a scream and wicked laugh whenever someone walks within range of sensor.

“It’s already a three-month dedication,” he said. “And listening to this pumpkin guy scream at you all day is draining.”

The animatronic decoration is one of several throughout the store. These “in-store” experiences are a hallmark of the Spirit Halloween franchise, Lerum said. In another corner of the store, mannequin zombies sway in front of a cardboard train that lights up when shoppers step up for a closer look.

The loud and light-up decor usually finds a suitable home during the season. After Halloween is over, Lerum said leftover props are often donated to local high school drama clubs and community programs.

Nearby, at Goodwill in Evergreen, people are creating monsters of their own for the Halloween holiday.

Do-it-yourself costumes and decor are the driver of autumn business at the donation hub. While Goodwill still has a few racks of costumes in the inventory, most people browse through clothes from the 1980s, cheap business suits and old overalls donated by farming families.

“Halloween is our Christmas,” said Michelle Fried, community relations for the Goodwill Montana branch. “It’s by far our busiest time of the year.”

Each year, customers swarm consignment stores like Goodwill for cheap items to construct a costume from their imagination. This year, Goodwill has been creating “look-books” to help customers create their own costumes.

“We’re really grateful to the Kalispell community for donating the clothes and costumes,” Fried said. “It’s great for people who come in.”

Goodwill is holding “Late Night Madness” events for children to come in from Oct. 29 through 31 for last-minute costume shopping and free candy before the holiday. Call the store at 758-0240 for store hours and more information.

And on Halloween night, keep an eye out for previously donated items. One man’s fashion mistake may be another man’s monster.

Reporter Seaborn Larson can be reached at 758-4441 or by email at slarson@dailyinterlake.com.