ST. LOUIS – Halloween is 31 days away, and St. Louisians are already buying costumes and visiting haunted houses.

Witches, ghost, evil clowns, oh my… Halloween is around the corner, and people are lining up to be scared by it all.

“I’m scared! A little bit,” said one little boy visiting the haunted house.

Families are at the opening Friday of “Fear: The Haunted House” at Kokomo Joe’s in St. Peters.

“If anyone needs to be sacrificed, it’s her, and then she’s going to be the one that carries me,” said a group of young girls visiting the haunted house.

Haunted houses are not the only ones that have opened their doors. The Halloween store, Johnnie Brock’s Dungeon Party Warehouse, is open year-round, and there’s an uptick as the season officially kicks off.

“A lot of people are shopping early, a lot of people are coming in a lot earlier, and, thank goodness, we actually have more supplies,” said Carlos Soto, manager of Johnnie Brock’s Dungeon Party Warehouse. “Last year, there was a little bit of a supply issue, but this year we don’t have that.”

Soto said this is the first year they’ve been back to normal, meeting the high demand of their customers since the start of the pandemic.

“New inventory, we got a lot of new stuff, new products, new jackets, things like that, so we’re excited,” he said.

Soto said sales have increased by seven percent, and October hasn’t even begun.

“I have skeletons hanging on my house, and I bought a 12-foot mummy skeleton, so I’m going to put that up sometime soon,” said Misty Licavoly, a customer. “I’m super excited for Halloween. I love it.”

The haunted house will be open every Friday and Saturday night through October 29. Tickets are $15 for kids and $20 for adults.

If you want to find more information about the haunted house and purchase tickets, click here.