Finally, some not-so-spooky news for retailers: With Halloween on a Friday, many consumers are putting aside recession worries and snapping up Joker masks, Sarah Palin glasses and Hannah Montana wigs.

The gloomy reality — a weak economy, plunging stock market and persistent credit crunch — had retailers worried that consumers would remain tight with their spending for Halloween. But with less than a week to go, many stores said they were out of stock on popular items and extending hours to accommodate crowds of shoppers.

Halloween, a relatively inexpensive holiday to celebrate, has been growing in popularity and consumer spending in recent years, said Britt Beemer, chairman of consumer behavior firm America's Research Group.

According to the National Retail Federation, more people are expected to participate in Halloween festivities this year, with the average person spending $66.54, up from $64.82 a year ago.

"Though the economy is struggling, Halloween sales may be a bright spot for retailers this fall," said Tracy Mullin, chief executive of the retail trade group.

"Consumers, who have been anxious and uncertain for the past several months, may be looking at Halloween as an opportunity to forget the stresses of daily life and just have a little fun."

Halloween is expected to be widely celebrated this year because it falls on a Friday, which will extend the holiday through the weekend.

That timing provided some relief to retailers, who said they were seeing customers — especially women — buy more than one costume to avoid wearing the same outfit two nights in a row.

Tony Detzi, vice president of Spirit Halloween, said because of the economy he "wouldn't classify this as a great Halloween, but it's a good Halloween for us."

The chain, which increased from 548 to 628 superstores in the U.S. and Canada this year, would probably see small same-store sales gains over last year, he said.