As many are rushing to buy their costumes, a Scranton woman is helping families dress up for free.

SCRANTON, Pa. — Along this quiet alley in Scranton, the ghouls and goblins come alive in Dawn Sherman’s garage. 

Organizer Dawn Sherman says, “It’s just something I wanted to do, and I thought, the kids wear the costumes, what three hours a night if that?”

Once October rolls around, the space is transformed into a Halloween hot spot. 

Costumes are stacked and tables are filled with everything from masks to makeup, all of it free for families. 

“It started out in my two-bedroom apartment. My mom and I would take one day and deliver from here to Wilkes-Barre, and it just turned into this. It turned into people having to come pick them up because it just got too big,” says Sherman. 

Dawn’s Mom, Sharon Keen, says, “The first day we opened, which was last Friday, we had 146 costumes in one day, gone.”

Dawn started the free pop-up costume shop 14 years ago, and it’s grown, giving away nearly 600 costumes every year. 

Helping families find that Halloween magic without the scary price tag. One parent says, “It adds up really quick, Halloween costumes add up really quick, especially when you have more than one kid.”

Another parent said, “Paying like $50 and up for a costume is really expensive.”

But behind all the fun and festivities of spooky season is the reason that inspired it all, “This is in our hearts, this is something we really want to do for my son,” says Sharon. 

It began with Dawn’s brother Larry, who died from an overdose on Halloween 15 years ago—his favorite time of year, “It’s solely for my brother. It was never a big holiday for me. It was never a big holiday for my family.”

Now, Halloween has become more than just a holiday. It’s a way of healing. 

Dawn says, “Definitely proud. Definitely. I’m sure that he’s looking down at me, and every time I get very frustrated, I just look up and I’m like, ‘Yep, I’m doing this for you.'”

For more details on Dawn’s free pop-up costume shop, click here.