Check Out more people escaping the troubled U.S. economy by turning themselves, their children and their pets into ghosts and goblins.

More than 64 percent of people plan to celebrate Halloween this year, up from nearly 59 percent last year, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual Halloween survey.

The average person plans to spend $66.54 on Halloween this year, up from $64.82 last year, said the NRF. Consumers on average will spend $24.17 on costumes, $20.39 on candy,  $18.25 on decorations and $3.73 on greeting cards. 

But that news is not so great when you consider that this year’s $2.65 increase is less than the rate of inflation.

Adjusted for inflation, consumers would need to buy $68.49 worth of Halloween merchandise just to break even with last year, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index inflation calculator.

Still, total Halloween spending for 2008 is estimated to reach $5.77 billion, which is sure to help retailers struggling with less foot traffic as consumers pressured by high food and gas prices curb spending and trips to the store.

The NRF poll of 8,167 consumers was conducted from September 2-9 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.0 percent.

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(Photo/Reuters)