**Marie Gallagher **
**Hooked on Costumes**

Marie Gallagher has been Marilyn Monroe, a clown and a stripping gorilla.

After seven months away from Gotcha!, a downtown costume shop, Gallagher returned Tuesday to the store that has been an anchor for her since her move to Columbia 11 years ago.

“It’s home,” she says.

Gallagher helps customers pick costumes for parties, and she, along with her co-workers, dresses up for fundraisers, fulfilling the requests of customers.

“(Gotcha!) offers an escape,” she says. “It’s my escape from life, an escape from whatever is going wrong. ”

Gallagher has also made it part of her children’s lives. Her three children have grown up with the store. Gallagher often brings in her daughter, who dresses up and wears face paint, courtesy of her mother.

Her two sons, aged 15 and 10, participate in drama and the arts. She said her second son is “artistic to an extreme.”

One day, Gallagher hopes to own the store, but for the time being, she’s enjoying the spontaneity of day-to-day operations.

“I could probably write a book about this place,” she says.