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The top Halloween costumes for 2023 are less creepy, more IP

We've got a list of the most popular Halloween costumes this year, according Google Trends. What's your guess for #1?

Image credit: Spirit Halloween, Instagram

Features by Grant DeArmitt, Staff Writer

Published on Wed Oct 25 2023

And the number one Halloween costume in the US for 2023 is...

Well, wait a second. We need some context first.

For spooky season this year, Google has put together a devlish little device called Frightgeist. Backed by Google Trends' search data, Frightgeist's purpose is to tell you which Halloween costumes people are searching for all across the United States. So what does it say is the most popular costume this year? Well friend, I'm afraid it's not anything too shocking; the number one Halloween costume this year according to Frightgeist is...

Barbie.

Come on, you had to know that answer was coming! Barbie was the movie of the year, helped define a generation, and caught a cool billion at the box office. You'd better believe she's showing up this Halloween.

But there were other costumes that made an impressive showing on the list. As of this writing, here are the top ten Halloween costumes in the US according to Frightgeist.

Barbie
Princess
Spider-Man
Witch
Fairy
Wednesday Addams
Dinosaur
Cowboy
Ninja
Bunny

Quick note here: it's impossible to know if the "Bear" people are searching for is the hot guy that cooks or whatshisname from Midsommar.

However, if what you really want to know is what's not popular (because you've got to have the most indie costume at the party, don't you?), Frightgeist has you covered there as well. Just go into any one of the costumes and scroll down to "Show something less popular" to find what most people aren't ddressing up as.

A casual search told me that most folks aren't dressing as Snoopy (number 289 on the list), '80s workout instructor (number 560), and John Smith (number 793). To be honest, the first two kind of surprised me. The last one, though...

Well, let's just say I can't imagine even Disney fans pulling that one out this year. Besides, if you simply must go as a chiseled blonde but want something a lot less cringey, there's always Ken.

If your Halloween is less about putting clothes on and more about taking them off, might I recommend Popverse's list of the 10 horniest horror movies?

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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. As Popverse's Staff Writer, he criss-crosses the pop culture landscape bringing you the news and opinions about the big things (and the next big things). In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.