ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — It’s Halloween! Check out the favorites across the state and across the country. ‘Tis the season!
Halloween costumes
All Home Connections say they found the most popular costume in each state, sifting through hundreds of costumes to find which ones are searched for the most. In 2020, the top costume for New Yorkers was the dinosaur. Take a look at the map for 2021 for an update:
This year, witch is the top costume among New Yorkers. In Vermont, they’re going as superheroes, and in Massachusetts, princess looks like the go-to this Halloween.
Horror villain
None of the selections for the country’s favorite scary movie villain would be fun to encounter on a dimly-lit street, Halloween or no. In New York—according to a report from GetWindstream—the most searched and most popular horror movie villain is the Ghostface killer from the “Scream” franchise.
In Massachusetts, their favorite villain is Samara from “The Ring” series, which was the highest-grossing horror remake in history until “It: Chapter 1” in 2017. In Vermont, they’re into Hannibal Lecter. The xenomorph from the Alien franchise is the most-searched villain nationwide in the past decade.
Meanwhile, Michael Myers, the villain of the original slasher, “Halloween,” didn’t clinch the crown in any state this year. Eight villains have made the list for the past four years—Norman Bates, Chucky, Frankenstein’s monster, Alien, Jack Torrance, Count Dracula, Hannibal Lecter, and Ghostface.
Scary TV
A report from CenturyLinkQuote worked to discover which TV show New Yorkers were watching the most in October. They combed through search volume data and concluded that we can’t stop searching for “You,” the Netflix thriller starring Penn Badgley as a serial killer.
“You” was also the favorite in New Jersey, Ohio, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, North Dakota, and Virginia. Vermonters were into “The Haunting of Hill House,” while in Massachusetts, they still can’t get enough of “The Handmaid’s Tale.” Meanwhile, “Squid Game,” the latest Netflix offering to take the world by storm, took top honors only in California and Hawaii. “Lucifer” was the favorite throughout much of the country, earning top honors in 16 states.
Spooky kids movies
According to USDish, reporting on the most-searched children’s movies, kids in New York and New Jersey love the creepy claymation feature “Coraline” from 2009 the most. Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, kids are fans of “Hocus Pocus,” which takes place Salem. In Vermont, they love “Beetlejuice.”
USDISH says Scooby-Doo is the favorite nationwide, with 13 states championing it. “Coraline” is the next-most popular, with 10 states. “Ghostbusters” came in third. An obscure 1998 Disney Channel movie, “Halloweentown,” is the favorite in Oregon, where it was filmed.
Superstition
When it comes to bad luck, many Americans say they throw salt over their shoulders. At least 65% say they’re superstitious. Digital Third Coast analyzed over 200 superstitions in a new study, examining lucky rabbit’s feet, betting on prime numbers, and avoiding black cats.
Indeed, black cats are the most common superstition in New York. Vermonters believe bad luck comes in threes, and in Massachusetts, they’re most likely to consider four-leaf clovers lucky.
Phobia
Some fear tiny holes, some fear germs, and some fear blood. But what’s everyone most afraid of in New York? Moving from superstitions to fears, let’s take a look at the the top-Googled phobia in the state. According to a report from Your Local Security. New Yorkers have a fear of intimacy.
Wikipedia calls it a social phobia and anxiety disorder resulting in difficulty forming close relationships with another person. Even so, only Montana searched for “fear of humans” the most. “Fear of failure” was the top search in the most states taking the No. 1 spot from “fear of other humans” in 2020. Both Vermont and Massachusetts had a fear of failure.
Pumpkin-flavored foods
October 26 is officially Pumpkin Day. In honor of the little-known holiday, Instagram compiled each state’s favorite pumpkin food:
Instagram examined its data from across the country, tallying mentions over the past month from feed and story posts by New Yorkers. They found five favorites:
Pumpkin bread: The leading choice was preferred by 13 states, including Vermont, Connecticut, Washington, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, Oregon, Colorado, Alabama, Arkansas, and North DakotaPumpkin Spice Latte: The least popular, pumpkin spice was chosen by some of the biggest and most populated states: New York, California, Texas, and South CarolinaPumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cookies, and pumpkin pie tied for second place with 11 states each.Pumpkin pancakes were the favorite in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Florida, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, and DelawarePumpkin cookies were the top pick in Ohio, Maine, Arizona, Indiana, Utah, Mississippi, Kansas, Louisiana, Hawaii, Maine, Idaho, and WyomingPumpkin pie was beloved in North Carolina, Michigan, Maryland, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Iowa, Nebraska, West Virginia, South Dakota.