While the annual tradition of Halloween seems to continue to stay in the forefront of American culture every October, certain costumes gain popularity. Originally, the Celtics dressed up in costumes on Halloween to ward off evil spirits, as they believed Halloween night was when the veil between the normal world and the afterlife was the weakest. Today, costumes on Halloween are seen as fun ways to express yourself and reflect pop culture trends. While classic characters, monsters, and ghouls continue to thrive as costume choices each year, the ever-changing zeitgeist of popular culture is a defining factor when it comes to costumes. New trends, movies, and social events help to shape which costumes are popular each year.
This year, the popularity of recent movies is sure to make a splash across costume stores. As well as gaining notice through its songs, K-Pop Demon Hunters is sure to be a movie that will dominate the costume sphere, especially because of the magical and supernatural qualities associated with the characters. Similarly, magical characters from the musical film Wicked will surely be a large part of neighborhood trick or treating, even having a witch as a main character. As always, superheroes will also be a major costume choice this year. Because of the recent success of films like Superman and Fantastic Four, expect many trick-or-treaters to be dressed up in blue spandex and red capes. Of course, classic spooky characters like Frankenstein, Dracula, the Mummy, and various ghosts will roam neighborhoods, staples of Halloween.
Students across HHS also have opinions on what costumes will show up on neighborhood streets this year. 10th grader Wally Drews says, “I think ghosts will have a big comeback this year, specifically just using bed sheets as material.” Wally is sure to be correct as spooky classics like ghosts are always seen on Halloween, but if he’s right about their huge resurgence, there could be a lot more. 10th grader Rex Chen thinks that Spider-Man will be a popular costume because “he’s a great role model for younger kids, and I always see a couple of Spider-Men on my street.” While no new Spider-Man movies came out in 2025, he’s sure to be a popular costume as he is every year. 11th grader Seph Darlington also advocated for Spiderman, but thought another superhero would be more popular this year. He says, “I think because of the Superman movie, Superman will get a lot of costume orders this year.” With October right around the corner, Halloween is nearly here, and these costumes are bound to appear throughout neighborhoods across the country.
