Halloween may still be weeks away, but costume planning is already picking up across the United States. Recent Google Trends activity reveals a fascinating mix of scary characters, nostalgic favorites, children’s costumes, pet costumes, and playful ideas that could shape Halloween 2026. This article may include affiliate links.
The biggest takeaway? There is no single costume style dominating every audience. Instead, people are splitting into several distinct camps: horror fans want recognizable villains, families are revisiting familiar characters, and others are searching for costumes that feel cute, funny, or unexpected.
Here is what the latest search activity tells us about the Halloween costumes likely to be popular in 2026.
Classic Horror Is Gaining Momentum
Scary costumes are showing some of the strongest growth. Searches for “scary costumes” rose 70%, while “scary Halloween costumes” increased 60% in the United States during the period analyzed.
Several recognizable horror characters appeared among the rising searches:
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Pennywise costume: up 60%
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Terrifier costume: up 60%
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Art the Clown costume: up 50%
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Michael Myers costume: up 50%
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These searches point to an appetite for costumes that are instantly recognizable. Pennywise, Art the Clown, and Michael Myers have distinctive faces, silhouettes, and accessories, making them well suited to parties, photographs, and short-form social media videos.
For anyone who wants a scary look without copying one exact character, bloody clown makeup, vintage circus horror, eerie masks, and distressed black-and-white clothing can capture the same mood.
Nostalgic Characters Are Making a Comeback
Nostalgia is another noticeable thread in the 2026 data. Searches connected to The Cat in the Hat, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and the Minions all appeared among rising costume queries.
The strangest microtrend was the phrase “is the Cat in the Hat costume haunted,” which rose 140%. That unusual search may be driven by a brief online conversation rather than widespread buying interest, but it is helping place Cat in the Hat costumes back in front of shoppers. The more straightforward phrase “Cat in the Hat costume” also rose 50% and appeared among the top related searches.
Other nostalgic and family-friendly searches included:
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Alvin and the Chipmunks costume: up 50%
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Minions costume: up 50%
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Cat in the Hat costume: up 50%
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These characters work especially well for group costumes. Families or friends can dress as the Cat in the Hat with Thing 1 and Thing 2, the three Chipmunks, or a cheerful group of Minions. They are recognizable without requiring elaborate handmade outfits.
Spider-Man and Nezuko Show the Power of Fandom
Fandom-based costumes remain reliable choices. “Spider-Man costume” rose 60%, while “Nezuko costume” also increased 60%.
Spider-Man continues to appeal to children and adults because the character has many recognizable variations. Shoppers can choose a classic red-and-blue suit, a darker alternate version, or a homemade outfit inspired by the Spider-Verse.
Nezuko, from Demon Slayer, demonstrates the continuing influence of anime on Halloween style. Her pink kimono, long dark hair, and bamboo muzzle create a highly identifiable costume. This trend suggests that anime-inspired clothing, wigs, makeup, and accessories will remain valuable parts of the Halloween market in 2026.
Super Hero Costumes Here
Girls’ and Kids’ Costumes Are Being Researched Early
One of the fastest-growing practical searches was “Halloween costumes for girls,” up 170%. Related phrases also gained momentum:
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Girls Halloween costume: up 50%
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Kids Halloween costumes: up 50%
Princess costumes remain one of the stronger specific ideas in the “Top” results, while baby Halloween costumes also appear in the leading related searches.
The wording of these searches suggests that many parents are still in the discovery stage. They know who they are shopping for but have not necessarily chosen a character. Retailers and bloggers can help these shoppers by organizing ideas by age, comfort, warmth, school appropriateness, and price—not only by character.
Pet Costumes Remain a Major Part of Halloween
Pet owners are not being left out. Among the top related searches, “dog costume” scored 11 and “cat costume” scored 10 on Google Trends’ relative-interest scale. Those scores placed pet costumes ahead of most individual human character ideas in the same report.
Simple pet costumes are usually the most practical: bandanas, capes, soft hats, and lightweight harness-style outfits are easier for animals to tolerate than complicated clothing. Comfort and supervision should always come before the photograph.
Popular pet-friendly themes for 2026 may include:
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Tiny witches and wizards
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Bats, ghosts, and pumpkins
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Superheroes
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Storybook characters
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Matching owner-and-pet costumes
Cute, Funny, and Unexpected Costumes Are Rising Too
Not everyone wants to be frightening or tied to a franchise. Searches reveal growing interest in costumes based on a mood:
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Piñata costume: up 100%
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Cute Halloween costumes: up 90%
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Cool Halloween costumes: up 60%
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Funny Halloween costumes: up 50%
The piñata is especially interesting because it is colorful, easy to recognize, and adaptable as a DIY project. Layers of bright fringe attached to a simple dress, sweatshirt, or cardboard form can create the effect without an expensive licensed costume.
Searches for cute, cool, and funny costumes also show that many shoppers have not settled on a particular character. Inspiration posts such as “cute costumes for best friends,” “funny last-minute costumes,” and “cool costumes you can make from thrift-store finds” may be especially helpful this season.
Couples and Group Costumes Still Have an Audience
“Couples costume” appears among the top related searches, while several rising character ideas naturally lend themselves to pairs or groups. That makes coordinated costumes another dependable 2026 category.
Ideas inspired by the current trends include:
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Pennywise and Georgie
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Art the Clown and a final girl
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The Cat in the Hat with Thing 1 and Thing 2
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Alvin, Simon, and Theodore
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Gru with a group of Minions
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Spider-Man characters from different universes
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A matching witch and black-cat pairing
Group costumes are particularly appealing because each person can decide how elaborate or inexpensive their version will be while maintaining a shared theme.
Spirit Halloween Is Already Part of the Search Journey
Both the Spirit Halloween topic and the Spirit Halloween retail topic rose 70%, while “Spirit Halloween costumes” increased 50%. This indicates that people are moving beyond general inspiration and beginning to investigate where they can buy costumes.
“Target costume” also appeared among the top searches. Together, these retailer-focused searches suggest that availability, price, delivery time, and the ability to see a costume in person will influence costume decisions alongside the character itself.
Where Costume Interest Is Strongest
Google Trends showed the highest relative interest in “costume” in these states:
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California — 100
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Michigan — 95
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Utah — 95
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New Jersey — 93
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Wisconsin — 91
These numbers measure the share of searches devoted to the topic within each state; they are not raw search totals. A smaller state can therefore rank highly even if a larger state generates more searches overall.
What Will Be the Most Popular Halloween Costumes of 2026?
Based on the latest search signals, the costumes with the strongest early potential fall into five groups:
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Horror icons: Pennywise, Art the Clown, Michael Myers, and other frightening clowns or masked villains
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Nostalgic characters: The Cat in the Hat, Alvin and the Chipmunks, and Minions
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Fandom favorites: Spider-Man and Nezuko
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Family and pet costumes: princesses, children’s characters, dog costumes, and cat costumes
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Playful originals: piñatas and other cute, funny, or DIY concepts
Popular Costumes for Sale!
The horror category currently has the clearest momentum, but nostalgia and family-friendly costumes may have broader appeal as Halloween gets closer. The most successful 2026 looks will probably combine instant recognition with a little personality—whether that means a terrifying horror mask, a handmade fringe-covered piñata, or a coordinated family costume.
A Note About the Data
This analysis is based on the U.S. Google Trends report for “costume” over the past day, reviewed September 20, 2026. Google Trends uses a sample of searches and scales interest from 0 to 100. A value of 100 represents the point of highest relative interest in the selected report; it does not mean 100 searches or 100% of people. “Rising” percentages measure growth compared with the preceding equivalent period.
Because a one-day window captures fast-moving interest, these results should be treated as an early trend snapshot rather than a final sales ranking. Search activity can also be influenced by viral stories, entertainment news, and brief social-media moments.
Sources: Google Trends