Halloween Costume Trends 2026: Unicorns, Witches and a Record $13.5 Billion

Ask three different counters and you get three different answers. Halloween costume trends 2026 look like that this year. Google says the breakout costume is a creepy unicorn. Shoppers surveyed by the National Retail Federation (NRF) say they’re dressing as witches, vampires and Spider-Man, same as ever. Spirit Halloween, which opened a record 1,575 stores this season, says the money is in campus jerseys, toy cowboys and demon-hunting pop stars (NJBIZ). All three can be right. They measure different things: searches spiking, costumes planned, costumes stocked.

Halloween falls on Saturday, 31 October 2026. The NRF projects total Halloween spending at a record $13.5 billion, up from $13.1 billion last year, with $4.4 billion of it going on costumes (NJBIZ). Information verified through 28 October 2026.

Halloween costume trends 2026, as Google counts them

Google’s annual Frightgeist list ranks costume searches by how sharply interest has jumped, not by how many people will wear the thing. That distinction explains the top of the list. Buddy the Unicorn, the colourful mascot from Casper Kelly’s horror film Buddy, is No. 1. NeeDoh, the squishy stress-relief toy, is No. 2. Nikki, played by Inde Navarrette in Curry Barker’s horror film Obsession, is No. 3 (USA TODAY).

Agamemnon, the Greek king from Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, sits at No. 4. Lily Love Braids from Poppy Playtime is fifth, musician Oliver Tree sixth, Verity from a Minecraft-inspired horror series seventh, and Carl from Matt Dinniman’s Dungeon Crawler Carl eighth. Disco Scooby-Doo and Hazel Hook from Descendants: Wicked Wonderland close the top ten (USA TODAY).

Google’s separate kids’ list looks nothing like that. Dolly Parton leads it, ahead of country singer Ella Langley, a character called Dumpling, and Shakira. Ash Ketchum, Hannah Montana, Spider-Gwen and a Thriller-era Michael Jackson follow (USA TODAY). Men’s Journal, working through the full top 25, reported that searches for Michael Jackson costumes are at a 10-year high, and put Kenny Rogers at No. 14 and Skeletor at No. 19 (Men’s Journal).

The most popular Halloween costumes 2026, as shoppers count them

The most popular Halloween costumes 2026 by planned wear tell a plainer story. In the NRF survey, 4.8 million adults plan to dress as a witch and 4.2 million as a vampire, ahead of Batman at 2 million, Spider-Man at 1.5 million and a ghost at 1.4 million (Bee Bulletin). Among children, Spider-Man dominates at 4.6 million, roughly double the generic superhero in second place. Princess, witch and ghost follow (Bee Bulletin).

Pets have their own hierarchy. Pumpkin takes 11.6% of pet costumes, hot dog 5.9% and ghost 2.8%, with pet costume spending forecast at $0.92 billion (Bee Bulletin). Adults’ costumes account for $2 billion of the $4.4 billion costume total and children’s for $1.5 billion, according to the NRF breakdown reported by NJBIZ, which also put decorations at $4.3 billion and candy at $4.1 billion (NJBIZ).

Price is shaping choices inside those numbers. Shoppers expect to spend an average of $115.14 per person. If prices run higher than expected, 31% say they will shop around, 26% will hunt for sales or coupons, and 34% will look for pieces they can reuse or repurpose, the NRF found (NJBIZ).

What the stores are actually stocking

Spirit Halloween released its trend report on 1 October. Its shelves lean hard into screen fandoms: licensed jerseys and varsity jackets, looks from Prime Video’s Off Campus — Allie’s party jumpsuit, Hannah’s bunny costume, Graham’s hockey uniform — and Toy Story sets built for whole families, Woody, Buzz, Jessie and Slinky Dog included (USA TODAY).

KPop Demon Hunters characters, Spider-Man and Power Rangers fill the next rails. Greek armour and floating cloaks, many tied to The Odyssey, sit beside dragon-rider and rogue adventurer kits and a Dungeon Crawler Carl look. Horror runs from the Async hazmat suit from Backrooms to Billy the Puppet from Saw. Halo and Fortnite cover games, and inflatables with giant mascot heads cover the joke end of the party (USA TODAY).

Spirit’s executive vice president Kym Sarkos described the method plainly in the company’s release: the team watches entertainment, gaming, social media and nostalgia develop all year, so the looks fans want are ready when October arrives (USA TODAY).

Last-minute Halloween costume ideas 2026 from your own wardrobe

Still undecided on Wednesday? You’re not late by this year’s standards, and some of the most searched looks need almost no shopping. Men’s Journal broke down the do-it-yourself versions: Kenny Rogers from a grey beard, a western or denim shirt, a vest and a deck of cards; Michael Jackson from a red jacket, red trousers, white socks and black loafers; Skeletor from a purple hoodie worn up plus a skull mask or face paint (Men’s Journal).

Its Agamemnon is even cheaper — a bedsheet tied with a belt, a cardboard crown and a broom handle for a spear. The witch and the vampire, the NRF’s top two adult picks, remain the easiest classics to assemble at home too (Men’s Journal).

Analysis: the split between the lists is the story. Search spikes reward novelty — a horror unicorn nobody dressed as last year. Planned-wear surveys reward recognition: a witch reads instantly at a doorway, in bad light, on a child who has lost half the accessories. Retailers have to satisfy both shoppers at once, which is why one store can stock a NeeDoh suit and a witch hat on facing rails and sell out of each. Pick your counter first. Then pick your costume.

Photo: Don Scarborough, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5)

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