Halloween is on the horizon! All around the world people of all ages are getting ready for the spooky season with decorations, haunted houses, and, most importantly, costumes. This year 46% of people plan to dress up for Halloween according to the National Retail Federation. This is a significant increase compared to last year due to the pandemic.

However, if you’re having trouble finding a costume this year, here’s a list compiled of the most popular costumes this year. Pop culture has always made a large impact on the popular costumes of the time, and, this year, with the release of movies and the spread of trends and memes. You’ll never go wrong if you pick from one from this list.

Your Classic Witch

It’s not surprising that the American public has an acute obsession with witches, dawning from the Salem Witch Trials and furtherly establishing our fascination with classical movies like the Wizard of Oz, Hocus Pocus, and Harry Potter. Thus, it makes sense that witch is the #1 costume for adults, and according to the NFR more than 4.9 million adults plan as dressing as witches this year.

The Vamp

Vampires have had a hold on our society for quite a while. The 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker was the blueprint for this beautiful monster and jumpstarted our love for a classic bloodsucker. More recently, the public has been bewitched with vampires playing the love interest in TV the past few decades. Captivating works like Twilight and Vampire Diaries, have turned our bloodsuckers into teenage heartthrobs, but none of us are complaining.

A Spooky Ghost

The dead, the undead, spirits, and hauntings are always big topics in society, as they all raise the question of what really happens to us when we die. It can be said that society ponders this question through the entire horror genre of film, books, etc.

Spiderman

With the release of the new Spider-Man: No Way Home movies in the past few years, and the upcoming movie in December this year, Spiderman has been a popular character amongst children. Moreover, 1.8 million children plan to dress as Spiderman according to NRF.

Cats with Charisma

Cats, specifically black cats, have been deemed an omen and associated with witchcraft. It used to be believed during the Middle ages that witches could disguise themselves as cats, and we see them in many witch stories, like Harry Potter and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

 A Proud Pirate (argh)

Despite pirates’ reputations as ruthless criminals and thieves, they’ve been glorified in recent times as brave and tough. This popularity of this costume may be influenced by the fantasy film series Pirates of the Caribbean starring the infamous Johnny Depp.

Another option!

Finally, if you’re trying to spice it up this Halloween,  there’s always that one pop culture reference that becomes really popular. Last year’s pop culture reference costume was Among Us, an online game that took over    This year the new online sensation is the Netflix show Squid Games, a Korean thriller that is the #1 the No. 1 show in dozens of countries, including the U.S., the United Kingdom, and South Korea according to NBC News.