Okay. I know it is only August. But then comes September. And right after that, October will be here. And at the end of October is Halloween.
So get out the candy corn. Who doesn’t love Halloween? Everyone dresses up and pretends to be someone else. Bags of candy are gathered and eaten. Yes. Free candy. People bob for apples. And every so often, a homemade popcorn ball makes an appearance. But not for long.
I think most people have put on a Halloween costume at some point in their lives. And most people make a yearly habit of this. Dressing up in costumes and trick-or-treating only came about in the 1930s. By the 1950s, kids could put on almost costume their hearts desired and go door-to-door on the hunt for candy.
As it turns out, certain costumes have been more popular than others throughout the years. But isn’t this true? Every year, one specific Halloween costume seems to be the “thing” to wear.
So if you’re curious to know about the most popular Halloween costumes by year, keep on reading to see the list below. (The window started in 1950. Their choice, not mine.)
1950: Cowboy
1951: Tarzan
1952: Don Lockwood from Singin’ In The Rain
1953: Mickey Mouse
1954: Batman
1955: Davy Crockett
1956: Anna Leonowens from The King and I
1957: Frankenstein
1958: Zorro
1959: Marilyn Monroe
1960: Hula girl
1961: Holly Golightly from Breakfast At Tiffanys
1962: Rocky and Bullwinkle
1963: Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra
1964: The Beatles
1965: Sonny and Cher
1966: Barbie
1967: Morticia Addams from The Addams Family
1968: Rosemary Woodhouse from Rosemary’s Baby
1969: Astronaut
1970: Elvis Presley
1971: Willy Wonka
1972: Don Corleone from The Godfather
1973: Marcia Brady from The Brady Bunch
1974: Richard Nixon
1975: Dr. Frank-N-Furter from The Rocky Horror Picture Show
1976: Charlie’s Angels
1977: Star Wars
1978: Michael Myers from the movie Halloween
1979: Rocky Balboa from the movie Rocky
1980: John Travolta (well, sort of) There were three. Vinnie Barbarino in Welcome Back, Kotter. Then came disco king Tony Manero in Saturday Night Fever and ’50s T-Bird Danny Zuko in Grease.
1981: Indiana Jones from Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982: E.T.
1983: Michael Jackson
1984: Madonna
1985: Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare On Elm Street
1986: California Raisin
1987: ALF
1988: Beetlejuice
1989: Ghostbusters
1990: Marty McFly from Back To The Future
1991: Terminator and, oh yeah. I’ll Be Back.
1992: Barney The big purple dinosaur.
1993: Power Rangers
1994: Bart Simpson
1995: Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne from Dumb and Dumber
1996: The Spice Girls
1997: Austin Powers
1998: Ghostface from the movie Scream
1999: Neo from The Matrix
2000: Britney Spears
2001: Harry Potter and Hermione Granger
2002: Spider-Man
2003: Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean
2004: SpongeBob SquarePants
2005: Darth Vader
2006: V from V for Vendetta
2007: Hannah Montana
2008: High School Musical Cast and Sarah Palin
2009: Lady Gaga
2010: Snooki from Jersey Shore
2011: Black Swan and Sue Sylvester from Glee
2012: Katniss Everdeen from the movie Hunger Games
2013: Miley Cyrus and Iron Man
2014: Maleficent and Anna from Frozen
2015: Harley Quinn from the movie Suicide Squad .
2016–2023: While comprehensive year-by-year lists are rare, costume categories dominated by media trends. ALSO. Witches, vampires, zombies, classic superheroes—and by celebrity-inspired looks (e.g., Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears)
2024: Shrunken Head Bob (Beetlejuice), Raygun, CatNap, Delores (Beetlejuice), characters from Inside Out, Sabrina Carpenter, Lady Deadpool, Chipotle burrito, Wolverine, Shadow the Hedgehog, Joy (Inside Out), Peely (Fortnite)
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“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” — L.M. Montgomery (from Anne of Green Gables)
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“Halloween is not only about putting on a costume, but it’s about finding the imagination and costume within ourselves.” — Elvis Duran
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“I would rather sit in a pumpkin patch and wait for the Great Pumpkin than to be out there in the world.” — Charles M. Schulz (from Peanuts)
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“On Halloween, the veil between this world and the next is thinnest. It’s the perfect night to listen to the whispers.” — Robert Roth
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