Matthew Kim, Entertainment Writer
Dressing up on October 31st became a custom in North America around the year 1911. Early Halloween costumes emphasized and highlighted the spooky and gothic nature of Halloween, most of which were worn by children. As dressing up became more popular through news, media, and more, companies producing Halloween costumes became more successful.
Many costumes that were traditionally worn were scary and supernatural beings such as vampires, werewolves, zombies, or ghosts. Some costumes were even pop culture dress-ups such as celebrities, singers, or athletes. Another popular trend in Halloween dress-up included more harmless and cute costumes like princesses, fairies, and various animals. The majority of Christians at that time in continental Europe believed that when Halloween came around, the dead people in the churchyards would rise on one single day for a “wild, hideous carnival”. This was known as the “danse macabre”.
In 2014, popular Halloween costumes included: superheroes, pirates, Star Wars characters, Monster High characters, Tinker Bell,and of course, Frozen characters. According to Zulily, the most purchased costume for boys was Spiderman, and the most purchased costume for girls was Elsa from Frozen. Superheroes like Batman, Superman and Captain America followed the most purchased costume bought for boys, and fantasy and fairy tale characters like Snow White, mermaids, and witches, followed the most purchased costume for girls.
At WGSS, 64 students were surveyed on what they believed was the most popular Halloween costume. They reported back that the most popular costumes are cats and superheroes/supervillains at 27% and 22% respectively. At the other end, the least popular costumes are princesses and others (including skeletons, nerds, and video game characters) at 10% and 11%.
