Author Archives: Jack O'Lantern

Welcome to spooky season

The smell of pumpkin spice is in the air, which means it’s about time to bust out the costumes, stock up on some candy and carve a pumpkin or two. If you need a little inspiration, look no further than these spooky Search and Maps trends we collected.

Pumpkin to Search about

Whether you plan on spending the day watching Halloween classics or trick-or-treating in a clever costume, we’ve got Search trends to give you some ideas. (Be sure to also check out our annual Frightgeist for the most-searched Halloween costumes across the U.S.)

Most-searched Halloween movies over the past week in the U.S.

  1. Halloween (1978)
  2. Friday the 13th
  3. Hocus Pocus
  4. A Nightmare on Elm Street
  5. Halloweentown

Already seen these? Grab the popcorn (or the candy corn) and virtually explore the filming locations of your favorite cult classics on Google Earth.

Moving on to costumes! Picking the right outfit — whether it’s just for you, a group or your furry friend — is important. Here are the costume searches that have been trending this week in the U.S.

Trending Halloween costumes:

  1. Squid Game
  2. Gorilla
  3. Britney Spears
  4. Carnage
  5. Venom

Trending couples costumes:

  1. Trixie and Timmy Turner
  2. Bonnie and Clyde
  3. Skid and Pump
  4. Mr. and Mrs. Smith
  5. Cosmo and Wanda

Trending dog costumes:

  1. Squid Game
  2. Race car
  3. Vampire
  4. Donkey
  5. Lobster

If you still aren’t sure what to wear, you can ask Google Assistant for some last-minute costume ideas, too. Just say "Hey Google, what should I be for Halloween?”

Maybe you’d prefer to boo-rowse aisles IRL without a crowd. We checked the most popular times on Google Maps to visit costume shops across the U.S. and found they’re at their busiest on Saturday and Sunday around 2 p.m., and least busy before 2 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday.

But, beware! Last-minute shoppers might be in for a scare. Google Maps searches for costume stores in the U.S. peaked on Halloween day last year — nearly doubling from the week before, and nearly tripling from October 10th. So get your costume and accessory shopping done early for the best chance of finding what you’re looking for.

For those interested in refreshments or snacks to follow all that trick-or-treating, you can see which Halloween drinks are being searched for by state. And of course, everyone has to know what their state prefers: candy corn or M&Ms?

Map of the United States showing what the uniquely searched Halloween drinks trends are per state.
Map of the United States showing what the most searched Halloween candy is per state, with Candy Corn being the most searched in the majority of states.

What unlocks a haunted house? A spoo-key

Of course, Halloween isn’t only about get-togethers and candy — some of us enjoy a little scare. Head over to the Google Maps guide to Halloween and check out Local Guide Kimbra Kasch's favorite spooky spots. And Kimbra should know: She grew up in a haunted house in Portland, Oregon!

Google Maps’ guide also has plenty of other places to discover for the fall festivities, so be sure to take a look.

Picture of grey Nest doorbell with spooky skeleton shadow.

Boooooos there?

Change up your Nest Doorbell ringtone to our “Halloween” theme to greet your guests with Halloween-inspired ghoulish ringtones which include an evil laugh, skeleton dance, ghost, howling werewolf, cackling witch and more. Ringtones are available globally on the Nest Doorbell (battery) and Nest Doorbell (wired), formally known as Nest Hello, through October 31, 2021.

Some gourd, old-fashioned Halloween fun with Google

A socially distant Halloween doesn't have to be antisocial; there's plenty of family fun at home to be had. We're launching several spook-tacular features across our products to help you celebrate. From AR characters and 3D magical cats to Doodle games and Google Assistant riddles--you’re in for a real treat.

Magic cats and Search surprises 

This Halloween our 2016 Magic Cat Academy Doodle is back with a subaquatic shriek-quel! When you visit the Google homepage for the next 48 hours, click the Doodle to join Momo the cat in an underwater adventure filled with new friends, old foes, and spooky surprises. Want to find more hidden treats? Search for “Halloween” and hear from famous chefs on their favorite seasonal snacks. Then, scroll to the search results page navigation on desktop for more. Can you say, Boooooo-gle?
Halloween Doodle

AR Halloween Characters on Google 

What do dressed up pets have in common with ghosts and jack-o-lanterns? They are way too cute to spook! And now (even if you don’t have a dog or ghost of your own) we’re bringing them to life with augmented reality (AR). Search for Halloween, Jack-o-lantern, human skeleton, cat, dog, or German Shepherd in the Google App or on your mobile browser (Android or iOS) and you’ll find these de-fright-ful AR characters on Google. Tap "View in 3D" to see it up close and then bring it into your space with AR. Don't forget to take pictures or videos!
  • AR Ghost.gif
  • hotdog.gif
  • skeleton.gif

Google Assistant riddles, songs and more

Embark on a spooky-themed riddle room adventure when you ask “Hey Google, tell me a riddle” in English in the U.S. People can also ask, “Hey Google, sing the Halloween song” to hear about Google Assistant helping a werewolf, ghost and vampire get their haunting skills ready for Halloween. This song is available in Arabic, French, Indonesian, Japanese, Spanish, English across the globe and Portuguese in Brazil.

Assistant

Want to add some haunted vibes to your home? Just say, “Hey Google, haunt my house” to hear Halloween sounds and music play on your Assistant-enabled devices. If you have smart lights set up, they’ll even flash violet, green and orange. And if you still need some last-minute costume ideas, just ask “Hey Google, what should I be for Halloween?”

Assistant

Nest presents spooky ringtones 

Ding dong! Change up your doorbell ringtone to our “Spooky sounds” theme. This year we added two new sounds, “Black Cat” and “Werewolf” along with our popular ghoulish sounds from last year; ghost, vampire, monster and witch. Ringtones are available globally on Nest Hello through November 1st, 2020.
Nest Doorbell

Google Trends o’ Treats

There are still several socially distanced activities people can do to feel festive for fall. Pumpkin patches, corn mazes and horror movies are the most-searched Halloween activities across the country over the past month. It seems like more than half of the U.S. is searching to carve out some time for the pumpkin patch this year!
Trends Map

And if you’re still looking for that perfect Halloween costume, head over to this year’s Halloween Frightgeist for inspiration and explore what’s being searched across the U.S.