New research uncovers the creative Halloween personas, attitudes and beliefs driving Gen Z and millennial trends this season

Halloween is the holiday for everyone, according to the majority of young Americans. Michaels, the destination for all things creative, polled 1,574 Gen Z and millennials to gather insights regarding their attitudes and beliefs surrounding spooky season, and nearly 70% named Halloween as the most inclusive holiday. As an authority on seasonal celebrations, Michaels’ survey findings represent many different forms of creativity that are all supported by the retailer’s assortment of décor, DIY, party-planning supplies, and more.

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Key survey findings include celebratory personalities, the truth about superstitions, Halloween costume winners, and more.

Halloween Personas

Everyone has a way of celebrating this fun and festive time of year, with half going big and another 30% following the pack. Based on these findings, Michaels identified a few distinct personality types among the younger generations:

• Hallow-stans: Nearly 25% of people surveyed live for Halloween, doing all the stuff as big as possible (decorating, costuming, pumpkin-ing, partying)
• TrickTokers: 10% go hard for Halloween… but just for the benefit of their social media content to drive engagement
• Ghoulish Glammers: 15% get big into the makeup aspect – whether glam or gory
• Beige Babes: 20% will dress up when others do but like to keep it pretty basic – think cat ears or a witch hat
• Coven Crew-ers: Another 10% will dress up – but only if friends are doing a group costume to avoid FOMO
• Ghosters: 20% put no effort into Halloween costumes or décor

(Going) Green is the New Black

While some buy ready-made costumes, two-thirds of the younger generations take a more sustainable approach. Nearly half (45%) have upcycled and thrifted, 29% have DIYed and 23% have re-worn their costumes. A similar trend occurs in seasonal decorating, with 40% adding quality Halloween décor to their collections for re-use year after year and 20% DIYing their décor.

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Crystal Ball Costume Predictions

While there are many blockbusters and TV series bringing costume inspiration this year, there is one that dominates them all. No surprise – it’s a Barbie (and Ken) world, we just live adjacent to it. A majority of Gen Z and millennials think Barbie and Ken will dominate costumes, and décor trends with #pinkoween, with Super Mario Bros and Addams Family coming in a distant second and third place, respectively. Rounding out the predictions for the top 5 costumes this year are Little Mermaid and a surprise appearance of TikTok memes.

Very Superstitious…about Friday the 13th

With a rare Friday the 13th this October, the survey revealed that some fear and some revel in the superstition surrounding it. There are more believers than not with 60% of Gen Z and millennials having some level of superstition around Friday the 13th. Twenty-two percent are wary of the day, making sure to avoid black cats and ladders, and another 7% are completely spooked out by it. On the flip side, 31% love it, seeing it as a bonus holiday for scary movies and spooky stories.

With Halloween décor, DIY supplies and componentry across multiple categories now in stores, Michaels is the one-stop-Halloween shop for all who celebrate the season, from the casual to the hardcore enthusiast and everyone in between.