Halloween Trends in the Media from a Sociological Perspective

Often around major holidays I like to scan the news media to find major themes from that year. So as Halloween approaches I decided to look into the current Halloween trends I could find in the media and assess these trends from a sociological perspective.

To begin, I will say that AI generated headlines made this exercise more challenging than in years past. Generally, I would just scan Google under the News tab for a couple different search terms related to sociology and the holiday. After scanning a few search pages, I can normally find at least a couple different trends of which I can analyze. With AI generated headlines, pretty much all the headlines are the same and it took more effort to dive into the sources and read the content to find themes.

But…after some digging, I was able to come up with two major trends that I think are worth looking at from a sociological perspective. One is the trend of adult-specific holiday events, and the other is the trend of K-Pop Demon Hunters costumes.

Adult-Specific Halloween Trends

To my memory, Halloween has mostly been a holiday for children. Of course adults have always seemingly found ways to make the night enjoyable. But in recent memory, most of the publicly advertised events have revolved around family friendly events, like Trick or Treating, pumpkin carving, haunted houses, corn mazes, and other variations of fall-related, spooky activities.

This year though, I am seeing quite a few public events designed specifically for adults to celebrate Halloween. For instance, AZ Central.com put out an article titled, Move over trick-or-treaters. These are the top Halloween parties for adults in Arizona. This is an article highlighting adult-specific events for Halloween in Arizona. The list includes dance parties at bars with one even dubbed, “A Sleazy Halloween Party.”

Similarly Carson now.org, a media outlet from Carson City, Nevada, has a page with a list of Halloween event in the area. The do list several family-friendly and child-related community events, but they also have a list of “Extra Spooky Events,” that are for “Grown Up Monsters Only.”

I also noticed Halloween marketing from the cannabis industry. I remember just a few years ago, there was public panic surround cannabis during Halloween. There was concern that candy-like cannabis edibles would end up in children’s trick or treat bags. It was a time when the industry mostly became quiet. Fast-forward to now and I see headlines such as, With More Adults Admitting To Celebrating Halloween in 2025, THC Pioneer Delta Beverages Launches New Campaign To Own Spooky Season

The Sociology of Adult-specific Halloween Parties

One idea of why there is a sudden increase in adult-specific Halloween Parties from a sociological perspective has to do with a changing demographic among the American population. Perhaps there are fewer adults with children now than in the past. This could make some sense as we have a large demographic of Baby Boomers without children in the household, and Millennials generally waiting until later in life to enter into parent-hood than previous generations. Maybe we live in a time where less adults have children and therefore are looking to celebrate Halloween as adults.

K-Pop Demon Hunters Halloween Trends

Characters from the children’s show K-Pop Demon Hunters are by far the most popular Halloween costume of 2025. According to one list, 6 of the top 10 most popular costumes of the year are characters from the show. Those characters include Rumi, Zoey, Mira, Jinu, Baby Saja, and Derpy the Tiger. In fact, the trend is so popular that Saturday Night Live picked it up for a joke on their famous Weekend Update segment, poking fun at the generic names of Spirit Halloween costumes by presenting it as “Asian Singing Murderers.” Further, parents have even started Reddit threads about how to DIY more kid-friendly versions of the K-Pop Demon Hunter costumes.

With the internet being a pervasive part of human life across the globe, virality—or the tendency for something to circulate rapidly online—has become a common occurrence, and K-Pop Demon Hunters is no exception. The hit songs from the show have made their rounds on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and even broadcast television shows, including late night TV and Dancing with the Stars. But what exactly is it about this fad that’s helped it spread so rapidly? And, how can sociology help us explore this question?

The Sociology of K-Pop Demon Hunters’ Virality

Using our sociological imaginations, we can imagine a couple plausible reasons behind the virality of K-Pop Demon Hunters. First, the hit songs were certainly a major factor in spreading the popularity of the movie and its characters. The songs are upbeat and family friendly, making them perfect for sharing on social media. The incredible range of the most popular song, “Golden,” also lended itself wonderfully to TikTok challenges, with users trying to hit the notes from lowest to highest.

Beyond the music, the global and cultural timing of the movie’s release absolutely contributed to its ability to go viral. The popularity of K-Pop music and dance has been on the rise for years now, particularly in the United States which is often considered the global hub for entertainment. With K-Pop Demon Hunters emerging after K-Pop had already gained global popularity, the movie piggybacked off an already growing trend.

Final Thoughts on Halloween Trends in the Media

Every year we end up with different trends when it comes to how holidays are displayed in the media. For Halloween those trends can revolve around the costumes people wear, the treats people offer Trick or Treaters, or other various ways people celebrate the Fall holiday.

This year we noticed two major Halloween trends in the media. One there seems to be an uptick in the amount of public events specifically for adults celebrating the holiday. This may be because of changes to our population demographics or several other factors, but nonetheless it is interesting to think about and come up with potential sociological factors.

Second, I noticed a ton of interest in K-Pop Demon Hunters costumes. I do not know much about the show and have never actually seen an episode, but that doesn’t mean we can’t come up with sociological reasons for the popularity of the costume. Whether it is good music, good story telling, or simply popularity at the right time in the year, there will be lots of K-Pop Demon Hunters running around the streets this Halloween.