Popular Halloween Trends on Social Media Platforms
November 9, 2021
“The world turned upside down — in a good way — for one black velvet night,” said Karen Fortunati, describing Halloween. Inviting everyone into the spooky season, Halloween trends have gone viral on social media. This year’s spooky spirit media looks like bed sheets, sunglasses, headless horsemen, and dancing skeletons.
Just like every haunted Halloween, the traditional and classic costume, the ghost, has popped up in 2021. The #ghostphotoshoot, which went viral on TikTok last year, was created by @jackjanson88, who was excited for Halloween. Jack was listening to a song with an album cover featuring a ghost with human arms. Craving the spooky spirit, he threw on a bedsheet, Doc Martens, white shin-high socks, and clicked the shutter for this new challenge. Freshman Sophia Baranic comments on this trend saying, “Who would’ve thought that bed sheets and sunglasses would go viral. I mean it’s so random but it works.” People can dress up however they want and they don’t really get judged by it. You can just have fun with it and go crazy and it’s pretty fun. — Manuel Ramirez, senior
While pumpkin carving has always been a Halloween tradition, this year, people have added a new twist to it…a photoshoot! #pumpkintrend is a quick clip of people’s pumpkin carving process, ending with the carved pumpkin as a mask. There used to be just one headless horseman in past years, but now there are countless more popping up. Senior Manuel Ramirez describes the pumpkin trend as, “Really similar to the ghost trend from last year, but this is cooler.” He continues by explaining how the pumpkin trend is more unique, “The ghost trend was the same thing but less original, because it is just like putting a sheet over your head, while this year everybody can do it [the pumpkin trend] a little differently.”
Another well known trend includes the #spookyscaryskeletons challenge. This includes people dancing to Andrew Gold’s ‘90s “Spooky Scary Skeletons” song. Cartoon skeletons dancing to this fast paced song has garnered attention throughout the social media platforms. This video,
attributed to JimmyWilson01 on YouTube, spread throughout the platforms quickly, ranging from Facebook to TikTok. Although the origins of this trend originate from 2017, this trend always pops back up during Monstober. Freshman Inji Hamdoun remarks on this trend by explaining, “brings lots of fun and joy to Halloween and really pumps it up. Also, I think it celebrates the carefree spirit of Halloween’.”
Overall, Halloween has accumulated a lot of attention around the globe from its humble traditions. A couple of students comment on Halloween as a holiday. Senior Manuel Ramirez speaks on this saying, “People can dress up however they want and they don’t really get judged by it. You can just have fun with it and go crazy and it’s pretty fun.” From dressing up to trick-or-treating to even staying at home and watching scary movies, many people enjoy this day with friends and family.
Beginning as the day to scare off evil spirits, Halloween has come a long way, and a lot of that can be attributed to social media in relation to trend setting and publicity. Manuel continues by saying, “The trends that you see on social media on Halloween – when they mix together, can be pretty cool.” New traditions and many more up-and-coming trends have all contributed to Halloween’s widespread popularity. Freshman Emma Weibel excitedly speaks about how, “during Halloween, social media does a great job where people get into the spirit.” From the dancing skeletons, headless horsemen, and bedsheet ghosts, this year’s Halloween is going to be Spooktacular!
