@super_cattledogsDog dressed as a cockroach, owner dressed as a can of Raid
30.4M views
The #1 pet costume was a team effort: the dog went as a cockroach and its owner went as the can of Raid.
For 61 days, Plot watched 150K+ Halloween posts roll in on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube. Then we dug into the 10K most-viewed to see what people wore, what makeup and candy they reached for, and which brands showed up without a tag.
@super_cattledogs#1 pet costume 🪳
Dog as a roach. Owner as the Raid.
@lenkalul117M views
Makeup hacks beat most costumes.
@realnataliereyMost-viewed post Plot tracked
285.9M views. One Cat in the Hat.
@nataliireynoldss79M views
Coraline, but make it a trio.
@the_hayeksBoo buckets 🎃
The top Reese's and M&M's post was DIY.
39%
of makeup brand appearances in top videos went unnamed in the caption
150K+
Halloween posts tracked
10K
Most-viewed posts analyzed in depth, each with 287,500+ views
61days
September 1 to October 31, 2026
17B+views
on Halloween posts Plot tracked
3platforms
TikTok, Instagram and YouTube
Halloween on the feed
Halloween starts as a trickle in September and turns into a flood by late October. Here's how many posts went up each week, across all 150K+ posts Plot tracked.
1 in 3
Halloween posts went up in the last 5 days of October.
September barely registered: its first four weeks made up under 2% of all posts.
- Sept 1-6457
- Sept 7-13444
- Sept 14-20805
- Sept 21-271,299
- Sept 28-Oct 44,808
- Oct 5-119,547
- Oct 12-1836,130
- Oct 19-2547,035
- Oct 26-3160,254
Then mid-October hit: posting nearly quadrupled in one week.
Halloween videos per weekY axis: posts per week. X axis: week.
Based on all 150K+ tracked Halloween posts. The first and last bars are partial weeks (Sept 1-6 and Oct 26-31).
Data powered by Plot Video Intelligence · Source: All 150K+ Halloween posts Plot tracked, Sept 1 to Oct 31, 2026 · How we did thisOnce the posting started, the costumes came out. These are the 10 worn by the most creators across Halloween's 10K most-viewed posts, plus the views those posts pulled in.
577M views
on posts featuring these 10 costumes
- 1 Witch
- 2 Vampire
- 3 Angel
- 4 Fairy
- 5 Pennywise
- 6 Ghostface
- 7 Pirate
- 8 Spider-Man
- 9 Ghost
- 10 Michael Myers
Vampire
41.9Mviews
46 creators
2
Witch
93.8Mviews
52 creators
1
Angel
47.1Mviews
45 creators
3
- 4Fairy38 creators101.0M views
- 5Pennywise29 creators61.9M views
- 6Ghostface26 creators31.9M views
- 7Pirate25 creators45.8M views
- 8Spider-Man24 creators53.1M views
- 9Ghost24 creators38.0M views
- 10Michael Myers23 creators62.9M views
Ranked by number of creators who wore each costume. Bar length: views of those posts. Pets, pairs and groups are counted separately below.
Fairy pulled the most views of any top 10 costume: 101.0M.
Most-viewed costume
Cat in the Hat
486.7M
views from 18 creators. Witch was worn more often, but nothing pulled views like this one, mostly thanks to the viral Spiritwalker version.
@realnatalierey6 in 10
angel costumes referenced Victoria's Secret
Referenced Victoria's SecretEach pair of wings: 1 in 10 angel costumes
“Idc what yall say but she ate down”Top comment on the #1 Angel costume
Horror villains claimed 3 of the top 10 spots
- 1Witch
- 2Vampire
- 3Angel
- 4Fairy
- 5Pennywise
- 6Ghostface
- 7Pirate
- 8Spider-Man
- 9Ghost
- 10Michael Myers
- Pennywise
- Ghostface
- Michael Myers
Data powered by Plot Video Intelligence · Source: Halloween's 10K most-viewed posts · How we did thisPets got dressed up too. These are the most-viewed pet costume posts, ranked by views.
@super_cattledogs
@the_doodwinstonDog dressed as Super Mario
27.2M views
@tankthebrownlabChocolate lab dressed as s'mores
9.4M views
@gasperandgusCat in a fuzzy green monster costume
8.9M views
The most-viewed posts in each category.
Data powered by Plot Video Intelligence · Source: Halloween's 10K most-viewed posts · How we did thisThe top 10 shows what was popular. This is where Halloween got creative.
2,600+
Halloween posts starred someone dressed as food, candy or a brand.
Source: all 150K+ Halloween posts Plot tracked.
A toddler asked to be a fart for Halloween. So they were a fart.
A 4-year-old went as the living room lamp.
@josesiles.dataSomeone dressed as Claude's daily usage limit.
The brief was ‘something really scary.’ Fair.
@nbcnewyorkA front yard full of skeletons reenacted an OG Anunoby tip-in, jerseys and all.
Data powered by Plot Video Intelligence · How we did thisPlenty of people skipped the costume and picked up a brush instead. Those videos were full of brands, and creators often didn't say which ones.
Nearly 1 in 3 of Halloween's most-viewed posts was a makeup video
Makeup videosOther posts
2,964 of 10,155 posts. Each square: about 1%.
39%
of makeup brand appearances went unnamed. The brand was right there on screen or in the voiceover, but never in the caption.
Caption never named the brandBrand named
330 of 836 appearances across the 9 most-seen makeup brands (incl. e.l.f., 46 videos).
Here's who showed up most in Halloween's top makeup videos, on screen or in the voiceover, and how often the caption left them out.
22734% never named
10649% never named
10533% never named
10350% never named
7824% never named
7242% never named
5124% never named
4858% never named
NYX
MAC
Mehron
Maybelline
L'Oréal Paris
Morphe
Huda Beauty
Fenty BeautyLipstick height and big number: videos showing the brand. Small number: share of those appearances never named or tagged in the caption.
NYX showed up in more Halloween makeup videos than any other brand.
Fenty Beauty had the highest unnamed rate: 58%.
Maybelline and MAC went untagged about half the time they appeared.
Products spotted in the biggest looks
Smooth Silk Eye Pencil by Armani
Traced around a spoon for hollow skull eyes.
Seen in this postTagged @armanibeauty
Clown White by Mehron
Used as the base for clown looks.
Seen in this postTagged @mehronuk
Jumbo Eye Pencil in Black Bean by NYX
Used with tape as a stencil.
Seen in this postTagged @nyxcosmetics_uk
Data powered by Plot Video Intelligence · Source: 2,964 makeup videos in Halloween's 10K most-viewed posts · How we did this- 1Skeleton104 creators215.3M views
- 2Vampire50 creators45.5M views
- 3Zombie37 creators129.0M views
- 4Ghost37 creators66.2M views
- 5Batman30 creators82.2M views
Zoom out to all 150K+ Halloween posts and skeleton makeup shows up in 6,500+ of them.
80%
of skeleton looks were just makeup. No costume needed.
Just makeupShare of skeleton looks
@makeupbychinaaAnd in the comments of the top makeup looks, viewers kept asking the same thing: ‘what product is that?’
Ranked by number of creators who did each look. Bar length: views of those posts.
Data powered by Plot Video Intelligence · Source: 2,964 makeup videos in Halloween's 10K most-viewed posts · How we did thisSpecial effects outnumbered glam almost 5 to 1.
Gore beat glam. Special effects videos averaged 1.97M views, 28% more than glam's 1.54M, and a third of looks didn't pick a side and mixed the two.
Special effects
- of makeup videos
- 55%
- avg views
- 1.97M
@lenkalulGlam
- of makeup videos
- 12%
- avg views
- 1.54M
@thatssoadrianaaShare of the 2,906 labeled makeup videos in Halloween's 10K most-viewed posts. Average views per video.
Data powered by Plot Video Intelligence · Source: 2,964 makeup videos in Halloween's 10K most-viewed posts · How we did thisCostumes, makeup and some pumpkin-carving chickens: these are the 10 posts people watched most. Views as of November 1, 2026, for videos posted September 1 to October 31.
#1
Spiritwalker Cat in the Hat
285.9M
Views
14.0M
Likes
3.1M
Shares
Meet the most-viewed Halloween post Plot tracked: one Spiritwalker Cat in the Hat, 285.9M views.
- @lenkalul2DIY Halloween makeup hacks117.1M views3.8M likes1.5M shares
- @nataliireynoldss3Coraline trio79.2M views11.3M likes
@realnatalierey4Spiritwalker Cat in the Hat scare61.1M views
@probably_prisma5DIY tiger mask59.6M views
@benson_bros_games6“6'1 to 3'1” costume illusion57.9M views
@monika_mua7Lace and tape makeup looks57.6M views
@daria_kids_usa8Kids fake wound makeup57.2M views
@oaknegg9Chickens carving a pumpkin55.5M views
@haleigh.boothh10Haunted car wash53.7M views
3 of the 10 most-viewed Halloween posts were makeup tutorials.
Makeup tutorialsOther top 10 posts
Data powered by Plot Video Intelligence · Source: Halloween's 10K most-viewed posts · How we did thisViews show what people watched. Likes, comments and shares show what they couldn't scroll past. These creators earned the most across Halloween's 60 most-engaged posts, Sept 1 to Oct 31.
1@nataliireynoldss
56.5M
engagements
10 of the 60 most-engaged posts
Known for: skeleton horse, Coraline, Corpse Bride
2@realnatalierey
20.2M
engagements
2 of the 60 most-engaged posts
Known for: Spiritwalker Cat in the Hat
3@notsophiesilva and @_sophiesilva_
17.1M
engagements
4 of the 60 most-engaged posts
Known for: Mad Hatter, Starfire
Natalie Reynolds had 1 in 6 of Halloween's most-engaged posts.
She's all over this report: @nataliireynoldss also had the #1 group costume, the #1 pair and the top Angel post.
Natalie Reynolds' postsOther creatorsEach square: one of the 60 most-engaged posts
Engagements: likes, comments and shares across each creator's posts among the 60 most-engaged.
Data powered by Plot Video Intelligence · Source: Halloween's 60 most-engaged posts · How we did thisEvery costume needs a bucket to fill. These are the 10 candy brands seen or named in the most of Halloween's 10K most-viewed posts.
Reese's
99 videos
184.4M views
Hershey's
65 videos
90.4M views
M&M's
59 videos
170.0M views
Sour Patch Kids
59 videos
87.8M views
Kit Kat
58 videos
74.6M views
Snickers
54 videos
47.2M views
Skittles
41 videos
35.4M views
Nerds
37 videos
71.4M views
Twix
35 videos
25.5M views
Haribo
24 videos
22.6M views
Ranked by number of videos showing or naming each candy. Bar length: views of those videos.
Kit Kat showed up in 27 of Reese's 99 videos, the most common pairing.
96%
of top Halloween videos weren't even about candy. It was there as a prop.
Not about candyAbout candyEach square: 1%
Boo buckets showed up in the top candy posts, including this DIY version on a budget.
When candy was the star of the video, candy corn won: 67 videos, ahead of Reese's at 53. Brach's was named in only 19 top videos.
Amazon showed up in 223 top Halloween videos, Spirit Halloween in 175.
Data powered by Plot Video Intelligence · Source: Halloween's 10K most-viewed posts · How we did thisNo Halloween report is complete without Heidi Klum, whose party costumes are an event of their own. She skipped the party in 2020 and 2021, then came back as a giant worm.
2026
“Talk to the hand”
One week to go…
The archive
Drag through the years
2025
Medusa
2024
E.T.
Behind the scenes
2023
A peacock
Behind the scenes
2022
A giant worm
2018
Fiona from Shrek
Behind the scenes
2017
The werewolf from Thriller
2016
Five clones of herself
2015
Jessica Rabbit
The short version, for anyone already planning next year's Halloween content.
39% of the time a makeup brand showed up in a top video, the caption never named it. If you only track captions, you miss those.
Caption never named the brandBrand named
TikTok had 51% of Halloween's 10K most-viewed posts, Instagram 44%, YouTube 5%. But 9 of the 10 most-viewed posts were Instagram Reels.
51%
44%
5%
Platforms count views differently.
Posting nearly quadrupled the week of Oct 12. Have Halloween content ready by mid-October, before the feed floods.
Week of Oct 12Posts per week, Sept 1 to Oct 31
Tutorials travel. 3 of the top 10 posts were makeup tutorials, and special effects outnumbered glam almost 5 to 1.
Makeup tutorialsTop 10 posts
Raid starred in the #1 pet costume. A Costco rotisserie chicken costume pulled 17.4M views. Victoria's Secret showed up in 99 top posts.
Data powered by Plot Video Intelligence · How we did thisHow we did this
Every number in this report comes from Plot Video Intelligence. Each chart names the dataset it uses.
- Tracked posts
- 160,779 Halloween posts on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, posted Sept 1 to Oct 31, 2026. Used for the posting timeline, the skeleton makeup count and the food, candy and brand costume count. Total views (17B+) come from the 136,419 posts in Plot's Halloween topic dashboard after standard filters.
- 10K most-viewed posts
- About 10K tracked posts with 287,500+ views each (10,009 for costumes, top posts, pets, pairs and groups; 10,155 for makeup, candy and brands, pulled a day later).
- 60 most-engaged posts
- The 60 posts with the most engagements: likes, comments and shares. Used for top creators.
- Views
- Views on the top 10 posts are as of November 1, 2026.
- Costumes
- Ranked by number of creators who wore each one. The main ranking counts solo costumes worn by people. Pets, pairs and groups are shown separately.
- Brands
- Detected on screen, in voiceover and in on-screen text, not just captions. “Never named” means a brand appeared but the caption didn’t name or tag it.
This report came from watching the videos, not just reading captions. Plot does the same for your brand, so you can find the mentions captions miss.
Book a demo