Halloween

Read the latest Halloween stories and other news reports on Newser.com

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'Appalling' Halloween Float Mars Pennsylvania Parade

Critics say float showing shackled Kamala Harris evoked racist Jim Crow-era lynchings, slavery

(Newser) - A Halloween parade in Pennsylvania this week was meant to inject a little bit of fun into a tense election season—but instead, one float that got political has now sparked an outcry over its "racist and offensive" content, per the Hill . Videos and photos from the event Wednesday...

Thousands Show for AI-Driven Halloween Hoax

Crowds turned up in Dublin for nonexistent parade promoted by artificial intelligence listing

(Newser) - "Chaos on the streets of Dublin" isn't the lyric to a new Smiths song—it's one of many headlines circulating after a listing popped up on an AI-generated website for a Halloween parade that never existed. The Independent reports that the promotion popped up on the My...

Orlando Halloween Shootings Leave 2 Dead, 7 Injured

A 17-year-old is in custody

(Newser) - A pair of linked shootings left two dead and many more running for their lives amid crowded Halloween celebrations in downtown Orlando early Friday. Police Chief Eric Smith says police responded to shots fired at Central Boulevard and Orange Avenue at 1:07am. Minutes later, more shots were fired nearby...

Halloween Temperatures Are Close to Record Highs

It's much warmer than usual in the Northeast, though snow is expected further west

(Newser) - In much of the US, this could be a sweaty Halloween for anybody who chose an Abominable Snowman costume. CNN reports that it will feel more like late summer than late October in the Northeast, Great Lakes, and mid-Atlantic regions, with temperatures more than 20 degrees above normal. Temperatures will...

One Scare-Fest Customer Was Scarier Than the Clowns

Somebody attacked Ffear Fforest clown with a needle

(Newser) - A Halloween event in north Wales calls itself the "ultimate scare-fest," but one visitor did something scarier than anything the creepy clowns that roam Ffear Fforest do to frighten customers. A worker dressed as a clown was attacked with a needle at the event at the Zip World...

This City Never Trick-or-Treats on Halloween. Until This Year

Des Moines, Iowa, has instead celebrated Beggars' Night on Oct. 30 since '38

(Newser) - The last time the kids of Des Moines officially went trick-or-treating on Halloween was nearly nine decades ago. This Oct. 31, the Iowa capital will join the rest of the nation in celebrating the holiday the traditional way, all because the weather isn't cooperating. NPR reports that since 1938,...

Halloween May Not Be as Chocolatey This Year

Cocoa prices remain high, with no immediate end in sight

(Newser) - You might see more candy corn and caramels than chocolate bars this Halloween, thanks to what NPR calls "scary-high" cocoa prices that have been rising all year . Poor crops for multiple seasons in West Africa, where the majority of the world's cocoa originates, have forced chocolate manufacturers to...

There's Been a Change in the Most Popular Halloween Candy

Reese's Cups are not No. 1 for the first time in years

(Newser) - For those unsure of what all the cool trick-or-treaters are looking to score this year, the leaderboard of the most popular candy will look pretty familiar to anyone who's been in the remote vicinity of Halloween at any point over the past several decades. Drawing on a decade and...

Top 10 Halloween Cities in the US
Top 10 Halloween
Cities in the US
Oct 27, 2024 6:48 AM CDT

Top 10 Halloween Cities in the US

WalletHub ranks the best places for Halloween hijinks

(Newser) - Halloween in the city is a different beast. From how kids trick-or-treat to how easy it is to nab a costume and a hoard of candy, city-dwellers go about the holiday in their own way. WalletHub took a look at the different factors that make a city tops for the...

This Year's Top 10 Halloween Costumes

Per Google's annual 'Frightgeist' listing

(Newser) - In less than one week, Americans will be getting their trick-or-treat on and donning the most creative costumes to vie for prizes at Halloween parties. Online search data pulled by Google Trends for its yearly "Frightgeist" list has sussed out what appear to be the most popular disguises for...

You Want Fries and a Halloween Costume With That?

'McDonald's costume' searches spiked by 412% after Trump's visit to the fast-food chain

(Newser) - Former President Trump's brief stint in a McDonald's apron served up French fries, a Yelp brouhaha , and, apparently, Halloween costume ideas. As Quartz reports, immediately after Trump dropped in at the Mickey D's in Feasterville-Trevose, Pennsylvania, searches for "McDonald's costume" spiked like your blood sugar...

Halloween Hayrides 1K Miles Apart End in Tragedy

12-year-old boy killed in Tennessee on Friday; 13-year-old boy died in Minnesota on Saturday

(Newser) - Two boys have died after haunted hayrides in two different states went "awry" on back-to-back days, per CBS News . Investigations are ongoing in both cases.
  • Tennessee: The first accident happened Friday evening at a hayride during a "Haunted Hilltop" Halloween event near Chattanooga. Per the Hamilton County Sheriff'
...

Schitt's Creek Actor is Sorry for Halloween Costume

Emily Hampshire and a friend dressed up as Johnny Depp and Amber Heard

(Newser) - Schitt's Creek actor Emily Hampshire has apologized for what she says is "one of the most thoughtless, insensitive, and ignorant things" she has ever done. In photos posted on Instagram, the Canadian actor dressed as Johnny Depp and a friend dressed as Amber Heard. They wore outfits Depp...

Cops: Man Pointed Gun at Boy, 6 on His Porch

Kids had left Halloween goody bag at wrong house

(Newser) - A Long Island man who allegedly pointed a gun at the head of a 6-year-old boy in front of his home Saturday evening has been charged with menacing and endangering the welfare of a child—but his lawyer says it's all a misunderstanding. Police say a woman drove her...

Here Are the 10 Best Horror Movies Ever

Be prepared to scream (or at least hide under the covers)

(Newser) - In between those Halloween calisthenics of jumping up from the sofa to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters, you might want to squeeze in a horror flick or two to get into the holiday spirit. Time Out has some recommendations, thanks to its writers and "horror experts" who compiled a...

Some Towns Put an Age Limit on Trick-or-Treating

But Chesapeake no longer threatens jail time for under-12s

(Newser) - Halloween is almost here, and the debate is here again: How old is too old to go trick-or-treating? While it's generally agreed that nobody should still be asking door-to-door for candy when they hit their 20s, there's no consensus on the cut-off point for teenagers, NPR reports. Some...

Two Scientific Words Explain Fascination With Horror

'Predator inspection' serves an evolutionary purpose, according to 'Scientific American'

(Newser) - Halloween season is in full swing, with people subjecting themselves to haunted houses, scary movies, and ghoulish costumes. And why? Not to take all the fun out of the festivities, but two researchers in Scientific American have two words to explain this fascination with—and even embrace of—horror: predator...

These Are the Spookiest Cities in America

New York ascends to the top of WalletHub's rankings for where Halloween is king

(Newser) - Ready to get your ghoul on? Halloween is on Tuesday, and people across the nation are prepping their costumes, breaking out the candy bowls, and cueing up "Monster Mash" for when trick-or-treaters arrive. If you're wondering which places really know how to get into the spooky spirit, WalletHub...

'It Doesn't Make Sense to Me to Spend $100 on Candy'

Ahead of Halloween trick-or-treaters, inflation for gum, other sweet treats reaches double digits

(Newser) - Spooked by the high price of Halloween candy? There's not much relief in sight. For the second year in a row, US shoppers are seeing double-digit inflation in the candy aisle. Candy and gum prices are up an average of 13% this month compared to last October, more than...

Man Saving Moose From Halloween Decor Goes Viral

After human helps it get untangled from decorations in BC, moose gives him a friendly lick

(Newser) - Halloween proved especially frightening for one Canadian moose over the weekend, or at least one family's Halloween decorations did. The CBC reports that Shaydon Soucy was driving with his wife Saturday to visit a friend in the British Columbia city of Fort St. John when they spotted something odd...

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