Halloween Google Search interest scored 13 out of 100 for the week ending September 12, 2026, according to Trends MCP data pulled on September 17. That is up 18.18% from 11 on September 5 and up 116.67% from 6 on August 15. The 90-day change is 333.33%, from a 3 on June 13, 2026. Same-week 2025 printed 11 on September 13, so this September is ahead of last year. October 31, 2026 falls on a Saturday. The 261-week series still peaks at 100 on October 30, 2021. Neighbor queries are moving with it: halloween costume is up 128.57% over 30 days, and Spirit Halloween is up 20% from 15 to 18.
About Halloween
Halloween is observed each year on October 31, the eve of All Saints Day in the Western Christian calendar, a night whose English name Wikipedia records as a contraction of All Hallows Eve and whose 2026 date HISTORY.com lists as Saturday, October 31. Wikipedia dates Pope Boniface IV's Pantheon re-dedication to St Mary and all martyrs to May 13, 609, and the Frankish Empire's adoption of November 1 as All Saints Day to 835. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried guising, souling, and carved-turnip lanterns to North America in the 19th century.
HISTORY.com Editors, updated August 25, 2026, put annual Halloween spending in the United States above $11 billion, second only to Christmas. Searchers looking up costumes, store hours, and party timing treat September as the planning window, which is what the Google Search series is picking up.
What the time series shows
Weekly Google Search interest for halloween sat at 3 from June 13 through June 27, 2026, then stepped to 4 on July 25, 5 on August 1, 6 on August 8 and August 15, 7 on August 22, 9 on August 29, 11 on September 5, and 13 on September 12, a 117 percent rise over 30 days. Last eight weekly prints are 4, 5, 6, 6, 7, 9, 11, and 13. The 90-day move from 3 on June 13 to 13 is 333.33%. Last-52 week-over-week sample standard deviation is 41.45%. The latest 30-day absolute change is 7 points, more than twice the prior 30-day change of 3 points.
The series peak is 100 on October 30, 2021. Later Octobers printed 88 on October 29, 2022, 68 on November 4, 2023, 89 on November 2, 2024, and 94 on November 1, 2025, then fell to 12 by November 8, 2025. Today's 13 is 87% below that 2021 ceiling, which is the mid-September on-ramp, not the destination.
How the 2026 ramp compares with prior years
Same-week mid-September readings now sit above last year, with 13 on September 12, 2026 against 11 on September 13, 2025, 12 on September 14, 2024, 11 on September 16, 2023, and 12 on September 17, 2022. The 1-year get_growth print is +18.18% from 11 to 13. Five of the last five mid-September weeks landed between 11 and 13. The 2026 curve is a little early relative to 2025, not late.
What changes year to year is the October ceiling, not the September start. 2025 reached 94 on November 1. 2024 reached 89 on November 2. 2021 still holds the series high at 100 on October 30. A Saturday Halloween in 2026 could push weekend-party and costume queries. The September print already shows a 2-point premium over 2025's same week. The chart window from September 14, 2024 captures two full autumn peaks plus the current climb, which is the span that makes the seasonal shape readable. A mid-February 2026 blip (6 on February 14, 8 on February 21) is the only off-season bump in this year's floor.
Nearby queries that are climbing with it
pumpkin spice, a flavor query on the same autumn calendar, scored 74 on September 12, 2026, up 10 percent from 67 on September 5 and up 155 percent from 29 on August 15, outrunning the parent halloween series on the same 30-day Google Search window. halloween costume scored 16, up 6.67% from 15 week over week and up 128.57% from 7 on August 15. Spirit Halloween, the seasonal retailer, scored 18, up 12.5% from 16 and up 20% from 15 on August 15. Pumpkin spice is the fastest of the three neighbors. Costume shopping and pop-up stores are moving with the parent series, just on different slopes.
The parent halloween query is the slower, broader series. It does not jump 155% because the June floor is 3, not zero. A 3 in June and a 13 in mid-September is a 333.33% 90-day move on a small absolute scale. The useful comparison is same-week September, where 2026 at 13 sits 2 points above 2025 at 11, with seven weeks left until October 31.
get_time_series with source google search and keyword halloween is the call behind the chart, 261 weekly points from 2021-09-18 (first print 14) through 2026-09-12. get_growth on the same pair, windows 7D, 30D, and 1Y, is the headline math: 11 to 13 (+18.18%), 6 to 13 (+116.67%), and 11 to 13 (+18.18%). Google Shopping for halloween is 16 on September 12, up 33.33% over 7 days and 166.67% over 30 days, but down 33.33% over 1 year from 24, so shopping fails the year-over-year bar. Search is the story source that still clears +15% year over year.