If the thought of showing up to a Halloween party in the same costume as someone else is scarier than any ghost story, you might want to consult Google‘s new search tool.
The Frightgeist is a map showing the popularity of various costumes by geographic location. It’s Google’s way of bringing Big Data analytics to the costume-shopping experience. The interactive map lets you explore costume trends across the country and see what cities will be brimming with Darth Vader wannabes come All Hallows’ Eve.
Clicking on one of the static orbs on the map reveals additional data for that location. Google shows costumes trending in the area, cities with similar trends, and outfits whose popularity is unique to the region. In Cheyenne, Wyoming, for example, people seem to love Doc McStuffins.
On the national level, Harley Quinn is this year’s trendiest costume, followed closely by Star Wars. (Google doesn’t break out individual Star Wars characters. Or maybe people are dressing up like the Blu-ray box set. Who knows?) You can click on each costume and drill down into the historical data or find areas where that outfit is most popular.
The data come from Google Trends, which records the 3-billion-plus searches that take place on the site every day. The Google News Lab dug through the top 500 costume searches in the United States to create Frightgeist and its data-driven costume insights.
Oh, and for what it’s worth, Pizza Rat isn’t trending anywhere yet.
H/T SomeeCards | Screengrab via Frightgeist
