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Americans Will Spend $8 Billion On Halloween This Year

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Halloween_thumb

Cauldrons? Check. Pumpkins? Check. Candy, ghosts and goblins? Check, check, check.

Oct. 31 isn’t only about tricks and treats — it’s about stimulating the economy. With 170 million Americans participating in Halloween festivities, there’s a lot of cash being spent on ghoulish items.

Personal finance forum WiseBread looked into Halloween spending, and found that from 2007 to 2012, Americans shelled out an average of $28.65 on costumes. What’s more, they spent $370 million costumes for pets within those five years. (For some, though, it’s worth seeing their pooch dressed as a giraffe.)

Interestingly, people are turning to social media more often to get ideas for the perfect Halloween getup. Pinterest is a popular source of ideas for All Hallows’ Eve, with 4.2% consulting the online pinboard, while 2.8% are logging on Twitter to get inspiration for costumes.

Check out the infographic below to see more stats on the spookiest night of the year.

Halloween Infographic
Halloween by the Numbers: With the economy already looking pretty darn scary, will Halloween be tame by comparison? Or is Halloween still an excuse for us to throw on a mask, go wild with fake blood, and forget all about our financial misery?


Image: Wise Bread

How much did you spend on Halloween this year? Tell us in the comments below.

BONUS: 15 Unbelievable Halloween Makeup Tutorials on YouTube

15 Unbelievable Halloween Makeup Tutorials on YouTube

  1. 1. Emily from The Corpse Bride

    Make sure you walk around with your eyes closed, or this costume will become even more creepy.

  2. 2. Nina from Black Swan

    Even if you can’t dance, at least you can perfect this eye makeup.

  3. 3. Pinhead from Hellraiser

    This is a lot less painless than actually putting nails into your head.

  4. 4. Zombie

    We never thought flaps of “skin” could be so intriguing…

  5. 5. Scar from The Lion King

    With the exception of the scar, this look was completed entirely with paint, and we love it!

  6. 6. Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland

    One of the simpler looks, but a red wig is required.

  7. 7. Pop Art

    Comic books come to life.

  8. 8. Jigsaw from Saw

    This video is infinitely creepier than the costume itself.

  9. 8. Edward Scissorhands

    Scissors for hands not required.

  10. 10. Zombie Skeleton

    Although the video doesn’t provide step-by-step directions, just watching the process is helpful.

  11. 11. Classic Skeleton

    One of the simple, classic looks that’s easy to copy.

  12. 12. Unzipped Face

    This is the only video in which the demonstrator talks about what she’d change to make it better, but we say it’s realistic enough.

  13. 13. Neytiri from Avatar

    Novice Na’vi? No problem.

  14. 14. Sonic the Hedgehog

    You can probably skip the eyebrow glue and pencils and freehand this look.

  15. 15. The Joker from The Dark Knight

    Why so serious?

  16. BONUS: Mouth/Neck

    A new take on “necking” this Halloween.

Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/10/28/halloween-spending/

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