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The K-Pop craze has hit Halloween.
“KPop Demon Hunters” fever continues to take a bite out of the Big Apple as popular costume stores are rapidly selling out of kids’ – and adults’ – Halloween costumes from the wildly popular animated Netflix film.
“Right now, the most popular costume is KPop Demon Hunters,” said Brian Clark, owner of longtime Manhattan Halloween staple Abracadabra.
Though the Netflix movies costumes are most popular among kids, the store also carries adult sizes, he said, with replica outfits costing parents an average of $60 to $70.
Jackie Spitz, a 25-year-old Abracadabra employee, said the store was quickly ransacked of KPop Demon Hunter merch, “which we don’t have any more of.”
Isaiah, a six-year employee in the village’s Spirit Halloween outpost, agreed that the “most popular costumes for kids would be KPOP Demon Hunters” this year, with the company’s officially-licensed kids’ and adults’ costumes from the movie completely sold out online.
The workers’ accounts track with Google Trends data, noting the highest-trending costume in the New York City metro area is Rumi, of “KPop Demon Hunters,” followed by Labubu dolls, according to Google Trends.
The third, fourth and fifth spots on the list all rep “KPop Demon Hunters,” with Mira, Zoey and Jinu, respectively.
The film has such a stranglehold on New Yorkers that its main stars lit up the Empire State Building in August, and the movie musical – which touts a chart-topping soundtrack – is Netflix’s most-watched animated original film of all time.
The costume-buying craze comes as Halloween spending is expected to shatter records at $13.1 billion this year — eclipsing the previous record of $12.2 billion set in 2023, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual consumer survey. 71% of expenses are expected to go toward costumes.
Alongside outfits from the animated movie musical, Abracadabra is peddling a slew of perpetually-popular pieces, Clark said.
Cowgirls and witch costumes are selling this year, as well as masks for famous slashers Michael Meyers, Freddy Krueger and Ghostface – the latter of which is highly sought after by both genders, according to Spirit Halloween employee Jeffrey Garcia.
Joselynne Ramirez, an 18-year-old Abracadabra employee, believes the costume for Art the Clown – the slasher from the Terrifier movies – is one of the most popular costumes at the store, as Terrifier masks sold out scarily fast in 2025.
But the real shock, she said, is the sticker price for some more elaborate costumes:
“If they’re trying to buy a whole complete costume – wig included – that could be about $200,” Ramirez said, “but if it’s a rental costume, maybe [it would cost] about $300 or more.”
“The maximum I’ve seen someone spend is almost $10,000,” said Joseph Williams, a four-year store employee, “because not only were they paying for costumes and accessories but also the props we have – so they’ll rent out costumes and props and they spend a lot of money for it.”
One shopper, 29-year-old drag performer Dinae Anderson, admitted to spending nearly $250 on their vampire bride costume already, “and I’m probably gonna spend another $50 here.”
“It’s a little bit of a shock actually because coming from Italy obviously the prices are different,” student Angelica Salbagori, of Italy, said.
“I was planning on spending a maximum of $50-$70,” said Salbagori, 21, who is planning both a vampire and “Tomb Raider” Lara Croft costume:
“But considering the accessories and everything I’m sure I’ll go over my budget.”
English (US)