These are the top Halloween movies in New York and New Jersey
NEW YORK - Turns out your zip code dictates more than your property taxes. It also drives your Halloween movie queue!
Cars park up as they arrive to watch a horror film at a temporary drive in cinema in Manchester, northwest England on October 29, 2020. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP) (Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Regional favorites
Local perspective:
While New York and New Jersey split on found-footage ghosts versus classic slasher franchises, recent data shows both states agree on one carnivorous musical comedy.
New York
New Yorkers are captivated by unseen forces, making the found-footage hit "Paranormal Activity" their top horror film. For ongoing sagas, they turn to the "Final Destination" series, which kicked off with a doomed plane departing from New York's own JFK Airport.
New Jersey
New Jersey leans toward the sci-fi suspense of "The Invisible Man" (2020) for Halloween viewing. When it comes to horror series, they bypass ghosts and elaborate traps in favor of the classic killer-doll mayhem found in the "Child's Play" movies.
Despite their differences when it comes to horror, both states find common ground with lighter entertainment. "Little Shop of Horrors" (1986) is the undisputed champion of family-friendly Halloween viewing across the region.
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National trends
Big picture view:
When looking at the country as a whole, a few major consensus winners emerged.
In the franchise category, "Final Destination" absolutely dominated the competition. The anxiety-inducing series topped the search charts in 10 states, which is twice as many as its closest runners-up, "Candyman" and "Saw." For standalone scares, the country was split evenly between classic and contemporary horror. The 1976 prom-night terror "Carrie" and the 2020 psychological thriller "The Invisible Man" tied for first place, each winning over five different states.
For viewers looking to turn down the terror, a surprising sleeper hit took the national crown. The cult-favorite 1989 comedy "The 'Burbs" beat out heavy hitters like "Ghostbusters" and "Practical Magic," ranking as the number one Halloween watch in eight states.
The data also revealed a heavy "hometown hero" bias. Audiences frequently sought out horror that hit close to home, with over a dozen states crowning movies that were set or filmed right in their own backyards.
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Data behind the study
Dig deeper:
To figure out exactly what viewers are queuing up in each region, Only In Your State pulled a full year of search metrics.
The research team first built specific watchlists based on highly rated IMDb titles. They created a pool of 100 top-rated horror movies, a separate list of 25 massive horror franchises, and a lighter lineup of 60 family-friendly Halloween hits.
From there, they turned to Google Trends. By analyzing online search patterns from across the United States over a 12-month period (ending in October 2026), the researchers were able to measure which states were searching for specific titles the most relative to the rest of the country.
The Source: Information from this article was sourced from Only In Your States's Halloween movie analysis for each state.