Halloween Costumes 2026: Buddy the Unicorn and Dolly Parton Top the Searches as Washington Dresses Up

Washingtonians making a last costume decision on Halloween morning have a clear search map to follow. Google's annual Frightgeist rankings, reported by USA Today, put Buddy the Unicorn — the colorful mascot from the horror film "Buddy" — at the top of the trending costume list for 2026, ahead of NeeDoh, a squishy stress-relief toy, in second place and Nikki from the horror movie "Obsession" in third.

Costume searches were still climbing on Halloween itself. A trending-search snapshot generated Saturday morning listed "spirit halloween" and "halloween costumes" among the top daily movers in the United States, as shoppers made final runs before Saturday night's parties and trick-or-treating.

For children, the list has a country accent. Dolly Parton ranks No. 1 among kids' costumes in Google's rankings, followed by singer Ella Langley, according to the USA Today report. Google's rankings reflect costume searches with the biggest increases in interest, rather than a straight count of the most popular costumes overall.

The District has a hometown entry in the trend: a Dolly Parton Look-Alike Contest is scheduled for Saturday at 9 p.m. at 1310 Kitchen & Bar in Georgetown, according to City Cast DC's Halloweekend guide — one of the night's costume contests across the city as Halloween falls on a Saturday this year.