by Vera H-C Chan

Imagine, if you will, a Halloween without Disney. Okay, wipe your tears—it can't be done. Seemingly every year, Disney-themed costumes top the Search charts. Specific character costumes, as noted in an earlier log, may be pop culture-influenced, but the Magic Kingdom nearly owns All Souls' Eve.

Many of the other thematic costume queries stick to tried-and-true Western traditions, from shipsacking robbers (#4) to the Wild West (#19). Japanese subculture shows up twice (#9 and #16). The era of Enlightenment (#6) proves more popular than the decade of shoulder pads (#11), and the Grecian form of casual wear (#14) is easier to put together than the Jazz Age symbol of female defiance (#20).

Halloween explores that thin membrane between the living and the dead, but the most popular themes show that celebrants prefer a fantasy play and a few homages to history. Experience a few flashbacks as we review the top 20 thematic costume searches from the past 30 days.