Halloween is tomorrow, and with Devil’s Eve upon us, it’s the perfect time to talk about one of the season’s biggest thrills: haunted houses. A new CivicScience survey finds that nearly one-quarter of U.S. adults say they like haunted houses, with interest highest among adults under 45, women, city dwellers, and Southerners.
Haunted house fans stand out from the rest in more ways than one.
Home Security: Nearly half of haunted house fans say they have a home security system, compared to under a third of those who don’t enjoy them.
Media Habits: They’re much more likely to listen to the radio—and nearly 20 points more likely to do so daily. They also over-index in reading a print edition of a local newspaper and are more than five times as likely to read it daily.
Spending Behavior: Fifty-six percent of haunted house fans say they’ve used Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services, compared to 26% of non-fans.
Food Choices: They’re also twice as likely to say they buy and enjoy eating plant-based meat.
Haunted house enthusiasts bring their boldness beyond spooky season—from how they pay and eat to how they stay informed. Their taste for thrills seems to echo in their everyday lives, proving that a love for haunted houses may say more about lifestyle than fear factor.
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This article’s data comes solely from CivicScience’s database, which contains nearly 700,000 poll questions and 5 billion consumer insights.