What a Weird Week Show Oct 31, 2025: Weird Halloween #weirdoween

Scotty
Scotty
October 31, 2025

What a Weird Week gets you caught up on the odd, interesting, strange, fun, and weird news that happened this week. Ten stories in 15 minutes!
See https://www.shownotes.page or "What a Weird Week" where you get podcasts.


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Hi friends, I'm Scott and this is What a Weird Week, a look at the odd, interesting, strange, fun and weird stories that made news this week. See bottom of shownotes page for a transcript of the podcast episode.  To Subscribe/ get in touch/ other/ see www.shownotes.page.
Thanks for rating and reviewing and also subscribing!

These are the shownotes for Season 6, Ep 45 republished Fri Oct 31, 2025. It's our Halloween Special.  

From study finds, Consensus Picks for the Top 5 Best Halloween Candies
https://studyfinds.org/best-halloween-candy/ 


 
5 Best Cat Halloween Costumes for a Spooktacular Feline Transformation
https://studyfinds.org/best-cat-halloween-costumes/
 

 
5 Best U.S. Cities for an Unforgettable Halloween Experience
https://youtu.be/NF9oZ5HHb1k?si=mXUkB4p6OV8_siCk and also https://studyfinds.org/best-u-s-cities-for-halloween

 

 
America's Fascination with Horror Movies: Childhood Scares to Adult Thrills
https://studyfinds.org/your-halloween-personality/
 

 
5 Easy and Creative Halloween Costume Ideas for Last-Minute Partygoers
https://studyfinds.org/best-easy-halloween-costumes/
 
5 Best Dog Halloween Costumes That Pet Parents Love
https://studyfinds.org/best-dog-halloween-costumes/
 


How to do everything episode about Peanut Butter Cups - the Halloween ones taste better according to 14 year old math-e-magician
https://www.npr.org/2024/10/22/1256914737/pumpkins-spiders-and-henry-winkler
 
 
    giant peanut butter cups!
 
Best Ghost Movies: 
https://studyfinds.org/best-ghost-movies/

We eat all our Halloween candy twice before we finally get the candy that we hand out to trick-or-treaters.
 
Halloween: not as scary as climate change 
 
The #1 Halloween Candy Is... According to sales data (USA stats), the number one selling Halloween candy is Reese's Peanut Butter Cup 
 
The biggest Horror Movie $$$: The top-grossing horror movie of all time is "It" (2017) which made more than $700 million.
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/74097-highest-box-office-film-gross-by-a-horror-film
If you adjust for inflation it would be "The Exorcist" (1973). 
 
Scary Stats:
- 83% of people surveyed said they had some kind of paranormal activity in their home
- Most common types of paranormal activity are hearing sounds, lights turning on and off, and hearing voices
- 1 in 10 people say they sold their home after a paranormal experience
- Good News, Split Level Home owners, your home is far less likely to be haunted!
https://nationaltoday.com/national-paranormal-day/
and https://www.cinchhomeservices.com/view-blog/-/blogs/americans-report-on-their-paranormal-experiences-in-their-home-survey


 
A quick and careful look at Ouija Boards...
- Steer clear of those things you guys!
- Legend: Ouija boards got their name when one of the investors of the product asked it "What's your name" and it spelled out Ouija.
- Legend: when they went to get the thing registered at the patent office they had to show the patent office guy how it worked and used it to spell out the patent office guy's name... "A patent file confirms she did a demonstration and the patent was issued on February 10th 1891"
- the things sold like crazy and they had to open more factories to produce them... in 1927 one of the guys running the company fell to his death from the roof of a new factory - one he claimed a Ouija board told him to build.
- Steer clear of those things you guys!
 

play with whatever this is instead. safer.
 
Some tips on Candy Hangovers...🍬 If you end up with a candy hangover the day after Halloween, consider eating pineapple... The article we link to says "The tropical fruit contains enzymes that aid digestion and break down proteins that usually cause bloat and also contains 180 milligrams of bloat-busting potassium per cup. Researchers have also found that pineapple can reduce colonic inflammation that may be leading to that distended stomach." https://www.eatthis.com/reduce-bloating-tips/
Other things to try if you have a candy hangover include: 1) have more candy and 2) try someone else's candy to see if it has healing properties. *citation needed*
 


Some Halloween World Records... 
- Most people dressed in certain costume... largest group of zombies was 15458 zombies... scarecrows was 2495... then there were the 2018 skeletons... and the 1607 witches... 1580 superheroes... 1369 vampires... 1275 angels... 878 fairies... 560 ghosts... and 252 dinosaurs.
*editor's note: what if a zombie apocalypse broke out while you were trying to set the zombie record? 
 

world record attempt. artist rendering. or zombie apocalypse?
 
- Fastest pumpkin carving record belongs to Stephen Clarke who carved one regulation size pumpkin in 9.4 seconds... and also carved a ton of pumpkins in 3 hours, 3 minutes, and 49 seconds!
- most pumpkins smashed in a minute is 52! 
 

- The oldest ghost in the world is a little bit controversial because... some people don't believe in ghosts... but the oldest ghost, unofficially, is 220 million years old. There's a ranch in New Mexico where people reported seeing this sort of snake-like ghost... people reporting sightings... then in 1947 a paleontologist discovered fossils of an animal that looks like the ghost. The animal is phytosaur.
 
 
Thanks for rating and reviewing! You're my favorite.
 
Transcript below.
 
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#weird #news #odd #fun #interesting #strange #whataweirdweek #podcast

Transcription

00:00
from the What a Weird Week show. It's our Weird Halloween special. This  is Weird-o-ween.

00:10
Hi friends, I'm Scott and this is Weird-O-Ween from the What a Weird Week show. Usually on this program we go back through the news of the week and we pick out the weird and the fun stories and we count them down.  But this episode dropping on Halloween 2025. So we're  to get into some weird Halloween stuff.

00:38
This is one we featured on the program last year and it still holds true. Candy is delicious. That's science.  Top five Halloween treats. This is not based on my opinion.  Please don't at me.  This is all based on the scientific research of the folks at study finds study finds is a website where they break down the science and they are constantly sifting through data. They help us better understand the world around us. Their team.

01:08
has compiled the list of the top five Halloween candies, I'm gonna say it's not without controversy. Number five on the list is Starburst. And according to their research, the fact that Starburst makes the list is due largely to the pink ones, which they say is considered a valuable trading commodity during Halloween. The pink one.  You've got M &Ms on the list. You have Twix bars on the list. They make the top three because basically the folks at Study Find say,

01:36
You know what you're getting with a Twix? Consistency. They avoid excessive flavor variations, Twix, and that is appreciated by the researchers at Study Finds. Then you have Snickers bars and the number one Halloween treat, Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, the top Halloween treat. Later on, we're going to get into another podcast's results when they applied mathematics, critical thinking to what makes a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup pumpkin shape

02:04
So much more delicious than all the other shapes and it's scientifically proven later on in this show. Get into that.  you're looking for a Halloween getaway, here are the top destinations for spooky fun according to the research team at Study Finds. First one is Sleepy Hollow, New York, famous for the headless horseman story. And next is New Orleans, Louisiana. It's basically teeming with ghosts. So incredibly haunted. Anoka, Minnesota. That is where they have the big, we talked about this a big

02:34
pumpkin festival. How Anoka became the Halloween capital of the world.  Way back in 1920, we  had a lot of kid issues tipping over cows. They were taking apart wagons  and the town came together to create this diversion of naughty behavior into  what we now have a hundred plus years  festival.

02:57
That's from a video about how Anoka became the Halloween capital of the world. We'll link to that in the show notes or click show notes dot page. I'll stop there on that scary list of destinations, but there are more on the list and we will link to that in these spooky spooky show notes. Okay, next is horror movies. What you like in a scary movie may say a lot about your personality. Perhaps you're a weirdo. We'll get into that next.  Who is  it? Special delivery.

03:26
Special delivery?  That's one of the best kinds of deliveries.  I wonder what it could be.  Oh, look, it's a pumpkin.  Wait, it has something carved into it. Why?  It's a Halloween pumpkin. Let's see, what does it say?  Dear Larry,  we are  over. Dating you has been one of the biggest regrets of my life.  The-

03:53
Thought of you makes me want to throw up in my mouth a little bit. Oh wait, there's more. Larry, you really should get your halitosis problem looked at by a specialist, because your breath is horrendous.  It's like cabbage water and burning hair with a dash of Limburger cheese.  Well, that is a fair statement.  Signed, Charlene. Oh!

04:16
It's from Charlene. This Halloween, say it with Dumkins,  a fun Halloween pumpkin that also tells that certain someone it's over.  They are dumped. That this pumpkin is the only one who will be around to listen to your nose whistle from now on, Larry.  Dumkins. Available in small, medium,  and Larry. This is what a weird week. Usually, we're a show about the weird things that happened that were in the news this week.

04:43
But today we're doing Weirdo Weem!  The study about... Can we do something with the... There we go. The study about scary movies and what they say about you. According to this study, children love scary movies, and then as we get older, we love them even more. But what kind of scary movie do you like? Supernatural and paranormal movies are the number one scary movie on the list. And then psychological thrillers, a close second,  slasher films, third place.

05:12
If you want to do a deep dive on this one, this survey got into different, like, you know, what personality type are you? What is your Halloween profile? You could be a gore hound, which that doesn't sound good at all. But that is if you're the type who enjoys  maximum horror. You could be a ghostbuster. That means you like the paranormal scary movies.  You could be a kitschy classic Carl. That means B movies.

05:40
We're family friendly friends.  Something you can watch with the whole family. You also have scaredy cats in there, which maybe strawberry shortcake and that's as scary as it gets. My little pony and then that's it.  Even then, it's pushing it. We'll link to that whole study if you click the show notes or show notes dot page.  Right up next, some spooky, you know,

06:05
Easy. Halloween costumes, if you're in a last minute costume situation and you're starting to panic, perhaps you have a party,  maybe you're going to rob a bank or something, whatever scenario and you need a last minute costume, the Brilliant Minds and Study Finds are on it. And by the way, Study Finds, that should be your slogan. Brilliant Minds,  Study Finds.  This is what a weird week. Usually every week we cover the weird news that happened.

06:34
This time around, it's our Halloween special. Our Halloween's  weirdo. What's it called again? Weirdo-ween.  Easy and creative Halloween costume ideas if you're a last minute person or in a last minute situation. One easy one, they say, is Barbie or Ken. Because  you can throw on a tuxedo in your Ken. You can also just wear jeans and an Oxford. And now you're laid back Ken. Barbie can have a sweatband. I'm workout Barbie.

07:03
was quite flexible. I'm going to add another one here on the list. The painter costume. Let me tell you the story. One year I was in a situation where I wanted candy and I still hadn't decided what should my Halloween costume be. It was Halloween afternoon and my father said, go get a paint brush from down in the workshop. And he tied it to his shoelace and I wore it around my neck and he gave me a white hat and said, tell everyone you're a painter. And I did. I told everyone I was a painter because  everyone asked.

07:32
What is going on with the paintbrush and the hat on sideways? But you know what? End of the day. Got my candy. Sure, it was a little bit phoned in. No offense, Dad.  These are some of the best Halloween costumes for dogs. Your dog as a murderous doll from the Chucky movies. Also, they have Superman on the list.  I would amend that list to say super dog. I mean, your dog can be Superman, Superwoman  or whatever, but also.

08:01
Couldn't your dog just be SuperDog? Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,

08:29
You don't want to get arrested on Halloween because,  you know, copyright infringement.  This headline came across our desk as we were researching. Halloween is very scary this year.  No make believe monsters as frightening as climate change. That was one, you know, I'm looking for what's the top selling Halloween treat. And I come across that article. Climate change is scarier than Halloween. All right. If you stuck around this long, thank you very much for that. We promised.

08:58
a story about  how delicious Reese's Peanut Butter Cup pumpkins are and what is the science behind it. So I got all this information from a podcast that went away for quite a while and now is back. It's the How to Do Everything podcast from NPR. When I'm researching all about the number one Halloween treat, which scientifically has proven it's Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, they did an episode. talked to a 14 year old mathematician about the science and the mathematics behind

09:26
why the pumpkin shaped Reese's peanut butter cup is the most delicious of all the cups. Here's a clip. After finding the volume of the inner frustum of the peanut butter and the whole frustum of the peanut butter cup, I got that the regular is about 30 % peanut butter. So just the regular shape is 30%. Wow. And so where does the pumpkin fall? So the pumpkin, I had to measure it in a different way because the pumpkin is like an ellipse. Okay.

09:54
The regular pumpkin Reese's had 38 % peanut butter. So it beat out all the other Reese's. Wow. The how to do everything podcast. I will link to how to do everything in the show notes. They get the answers. They've got the budget for it. The sweet, sweet NPR dollars. And now this message from vampires. Hello friends. My name is Blank the impulsor.

10:16
I am the Terror of the East Coast of Canada, Secretary Treasurer  of the East Coast Canadian Vampire Association.  This Halloween season, please remember that vampires need minions.  If you're able to donate just a little bit of time  to do the bidding of a vampire,  it is greatly appreciated.  Perhaps you're wondering,  but  Vlad, I am just a puny human.

10:45
How can I help? Well, number one, blood. You know, give your blood to a vampire. But also vampires need running around. It's hard for us to get out in the daylight. So, cleaning, getting the ingredients for a nice meal when the boss is coming over and the vampire is hoping to get a promotion. Things like that. In closing, let me just say, you will be my minion.

11:15
uh Death Clock, the app that tells you when you're going to die, which I've seen this movie. It doesn't end well. Isn't this really a movie, Blumhouse movie? I'm pretty sure. Death Clock, the app honorable mention for sending out press releases.

11:45
just before Halloween. Good lord. You tell them all your stuff, what you're eating, how much you exercise, how you're doing mental health-wise, and then they tell you you're going to die at some point. Now, I haven't tested it out because I'm scared of it. Because of that Blumhouse movie, the aforementioned Blumhouse movie where the app takes over and pretty soon it's nothing but carnage.

12:07
So I can't endorse this.  From the Toronto Star, here's the headline. It's in the food and drink section. It's an opinion piece. Here's what to drink with all the Halloween treats you'll swipe from your kids this year. And it gets into, you know what, booze to pair with different treats. Some of these treats, because this is a Toronto publication, some of these are uniquely Canadian, I wanna say. Well.

12:30
Perhaps not just Canadian, but AeroBars? Do you have AeroBars where you're at? If not, it is a chocolate bar with air bubbles in it. Perhaps you can improvise. They recommend the Liqueur Amaro with AeroBars. They also get into salt and vinegar chips. What do you have with salt and vinegar chips? Vinho Verde. Which of course, we all know what that is. That is...  is Vinho Verde?  Delicious wine! Of course we knew that!

12:59
Because we're classy.  The mystery of the five pound note. oh The lady who, now this is, we get the story from Lad Bible. They wrote it up from TikTok where a lady shared the story of getting home and finding a five pound note at her house. Somebody put it through her mail slot and no explanation, just the money.  It's a mystery. Who would have done that?

13:26
Later on the lady goes to walk her dog and when she gets home she figures it out. Her son had put up some Halloween decorations, some homemade drawings and artwork and one of the things  the son wrote, if I scared you please leave five pounds and somebody did. Hey, a fun Halloween story. Nothing about an app that predicts your death. Just a nice

13:49
wholesome Halloween story and it involves free money. Somebody got some free money out of it.  If you're looking for something scary to watch this weekend, the top five ghost movies of all time, according to experts. No, let's just do number one. Here's number one, The Shining. Next.  Here's a cool study about how many Halloween treats we eat. This is a new one for 2025. According to the data, we go out and buy our Halloween candy.

14:19
to hand out for Halloween. We go through that candy, then we go out again and get another stash of Halloween candy to hand out. We also consume that. Usually we go through our Halloween candy stash twice.  That's the average before we  finally get to Halloween night and start handing out treats.  Just before we wrap up, a couple more quick stats, scary stats for

14:48
spooky time. 83 % of people surveyed say they've had some kind of paranormal activity in their home. Hearing sounds, lights turning on, hearing voices. One in 10 people say they've sold their home after a paranormal experience. And an interesting statistic, split level homes are far less likely to be haunted. There's still not a lot of data as to why. Why do the ghosts not haunt the split levels?

15:18
We'll link to a bit of a deep dive into Ouija boards. I say steer clear of those things. They frighten me. How did the Ouija board get its name? Well, the legend is they asked the Ouija board, what is your name? And it's spelled out Ouija. That's the legend. If you find yourself in a situation where you have a candy hangover this weekend, try pineapple. It can sometimes help. World record for the largest group of zombies. People dressed as a zombie, not real zombies, sorry. 15,000.

15:47
458 zombies. The vampire world record, far less. 1,369 vampires. Most vampires gathered in one place. Couple Halloween world records for you. The fastest pumpkin carving record. Steven Clark carved one regulation-sized pumpkin  in 9.4 seconds. If you're going to attempt that one this weekend, please be safe. And we'll wrap up with...

16:13
This one have you ever wondered how old the oldest ghost in the world is? This is a bit controversial because number one not everyone believes in ghosts Shocking the oldest ghost in the world unofficially is 220 million years old There is this ranch in new mexico. We'll link to this in the show notes People reported seeing this kind of snake-like ghost It was a ghost. It was some sort of snake creature and then

16:43
In 1947, a paleontologist discovered fossils of this animal that looked like the ghost. People reported seeing this ghost described it, and then they dig up the fossil. It's a phytosaur. And if you want to see what it looks like, show notes dot page. And that is a wrap on our Halloween special 2025. I appreciate you tuning in. We're back next week with the normal format of 10 Weird Stories.

17:11
or fun stories from the news. Everything we talked about in more detail, if you click shownotes.page,  shownotes.page. So we'll catch you next week with more weird stuff on What a Weird Week.


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