The Big Picture
With Halloween ten days away, six of this week's eight trends are explicitly seasonal, and the two single highest view counts in the whole report both come from Halloween-specific content: a group Five Nights at Freddy's costume reveal at 23.3M views and a submitted scary story at 17.5M. The costume-reveal cut and the makeup transition are doing most of the heavy lifting, each showing up across both a human and a pet variant this cycle. The CapCut Pioneer AI-template mechanic that drove last week's crying-face filter is still active too, this cycle applied to a baby photo that gets animated into a dance instead. YouTube Shorts turned up real crossover examples for two trends this week (the makeup transition and the zombie makeup subgenre); Instagram hashtag and web search again did not surface distinct, verifiable Reel URLs.
1. Halloween Costume-Reveal Cut
A quick cut or spin reveals a full costume rather than just a makeup look, built around a character or theme rather than a single effect. This week's examples post some of the biggest single numbers in the whole report, led by a Five Nights at Freddy's group costume.
Frame the starting outfit in the same spot the costume will land, cut on a spin, jump, or prop block, and hold the reveal shot steady for a beat so viewers can actually see the costume before the next cut. Group costumes benefit from cutting all members into frame at once rather than one at a time.
Who's doing it:
2. Spooky Scary Storytime
A recurring storytime format built around anonymously submitted scary stories, read or narrated over simple visuals with on-screen text carrying the suspense. One example this week posted the single highest view count in this entire report.
Narrate or voice over a submitted story in a calm, matter of fact tone, let on-screen captions carry the scariest lines word for word, and cut to a new visual or angle roughly every sentence so the frame never sits still long enough to lose attention. Naming the submitter by first name only adds a layer of credibility without any extra production work.
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3. Halloween Makeup Transition
Creators cut from a plain face to a finished Halloween character makeup look on a single hard transition, landing the reveal on a beat or line instead of a slow build. With Halloween ten days out, the format is everywhere this week across clown, horror, and character looks.
Apply the full makeup look off camera or under a prop block, then cut hard on a beat: whip the camera, snap a finger, or use a quick zoom to hide the cut point, and land square on the finished face. Keep the before shot short, two to three seconds is plenty, so the after gets the screen time.
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4. Halloween Pet Costume Reveal
The costume-reveal cut applied to pets instead of people, usually a cat or dog modeling a Halloween outfit for the camera. One example this week is the single biggest number in this category of the whole report.
Hold the pet steady in frame before the cut (a treat or toy off camera helps), cut to the costume already on, and keep the after shot just long enough for the pet's reaction, since the animal's expression is usually the actual punchline, not the costume itself.
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5. Zombie Makeup Transformation Cut
A specific makeup-transition subgenre: plain face to full zombie or horror SFX look, often tagged directly as zombie makeup rather than a generic Halloween look. The Michael Jackson Thriller zombie look shows up as a specific recurring reference this week.
Build the zombie look in layers, base pallor first, then wounds or decay detail, and cut to the finished look on a sting or beat rather than showing the application process. Referencing a known pop-culture zombie look, like Thriller, gives viewers an instant reference point for how good the execution is.
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6. AI Baby Sway Dance Filter (CapCut Pioneer)
A CapCut Pioneer AI template turns a still baby photo into a short dancing clip, with creators posting the before photo then tapping into the animated result. It is the same AI-template mechanic that powered last week's crying-face filter, now applied to a different source photo type.
Upload a clear, front-facing still photo of the baby to CapCut's Pioneer AI effects panel, select the sway dance template, and let the tool generate the motion. Caption the moment right before the dance starts so the payoff lands as a surprise rather than being telegraphed.
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7. Halloween Nail Art Reveal
A timelapse or sped-up application cut to a finished, character-themed Halloween nail set, ending on a close-up reveal shot. This week's examples lean on recognizable horror and character references rather than generic Halloween motifs.
Shoot the full application at normal speed, then cut it down to a fast timelapse so only the key design steps are visible, and end on a slow, steady close-up hold of the finished nails rather than cutting away immediately. Naming the specific character or reference in the caption, not just Halloween nails, gives the clip a built-in search hook.
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8. Pumpkin Head Illusion
A forced-perspective camera trick where a pumpkin held near the lens appears to replace the subject's head. Real and specifically named by multiple small accounts this week, but the view counts are still tiny, worth watching rather than building a post around yet.
Hold a pumpkin at arm's length directly in front of the camera lens while the subject stands further back in frame; the size difference and lack of depth cues make the pumpkin appear to be sitting on the subject's shoulders. Keep the camera locked off, since any camera movement breaks the forced-perspective illusion immediately.
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If you only build one thing from this report, make it the spooky scary storytime format. It costs nothing but a phone and a script, it works year round once Halloween passes, and it just posted the single highest view count anywhere in this entire report.
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- Wes Fleming
ScriptHooks Weekly Trends