Check out the most popular costumes this year.
The fanged frenzy on TV, in movies and in books -- think "True Blood," "Twilight," and, well, "Twilight" -- in recent years may have helped vampire costumes score high rankings in annual tallies of popular Halloween get-ups. Still, Dracula and his pals can't hold a broomstick to the perennial Halloween favorite -- witches.
For at least the last five years, "witch" has topped the National Retail Federation's annual survey of in-demand adult Halloween costumes.
What helps keep witches popular is that the costumes can be adapted to reflect the fashions of the day, said Howard Beige, the executive vice president of Rubie's Costume Co., a New York-based costume business that dates back to 1951.
Beige said that bright colors and shorter skirts are among the fashionable changes witch costumes have seen over the years.
"Witches are much more glamorous than they used to be 30 years ago," he said.
While witches have been a Halloween costume mainstay, no matter what was brewing in the pop culture cauldron, other historically popular costumes can be tied directly to current events and entertainment.
ABCNews.com teamed up with Rubie's, New York costume shop Ricky's NYC and Toys "R" Us to take a look back at some of the more popular costumes to step off the screen and into the street.
With Halloween falling just days before a major presidential election every four years, it's little wonder that presidents' masks are often hot sellers. But presidential campaigns aren't the only reason would-be costume wearers look to the White House for inspiration.
President masks have proven popular after presidential scandals. In the 1970s, as Richard Nixon became embroiled in the Watergate scandal that eventually led to his resignation, masks of the pointy-nosed president became big sellers. In the 1990s, Bill Clinton, who faced impeachment on charges relating to his affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, became a favorite of mask buyers.
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