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Horror Is the New Dating Trend Around Halloween, According to Survey From Peacock & Tinder

Stomach-churning cinema is the fastest way to a person's heart.

By SYFY WIRE Staff
Nick Castle as Michael Myers in Halloween (2018) holds a bouquet of flowers in front of a heart bokeh background.

With so many horror titles streaming on Peacock this month (and the rest of the year for that matter), the NBCUniversal platform decided to partner up with Tinder to discover whether horror movies are the latest trend in the world of courtship.

Turns out couples who scream together stay together.

RELATED: Manufactured love? The science behind romantic comedies

According to a survey undertaken by both companies, 63% of single daters considered watching a horror movie to be "a great date activity." In addition, 49% of those surveyed "agreed that a shared interest in horror movies can indicate a deeper compatibility between partners," reads the official release. While the comedy was found to be the most preferred genre among potential romantic partners, horror came in at a close second, "with respondents 1.5x more likely to choose a horror film over a rom-com."

Halloween, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Chucky, The Purge, and Saw were all named as the Top 5 franchises to watch with a date. All of them (and more) can now be found on Peacock in the newly-created "For You and Your Boo" section. See below for more insights!

Peacock & Tinder survey finds that horror movies are the new dating trend

  • Respondents felt that the greatest benefits of watching a horror or scary movie with a date were creating an opportunity to get physically closer/cuddle (51%), sharing a thrilling experience (46%), enjoying a sense of excitement and adrenaline (46%), and breaking the ice in a fun and unconventional way (43%).
  • While 74% of respondents said that they’d be open to seeing a horror movie on the first date (aka love at first fright), it turns out the third date is the most common for watching a horror movie together. Though 33% of respondents also said that the date number didn't necessarily matter — it seems anytime is a good time to scream someone off of their feet.
  • Singles have been taking to Tinder to find a plus-one for a spooky binge with mentions of “scary movie” (+42%) and “spooky movie” (+204%) spiking on Tinder profile bios during the month of October. To give these users a new way to connect this Boo Season, Tinder is introducing a new “Horror Movies” Interest badge to the app that can be added to their profiles. 
A "Boo Season" infographic featuring statistics about dating and horror movies.

As a way to get the hormonal attraction going in the real world, Peacock and Tinder will be hosting "the ultimate horror movie date night" events in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago on (of course) Friday, October 13.  Tinder users will be able to RSVP for their city’s scary soiree through in-app notifications on Tinder right now!

Check out Peacock's spooky collection of over 500 horror titles right here!

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