Move over Salem, Massachusetts, Sleepy Hollow, New York, and Anoka, Minnesota: The best street in the country for Halloween is in a lesser-known spooky hotspot, according to the results of a new nationwide search.
The winner of Reese's "trick-or-treatiest" street in America contest is in Westfield, New Jersey, the candy brand exclusively revealed first to USA TODAY.
Reese's hosted a competition to determine which street around the country outranked all the others using a variety of Halloween-related criteria, including enthusiasm, community spirit and neighborhood characteristics.
After narrowing the list down to 150 streets nationwide, a council of Halloween experts – including actresses Christina Ricci and Kathy Najimy – decided the winning street,
which will get a special block party and trick-or-treating experience.
What is the best Halloween street in the country?
The winner of Reese's "trick-or-treatiest" street in America contest is East Dudley Avenue in Westfield, New Jersey.
East Dudley Avenue exemplifies "neighbors coming together to make Halloween an unforgettable community experience," Reese's said. The neighborhood stood out for its community spirit, participation and creativity toward the holiday, according to the company.
Separately, the town of Westfield also has its own haunted history. It was the hometown of Charles Addams, the creator of cartoons that inspired "The Addams Family" films. A home on Elm Street in Westfield was designated by the town as the Charles Addams Inspiration House in 2024.
While Addams grew up on nearby Elm Street, he is said to have frequented East Dudley Avenue as a youngster. He is believed to have drawn a chalk image of a skeleton that was found in a barn of one the street's homes, according to a brochurefrom the town of Westfield.
The skeleton, named Dudley, was removed for preservation and comes out for public viewing every October for the town's AddamsFest, a monthlong Halloween celebration.
How the 'trick-or-treatiest' street in the country was selected
Reese's initially narrowed the contest down to 150 streets across the country by analyzing a range of data including Halloween item purchasing behavior, walkability and other factors. It also incorporated insights from a survey of 15,000 residents.
A council of what it calls "Halloween icons" ultimately decided the winning street.
The council included actresses Christina Ricci – who notably played Wednesday Addams in the 1991 film "The Addams Family" – and Kathy Najimy, plus content creators Rachel Iwanyszyn, Zaire Alford and Macy Blackwell.
See the 150 contenders for best Halloween street
Spots in every state made the short list for Reese's contest. See all 150 nominees in the map below:
See the full list at hersheyland.com/trickortreatiest.
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. Keep up with her on X @melinakh and Instagram @bymelinakhan.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Reese's names the best Halloween street, and it's not where you'd think
