America Is Home to 96 Norman Bateses

Other popular horror-themed names: Michael Myers, Stephen King
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 29, 2014 9:45 AM CDT
America Is Home to 96 Norman Bates
In this Dec. 7, 2012, file photo, novelist Stephen King speaks to creative writing students at the University of Massachusetts Lowell in Lowell, Mass.   (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, file)

If your real name happens to be Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger, or Norman Bates, you probably really love Halloween or you really hate it. But at least you're not alone, according to the Whitepages directory service, which has compiled a list of the 13 most popular horror-themed names in the US. Topping the list: Michael Myers of Halloween fame (4,282 US namesakes, with 333 of them in Ohio), followed by horror author Stephen King (2,068). After those two, the numbers drop significantly, though 96 people named Norman Bates, 30 named Jason Voorhees, 25 named Annie Wilkes (of Misery fame), and five named Freddy Krueger is nothing to shake a Grim Reaper's scythe at.

In addition to full names of scary characters in film and pop culture, the Whitepages survey also tallies up people with Halloween-appropriate last names, including "Ghost" and "Frankenstein" (inexplicably, lots of those folks seem to reside in Pennsylvania). "Many people could say they've been scared by a number of the villains on this list, but until now have probably never thought that one could be living next door!" a Whitepages trend expert said in a statement. Check out the complete list. (Ebola-themed costumes are expected to be big this Halloween.)

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