Don't Give Out This Candy — Virginians Hate It

As you're racing to Target to stock sweet treats to hand out to your trick-or-treaters on Tuesday night, here's a word of advice: stay away from the licorice. Virginians, it turns out, hate the stuff.

That's according to a new survey by Halloween Express, an online seller of Halloween costumes and other supplies. Using online tools, the company polled more than 2,000 Americans, asking them their favorite, and least favorite, Halloween candy.

Virginia was one of the 13 states where licorice topped the list of candies sure to make your Halloween guests grimace. Overall, candy corn is most despised, getting no votes in 21 states, including Maryland, in the survey, which saw 11.7 percent of all respondents say the waxy orange, white and yellow kernels are their least favorite candy.

Alabama, New York, and Nevada also loathe licorice, and there may be some science behind the aversion. In the same way that people either love or hate cilantro, research suggests an aversion to licorice could be instilled into our DNA.

Licorice (8.3 percent) came in second on the no-thank-you list, followed by Jawbreakers (7.1 percent) Raisinets (5.6 percent) and Hot Tamales (4.3 percent).

"In almost two-thirds of the country, the award for the worst Halloween candy came down to one of two choices: candy corn and licorice," Halloween Express said in its survey results. "It's hard to know which one kids most hate finding in their bags after a long night of trick-or-treating, or which is most likely to show up on the clearance rack come Nov. 1 – but these two were a fairly safe bet."

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Virginians Buy Over 26K Pounds Of Its Top Halloween Candy

If you want to make your local goblins and ghouls much happier, here's a safe bet, according to the survey — load up on Reese's Peanut Butter Cups.

Virginia was one of 38 states that agreed the magical combination of chocolate and peanut butter is the absolute best.

"Available in a number of options, including holiday shapes (like a pumpkin, Christmas tree, or Easter egg), spreads, cakes, and even burger toppings, there's no denying Americans love their Reese's," the company wrote. "Thankfully, all that creamy, delicious peanut butter actually makes them a fairly good source of protein, even if they shouldn't exactly be a staple in your diet."

To see the full Halloween Express candy survey, click here.

Photo via Pixabay