Netflix data suggests ‘pausing’ surges by 30% due to trick-or-treating, peaks at 7.29 p.m. on Halloween

It’s now less than a week until Halloween, and as we prepare for an evening of doling out candy to the little people who come a-callin’, Netflix has dug into its data banks to reveal some interesting insights into the impact trick-or-treating has on our home-viewing habits.

The video-streaming giant looked at pause-per-hour data from Halloween night in 2015, compared it to the corresponding data for the previous week, and concluded that there was a demonstrable pause cause and effect that could be attributed to trick-or-treaters ringing bells and knocking on doors.

Indeed, Netflix says that pausing rises by up to 30 percent on Halloween, with peak pausing specifically at 7.29 p.m. across the U.S. The company has even drawn up this handy guide to which cities have above average and below average pause rates during Halloween.

Above: Netflix Ringing of the Bells

So what are you, a Netflix customer, supposed to do with this information, exactly?

Well, if you’re planning to watch one of your favorite shows uninterrupted, or you don’t want the doorbell ringing during a particularly scary horror movie, you could avoid the prime trick-or-treating slot of 7-8 p.m. Or you could just close the curtains, dim the lights, and pretend that nobody’s home…