Must-Watch Halloween Movies And Shows For The Spooky Season
Are you not in the mood to go out? Well, there's nothing better to do on a crisp Autumn's night than to stay at home and enjoy some movies or tv shows that fit the mood. Grab a soft blanket, a pumpkin spice latte, and turn on your favorite Halloween special.
Here are some spooky movies and shows you can watch on these various streaming platforms:
Hulu - Halloween Movies and Shows
1. Corpse Bride
Victor Van Dort is arranged to marry the supposedly wealthy Victoria Everglot. While Victor practiced his vows in the woods, he accidentally promised himself to Emily the Corpse Bride.
Victor gets sent to the world of the dead and tries desperately to get back to Victoria in the living world. Emily the Corpse Bride is determined to keep Victor as he vowed to marry her. There are many undead shenanigans in this movie.
Tim Burton's Corpse Bride is an incredible stop-motion animated film perfect for the Halloween season. This movie has all things creepy and crawly with an undead love story.
2. It (1990)
"It" the demon clown visits the town of Derry, Maine every 27 years and lures children to eat. Bill Denbrough has been searching for his little brother Georgie ever since he disappeared one rainy day.
As Bill and his friends investigate Georgie's disappearance, they uncover the dark entity known as "It." Now, the kids must fight this demon clown so that it never returns to Derry again.
This movie is based on the novel "It" written by Stephen King. I remember "It" used to be my cousin's favorite horror movie when we were younger. He made me watch it; I barely got 10 minutes into the movie when I got a good jump scare. If you're looking for something to give you a good scare, "It" is the movie for you.
3. The Ring (2002)
There was a legend going around that if you watched a certain VHS tape, you'd get a bone-chilling phone call right after.
The voice through the phone says "Seven days," meaning the person who watched the tape only had seven days left to live before they died a horrible death. The Ring follows a journalist trying to uncover the mysteries of this infamous deadly VHS tape.
I'd say The Ring is a good horror movie for a first-time horror movie watcher. It's not too scary, just some freaky images and faces that pop up here and there.
4. Edward Scissorhands
Edward is a misunderstood, unfinished animated human being. His creator died before he could finish building Edward, which is why he has freakish hands.
A saleswoman finds Edward and takes him home with her. Edward then falls in love with the saleswoman's daughter. So, Edward has to deal with being an outcast as well as understand what love is.
This classic movie is on my list to watch during the Halloween season. Edward Scissorhands is not scary, just a bit freaky. I think it's a great movie to watch if you want to stick with the Halloween theme and have a laugh instead of a scare.
HBO Max - Halloween Movies and Shows
1. Scream (1-3)
All of the Scream movies follow Sidney Prescott, who always seems to have the scream killers after her. She and the town Deputy, Dewey Riley, try to outlive the scream killer and find out how and why they want to kill Sidney. There are four movies in this series, each one offering a new twist to the plot.
Scream is one of the first thriller slasher movies made in the movie industry. These movies make the audience feel the suspense as the killer calls the victim's house and has disturbing chats with the victim until he finds them. This is one of my favorite classic scary movies and I encourage anyone who likes slasher movies to watch this series.
2. The Witches (1990)
Luke is staying with his grandmother in a hotel in England. While Luke plays around the hotel, he accidentally stumbles upon a secret witch's convention. He overhears the witches' plan to turn all children into mice. The witches spot him and turn him into a mouse. Luke must now fight against the witches and stop them from turning every child into a mouse.
The Witches is a perfect silly Halloween movie for children. It relies less on the scare factor and more on silly shenanigans as Luke fights the witches.
3. The Conjuring
The Conjuring is based on true events in the lives of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. In this movie, Ed and Lorraine help a large family rid their new home of the dark entity living in it and torturing the kids. When the mother becomes possessed, Ed and Lorraine have to work even harder to learn more about this demon and exercise both the house and the mother.
Like the Scream movies, The Conjuring is one of my favorite horror film series. I love all things paranormal. This series does a fantastic job taking historical events and recreating them to be even scarier on screen. If you like ghosts and demons, you'll love this movie.
4. ScoobyDoo
The entire ScoobyDoo series is a wonderful and spooky tv show for kids and adults alike. ScoobyDoo and the Mystery Gang go all over solving odd mysteries and running from crazy monsters.
I always make sure to watch ******Doo and the Witch's Ghost during autumn. The movie is set around this time and there are witches and ghosts galore. Every episode and movie special in this series make sure to bring kid-friendly spooks.
Netflix - Halloween Movies and Shows
1. Monster House
D.J., Chowder, and Jenny are three teenagers who discover that D.J.'s neighbor, Mr. Nebbercracker, lives in a house that is a terrifying monster. They go on a mission to destroy the house and find out Mr. Nebbercracker's true intentions with this house.
Monster House is probably my favorite kid's Halloween movie ever. I watch it every year around Halloween time because it fits the vibes perfectly. It's funny, spooky, thrilling, and adventurous all wrapped into one film. Additionally, I'm a huge fan of this unique animation style they chose for the movie.
2. ParaNorman
Norman can see and talk to dead people, but no one believes him. When Norman becomes aware of the Witch's Curse and the dead come back from the grave, it is up to him to read the Witch a bedtime story to put her back to sleep. Norman and his odd group of unlikely friends work together to end this curse.
You already know what I'm going to say. This movie is also one of my all-time favorite Halloween movies. It's silly, a little dark, and a fun spooky movie for a family to enjoy on an autumn night. Like Corpse Bride, ParaNorman is a stop-motion animated film, which makes it even more unique and interesting.
3. Goosebumps
The Goosebumps television series tells a bunch of creepy stories that happen to different kids. There are possessed puppets, a scary board game that will trap you inside, shrunken heads, haunted houses, and more!
I've watched Goosebumps episodes since I was little. I remember my favorite episode was about this teen movie actress who ran over a demon cat. However, the cat scratched her.
The teen slowly becomes a cat-person until she can find an antidote for the curse. All of these episodes are crazy and a little spooky at times, which is why I love them.
4. The Haunting of Hill House
The Haunting of Hill House is a Netflix original series. The story follows five adult siblings whose horrifying paranormal experiences from their childhood home, the Hill House, still haunt each of them to this day. They're drawn to this house and each sibling finds their way back here to overcome their fears.
I've never watched a show like this before. After I finished the series last year during Halloween time, I was amazed. It is terrifying, dark, and chilling: the perfect combination for a horror show. I highly recommend watching this series with the lights off. It'll give you the full experience.
Disney+ - Halloween Movies and Shows
1. The Haunted Mansion
The Haunted Mansion, starring Eddie Murphy, is about a real estate agent and his family checking out an old mansion he was looking to put on the market.
During his time at the mansion, the family finds out that it's haunted by all kinds of ghosts and ghouls. They must try to escape the mansion and save the mother, who is held prisoner by the estate owner.
This classic Disney movie is another great Halloween movie for kids to watch. It's not too scary and there are some silly bits throughout the movie as well. As a child, my sister and I watched this movie a lot during the spooky season.
Fun Fact: There's a Haunted Mansion ride at the Disney World amusement park!
2. Hocus Pocus
This Disney classic is about the Sanderson sister witches, who have returned to life after little Dani Dennison lit the black flame candle. Dani and her older brother Max run all over town trying to stop the Sanderson sisters from stealing children and taking their youth.
I watched this old movie for the first time in 2020. It's my roommate's favorite Halloween film and she insisted that I watch it. Hocus Pocus is silly, fun, and set on Halloween night, which is perfect for the movie's theme about witches. I think kids would love this movie.
3. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Ichabod Crane is on his way home when he encounters the Headless Horseman, the gruesome and horrifying character from the legend of the town of Sleepy Hollow.
This older short movie is a Halloween classic. I love The Legend of Sleepy Hollow because it reminds me of a game I used to play in elementary school gym class.
The dark gym was decorated with black lights, Halloween inflatables, and gym mats were standing on their sides to act as trees in the forest. At the beginning of class, we would sit down and watch part of the movie.
Then, we would choose a couple of people to be headless horsemen and they would hide behind the makeshift trees. The rest of us had to make it across the gym without getting tagged by the headless horsemen. Gosh, it was so much fun!
4. The Nightmare Before Christmas
Yet another Disney classic is The Nightmare Before Christmas. Jack Skellington, the pumpkin king of Halloweentown, is sick of the same old routine of spooks and scares. He wants to switch it up.
When Jack accidentally finds himself at Christmastown, he's inspired to bring the Christmas theme to Halloweentown. Jack's jolly plans go amuck when the Christmas spirit turns into a giant nightmare.
There's a debate as to whether this movie is classified as a Halloween movie or a Christmas movie. I believe since the main characters are scary creatures of the night that it's a Halloween movie. There's great music in this movie, like the well-known song "This Is Halloween." It's also another stop-motion movie, which adds to the creepy vibe.
Amazon Prime - Halloween Movies and Shows
1. Coraline
Coraline is a little girl whose family just moved to a new home. Her neighbors are a bunch of oddballs. Coraline's not happy with her current reality. When a young boy, Wybie, finds a doll that looks just like Coraline, it opens a new dream world for Coraline to escape to.
Her "Other Mother" in this world gives her everything she could ever want. However, things seem too good to be true when Coraline realizes that the "Other Mother" wants to turn her into a doll.
The plot of this movie is wild. Coraline is a stop-motion animated film with lots of quirks and creeps. I love the imagination and colors throughout the movie. The hints of creepiness are a great fit for the Halloween spirit.
2. Hotel Transylvania (1-3)
This children's movie is a comedy that just happens to follow the story of all the classic Halloween monsters. When Dracula's daughter falls in love with a human who stumbled upon the Hotel Transylvania, Drac tries everything to get rid of the human.
Hotel Transylvania is the silliest movie on this list, which is why it's a perfect choice for a child to watch to get into the Halloween mood. The creators of this series are making the fourth movie, so you may as well get caught up now. Then, you can take your child to see the new movie in theatres.
3. Beetlejuice
Barbara and Adam died in a car accident and their ghostly souls become attached to their home in the country. After a new family moves into their house, Barbara and Adam unsuccessfully attempt to scare this new family away.
Their poor scare tactics summon the Beetlejuice spirit, who wants to help Barbara and Adam with their scaring. Beetlejuice, however, has some dangerous ideas to get rid of the new family.
While I've never seen this movie, it's also on my watchlist for this Halloween season. Beetlejuice is a popular adult Halloween costume I've seen over the years. I want to see what all the hype is about and I hope you do too.
4. The Monster Squad
A group of kids and teenagers must fight all of the classic Halloween monsters that have been unleashed in their town after a curse was recited, bringing these creatures to life.
The Monster Squad is a late 1980's Halloween movie. My dad showed me this movie when I was younger; it's one of his favorites to watch every Halloween season. It has some mature humor in it as these kids figure out the best ways to fight these monsters. It'll give you a good laugh as well as a new appreciation for the Halloween classics.
The Season of Spook
While haunted houses and hayrides, corn mazes, and cider mills are a blast during October, I think people forget that there are so many movies and tv shows out there to get you into the Halloween spirit too.
Especially since the pandemic is still a prevalent issue, I think staying home and watching a good spooky movie is a wonderful way to spend the Halloween season. Maybe you too will begin the tradition of watching certain Halloween-themed movies and shows when the season arrives next year.