The Best Halloween Movies for Every Kind of Monster
The leaves are crunching. The porch is covered in fake cobwebs. Somebody on your street has already put up a twelve-foot skeleton, and honestly? We love it!
All of this can only mean one thing: it’s officially spooky season!
Halloween is the one holiday where the movie marathon is the tradition. But not every household wants the same kind of scary. Some of us want cozy pumpkin-patch vibes. Some of us want a few laughs with our goosebumps. And some of us want to sleep with the lights on until Thanksgiving.
So we’ve broken this list out by fright level. Find your category, dim the lights, and pass the fun-size candy bars.
👻 LITTLE MONSTERS: Halloween Movies for Kids
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
Okay, it’s a TV special, not technically a movie…but holiday rules apply.
Linus waiting all night in the pumpkin patch. Snoopy battling the Red Baron. Charlie Brown getting a rock in his trick-or-treat bag. Sixty years later, it’s still the sweetest way to kick off October.
Best enjoyed with: Footie pajamas and a very sincere pumpkin patch.
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Could this category start anywhere else? (Okay, technically it didn’t. But you know what we mean.)
The Sanderson sisters are the Halloween icons for an entire generation. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy chew every piece of Salem scenery as three witches brought back to life on Halloween night, and the result is pure, glittery, campy fun.
Just maybe don’t light any black candles afterward.
Best enjoyed with: A family debate over which sister you’d be.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Is it a Halloween movie? Is it a Christmas movie? Yes.
Jack Skellington’s identity crisis is a stop-motion masterpiece that’s just spooky enough to feel like Halloween without keeping the little ones up at night. And the best part is you get to watch it again in December with a clear conscience.
Best enjoyed with: Starting the holiday argument early.
Monster House (2006)
The house across the street is alive. And it’s hungry.
Monster House is the perfect “first scary movie” for kids who are ready to level up. It’s funny, a little creepy, and has that classic 80s kids-on-bikes adventure feel.
Best enjoyed with: Side-eyeing that one house on your block that never turns on its porch light.
🦇 SPOOKY BUT SILLY: For the Whole Crew
Beetlejuice (1988)
Say it once. Say it twice. We’ll stop there, just to be safe.
Tim Burton’s wonderfully weird afterlife comedy gave us Michael Keaton at his most unhinged, Winona Ryder’s iconic goth teen Lydia, and the greatest possessed dinner party in movie history. Nearly 40 years later, it’s still one of a kind.
Best enjoyed with: Shrimp cocktail. You’ll understand.
Ghostbusters (1984)
Who you gonna call? You already know.
Slimer, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, proton packs, and Bill Murray delivering one-liners like he’s getting paid by the joke. It’s a comedy, a monster movie, and a New York adventure all rolled into one.
Best enjoyed with: A marshmallow roast in honor of Mr. Stay Puft.
The Addams Family (1991)
They’re creepy, they’re kooky, and they’re easily the most loving family on this entire list.
Anjelica Huston and Raul Julia are perfection as Morticia and Gomez, and Christina Ricci’s deadpan Wednesday walked so today’s Wednesday could dance. (And if you love this one, Addams Family Values might be even better.)
Best enjoyed with: Snapping along to the theme song. Twice.
Hubie Halloween (2020)
If you haven’t seen this modern classic yet – drop EVERYTHING and enjoy! This made-for-streamer Adam Sandler film is one of the most unserious movies to come along in many years. With cameos galore and a plot that takes a few viewings to fully understand, your only task is it to get ready to laugh. And laugh a LOT!
🔪 LIGHTS OFF, VOLUME UP: The Scary Stuff
Halloween (1978)
It’s in the name. It’s on the list. No debate.
John Carpenter’s low-budget masterpiece practically invented the modern slasher. Jamie Lee Curtis became the original scream queen, Michael Myers became a legend, and that piano theme has been haunting quiet suburban streets ever since.
Best enjoyed with: Checking the backyard. Then checking it again.
Trick ‘r Treat (2007)
Every Halloween list needs a hidden gem.
This anthology weaves together several twisted tales on one Halloween night in a small Ohio town, all tied together by Sam, a tiny trick-or-treater with a burlap sack on his head and a VERY strict attitude about holiday traditions. It sat on the shelf for years before quietly becoming a cult favorite.
Best enjoyed with: Following every Halloween rule. Blow out your jack-o’-lantern at your own risk.
Scream (1996)
What’s your favorite scary movie?
Wes Craven’s slasher is smart, self-aware, and genuinely terrifying, with an opening scene that’s still one of the most shocking in horror history. It’s a horror movie about horror movies, which makes it the perfect way to cap off a marathon.
And yes, Scream fans, this one was flying off video store shelves in 1996. We would know.
Best enjoyed with: Letting the landline go to voicemail.
🍬 One Last Treat
The best Halloween traditions aren’t really about the scares. They’re about piling onto the couch with your favorite people, sharing a bowl of candy you swore was for trick-or-treaters, and screaming at the TV together.
Whether your household is a Great Pumpkin crowd, a Beetlejuice crowd, or a “lock the doors and check the closets” crowd, there’s a perfect Halloween movie waiting for you.
Now grab a blanket, dim the lights, and don’t answer the door unless they say “trick or treat.”
Happy Halloween! 🎃