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This article contains spoilers for Pretty Little Liars
It’s officially October, which means the time for secrets and spooks are at an all-time high. No one knows more about secrets, or getting spooked by them, than the ladies of Pretty Little Liars. Though it’s been 15 years since the hit teen drama first splashed onto Freeform (formerly known as ABC Family), the show stands the test of time and keeps a substantial fanbase. Now that it’s spooky season, I thought I’d revisit and rank its chilling Halloween specials.
- “This Is a Dark Ride” (Season 3, Episode 13)
Starting off with my absolute favorite, “This Is a Dark Ride,” or the “Ghost Train” episode, as it’s lovingly referred to by fans. At this point in time, the current couples are: Paige McCullers (Lindsey Shaw) and Emily Fields (Shay Mitchell), Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario) and Toby Cavanaugh (Keegan Allen), Ezra Fitz (Ian Harding) and Aria (Lucy Hale), and Hanna (Ashley Benson) and Caleb Rivers (Tyler Blackburn). Mona (Janel Parrish) is in Radley Sanitarium, Officer Garrett is released from prison, and Ashley Marin, Hanna’s mother, passes out candy with Pastor Tom.
The girls attend Rosewood High’s Ghost Train party in full costume, of course. Hanna dresses as Marilyn Monroe, Aria as Daisy Buchanan, Spencer as Marie Browning, and Emily comes galactic as Barbarella.
What I love about this episode is that it’s both suspenseful and a wicked good time. They are in one location with no way out or off. We see interactions with several characters, none of whom are typically in the same vicinity as each other. This includes Noel Kahn (Brant Daugherty), Jason DiLaurentis (Drew Van Acker), and Garrett Reynolds (Yani Gellman).
Mona breaks out of Radley and pretends to be Caleb, while Garrett tries to tell Spencer what he knows happened to Alison the night she disappeared. All the while, Adam Lambert is performing two of his songs; “Cuckoo” and “Trespassing”. When Adam gets a break, he speaks to Aria, getting to know her name and if she liked the show.
Then Aria gets drugged! And she wakes up in a box next to a dead Garrett! When the Liars get her out and go back to the main train, Spencer’s boyfriend Toby pushes Noel into a table serving a dual-purpose as a cooler, and his impact breaks the cooler, revealing a body bag! In true PLL fashion, there’s a lot going on, but the twists in this episode are as frightening as they are delicious.
- “Grave New World” (Season 4, Episode 13)
The “Grave New World” episode takes place during my favorite season of the show, season four. This is the season where Ravenswood is introduced. The gloomy town where the peculiar and unexplained are welcomed; ghosts walk amongst the living, and the residents don’t take too kindly to outsiders.
The main quartet, Aria, Hanna, Emily, and Spencer, decide to crash Ravenswood’s Founders Day to get to Alison before the anonymous antagonist known by A does. They don outfits from the early 20th century as their costumes, which garners complaints from Hanna. They enter to party together, but get separated once they enter the catacombs.
The setting of Ravenswood works so well due to its haunting nature. When Hanna is navigating the catacombs alone, she finds a door and enters a mansion. It’s quiet and seems not to have been in use for years. The lights are low, and she gets trapped in a phone booth, and while shadowy figures attack her from the outside, she receives a phone call which plays music from the 20th century.
Spencer gets into an altercation with a man wearing a gas mask, in which she gets knocked out. Emily and Aria find her, and the three rush out when they hear Ali’s voice. It turns out it was only a recording, but the eerie Mrs. Grunwald appears to reveal some information about Alison.
This episode, which also serves as a backdoor pilot to the series Ravenswood, shows the audience that Ezra is not to be trusted, and most importantly of all, that Alison is alive. Her first words spoken in that moment – “Did you miss me?” – became well-known and used throughout the fandom.
- “The First Secret” (Season 2, Episode 13)
The first Halloween episode the show airs is indeed at the bottom of my ranking. While flashbacks are given throughout the show, this is the only episode that is completely a flashback and therefore features Alison throughout its entirety. “The First Secret” takes place the year before Alison went missing. Aria has pink streaks in her hair, Emily is in the closet, Spencer worries about class president elections, and Hanna expresses that she wants to be Britney Spears for Halloween. Alison makes a comment about Hanna’s weight, and Spencer says Hanna can be whoever she wants to be.
While the girls are talking, Noel Kahn pulls up and invites them to his Halloween party. Alison remains a cool persona while the rest of the liars squeal. We meet Jenna (pre- “The Jenna Thing”) and see her interact with Alison at a costume store. Today, this scene has generated buzz on TikTok over who had the best “Lady G” costume.
At this point, we know that the girls are being threatened by A in the present day. This episode tells us that Alison had begun to be harassed by A almost a full year before she went missing. Alison seemingly devises a plan where she gets kidnapped, and the girls must save her. When they do, they are fearful and unappreciative of Alison’s so-called “joke,” which was supposed to prove they’d do anything for her. However, when they return to the party, Noel (Alison’s accomplice in the prank) tells her he got held up and wasn’t able to do the prank. Confused and disturbed, Alison wonders who it could’ve been.
There are little moments shown in this episode that serve as foreshadowing into the future that has already played out for the viewers, such as Aria bumping into Ezra at Hollis College, Ian and Melissa at Noel’s party, or Wilden driving a drunk Ashley Marin home. It goes to show that a lot can happen in a year, and places the puzzle pieces together to get a fuller picture. I personally like seeing scenes like this, as it can be wholesome and eye-opening.
No matter which episode gives you the most goosebumps, Pretty Little Liars promises to have you on the edge of your seat.