Halloween is arguably the best holiday. I can concur. It’s just so much fun. And with Halloween comes that fun creepy feeling you get every year right when the leaves start falling and the air begins to get chilly. Watching scary movies around Halloween time is an unspoken tradition, but not everyone out there has the stomach to watch a terrifying movie. I am not one of those people. I could watch Saw while eating spaghetti, I can watch the conjuring series alone in the dark all night, and it won’t affect me. So why did I decide to write this list? Well recently, my roommates and I were talking about our Halloween plans one night, and I mentioned that we all need to watch a horror movie before the end of October. I then discovered that most of my roommates can’t stand scary movies, so I started combing the internet for the best non-scary Halloween movies ever, and these are all the movies I came up with. For this list I am excluding Día de Muertos movies and TV episodes or specials, but dont worry they’ll get there time to shine at the end of my list. So if you’re not a horror movie person or if you’re just in the mood for some spooky feels without the blood and gore, then look no further! Here’s my list for the Best non-scary Halloween Movies.
The Haunted Mansion
Man, oh man, I love this movie. This is one of my all-time favorite Halloween movies, also one of my all-time favorite Disney land rides. I feel like this movie doesn’t get the hype it deserves, so here I am, exciting it up. A real estate agent Jim Evers is taking his family on vacation when he stops at a mansion that the owner wishes to sell. Unfortunately, this mansion is haunted, and some spooky stuff goes down when a mysterious storm forces the family to stay the night.
Clue
I love board games, and Clue is a great board game and also a great movie. This old mystery will defiantly send you into some 1980’s Halloween nostalgia. Mr. Boddy is hosting a dinner party when all of a sudden, the night takes a turn for the worst when Mr. Broddy is murdered. Now the Guest of the party must figure out who the culprit is.
Coraline
THIS MOVIE. Everyone I know that’s seen Coraline loveess it, including me. It’s perfect for Halloween. Its the spookiest movie ever. The colors, the characters, the settings, and all the scenes where the Other Mother makes food. You can feel the chilliness when the characters go outside. It’s a magical movie, and it’s beautifully done. Coraline Jones moves into a new home. While she’s exploring her new home, she finds a little door. The door leads to an alternate world where Caroline’s Other Mother makes everything in her normal life better in this alternate world she created. Or so it seems.
Twitches
An enjoyable, cute Disney movie that I watched endlessly as a kid. It will defiantly put you in a spooky mood. I haven’t seen it in years, but I remember that it was one of my favorite e Halloween movies, and it was always on Disney channel around this time. On their birthday Tia Mowry and Tamera Mowry are reunited. The twins are told that they must save their kingdom of origin from the forces of darkness.
Hocus Pocas
Yeah, this movie is on here Im sure everyone has seen it. It’s one of the most well known and iconic Halloween movies of all time. If you haven’t watched it watch it. A group of teenagers stumble upon an abandoned house and do what teenagers do and decide to explore. One of the teenagers accidentally frees an evil coven of witches. Together the teens must stop the witches before they can become immortal.
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Many people argue that this is more of a Christmas movie than a Halloween movie. I beg to differ. “This is Halloween” is the opening song for the film, which immediately sets up the overall theme of the movie, not to mention Marily Mason is scary AF. Don’t get me wrong; you can definitely watch it during Christmas, but I defiantly get more spooky feels as opposed to Christmassy. It doesn’t matter, though, because I can honestly say this is one of the best movies ever created despite what seasonality it was made for. Jack Skellington has everything he could ever want. He is Halloweentown’s pumpkin king, and everyone adores him, but he’s bored with the same old routine of scaring people in the real world. When jack stumbles upon Christmas Town Everything changes, and Jack has a new lease on life that goes terribly wrong.
BeetleJuice
Okay, this movie is a little bit scary. It’s not supposed to be scary, but it’s just old, so the effects and costumes may give you the creeps, but hey, it won an academy award just for that! Please watch it anyway because this movie is art. And come on who doesn’t love baby Winona Ryder. Barbara and Adam Maitland are living the life until they drive their car off a bridge and die! Luckily they come back as ghosts and continue to live in their house. But one day, a new couple moves in with their daughter. When Barbara and Adam fail to scar them out of the house, they are forced to call Beetle Juice a professional haunter.
Practical Magic
Okay my mom loves this movie, and my mom is an excellent judge of movies. I haven’t see it but it is defiantly on my list of movies to watch because I have hear such great things about it. Also Sandra Bullock AND Nicole Kidman? What a cast (pun not intended). Sally and Gillian Owens are from a family of witches but never learned to use their powers. All is well until Gillian’s boyfriend unexpectedly dies. The girls try to learn magic themselves and things go terribly wrong.
Frankenweenie 2012
Do you love dogs? Do you love spooky movies that are renditions of famous monsters? Then this movie for you. Seriously though, this movie is darling. Its a surprisingly good take on the classic tale Frankenstein. Little Victor Frankenstein loves science. His love for science eventually helps him bring back his beloved dog, who dies. Victor is able to spark life back into Sparky, but eventually, other kids like the idea of bringing their old pets back to life, which leads to a not so pretty picture.
ET
When I was thinking about Halloween movies, this one never actually came to my mind. Then a friend of mine brought it up, and I was like, “Holy Cow, this is secretly one of the greatest Halloween movies ever.” Here’s the thing though. This movie is also one of the greatest MOVIES of all time. If you haven’t seen this movie, then you need to IMMEDIATELY. Drop what you’re doing right now and watch ET. You won’t regret it. Even if you don’t like it, it’s essential that you at least watch it once. One dark and not so stormy night, a space ship lands near suburban California, and one very unlucky alien is left behind on earth. A young boy named Elliot finds the creature and hides him inside his home. Elliot and his brother and sister must keep the alien (ET) secret and try to return him home. All is going as planned until ET runs off and catches a cold on Halloween night, which has dire consequences not only for ET but also Elliot and the rest of his family.
Corpse Bride
This Is a competently underrated movie. One could argue that it doesn’t have any Halloween tones or themes to it, but nevertheless, it’s still a movie that will get you in a spooky mood. Victor and Victoria are arranged to be married. After their marriage rehearsal goes badly because of victors nerves, he walks into the woods to practice. Victor pretends to marry a tree branch, but wait, that’s not a tree branch its a corpse! Emily, who was murdered by her fiancé, drags victor to the land of the dead. Victor must find a way to get back to Victoria and the land fo the living before it’s too late.
Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror picture show is a cult classic and for a good reason. It’s been raved about continuously for all the years it was a movie, and all the years it was a musical before that. If you’re in for a spooky musical, look no further than the Rocky Horror Picture Show. A young engaged couple’s car breaks down in the rain, and they stumble upon the eerie mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a mad scientist. The mansion is full of wild characters and crazy inventions.
Monster House
Okay, let me just say this movie is incredibly impressive. Here are some fun facts about this movie; It grossed, worldwide, $140,175,006 with a budget of $75,000,000, it received a 75% on rotten tomatoes, this was Gil Kenan’s directional depute, it was the second movie to use live-action motion capture animation, and it was simply not expected to do as well as it did. Bonus, the plot is very creative. This movie defied odds, and its simply because it’s a great movie. DJ is suspicious about the creepy house across the street. The owner terrorizes residents and stays inside most days. DJ, along with his friend Chowder try to discover what’s going on across the street.
Halloweentown
I haven’t seen this for a very long time, but it always surrounded me with Halloween feels. You knew it was October when Disney channel threw this bad boy on TV. Although I will say this movie runs for a younger crowd Although most movies on this list are suitable for kids this one is really just for kids. 13-year-old Marnie Piper follows her grandmother home after her mother keeps her and her siblings in on Halloween night, which is something her mother does every year. Marnie follows her grandmother to a place called Halloweentown, where magical beings live and lead normal lives. Marnie’s grandmother tells her that she’s a witch, and now Marnie must help her family destroy the evil that threatens Halloween town.
Wallace and Gromit Curse of the Were-Rabbit
This movie cracks me up. It is so funny and adorable. Every second is comedy gold. Okay, it’s probably not as funny as I think it is, but it’s defiantly as good as I think it is. Wallace and Gromit own a pest control business, and one day they get a call about a very big problem. A gigantic rabbit is terrorizing the town, Wallace and Gromit must trap the bunny before it ruins everyone’s vegetable garden.
Ghost Busters
Do I need to explain why this movie critically acclaimed and is a cultural phenomenon? Not really. So what are you gonna watch? Ghost Busters. After a team of scientists are fired from their jobs at a University, they decide to become ghostbusters to rid the world of supernatural forces. The group discovers a doorway that leads to the supernatural world, and they must find a way to shut it down before it’s too late.
The Little Vampire
Awwwwwwww this movie is the besttttttt. This movie is Halloween at its most innocent. It’s a great movie, and Jonathan Lipnicki is just precious. So pure. Vampires are so much fun, and this is one of the only vampire movies that’s not scary. I mean I wouldn’t classify Twilight as scary, but Kristen Stewart’s performance will defiantly give you nightmares. After moving to Scotland with his family, Tony is having trouble making friends until he meets Rudolph, a little vampire. But, when Rudolph’s family and the vampire race is threatened, Tony must find a way to save his new best friend.
Edward ScissorHands
Yay more Winona Ryder! This movie has a deeepppp fan following. I have seen so many Edward Scissorhands costumes in the 21 years iv been alive. People love this movie. Now I can’t say a lot about it because I’ve never seen it the whole way through, but I know it a great movie, and I know it a great for the spooky season. A scientist tries to create a human being but is unable to finish him. His creation ends up with a ghoulish look and sharp blades for hands. One day A saleswoman finds him and decides to take him home, where he eventually comes to love the woman’s teen daughter. Despite his artistic ability and his overall kindness Edward Scissorhands is an outcast.
Scooby-Doo Movies
Let me clarify; All Animated Scooby-Doo movies ranging from 1998 to 2003 plus the two live-action versions in 2002 and 2004. After The Legend of the Vampire, the animated versions just go downhill. I also need to include the TV special Scooby-Doo Meets the Boo Brothers and the entire original Scooby-Doo animated series Scooby-Doo Where are you?. Yeah, that’s right Im a Scooby-Doo expert. I know that TV shows aren’t really supposed to count on this list but there is no way I could have picked just one Scooby-Doo movie and just blatantly excluded the TV show that made it famous in the first place. I don’t need to justify the cultural significance of Scooby-Doo because everyone know what it is, but I will say that it has been a Halloween icon since the 1970s. If you haven’t watched all of the film and tv shows that I just listed then lucky you! I just blessed your life with the greatest Halloween marathon ever! Enjoy.
Sleepy Hallow (1999)
And this is where you realize that Johnny Depp is a babeeeee. This movie is so cool, but fair warning. This is scarier than the other movies on this list. I still included it because it’s not technically a horror movie, but if you’re reading this list because you really can’t watch a scary movie, then go ahead and skip this one. Loosely based on the classic tale The Legends of Sleepy Hollow, Ichabod Crane is a detective in 1799. He is asked to investigate a series of murders attributed to the ghost called the Headless Horseman. Ichabod does not believe the killings are caused by a supernatural force, but his thoughts soon change, and he must find the driving cause of this ghost’s desire to kill.
ParaNorman
Okay, there are a lot of incredible movies on this list, but I think I can say that this movie is my favorite when it comes to Halloween movies. There are movies this list that I like a lot more, but this movie is the epitome of Halloween movies. It’s not beautiful; it’s not impressive; it doesn’t have a nostalgic feel to it. It’s merely just a good spooky movie. I love this movie; please watch it because it deserves so much more recognition. Norman seems like you average kid except for the fact that he can talk to ghosts. Norman’s strange and aloof uncle comes to him one day and tells him that a witches’ curse will destroy their town and that he’s the only one that can stop it. Norman must find the courage to face the supernatural and solve the mystery to finish the witches’ curse for good.
Harry Potter and The Sorcerers Stone
All Harry Potter movies can be considered Halloween movies, BUT the Sorcerers Stone is the most Halloween-ish. I don’t know what happened, but after the first movie, the magical, innocent charm just wasn’t present in the other seven movies. I guess it was because everything was new and magical to Harry, so the first movie of there series was the same way, Wow, that’s some good film making. Anyway, I do not have to justify my love for the Harry Potter movies, and I’m pretty sure everyone reading this knows what Harry Potter is about. So I’ll end this paragraph with a little poem because it feels right. Trains, and trollies, and trolls, and witches and wizards, with unicorns, and an old castle on a hill that has a three-headed dog and lots of moving stairs is exactly all you need to make your Halloween one to share.
So there you are my list of the greatest Halloween movies ever that won’t scare you’re pants off. For you’re further enjoyment, I added a bonus list of TV shows and Día de Muertos movies that defiantly should be on this list but can’t be since they aren’t movies. I hope you enjoy them all. Please be safe and have a Happy Halloween!
BONUSES:
Coco
The Book of Life
Mickeys house of villains
Winnie the Pooh Boo to You Too
Stranger Things Series
The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown