With Halloween right around the corner, I thought I would share my favorite scary, spooky, and Halloween movies to keep you entertained whether you’re celebrating alone or with friends. Not everyone loves a Halloween movie, so here is a list of the movies that put me in the Halloween mood:
Coraline (2009)
Coraline follows a girl and her two parents as they move to Michigan to start a new life. Things begin to take a turn as she is woken up and finds a small door that is welcomingly decorated. Upon opening this door, her entire world changes. It is her responsibility to figure her way out of a web she got herself tangled in.
ParaNorman (2012)
Norman Babcock has the ability to see ghosts. His family thinks he is crazy for talking to people who aren’t there, but he finds comfort in talking with them. He is warned to stay away from his uncle who can see ghosts as well, and he is able to until one day his uncle shows up. He warns Norman of a centuries old curse looming over the town, and leaves it up to Norman to figure out and prevent it from happening.
Silent Hill (2006)
Based on the video games, the movie follows a mother and daughter who end up in a car crash, and they find themselves at the entrance to Silent Hill. One thing is wrong however. Where did Rose’s daughter run off to? While Rose is on the hunt to find her daughter that is seemingly hiding, she encounters various challenges that will put her to the test. Little does Rose know that her and her daughter are further away from home than they anticipated.
The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
After halloween’s festivities in Halloweentown, Jack Skellington runs off in the search of a new idea. He winds up in a completely different holiday which leads him to adopt the holiday as his own. As the pumpkin king, he is not prepared to host Christmas and become “Sandy Claws”. In this movie, he tackles the task of planning and hosting another holiday on top of his own.
Sweeny Todd (2007)
Sweeny Todd is a story of a man who sends himself off to another country because a judge lusted after his wife. He returns years later for revenge. He sets up a barbershop business, but it wasn’t the same kind of barbershop you would think it to be. He meets Mrs. Lovett who opens up a bakery below his business. With their “friendship”, they receive some concerning words from the public about the integrity of their businesses.
The Corpse Bride (2005)
The story follows Victor who is intending on marrying Victoria, a woman his family and her family agreed on. After messing up the rehearsal for their wedding set the next day, Victor wanders off into the woods nearby where he wakes up the corpse bride, Emily. She takes him into the land of the dead and intends on marrying him herself. This just feels like a staple movie for halloween.
Hocus Pocus (1993)
Hocus Pocus is a STAPLE Halloween movie. It originally follows Max and his little sister after moving to Salem, Massachusetts. Max disregards a story and ends up freeing a coven of evil witches, the Sanderson sisters. With them released, it is up to Max and his sister and a magical cat to steal the book of spells to prevent the witches from being immortal.
Halloweentown (1998)
I feel like you either grew up watching Halloweentown or not. Not that that is a bad thing at all! Halloweentown follows a family, specifically Marnie, after Marnie’s 13th birthday. When her grandmother comes to visit, Marnie and her brother are taken to Halloweentown where they discover their grandmother is a witch as well as various monsters. Very shortly after arriving, she discovers they are battling an evil force threatening to take over the world.
The Addams Family (1991)
A man comes by pretending to be Gomez’s (the father) missing brother. He keeps up with the facade with the help of his mother in the hopes of stealing the Addams family fortune. Very quickly the children, Wednesday and Pugsley, sniff out who he is and his intentions. The movie is just an overall entertaining creepy vibe kind of movie.
Halloween (1978)
This movie follows Michael Myers after killing his sister on Halloween night in 1963. After being locked away, he sneaks out during a transfer and steals a vehicle. He returns to his home town in Illinois on the hunt for his next victim. This is a good Halloween movie if you are someone who prefers scary movies to celebrate.
Beetlejuice (1988)
When a couple passes away in a car accident, they begin haunting their home after a family purchases it. After trying to scare the family away in hopes of them moving out, the couple fails which attracts the attention of Beetlejuice who becomes a danger for the family.
Us (2019)
With this not necessarily being a Halloween movie, it definitely will fit the vibe of a scary movie night for Halloween. Us follows Adelaide after a traumatic experience as a child where she is all grown up. She is visiting the same beach where the traumatic event occurred when she is woken up to an exact copy of her family standing outside their home with golden scissors. The family attempts to put an end to the people in red suits.
Midsommar (2019)
Midsommar is about a woman named Dani and her boyfriend’s group of friends travelling to Sweden for a festival after a tragic event occurs in Dani’s life. Little did they know that this festival would be sprinkled with secrets, sacrifices, and a revenge story. This isn’t necessarily scary, in my opinion, but it definitely sets an eerie tone which is perfect for Halloween.
It (1990/2019)
It isl a classic to watch for Halloween if you’re in a scary movie vibe. The movie follows Bill and his friends after his little brother, Georgie, goes missing one day. Him and his friends make it their mission to find out what happened to Georgie. With a pattern of children going missing, they hunt down the location as to where all the kids could have gone.
Whether you are spending Halloween with friends, family, or with yourself, these movies are a great way to celebrate the night of fright. While not everyone loves movies dedicated to Halloween or horror movies, I am hoping someone will find a movie they love or a new movie that peaks an interest for them.