1. Halloweentown (1998)
What it’s about: Marnie Piper and her two younger siblings accidentally discover their magical abilities the night of Marnie’s 13th Halloween. When they follow their eclectic grandmother Aggie back to her mysterious hometown to find out more about their genetic witchcraft, they discover she lives in another dimension called Halloweentown, only to find that an evil spirit has been wreaking havoc on the normally spook-tacular village.
Why it’s awesome: Hidden between the cheesy one-liners are little tidbits of wisdom: “Being normal is vastly overrated.” Plus, there are 3 sequels—marathon time!
2. Hocus Pocus (1993)
What it’s about: Max, his younger sister Dani, and his friend Allison resurrect the Sanderson sisters, three witches who are obsessed with maintaining a youthful appearance—which they do by absorbing the souls of children. Hilarity ensues.
Why it’s awesome: The Sanderson sisters perform a spellbinding rendition of “I Put A Spell On You”—cue dance party.
3. The Shining (1980)
What it’s about: Jack Torrance moves his family to an isolated hotel where he begins a job as an off-season caretaker. After a snowstorm traps him, his wife, and his psychic son inside, Jack begins to suffer the ultimate cabin fever, which wouldn’t be so bad if the hotel weren’t haunted with demonic entities. You know, the usual.
Why it’s awesome: This movie will have you deliciously scared of hotels for ages. Thank Stephen King for that.
4. Blair Witch Project (1999)
What it’s about: Three film students embark on a trip to a secluded Maryland forest in hopes of creating the perfect documentary about the legendary Blair Witch.
Why it’s awesome: Blair Witch is filmed mockumentary-style, plunging you right into the eerie woods with the three main characters. Make sure you keep the volume up—you don’t want to miss the scarily subtle sounds of the forest.
5. Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
What it’s about: An innocent couple knocks on a stranger’s door to use his telephone only to be sucked into a chaotic mansion full of hot clones, strange dancing, not-so-secret cannibals, and sequins. Lots and lots of sequins.
Why it’s awesome: RHPC is a cult classic, and around Halloween time, you can find and participate in tons of live performances—everyone dresses up like Transylvanians, and at some venues, you’re encouraged to bring props like tomatoes and toilet paper to throw after the movie’s most famous lines.
6. Paranormal Activity (2007)
What it’s about: A California couple sets up a video camera in their bedroom to find the source of creepy sounds and mysterious happenings during the nighttime.
Why it’s awesome: This movie was made for about $11,000 but provides enough scares as a million dollar blockbuster. You might want to watch this at a friend’s house, because there’s no way you’ll want to sleep in your own bed after this one.
7. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
What it’s about: Jack Skellington, a revered citizen of Halloween Town, stumbles upon the portal to Christmas Town and attempts to integrate the warmth and joy of Christmas with the tricks and terrors of Halloween.
Why it’s awesome: This film uses stop-motion animation, a torturously slow and intricate filmmaking process. The characters are moveable dolls on a miniature soundstage, and the filmmakers position them, then take a picture, and then position them again, and take another picture—the entire film is just a series of hundreds of thousands of individual photographs. And what is Halloween without Tim Burton?