The air is crisp, the coffee is hot, and the cauldron is bubbling; we’ve officially entered spooky season. As we count down to All Hallows’ Eve it may be time to get into the spooky spirit with these carefully curated features. I’ve thrown in some cozy and comedic watches to cleanse your palate and tried to keep the gore and sprawling of entrails to a minimum. My endeavour is mainly to invoke feelings. I want you to feel a thrill, a shiver, embrace your inner freak and defy the ordinary.
Spooky Movies
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
Mia Farrow and Ruth Gordon star in this creepy psychological thriller where husbands suck (it’s a Polanski film, what can we expect) and things go bump in the night. A cult classic, featuring oddball neighbours, the occult and Satan’s baby.
Heathers (1989)
It’s teenage angst meets serial killer; with fantastic outfits. In a satirical commentary on high school hierarchy, Christian Slater and Winona Ryder go on a murder spree and have sex in the yard, maybe not in that order. A campy production, and an omen to the Columbine era.
Practical Magic (1998)
Nicole Kidman AND Sandra Bullock? Two witch sisters are raised by their eccentric aunts in a cozy but prejudiced town where a curse prevents them from finding lasting love. Consequently, the two battle supernatural challenges in the search for happily ever after.
Halloweentown (1998)
While not ‘scary’ in the typical sense, I dare you to find me a movie with better Halloween imagery. Witches, ghosts, ghouls, Benny the skeleton cab driver? C’mon. Halloweentown follows young Marnie as she finds herself and learns what it means to be a witch.
Jennifer’s Body (2009)
Megan Fox (Jennifer) is possessed by a demon, courtesy of an eyeliner-wearing Adam Brody (go back to the O.C. Seth). As demon Meg starts snacking on her male classmates, her geeky best friend (Amanda Seyfried) becomes increasingly suspicious and vows to stop the bloodshed.
Spooky TV shows
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003)
In every generation, there is a chosen one. She alone shall stand against the vampires, demons, and forces of darkness. She is the Slayer. She’s Buffy Summers, a teen girl who just wants to hang with the gang and date cute boys, but she’ll have to stake a few first.
The Vampire Diaries (2009-2017)
In a sleepy Virginia town, we follow the story of Elena Gilbert and her vampire suitors, Stephan and Damon Salvatore. Together, they fight to save their town from various supernatural forces including but not limited to vampire ex-girlfriends, doppelgängers, evil witches, and heretics.
Santa Clarita Diet (2017-2019)
Drew Barrymore (Shelia) and Timothy Olyphant (Joel) are a boring suburban real estate couple until Shelia becomes undead. In this horror-comedy, the family tries to satiate Zombie Shelia’s cravings without killing people (spoiler alert: they fail) and uncover the Serbian mystery behind the undead.
The Haunting of Hill House (2018)
In the summer of 1992, the Crains and their five children move into the Hill House mansion where they experience a series of paranormal phenomena culminating in the death of the matriarch and family tragedy. Twenty-six years later the Crain siblings and their estranged dad reunite to confront new and old trauma.
Chapelwaite (2021-present)
In the 1850s, DILF Captain Charles Boone relocates his three children to the mysterious town of Preacher’s Corners. Here Charles will have to confront the secrets to his ancestors’ sordid history, deaths, and insanity as he fights to save his family and himself from madness.
I hope these picks bring you a feeling, a fright, an urge to dance naked under the moonlight in a mystical ritual, and perhaps a Salvatore Brother.