Movies and TV episodes I like to watch for Halloween
by knight1192a | created - 13 Oct 2013 | updated - 16 Oct 2018 | PublicI'm not into horror movies so don't really expect that. This is a listing of things I like to watch for Halloween that may be a little more family friendly.
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1. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949)
Approved | 34 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
In a small town, a brewing romantic rivalry with a local tough and a school-teacher culminates in a terrifying ride in the night.
Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney | Stars: Bing Crosby, Billy Bletcher, Pinto Colvig, Jud Conlon's Rhythmaires
Votes: 5,823
I fell in love with Washington Irving's classic short story because of this movie. Today I can say I own two different copies of his The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon just for what their appendices offer concerning the story.
2. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966 TV Movie)
TV-G | 25 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
The Peanuts gang celebrates Halloween while Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin.
Director: Bill Melendez | Stars: Peter Robbins, Christopher Shea, Sally Dryer, Cathy Steinberg
Votes: 22,004
Come on, it's the Peanut's gang! This is one of the absolute must sees of Halloween. Only the most cold hearted can't feel bad for poor Charlie Brown. And who can't remember as a little kid the anticipation of waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve (at least of those of us who celebrate Christmas) with the same excitement as Linus looking forward to a visit from the Great Pumpkin.
3. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1999 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 105 min | Adventure, Horror, Mystery
Ichabod Crane, a Yankee wanderer, arrives in Sleepy Hollow and becomes the new schoolmaster. He meets Katrina Van Tassel, and blissfully fantasizes about how he can marry her, ultimately ... See full summary »
Director: Pierre Gang | Stars: Brent Carver, Rachelle Lefevre, Vlasta Vrana, Kathleen Fee
Votes: 1,188
Personally this is the best live action version of Washington Irving's classic short story I've seen. Not entirely faithful to the story, but it is a movie after all.
4. Ghostbusters (1984)
PG | 105 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Three parapsychologists forced out of their university funding set up shop as a unique ghost removal service in New York City, attracting frightened yet skeptical customers.
Director: Ivan Reitman | Stars: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Sigourney Weaver, Harold Ramis
Votes: 450,352 | Gross: $238.63M
What fan doesn't remember the first time they heard the theme song or saw the movie. I remember being on vacation in NC's Outer Bank, having just attended a performance of The Lost Colony and hearing the theme song playing over the radio as we were leaving. It was months before I got to see the movie and I've been hooked ever since.
5. Young Frankenstein (1974)
PG | 106 min | Comedy
An American grandson of the infamous scientist, struggling to prove that his grandfather was not as insane as people believe, is invited to Transylvania, where he discovers the process that reanimates a dead body.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle
Votes: 168,925 | Gross: $86.30M
Ok, some of the jokes are certainly very much meant for adults and children may not get it. But who can forget Gene Wilder and the late Peter Boyle doing Putting on the Ritz.
6. Casper (1995)
PG | 100 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
An afterlife therapist and his daughter meet a friendly young ghost when they move into a crumbling mansion in order to rid the premises of wicked spirits.
Director: Brad Silberling | Stars: Bill Pullman, Christina Ricci, Cathy Moriarty, Eric Idle
Votes: 146,849 | Gross: $100.33M
7. The Addams Family (1991)
PG-13 | 99 min | Comedy, Fantasy
Con artists plan to fleece an eccentric family using an accomplice who claims to be their long-lost uncle.
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld | Stars: Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Hedaya
Votes: 180,009 | Gross: $113.50M
8. Blackbeard's Ghost (1968)
Approved | 106 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
An unassuming track coach accidentally invokes the spirit of a notorious pirate long believed dead, and who must now team up to lay the pirate to rest, and save a local hotel from a mobster.
Director: Robert Stevenson | Stars: Peter Ustinov, Dean Jones, Suzanne Pleshette, Elsa Lanchester
Votes: 6,754 | Gross: $10.90M
9. The Mummy (1999)
PG-13 | 124 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
At an archaeological dig in the ancient city of Hamunaptra, an American serving in the French Foreign Legion accidentally awakens a mummy who begins to wreak havoc as he searches for the reincarnation of his long-lost love.
Director: Stephen Sommers | Stars: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Vosloo
Votes: 461,195 | Gross: $155.25M
The original 1932 movie may have been a horror movie, but the 1999 remake has just the right amount of action and adventure to balance out any scares one may find in it.
10. Halloweentown (1998 TV Movie)
TV-G | 84 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
When a young girl living with her secret witch mother learns she too is a witch, she must help her witch grandmother save Halloweentown from evil forces.
Director: Duwayne Dunham | Stars: Debbie Reynolds, Kimberly J. Brown, Judith Hoag, Joey Zimmerman
Votes: 21,271
11. Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 81 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
A young witch and her grandmother work together to foil the plans of a wicked warlock's son before he can use powerful spells to create chaos in the world.
Director: Mary Lambert | Stars: Kimberly J. Brown, Judith Hoag, Daniel Kountz, Joey Zimmerman
Votes: 10,595
12. Halloweentown High (2004 TV Movie)
TV-G | 82 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
A girl in a magical world bets her family's magic that nothing bad will happen when kids from Halloweentown attend high school in the mortal realm.
Director: Mark A.Z. Dippé | Stars: Kimberly J. Brown, Debbie Reynolds, Judith Hoag, Joey Zimmerman
Votes: 8,554
13. Return to Halloweentown (2006 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 88 min | Action, Comedy, Family
Marnie and Dylan are going to follow their dreams to go to college, at Halloweentown University, which is also known as Witch University.
Director: David Jackson | Stars: Sara Paxton, Judith Hoag, Lucas Grabeel, Joey Zimmerman
Votes: 7,637
14. Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
G | 117 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
An apprentice witch, three kids and a cynical magician conman search for the missing component to a magic spell to be used in the defense of Britain in World War II.
Directors: Robert Stevenson, Ward Kimball | Stars: Angela Lansbury, David Tomlinson, Roddy McDowall, Sam Jaffe
Votes: 40,732 | Gross: $18.53M
15. Garfield in Disguise (1985 TV Short)
Not Rated | 25 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
When Garfield and Odie are out trick-or-treating, they end up at a haunted house.
Director: Phil Roman | Stars: Lorenzo Music, Thom Huge, Gregg Berger, C. Lindsay Workman
Votes: 2,304
No one in the '80s did trick-or-treat quite like Garfield and Odie. Though I think I was more fond of Garfield's introduction to pumpkin guts and the montage to What Should I be.
16.
MacGyver (1985–1992)
Episode:
The Secret of Parker House
(1988)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
Penny Parker asks MacGyver to accompany her in inspecting an old house that she inherited from her aunt, an apparently haunted house.
Director: Michael Vejar | Stars: Richard Dean Anderson, Dana Elcar, Teri Hatcher, Gisele MacKenzie
Votes: 390
This episode does have one of those scientific mind coming into contact with what it believes can't exist. Though it's a little more hinted at at the very end.
17.
The Greatest American Hero (1981–1983)
Episode:
The Beast in the Black
(1981)
TV-14 | 49 min | Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Bill is possessed by a woman's spirit. To rescue him, Ralph crosses to another dimension and discovers that his super-suit won't function.
Director: Arnold Laven | Stars: William Katt, Robert Culp, Connie Sellecca, Faye Grant
Votes: 110
18.
MacGyver (1985–1992)
Episode:
Halloween Knights
(1989)
TV-PG | 60 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
Murdoc enlists MacGyver's help to rescue his sister from his former employer. She is scheduled to be executed during a Halloween Party put on by the professional assassination organization.
Director: Charles Correll | Stars: Richard Dean Anderson, Dana Elcar, Daniel Davis, Frank C. Turner
Votes: 344
MacGyver and his greatest enemy working together, who could have predicted that when the show was on? This one is actually set on Halloween as Mac and Murdoc have to crash a H.I.T. Halloween costume party to save Murdoc's sister.
19.
Quantum Leap (1989–1993)
Episode:
The Boogieman - October 31, 1964
(1990)
TV-PG | 47 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Everything goes wrong when Sam leaps into a Gothic horror novelist on Halloween.
Director: Joe Napolitano | Stars: Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell, Valerie Mahaffey, Paul Linke
Votes: 625
This is one of those brushes with history the writers liked to do from time to time. Pay attention to that kid in his teens and you'll see what is meant by a brush with history.
20.
Quantum Leap (1989–1993)
Episode:
Ghost Ship - August 13, 1956
(1992)
TV-PG | 48 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Flying through the Bermuda Triangle strange things occur as Sam must get a sick passenger to a doctor.
Director: Anita W. Addison | Stars: Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell, Scott Hoxby, Kimberly Foster
Votes: 436
Playing doctor is nothing compared to what he has to deal with with the pilot. His story reminds me of Flight 19. Folks familiar with Bermuda Triangle Lore should already know about that.
21.
Quantum Leap (1989–1993)
Episode:
The Curse of Ptah-Hotep - March 2, 1957
(1992)
TV-PG | 48 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
At an archaeological dig in Egypt Sam has to deal with an approaching sandstorm and a 3000 year old curse.
Director: Joe Napolitano | Stars: Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell, Lisa Darr, John Kapelos
Votes: 426
The episode feels as if the writers were going for an adaptation of the various Mummy movies while at the same time it also seems to take elements from murder mystery shows. In the end it is another instance of Sam coming up against something his scientific mind tells him should not exist
22. Hocus Pocus (1993)
PG | 96 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
A teenage boy named Max and his little sister move to Salem, where he struggles to fit in before awakening a trio of diabolical witches that were executed in the 17th century.
Director: Kenny Ortega | Stars: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Omri Katz
Votes: 155,955 | Gross: $44.34M
23. The Haunted Mansion (2003)
PG | 88 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
A realtor and his wife and children are summoned to a mansion, which they soon discover is haunted, and while they attempt to escape, he learns an important lesson about the family he has neglected.
Director: Rob Minkoff | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Marsha Thomason, Jennifer Tilly, Terence Stamp
Votes: 56,919 | Gross: $75.85M
24.
Quantum Leap (1989–1993)
Episode:
A Portrait for Troian - February 7, 1971
(1989)
TV-PG | 47 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Sam must save a young woman who drowns while insisting that she is hearing the calls of her dead husband.
Director: Michael Zinberg | Stars: Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell, Deborah Pratt, Robert Torti
Votes: 543
This episode is like the MacGyver episode The Secret of Parker House, which is to say the scientific mind coming into contact with that which it claims can not exist. But unlike Mac, Sam's contact is more visual.
25.
Quantum Leap (1989–1993)
Episode:
Blood Moon - March 10, 1975
(1993)
TV-PG | 47 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Sam leaps into an English castle where the occupants practice vampire rituals. He must save the young wife of the castle owner.
Director: Alan J. Levi | Stars: Scott Bakula, Dean Stockwell, Ian Buchanan, Deborah Moore
Votes: 421
26. The Halloween Tree (1993 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 69 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
Four children learn the origins of Halloween customs while trying to save the life of their friend.
Director: Mario Piluso | Stars: Ray Bradbury, Leonard Nimoy, Annie Barker, Alex Greenwald
Votes: 2,406
27.
M*A*S*H (1972–1983)
Episode:
Trick or Treatment
(1982)
TV-PG | 25 min | Comedy, Drama, War
The 4077th's Halloween celebrations are interrupted by the arrival of wounded, including one supposedly dead soldier who is actually comatose and clinging to life.
Director: Charles S. Dubin | Stars: Alan Alda, Mike Farrell, Harry Morgan, Loretta Swit
Votes: 507
It's really better to watch this one on DVD. Commercial breaks have gotten longer since '82 and too often older shows have scenes either cut out or cut down so as to fit the time slot when played on TV today. It's still a fun episode to watch on TV, but there's more too it you can now only see on DVD. That includes extended scenes with George Wendt and Andrew Dice Clay.
Though the best scene is the last, which you still get on TV. Guess some folks don't want to admit how much they believe in ghosts and goblins.
28. Gremlins (1984)
PG | 106 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
A young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.
Director: Joe Dante | Stars: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, John Louie
Votes: 247,847 | Gross: $148.17M
29. Beetlejuice (1988)
PG | 92 min | Comedy, Fantasy
The spirits of a deceased couple are harassed by an unbearable family that has moved into their home, and hire a malicious spirit to drive them out.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton, Annie McEnroe
Votes: 340,206 | Gross: $73.71M
30.
Wishbone (1995–1998)
Episode:
Halloween Hound: The Legend of Creepy Collars: Part 1
(1997)
TV-Y7 | Adventure, Comedy, Family
"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' dominates as Halloween comes to Oakdale. Wishbone imagines himself as Ichabod Crane while Joe and his two schoolmates participate in Oakdale's scavenger hunt.
Stars: Soccer the Dog, Larry Brantley, Jordan Wall, Christie Abbott
Votes: 27
31.
Wishbone (1995–1998)
Episode:
Halloween Hound: The Legend of Creepy Collars: Part 2
(1997)
TV-Y7 | Adventure, Comedy, Family
Wishbone and the gang participate in Oakdale's first annual Halloween scavenger hunt, complete with a haunted house.
Director: Rick Duffield | Stars: Soccer the Dog, Larry Brantley, Jordan Wall, Christie Abbott
Votes: 44
32. Lonesome Ghosts (1937)
Approved | 9 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Mickey, Donald and Goofy run the "Ajax Ghost Exterminators" agency. They receive a call from lonely and bored ghosts to come to their house where they are scared silly by the hilarious haunts and taunts of these spirited pranksters.
Director: Burt Gillett | Stars: Billy Bletcher, Pinto Colvig, Walt Disney, Clarence Nash
Votes: 3,373
33. Trick or Treat (1952)
Approved | 8 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
When the nephews come to Donald's house in their Halloween costumes he dumps water on them and laughs at his trick. A witch sees this and decides to help the kids. By magic she gives Donald a bad time and the kids finally get their treats.
Director: Jack Hannah | Stars: Ken Darby, June Foray, James MacDonald, Clarence Nash
Votes: 2,152
34. The Skeleton Dance (1929)
Approved | 6 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
The clock strikes midnight, the bats fly from the belfry, a dog howls at the full moon, and two black cats fight in the cemetery: a perfect time for four skeletons to come out and dance a bit.
Director: Walt Disney | Stars: Walt Disney, Carl W. Stalling
Votes: 6,295
35. The Librarian III: The Curse of the Judas Chalice (2008 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 90 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Losing his girlfriend because he was at an auction getting the magical Philosopher's Stone, Flynn Carsen is ordered to take a vacation. In New Orleans he finds himself busy protecting the Judas Chalice and saving the world from vampires.
Director: Jonathan Frakes | Stars: Noah Wyle, Bruce Davison, Stana Katic, Bob Newhart
Votes: 14,156
36.
The Librarians (2014–2018)
Episode:
And the Heart of Darkness
(2015)
TV-14 | 48 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
The Librarians encounter the one of the Houses behind the legend of all haunted houses and set out to destroy it.
Director: John Harrison | Stars: Rebecca Romijn, Christian Kane, Lindy Booth, John Harlan Kim
Votes: 812
37. The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)
G | 90 min | Comedy, Family, Mystery
A timid typesetter hasn't a ghost of a chance of becoming a reporter - until he decides to solve a murder mystery and ends up spending a fright-filled night in a haunted house.
Director: Alan Rafkin | Stars: Don Knotts, Joan Staley, Liam Redmond, Dick Sargent
Votes: 7,576
38. Ghost Rider (2007)
PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Fantasy, Thriller
When motorcycle rider Johnny Blaze sells his soul to the Devil to save his father's life, he is transformed into the Ghost Rider, the Devil's own bounty hunter, and is sent to hunt down sinners.
Director: Mark Steven Johnson | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Sam Elliott, Matt Long
Votes: 252,296 | Gross: $115.80M
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