Movies and TV episodes I like to watch for Halloween
I'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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- DirectorClyde GeronimiJack KinneyStarsBing CrosbyBilly BletcherPinto ColvigIn a small town, a brewing romantic rivalry with a local tough and a school-teacher culminates in a terrifying ride in the night.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.
- DirectorBill MelendezStarsPeter RobbinsChristopher SheaSally DryerThe Peanuts gang celebrates Halloween while Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin.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.
- DirectorPierre GangStarsBrent CarverRachelle LefevreVlasta VranaIchabod 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 inheriting her father's rich estate. Her suitor Brom Bones, the blacksmith, wants to scare him away and dresses up as the legendary Headless Horseman. During the prank, the real ghost appears and drives Ichabod off.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.
- DirectorIvan ReitmanStarsBill MurrayDan AykroydSigourney WeaverThree 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.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.
- DirectorMel BrooksStarsGene WilderMadeline KahnMarty FeldmanAn 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.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.
- DirectorBrad SilberlingStarsBill PullmanChristina RicciCathy MoriartyAn 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.
- DirectorBarry SonnenfeldStarsAnjelica HustonRaul JuliaChristopher LloydCon artists plan to fleece an eccentric family using an accomplice who claims to be their long-lost uncle.
- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsPeter UstinovDean JonesSuzanne PleshetteAn 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.
- DirectorStephen SommersStarsBrendan FraserRachel WeiszJohn HannahAt 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.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.
- DirectorDuwayne DunhamStarsDebbie ReynoldsKimberly J. BrownJudith HoagWhen 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.
- DirectorMary LambertStarsKimberly J. BrownJudith HoagDaniel KountzA 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.
- DirectorMark A.Z. DippéStarsKimberly J. BrownDebbie ReynoldsJudith HoagA 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.
- DirectorDavid JacksonStarsSara PaxtonJudith HoagLucas GrabeelMarnie and Dylan are going to follow their dreams to go to college, at Halloweentown University, which is also known as Witch University.
- DirectorRobert StevensonWard KimballStarsAngela LansburyDavid TomlinsonRoddy McDowallAn 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.
- DirectorPhil RomanStarsLorenzo MusicThom HugeGregg BergerWhen Garfield and Odie are out trick-or-treating, they end up at a haunted house.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.
- DirectorMichael VejarStarsRichard Dean AndersonDana ElcarTeri HatcherPenny Parker asks MacGyver to accompany her in inspecting an old house that she inherited from her aunt, an apparently haunted house.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.
- 1981–198349mTV-147.8 (110)TV EpisodeDirectorArnold LavenStarsWilliam KattRobert CulpConnie SelleccaBill is possessed by a woman's spirit. To rescue him, Ralph crosses to another dimension and discovers that his super-suit won't function.
- DirectorCharles CorrellStarsRichard Dean AndersonDana ElcarDaniel DavisMurdoc 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.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.
- DirectorJoe NapolitanoStarsScott BakulaDean StockwellValerie MahaffeyEverything goes wrong when Sam leaps into a Gothic horror novelist on Halloween.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.
- DirectorAnita W. AddisonStarsScott BakulaDean StockwellScott HoxbyFlying through the Bermuda Triangle strange things occur as Sam must get a sick passenger to a doctor.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.
- 1989–199348mTV-PG7.4 (428)TV EpisodeDirectorJoe NapolitanoStarsScott BakulaDean StockwellLisa DarrAt an archaeological dig in Egypt Sam has to deal with an approaching sandstorm and a 3000 year old curse.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
- DirectorKenny OrtegaStarsBette MidlerSarah Jessica ParkerKathy NajimyA 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.
- DirectorRob MinkoffStarsEddie MurphyMarsha ThomasonJennifer TillyA 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.
- 1989–199347mTV-PG6.9 (545)TV EpisodeDirectorMichael ZinbergStarsScott BakulaDean StockwellDeborah PrattSam must save a young woman who drowns while insisting that she is hearing the calls of her dead husband.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.
- DirectorAlan J. LeviStarsScott BakulaDean StockwellIan BuchananSam leaps into an English castle where the occupants practice vampire rituals. He must save the young wife of the castle owner.
- DirectorMario PilusoStarsRay BradburyLeonard NimoyAnnie BarkerFour children learn the origins of Halloween customs while trying to save the life of their friend.
- DirectorCharles S. DubinStarsAlan AldaMike FarrellHarry MorganThe 4077th's Halloween celebrations are interrupted by the arrival of wounded, including one supposedly dead soldier who is actually comatose and clinging to life.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. - DirectorJoe DanteStarsZach GalliganPhoebe CatesHoyt AxtonA young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsAlec BaldwinGeena DavisMichael KeatonThe 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.
- 1995–1998TV-Y79.2 (27)TV EpisodeStarsSoccer the DogLarry BrantleyJordan Wall"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.
- 1995–1998TV-Y79.0 (44)TV EpisodeDirectorRick DuffieldStarsSoccer the DogLarry BrantleyJordan WallWishbone and the gang participate in Oakdale's first annual Halloween scavenger hunt, complete with a haunted house.
- DirectorBurt GillettStarsBilly BletcherPinto ColvigWalt DisneyMickey, 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.
- DirectorJack HannahStarsKen DarbyJune ForayJames MacDonaldWhen 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.
- DirectorWalt DisneyStarsWalt DisneyCarl W. StallingThe 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.
- DirectorJonathan FrakesStarsNoah WyleBruce DavisonStana KaticLosing 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.
- DirectorJohn HarrisonStarsRebecca RomijnChristian KaneLindy BoothThe Librarians encounter the one of the Houses behind the legend of all haunted houses and set out to destroy it.
- DirectorAlan RafkinStarsDon KnottsJoan StaleyLiam RedmondA 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.
- DirectorMark Steven JohnsonStarsNicolas CageEva MendesSam ElliottWhen 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.