Ten family-friendly Halloween movies to watch this October
The Nightmare Before Christmas
This iconic movie came from the peculiar mind of Tim Burton, a man who’s known for his odd sense of imagination and the creepy-crawler critters he seems to invent from scratch.
The stop-motion picture follows the life of Jack Skellington, or the “Pumpkin King.” Jack lives in Halloween Town, where everyone is dedicated to making each Halloween a better success than the last.
Jack is unsatisfied with his Halloween-themed life, and during a walk through the forest he comes across a door marked “Christmas Town.”
Upon entering the door he finds a place where “white things float in the air,” colorful lights are strung up in the highest of places, and little people strut along merrily making toys and kick-knacks.
This new town inspires Jack to completely re-model Halloween by taking well-known Christmas traditions and spinning them to fit his beloved holiday, Halloween.
Hocus Pocus
“Hocus Pocus” is a cult-classic that’s been deemed by many as the most festive Halloween movie out there.
The film focuses on Max Dennison, a teenager who’s moved across the country from Los Angeles to Salem, Mass.
Max, who is a skeptic of the local myths and legends, finds out just how wrong he truly is about the folklore when he awakens the evil Sanderson sisters, witches who were killed by villagers in 1693.
After the witches are brought back from the dead, they spend Halloween night trying to suck the souls out of all the children in Salem in order to transform themselves into immortal beings.
With the help of his little sister Dani and his new crush Allison, Max must spend his evening trying to send the witches back to where they came from and save the young souls of his new town.
Casper
This classic film about the friendly neighborhood ghost brilliantly uses live-action and computer animation to make the plot come to life.
Casper is a lonely ghost often treated poorly by his prankster ghost uncles “the Ghostly Trio.”
The ghosts haunt a manor in Friendship, Maine, and when Kat Harvey (Christina Ricci) moves into the house with her father, the two lonely souls conjure up a unique friendship.
The Little Vampire
“The Little Vampire” tells the tale of Tony Thompson, a 9-year-old boy.
Tony’s family moves to Scotland after his father gets a job building a golf course for a rich man by the name of Lord McAshton.
One night while Tony is playing dress-up as a vampire, he runs into a real vampire named Rudolph.
The two boys strike up a conversation and Rudolph tells Tony that he and his family only want to become human and live a normal life.
Tony and Rudolph quickly become friends.
Over the course of the film, Tony does whatever he can to protect his new friend and his family from the local vampire hunter until they can find a way to become humans.
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
This animated after-school special has been aired every October since 1966. It’s based on the comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles Schulz and it’s the third special of the series, following “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “Charlie Brown’s All Stars!”
The special entertains audiences with funny bits including Lucy tricking Charlie while playing football and Snoopy flying his doghouse WWI airplane across the country.
The 25-minute show has been captivating families for generations and will continue to charm audiences for years to come.
Monster House
Directors Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg worked together for the first time since 1990 to bring children this film about a terrifying house and three neighborhood children in 2006.
DJ Walters, his best friend Charles, also known as Chowder, and Jenny Bennett find their way into their neighbor Horace Nebbercracker’s house.
Nebbercracker is perceived by all the children as a mean old man and his house seems just as horrifying.
The house turns out to be a living creature that eats anyone who trespasses on the property.
When the house starts doing strange things and the children learn the backstory of the house and it’s inhabitant, it’s only a matter of time until something colossal happens.
Double Double, Toil and Trouble
“Double Double, Toil and Trouble” is one film in a long line of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movies. The young twins dominated the big screen in the ’90s and their long run in Hollywood resulted in many beloved films.
This seasonal film is the story of two young girls, Lynn and Kelly.
The two girls embark on an adventure to find their long-lost Aunt Sophia, who could help her parents from losing the family house.
Along the way the twins meet some friendly souls willing to help them including Mr. N, a homeless man who dreams of riches, and Oscar, whom they had previously met at a Halloween party.
With the help of their new-found friends, the girls can battle their evil Aunt Agatha and try to find the nice Aunt Sophia they’ve been missing.
Halloweentown (series)
This Disney series begins with the story of Marnie, a 13-year-old girl who is interested in all things supernatural and abnormal.
On Halloween night, her grandmother Aggie Cromwell comes to visit, and she tells stories of a land called Halloweentown.
Upon eavesdropping on her mother and grandmother’s conversation, Marnie finds out that she comes from a line of powerful witches and that if she doesn’t start her training, she could lose her powers forever.
Marnie and her two siblings, Dylan and Sophie, spend the movie learning about their family history and the magic that’s been hidden by their mother their entire lives.
Twitches
Another classic Disney channel original movie, this film was released in 2005 and tells a story of long-lost twin sisters Camryn and Alex.
On their 21st birthdays, the sisters run into each other and, while spending the day together, they share their feelings of curiosity for their biological parents and are amazed to find they both have magical powers.
Throughout the movie, the girls learn from their guardians Karsh and Ileana the story of their supernatural powers, the land they come from (an entirely different dimension called Coventry), and why they were sent to live on Earth.
The Haunted Mansion
“The Haunted Mansion” stars Eddie Murphy and focuses on his character Jim Evers.
Jim and his wife Sara are both realtors,. When they take a detour on the family vacation to check out an old mansion, they discover the inhabitants of the house may be a bit less than living.
The owner of the house, Edward Gracey, mistakes Sara as his one true love Elizabeth.
While the Evers family tries to insist that Sara could not possibly be Elizabeth, the house butler Ramsley will not back down.
This comedic horror film offers many laughs that the whole family can enjoy.
Birthday: Aug. 2, 2001
Hobbies/Interests: NHS, drama club, Freshman Mentors.
Favorite Quote: "Find out who you are and do it on purpose."...
