Trick-or-treating isn’t the only family Halloween tradition. How about a movie night? And yes, there are Halloween movies out there that won’t end with your child sleeping in your bed every night until they’re grown. We rounded up classics and newer finds that are great for every kid in your house, from little ones to tweens and teens.
Editor’s Note: While we’ve provided some context for the movies here, we still recommend pre-screening or at least looking a bit further into Halloween titles before showing them to your kids. Common Sense Media offers three free reviews with more insight, while most titles’ IMDB page has a parent guide with comments from moms and dads.
For your littlest viewers: Pre-K and under
Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest // 2013. Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV and other streaming services from $14.99
Cue this one up for Halloween fun with toddlers’ favorite monkey. Not rated.
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown // 1966. Included with Apple TV+; also airing on PBS and PBS Kids on Oct. 24
Make it a throwback movie night with this 25-minute classic. Not rated.
Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie // 2005. Included with Disney+; Prime Video, Google Play, Apple TV and Vudu from $3.99
Pooh and friends believe they’ve found a “heffalump” in the woods after seeing footsteps. There are some trees with spooky faces, lightning and a tombstone, but even your littlest kids will most likely enjoy this one. Rated G.
Room on the Broom // 2012. YouTube, Google Play and Apple TV from $2.99; Vudu from $3.99
This little animated film based on the children’s book by Julia Donaldson is short (25 minutes) and sweet. A kind witch offers broomstick rides to a variety of animals, to her cat’s dismay. Not rated.
Spookley the Square Pumpkin // 2004. Included with Netflix; Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV and others from $2.99; airing on the Disney Channel in October
A pumpkin whose shape isn’t like the others in his patch gets teased—but he proves himself and saves the day. This 47-minute film reminds kids it’s OK to be different. Rated G.
Super Monsters Save Halloween // 2018. Included with Netflix and Sling TV Premium
This episode of Super Monsters finds the kids-by-day-monsters-by-night using their powers to get their neighborhood into the Halloween spirit and calming a nervous friend. Series rated TV-Y (geared toward all children).
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For the elementary set: Kindergarten through fourth grade
Casper // 1995. Included with Hulu Premium, Sling TV Premium and fuboTV; Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV and others from $3.99
Introduce your kiddo (when they’re around 8 or 9) to this one that you may remember from your childhood. Casper’s backstory is sad, and some characters die; there’s also a little profanity. But it has a cult following among millennials, and if you think your kiddo is up for it, Casper could make for a nostalgic movie night. Rated PG.
Coco // 2017. Included with Disney+; Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV and others from $3.99
Inspired by Day of the Dead, this Pixar film features an aspiring musician who goes into the Land of the Dead to find his great-great-grandfather, a renowned singer. There will be laughs and quite possibly tears. Rated PG.
DreamWorks Spooky Stories // 2009. Included with Netflix; YouTube, Google Play and Vudu from $2.99
This collection of three Halloween stories features characters from Shrek and Monsters vs. Aliens. Rated TV-PG. See Night of the Living Carrots below for more Monsters vs. Aliens fun.
Frankenweenie // 2012. Included with Disney+; Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV and others from $3.99
Originally a short film that came out in 1984, Frankenweenie got the full-length treatment almost 10 years ago. It features young Victor Frankenstein resurrecting his dog Sparky after he is hit by a car. All goes well until Sparky starts terrorizing the neighbors. The actual dog-car impact isn’t shown. Rated PG.
Gnome Alone // 2017. Included with Netflix
The new girl in town and the pack of garden gnomes at her house go to battle against sharp-toothed monsters who want to eat everything around them in this computer-animated flick. Rated PG.
Hotel Transylvania // 2012. Included with Hulu Premium, Starz and Prime Video Premium; YouTube, Apple TV and Google Play from $3.99; Vudu from $2.99
As this animated flick’s tagline notes, even monsters need a vacation. Dracula, who operates a posh resort, becomes overprotective when a human teenager falls head over heels for his (118-year-old) daughter. Rated PG. (The multiple sequels—2, 3 and, coming in 2022, 4—are also PG.)
Lego Star Wars Terrifying Tales // 2021. Included with Disney+
Take a trip to the dark(ish) side of the Star Wars galaxy with this Halloween special. Rated TV-Y7-FV (geared at age 7 and up, with fantasy violence).
Muppets Haunted Mansion // 2021. Included with Disney+
Will Gonzo be able to spend Halloween night in the Haunted Mansion? It’s lots of fun with a few scares. Rated TV-PG.
Night of the Living Carrots // 2011. YouTube, Google Play and Vudu from $2.99
If you wish kids would be more interested in their vegetables, start here. This short (just 13 minutes) features zombie carrots the Monsters vs. Aliens crew must defeat. Rated TV-PG.
Scoob! // 2020. Included with HBO Max; Prime Video from $3.99; YouTube, Apple TV and others from $14.99
Once upon a Halloween night, Scooby-Doo and Shaggy meet Fred, Daphne and Velma. Ten years later, they face their toughest mystery. Expect cartoonish violence as well as some mild language (the word “F-bomb” is used—not referring to the real word, though). Rated PG.
The Addams Family // 2019. Included with Hulu, Sling TV Premium, Prime Video Premium and others; Apple TV from $3.99; YouTube and Google Play from $5.99
The old TV show gets another reboot, with this animated film pitting the strange and ghoulish Addams clan against a family of conformists. Darkish humor, as you might expect. Rated PG.
The Addams Family 2 // 2021. In theaters Oct. 1
The Addams’ adventures continue in this animated sequel. We hear there are some eyeballs and decapitated heads around but that the violence is slapstick. Rated PG.
The Book of Life // 2018. Included with Disney+, Hulu Premium and Sling TV Premium; Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV and others from $3.99
In this animated flick themed around the Day of the Dead, the hero goes on an adventure through three worlds—teaching us to appreciate the past and look forward to what’s ahead. There are some sad moments. Rated PG.
The Little Vampire // 2017. Included with Netflix
A boy who is obsessed with vampires. A young vampire who needs help. It’s a match made in—can we say heaven? Rated TV-G.
The Nightmare Before Christmas // 1993. Included with Disney+; Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV and others from $3.99
The king of Halloween Town discovers Christmas Town in this Oscar-nominated, stop-motion musical. Rated PG.
Toy Story of Terror! // 2013. Included with Disney+; Prime Video for $4.99; Apple TV for $9.99 Woody, Buzz and all the toys are back in this 22-minute short …. until members of the gang start to disappear. It’s time to get to the bottom of this mystery. Rated TV-G.
Under Wraps // 2021. Included with Disney+, Hulu Premium, Sling TV Premium and fuboTV; Prime Video, YouTube and Google Play from $6.99
Three friends accidentally awaken a mummy right before Halloween—let the pandemonium begin. There’s some fake (as in, it’s fake even in the movie) blood and gore, plus a few scenes littler viewers might find scary. Rated TV-Y7 (geared at kids 7 and up).
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For your tweens and teens: Fifth grade and up
A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting // 2020. Included with Netflix
When you’re a babysitter and your charge gets kidnapped by monsters on Halloween, there’s only one thing to do: get him back. Rated TV-PG.
Beetlejuice // 1988. Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV and other platforms from $3.99; also airing on Paramount Network and CMT in October
Darkly funny, silly and spooky, this isn’t one we recommend for the younger set. Teens, perhaps. Rated PG.
Coraline // 2009. Prime Video, YouTube and others from $2.99; Apple TV from $3.99
This animated fantasy flick about a girl who discovers another world gets creepy (too creepy for little ones, in our opinion; better suited to tweens and up). Rated PG.
Corpse Bride // 2005. Included with HBO Max; Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV and others from $3.99
Tim Burton’s Oscar-nominated fantasy is good for age 10 and up, we think. Rated PG.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial // 1982. Free on Peacock; Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV and others from $3.99
It has a Halloween scene, so we’re counting it as a Halloween movie. E.T. is undoubtedly a classic, but keep in mind that there are definitely some intense moments as well as some language (including a brother-to-brother insult we definitely don’t want to hear in our house). Rated PG.
Goosebumps // 2015. Included with Hulu Premium and Sling TV Premium; Vudu from $2.99; Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV and others from $3.99
Monsters, zombies, a giant praying mantis, a werewolf and a big Venus’ flytrap wreak havoc in this movie that brings R.L. Stine’s chilling children’s book series to (reel) life. Rated PG. The sequel, Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, is also rated PG; it has some teenage kissing and a bit of language.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone // 2001. Included with HBO Max and Peacock; Prime Video from $3.99
Meet the gang at Hogwarts in this first of seven or eight (depending on how you count the final, two-part adaptation) Harry Potter films. There’s some mild language and spooky elements, along with wizardry and witchcraft. Rated PG. Note that a number of the subsequent Harry Potter movies are rated PG-13.
Hocus Pocus // 1993. Included with Disney+; Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV and others from $3.99
A kid unwittingly brings back to life three sisters who were executed hundreds of years ago for practicing witchcraft. The modern world confounds the witches as they try to, um, suck the lives out of the town’s children so they can stay alive forever. There’s plenty of silliness and humor, and also some innuendo and mild gore. Rated PG. (Bette Midler and the other stars return in a Disney+ sequel next fall.)
Hubie Halloween // 2020. Included with Netflix
If Adam Sandler is popular in your house, check out this Netflix movie—in which the good-natured but unpopular Hubie finds himself in the middle of a Halloween night murder investigation. Let us emphasize: It is an Adam Sandler movie, so you shouldn’t be surprised by the crude jokes, suggestive content, language and teen drinking. Keep this one for your older teens. Rated PG-13.
Monster House // 2006. Included with Netflix; Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV and others from $3.99; Vudu from $2.99
In this animated flick, the neighbor’s spooky house is really a monster. Rated PG.
ParaNorman // 2012. Included with Netflix; Prime Video, YouTube and Vudu from $2.99; Apple TV from $3.99
A boy who can speak to the dead contends with zombies and more creepy characters to save his town from a curse. Keep it for age 10 and up, we think. Be aware that there’s some crude humor; characters utter “boobs” and “sex” during the film (a kid is told he is going to get punched “in the boobs,” while Norman tells his mother he is watching “sex and violence”). Rated PG.
The Haunted Mansion // 2003. Included with Disney+; Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV and others from $3.99
A realtor and his family make a stop at a mansion he’s been asked to sell, only to find the place is haunted. There are lessons learned along the way, and a bit of questionable language. Rated PG.
The Spiderwick Chronicles // 2008. Included with Netflix; Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play and Vudu from $2.99; Apple TV from $3.99
This otherworldly adventure (based on a book series) involves three siblings who meet goblins, ogres, trolls and other magical creatures at their home, a formerly abandoned estate. Not all the magical creatures are happy to see them, so fantasy violence and danger ensue. Rated PG.
The Witches // 2020. Included with HBO Max
Based on the Roald Dahl fantasy novel, this remake features Anne Hathaway and Octavia Spencer, among other stars. The plot centers around a boy, his grandmother and a group of witches they encounter. The witches look freaky at times thanks to CG. Rated PG.
Twitches // 2005. Included with Disney+, Hulu Premium, Sling TV Premium and fuboTV; YouTube and Google Play from $5.99
A few years after their run in Sister, Sister, twins Tia and Tamera Mowry starred in this made-for-Disney-Channel movie. They play young twin witches who are reunited after they were adopted by different families; now they must save their home world. Fans will want to check out Twitches Too; both are rated TV-PG.
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