The Best Halloween Movies & Halloween Films to Watch This October

A great Halloween movie isn't just a horror film — it's a film that feels like October. Some are genuinely scary, some are cozy and nostalgic, and some are just set in a small town on the one night a year the dead walk. The best Halloween movies and Halloween films below are grouped by what you're in the mood for, so you can build the right marathon for the room you're in.

The rule for a good Halloween watch list: mix one genuinely spooky film with two that are pure atmosphere, and end on something funny. A night that opens with Halloween and closes with Hocus Pocus is a perfect Halloween.

1. Hocus Pocus (1993) — The Salem Halloween movie. Three resurrected witches, a talking cat, and 'I Put a Spell on You' sung at a town Halloween party. It is the single most-watched Halloween film in America for a reason. Sequel included, but the original is the one.

2. Halloweentown (1998) — A Disney Channel classic about a girl who discovers her grandmother is a witch and her family belongs to a secret town of Halloween creatures. Cozy, gentle, and the reason a whole generation has a soft spot for fall. (See our full Halloweentown guide for the deep dive.)

3. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) — Is it Halloween or Christmas? It is both, and that's the fun. Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas and tries to take it over. Stop-motion, songs, and Tim Burton's whole aesthetic.

4. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) — 25 minutes, pure October, and the reason a sincere pumpkin patch still feels like the best Halloween idea. Watch it every year.

5. Coco (2017) — Technically Día de los Muertos rather than Halloween, but the thread is the same: the veil between the living and the dead thins, and family comes home. Beautiful and joyful.

1. Halloween (1978) — The one that named the holiday for film. John Carpenter's original is a masterclass in tension: Michael Myers, the shape, stalking babysitters on Halloween night in Haddonfield, Illinois. The 2018 sequel is a worthy follow-up; the original is essential.

2. The Shining (1980) — A haunted hotel, a isolated winter, and a man unraveling. Not a Halloween movie by setting, but a Halloween movie by feeling — the long hallways, the twins, the blood elevator, and 'Here's Johnny.' Stanley Kubrick at his most unsettling.

3. The Conjuring (2013) — A 1970s haunted-house case file with a Rhode Island farmhouse, a demonologist couple, and a basement that won't stay quiet. Scary, well-made, and the start of a whole cinematic universe.

4. Scream (1996) — A slasher that knows it's a slasher. A costumed killer, a small town, and a running commentary on Halloween-movie rules. Meta before meta was a genre.

5. Hereditary (2018) — For the room that wants to be genuinely shaken. A family, a grandmother's death, and a slow-burn occult horror that lands hard. Not for kids, and not for a cozy night.

1. Practical Magic (1998) — Two witch sisters, a cursed family, a New England house, and a midnight margarita scene. The most autumnal witch movie ever made.

2. Beetlejuice (1988) — A ghost couple, a bio-exorcist, and a small town in October. Weird, funny, and Tim Burton before he was a brand.

3. Casper (1995) — A friendly ghost, a haunted house in Friendship, Maine, and a surprisingly emotional ending. The Halloween film for the kid who was scared of everything else.

4. The Addams Family (1991) — Not Halloween-set but Halloween-souled. The family that made spooky look like love. The 2019 animated version is a solid double feature.

5. Knives Out (2019) — A crisp autumn mystery, a manor house, and a sweater. Not Halloween, but the right mood for a cold October night when you'd rather solve a crime than scream.

Order matters. Open with something atmospheric and not too scary (Hocus Pocus or Practical Magic), move to a genuine scare (Halloween or The Conjuring), and close on a comedy (Beetlejuice or The Addams Family). A marathon that ends on a scream leaves the room wired; one that ends on a laugh sends everyone home smiling.

For kids, the marathon is simpler: Halloweentown, Hocus Pocus, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Add Coco if the night runs long. Skip the scary list entirely until they're 12.

Pair the films with the food. Our guide to throwing a last-minute Halloween party has a full snack plan — mummy hot dogs, spider-web dip, a foggy punch — that turns a movie marathon into a party without leaving the couch.