13 Family Friendly Halloween Movies for October

Spooky Season isn’t just about the blood, blood, guts, and gore of horror movies. Many fall themed movies capture the spirit of October without being scary. I’ll list a few of my favorites here for your movie night enjoyment. Before you get upset that Hocus Pocus isn’t on this list, I left it off on purpose because it’s the most obvious choice and you were probably going to watch it anyway. Right? Pass the popcorn, movie lover.

1. The House With a Clock In Its Walls – this film starring Jack Black and Cate Blanchett is based off of a book of the same name. A boy who just lost his parents moves in with his uncle who happens to be a wizard trying to solve the mystery of why the previous owner of his house disappeared. It’s full of pumpkins and magic and manages to be funny and heartfelt at the same time.
2. Ernest Scared Stupid – I’ve always felt that Jim Varney didn’t get enough credit for bringing us Ernest P. Worrell content back in the day. In this film, he saves Halloween and his town from an evil troll he inadvertently brought back to life. It also stars Eartha Kitt.
3. Hotel Transylvania – This surprisingly entertaining Adam Sandler animated feature brings Dracula and his monster friends to life as the vampire struggles with his daughter growing up in the modern world.
4. Something Wicked This Way Comes – An adaptation of the Ray Bradbury book starring Jonathan Price as Mr. Dark that tells the tale of what happens to a couple of boys when evil comes to town.
5. The Witches – You can check out the Anne Hathaway version which is good too, but the version of this story I’m talking about today is the 1990 film starring Anjelica Huston as the Grand High Witch. Another movie about a boy who loses his parents, yes, but this one sees the protagonist get turned into a mouse but a gaggle of evil witches.
6. Paranorman – This 2012 stop-motion animated film about a boy who can speak to the dead is a classic for sure with the voices of Anna Kendrick, Casey Affleck, and John Goodman.
7. It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown – I’ll never not love this one about the Great Pumpkin and trick or treating.
8. Ghostbusters – An irreverent comedy about ghosts, ghostbusting, and the struggles of starting a business in NYC when a government bureaucrat has a grudge.
9. Kiki’s Delivery Service – This Studio Ghibli classic is about a young witch who ventures out on her own for the first time and starts a delivery service as she tries to fit in at a new home.
10. The Watcher in the Woods – A 1980 classic starring Bette Davis at the end of a decades long career. A family moves to a British country house and encounters malevolent spirits.
11. Casper – Christina Ricci does her ghoulish duty in this film about a ghost who just wants a friend and a father and daughter in search of closure after their matriarch dies.
12. Frankenweenie – This Tim Burton stop-motion animation takes the Frankenstein idea and makes it about a boy bringing his beloved dog back to life and his classmates try to copy the idea with disastrous consequences.
13. Little Monsters – Fred Savage and Howie Mendel star in a film about a boy who befriends a monster and discovers a a whole new world through the nighttime portal that lives in the darkness under his bed.