Imagine it’s a chilly autumn night, and your parents help you get dressed in the costume that you’ve been excitedly waiting to show off to everyone you know. You grab your pillowcase or basket and race out the front door to meet your friends in the driveway, and you spend the night running door-to-door to collect enough candy to last you until Thanksgiving. As “spooky season” culminates this week, it’s the perfect time to reminisce on the memories of childhood Halloween. So grab your roommates and friends, eat some popcorn and candy, and rewatch some of these not-so-scary movies to get into spirit!
Halloweentown (1998)
Nothing says “nostalgia” like a Disney Channel classic! Follow Marnie and her siblings as they learn about their not-so-normal family history and work with their grandmother to defend Halloweentown from evil. If you’re in for an extra-long movie night, you can even follow it up with the sequel as well!
Girl vs Monster (2012)
One of my personal favorites, this TV-movie stars Olivia Holt as Skylar, an angsty teen girl who just wants to have a fun, normal Halloween, but instead learns that her parents are monster hunters and that it is up to her to save the world from getting overtaken by monsters. And on top of that, the soundtrack will definitely get stuck in your head!
Hocus Pocus (1993)
As one of the most popular kids Halloween movies, this one is a definite spooky movie night choice. It follows the “new kid” Max, and his little sister around the town of Salem, where they accidentally unleash a trio of witches: the Sanderson sisters. Max then tries to save his family and town from the witches.
Coraline (2009)
This may not *technically* be a Halloween movie, but it definitely fits the eerie vibe. The movie follows Coraline, a young girl in a new house with an agonizingly boring family. However, she finds a secret in the house that leads to the alternate reality of her dreams… but there’s a horrifying catch. Will she be trapped for eternity with the “other” mother and father, or find a way to return to her real life and family?