If you’re like me, you absolutely live for Halloween. The decorations, the candy, the costumes, and most importantly, the movies. Now, if you’re also like me, you’re not the biggest fan of horror movies. They always seem like a great idea until you’re trying to fall asleep at 2 a.m. and all you can think about is the possessed demon child that is definitely hiding in your closet. The problem with this is that so many Halloween movies are exceptionally scary, as they embrace the spookiness of Halloween as a holiday. So, for all you scaredy-cats out there, I’ve compiled a list of my top seven non-horror Halloween movies for your viewing pleasure.
1. Halloweentown
If you ever watched the Family Channel (or Disney Channel for you American readers), then you’ve probably seen at least one of the Halloweentown installments. The first movie of the franchise introduces us to 13-year-old Marnie, whose grandmother, Aggie, tells her on Halloween that she is a witch. Aggie takes Marnie to Halloweentown, a place filled with monsters of all kinds, where Marnie finds out she must save Halloweentown from the evil Kalabar. Though this may sound like a childish plot, it’s actually quite entertaining, even when you’re in your 20’s (though that may just be the nostalgia talking). And, let’s be honest, Halloweentown sounds like the coolest place ever.
2. Hocus Pocus
Hocus Pocus is regarded as one of the cult classic Halloween movies. It follows three witches from 1698, who are accidentally resurrected after 300 years by a teenaged virgin in Salem, Massachusetts. In order to prevent the witches from sucking out the souls of children, the teenager, Max, his sister Dani, and his new friend, Alison, make it their mission to steal the witches’ book of spells and to send them back to their graves for good. Despite the pretty twisted content—evil witches trying to murder children and all—the movie is actually quite funny and lighthearted. There’s definitely a reason it’s so well-loved.
3. Don’t Look Under The Bed
In all honesty, this movie scared the Hell out of me when I was a kid. A creepy imaginary friend and mischievous boogeyman were way too much for me to handle, especially considering what is under the bed (no spoilers, though). It was for these very reasons that it took me so long to rewatch this movie as an adult; when I did, though, I realized it wasn’t nearly as terrifying as I remembered. The storyline was still really unsettling and disturbing, but it wasn’t so much scary as it was just very…odd. Still, it’s not exactly a horror movie, and it’s still interesting to try to figure out the mystery of the strange occurrences in the town of the main character, Frances.
4. The Addams Family
In this movie based on the cartoon and TV series of the same name, after missing for 25 years, Uncle Fester finally returns to the Addams family household. Everyone is thrilled, but Morticia begins to suspect that the man claiming to be her husband’s brother is an imposter. This movie is the perfect inversion of the horror genre, because despite appearances, the Addams family are hilarious and the tone is lighthearted, rather than scary. The dark and macabre family are somehow delightful and lovable. You still get to enjoy the Halloween aesthetic without enduring the spine-chilling suspense of a thriller.
5. Twitches
I know this list is teeming with Disney Channel movies, but bear with me. In my opinion, Twitches is seriously underrated; two twin sisters separated at birth are reunited on their 21st birthday and find out they must use their magic powers to defeat the Darkness and save the land of Coventry. This movie uses the classic opposite twins trope in which one twin is shallow, superficial, and spoiled whereas the other is more down to earth and, well, slightly bitter, but this device works for this particular movie. Plus, it has Tia and Tamera Mowry from Sister, Sister—what more could you ask for?
6. Halloweentown High
Personally, I think the third film in the Halloweentown series reigns superior to the second (and definitely the fourth—who would recast Marnie after three movies?), which is why I skipped Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge on this list and went straight to Halloweentown High. Not that the second movie is bad; it’s just that I only have so many spots, and the third movie puts monsters disguised as human students into high school—it’s a recipe for family friendly drama. At this point, Marnie has adjusted to life in Halloweentown, but she wants to bridge the gap between their town and the mortal world, so she convinces the city council to let her bring her supernatural friends to her mortal school. Needless to say, a few things go awry.
7. The Haunted Mansion
There is something about former stand-up comedians starring in children’s movies that really gets me—and The Haunted Mansion has just that! Based on the theme park attraction at Disneyland, this film follows Eddie Murphy’s character, Jim, a realtor, and his family as they get trapped in a haunted mansion that Jim is supposed to sell. The film is filled with ghosts, zombies, and tons of spiders (warning: if you have arachnophobia, close your eyes for this scene—you’ll know it when you see it), but because of the comedic tone and life lessons learned by the end, it escapes the category of true horror.