October first is the best day of the year.
How can I make such a definitive statement about something so subjective, you ask? When there are December 25ths and February 14ths in the world? Well, October first is the greatest day – aside from it being my birthday – because it’s the start of spooky season.
Although the Westwood Ralphs has had its Halloween section locked and loaded since mid-September, the beginning of October is when the spookiness truly sets in. And with spooky season comes spooky movies. But what’s the only thing better than spooky movies? Spooky movie marathons.
So, crack open that candy corn (I know loving candy corn is a hot take; I’ll die on this hill), put on your Scooby Doo PJs, because goblins and ghouls, here is my top curated spooky movie marathon list:
- The Jordan Peele Marathon
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Let me be clear; I’m a scaredy cat. This is the scariest this list is going to get. But I could not leave off Jordan Peele, the future of psychological horror. He’s a horror innovator, if you will. If I’m in the rare mood to be unsettled, any of his films will do the trick. I’m not one for cabins in the woods and zombies and curses. But give me Lupita Nyong’o’s voice in Us, and I will not sleep peacefully for a week. So, take a tour through his films – Get Out, Us and Nope – for an intellectually stimulating, unsettling, October night.
- The Stephen King Marathon
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Ah, Stephen King. The father of the horror novel who never stops writing. There are a million films to choose from, so pick wisely. For my personal movie marathon, I’d go with Carrie, The Shining and Misery. Honorable mentions include Cujo and Pet Sematary. Stephen King’s work hits the unique and fantastic intersection between campy and giving-me-the-heebie-jeebies.
- The scream marathon
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The Scream marathon is an undertaking that grows with each new release, but, oh, is it worth it. I challenge you, this October, to see how many Scream films you can make it through. And keep an eye out for Kerkchoff Hall in Scream 2! Kerkchoff Hall’s film resume matches the length of Michael Caine’s, and yet I’m jump-scared every time I see it. And Sidney Prescott is such an icon, which leads us to…
- The Girlboss Marathon (Jennifer’s Body, Hocus Pocus, Beetlejuice)
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On Halloween, we support women’s rights as well as women’s wrongs. Cheerleader Megan Fox eating her male classmates? Resurrected witches with the world’s worst hairdos? And I know Beetlejuice is technically named after a male character, but this is Lydia’s world we’re living in (that’s Winona Ryder, of course). One thing I must say, however, is that there are not enough female-centered Halloween movies. The ones with female leads are all about creepy dolls! I’ll pass, thanks.
- The Stop-Motion Marathon (Coraline, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride)
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We can’t create a spooky movie marathon list without mentioning Tim Burton’s stop-motion animation masterpieces. Stop-motion films are so difficult to make, so they’re rare and special. The eerie vibe is unmatched. Plus – and this is a niche reference – 65% of the time I feel like Coraline’s real dad. Man, it’s so nice to feel seen.
- The Classics Marathon (Ghostbusters, Scooby Doo, The Addams Family)
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These are the movies meant to be rewatched a million times. They provide family bonding and have aged surprisingly unproblematically. Plus, they’re a portal to your childhood; the sheer joy I felt the first time I saw that Ghostbusters Stay Puft Marshmallow Man echoes inside me every time I think of that movie. And modern special effects terrify me a little; I want to be spooked, not traumatized. These films are tried and true Halloween classics, where spooky meets wholesome – just how I like it.
Hopefully this list kicked off your October and put you in the Halloween-movie-marathon mood. If you don’t want to waste time curating a list, check out Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween, where every night of October, they air a marathon of nostalgic Halloween classics. It’s their 25th anniversary, so they’ve got their programming down. Grab that candy corn and those Target pumpkin pajamas, because it’s finally the very best time of year: spooky season!