It’s almost the most wonderful time of the year! No, I’m not talking about Christmas… I’m talking about one of my favorite holidays: Halloween. Long before the 31st, I began to watch the creepy, cringey, and scary movies that were listed on Netflix and Xfinity. I’ve compiled a list of my favorite spooky movies and shows to help you prepare for the spookiest season of the year! These are ranked in order with my absolute favorite being number one.
13. Knowing
You’ll enjoy this movie if you’re a Nick Cage fan. A single father’s young son receives a letter during his school’s time capsule opening. The father (Cage) is perplexed by the numbers that cover the entire page. Soon, he finds out that all those numbers are coordinates, dates, and fatalities of disasters—past, present, and future. As he makes his way through the events, he gets nervous because he doesn’t know if the world ends when the letters end.
12. Paranormal Activity
I bet you forgot these movies existed. That’s okay, I did too. In this 6-film series, you can watch the everyday lives of different families that experience paranormal events. I like that these movies feel like you are watching them from a live-feed of the events—granted, it is easy to predict what will happen. If you want to be spooked to the point where you’re questioning what every squeak and creak is, these movies are for you!
11. The Nightmare Before Christmas
Is it a Halloween movie? It is a Christmas movie? Why not both? In this movie, the very lovable Pumpkin King, Jack, is growing tired of Halloween every day. While I personally would not have a problem with it being my favorite holiday every day, I see where he has an issue. Jack discovers Christmas and falls in love with the snow, lights, jolliness, and presents, and he wants to introduce it to his community. However, after his neighbors try to celebrate Christmas, it just doesn’t go right. Tim Burton is the absolute King of Halloween, but this movie is my favorite out of all of his because it can be included in two holidays!
10. Beetlejuice
Imagine dying but being stuck on Earth and having strangers move into your house while you still live there. That’s the dilemma of the two main characters in Beetlejuice. Adam and Barbara die tragically in a car accident and do everything in their power to scare the new tenants out of their home… They meet the new tenants’ daughter, Lydia, and befriend her. This movie is full of antics to get you in the Halloween spirit!
9. The Blair Witch Project
Can you even think of a more iconic paranormal movie? Okay, you probably can, but this movie is still on that list. Three friends go camping in a supposedly haunted forest in search of a legendary witch and one goes missing. Nothing bad could possibly happen, right? You’re wrong. Very wrong. It’s hard to tell you any more without giving away the ending. Just watch it, you’ll be pretty spooked.
8. Jeepers Creepers
“Jeepers, creepers. Where’d you get those peepers?” If you hear that song come on anywhere, you should run! This was one of the first scary movies I had ever seen. There are three movies in this series, which were made in 2001, 2003, and 2017. However, I haven’t seen the newest one yet because I am a college student with no money. These movies are centered around a demon who wakes up every 23 years. For 23 days after waking, he will eat the body parts of other people. The reason for this is because for every body part of his victim he eats, he will grow a new one. I know, I know—sounds stupid. In the first movie, one of the main characters drove over the demon’s leg, so he ate the leg of a jail inmate in order to grow another one. These movies are very predictable with very bad effects, but the suspense will draw you in.
7. Ghost Adventures
If you like watching grown men get super dramatic over little things, you’ll enjoy watching Zac Bagans in Ghost Adventures. I’ve been watching this show since I was in elementary school, and it has never ceased to give me a good scare! You never know what will be in store for you as you watch Zac and his crew explore residences, public attractions, or landmarks. My personal favorite is Season 7, Ep. 6, when the boys celebrate the birthday of a fellow investigator’s deceased daughter. In that episode, you can hear the daughter, Melissa, talk to them through a spirit box. It certainly was a tear-jerker, but trust me when I say not all the episodes are like that! I often needed a night light after watching these!
6. Tales of Halloween
This movie has the same concept as Holidays (as discussed later), except each segment is Halloween-related. Even though this movie is full of terrible props, effects, and story lines, it’ll make you laugh because of how dumb it seems. There are a few jump scares, but you will probably say “this is actually so f****ing dumb” the whole time (Please note: there are swear words, sexual jokes, and gory scenes, so this movie is not suitable for children).
I was a huge fan of Buzzfeed already, but I became an even bigger fan when Buzzfeed Unsolved was released. I know that this isn’t a movie or a TV show, but it is well-worth the watch. Shane and Ryan investigate haunted locations every other season and try to solve mysteries while they’re at it. Ryan Bergara is a believer in ghosts while Shane Madej is not, which makes this pair hilarious to watch!
4. Holidays
I stumbled upon this by accident during a movie night with my mom. This movie is a compilation of different holidays with eerie twists, including a literal heart-wrenching Valentines Day and a snakey St. Patrick’s Day. Though Halloween is only a fraction of this movie, the content is creepy enough to get you ready for the holiday itself.
3. American Horror Story
American Horror Story premiered when I was in eighth grade. I remember the commercials for it made it seem like it would be insanely scary, so that put me off from watching it until I was in high school. Besides all the amazing storylines for every season and the incredible actors, the best part about AHS is that it comes out around Halloween! It’s always fun trying to predict what the following season will be when the current season ends, but you will most likely be wrong. My favorite of the show’s seasons are: Murder House (season 1), Coven (season 3), and, the latest, Apocalypse (season 8). I couldn’t finish watching season 6, Roanoke, because it was too gory (which is perfect for those Halloween fanatics)!
2. The Purge
My scary movies of choice are the ones where, if I put myself in the scenario, I know that I would not make it out alive. Pretty weird preference, right? My all-time favorite series is about a dystopian future in the US where, for 12 hours, all crime is legal and emergency services will not be available during that time. Most of the characters in these four films choose to kill other citizens for vendettas or just for fun. As a college student, my crimes of choice would be to steal gas (why pay $40 to fill your tank on a night when all crime is legal?) and to raid the college bookstore for all those cozy college sweaters and expensive AF books.
1. It
I watched this during a movie night at home, and to say that I was creeped out is an understatement. I had never seen the original movie or read the books, but this movie had amazing actors, awesome effects, and a great storyline! The movie is about a group of friends that are trying to find out what happened to little Georgie and some of their other classmates after their disappearances. The culprit is Pennywise the Clown, and the group of friends run into him more than once. I was sitting at the edge of my seat the entire time!
As I said before, Halloween is my favorite time of the year! I’m always down for watching the most spooktacular shows all year long, but it’s so much more magical to watch them in October. I tried to include the scary, the creepy, and the cringy to satisfy all of your spooky tastes. So, in honor of the most wonderful time of the year, binge on!
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