Filed under: Entertainment, Movies, Pop Culture | Tags: Best Halloween Movies, Best Horror Movies, Best Scary Movies, Family Movies, Halloween, Kids Movies, Movies, Netflix, Top Halloween Movies
It’s that time of year again! October is here, the weather has turned crisp if not downright cold, the days are markedly shorter, and the grocery stores are already bursting with candy, caramel apples and pumpkins.
Fall has arrived and Halloween is almost upon us.
I love Halloween. Witches, goblins, ghosts and ghouls. Carving pumpkins, trick or treating on foggy nights. (Okay, I haven’t gone trick or treating in ages, but I do like to go all out on the house.) I’ve just never out-grown my love for the fun of Halloween.
And there have always been certain movies that to me are “Halloween movies” — not necessarily because they’re scary (Friday the 13th and Jaws are among the most popular horror movies ever, for example, but what do a killer fish at the beach and a madman at summer camp have to do with Halloween?) — but because they put you in mind of full moons, foggy nights, spooky stories and a crackling fire. Or because they conjure up rich visions of classic Halloween legends: werewolves, witches, vampires and other assorted things that go bump in the night.
So what are your favorite fall and Halloween movies? Which films get you most anxious for All Hallows Eve? Click on comments and let us know!
Here are my favorite films to watch every October (in no particular order.) Scary, spooky, fearsome or funny — it’s an eclectic mix of genres — a little something for everyone. Each one is guaranteed to be a ghoulishly good treat.
(Click images for reviews and trailers.)
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American Elephants 
This is by far one of the best top Halloween movie lists I’ve seen so far. There’s a couple movies I haven’t seen yet, but based on the other movies, I suppose I’ll take those as suggestions. Thank you for posting this and I’ll be hitting up my netflix tonight! 🙂
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Comment by Mikel Pernisco September 19, 2010 @ 10:40 amThanks very much! Be sure to tell us how you like them!
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Comment by American Elephant September 21, 2010 @ 3:19 am[…] Posts The 20 Best Halloween Movies EVER!You Think Your Weather is Bad!Hocus PocusHarry Potter and the…Addams Family ValuesThe First Man On […]
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Pingback by Nominate the Best Halloween Movies Ever! « American Elephants October 13, 2010 @ 6:45 pmI’d add “The Shining” and it’s not really a movie, but no Halloween can be complete without The Simpsons Treehouse of Horrors!
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Comment by Emerald City Elephant October 17, 2010 @ 1:48 pmNifty! I agree with the Treehouse of Horrors. However, I have to say that I liked The Shining, too, but I don’t know if it’s Halloween enough. I like the mix in this list… some horror, some comedy, and a little kid’s movie called ET that I’d forgotten had taken place on Halloween.
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Comment by El Santo October 17, 2010 @ 1:54 pmI would add Beetlejuice, House of Wax, and Nightmare on Elm Street
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Comment by Pumpkineater October 17, 2010 @ 1:55 pmThe Others is one of my favorites. I thought about adding it when you originally asked for nominations but I didn’t think it would be Halloweeny enough.
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Comment by sooshisoo October 17, 2010 @ 1:56 pmIts one of my favorites too. And you certainly can’t have a list of the best Halloween movies without some good ghost stories!
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Comment by American Elephant October 17, 2010 @ 1:58 pmLast year I watched “Se7en” just before Halloween. When my boss asked me and several others at work whta Halloween movies we’d watched, I asked if “Se7en” counted as one, and he said yes. I don’t know if you agree with this. Granted it’s got no Halloween-sih plot, but it does get scary at times. I later bought the DVD. I made plans to watch it sometime this month and did so almost two weeks ago.
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Comment by jannghi October 17, 2010 @ 2:01 pmI think seven is scary enough to be a Halloween movie, and it’s even well made, but we’re really aiming for movies that really evoke the holiday and put them in the mood. But I have to admit, i really don’t like super disturbing movies like seven and Saw where they try to come up with the most evil ways of killing people they can possibly think of. I like a good scare, not so big on evil.
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Comment by American Elephant October 17, 2010 @ 2:03 pmSomething Wicked This Way Comes is a great Halloween movie!
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Comment by Jeanie September 16, 2011 @ 4:58 pmGreat list, thanks for not including any of the Freddy or Jason movies. I was just explaining to my son that those aren’t true horror movies.
I’d add The Fog, Romero’s Dawn of The Dead, & 28 Days Later.
The one I associate most with Halloween is Dark Night of The Scarecrow, though I don’t know if it holds up, or is even available anywhere.
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Comment by CraigR3521 September 16, 2011 @ 6:58 pmYou have to have trick or treat in the list
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Comment by Mitch September 8, 2012 @ 3:13 pmTrick or Treat? I’ll have to watch it first, I have to admit, I haven’t seen it — I’ll remedy that!
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Comment by American Elephant September 11, 2012 @ 2:06 amwhat about casper and the old classic Ernest Scared Stupid
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Comment by Sherry September 24, 2012 @ 6:15 pmYou know, I’ve never seen it. Ernest isn’t my thing.
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Comment by American Elephant September 24, 2012 @ 7:58 pmNight of the Living dead from 1969 is a personal fav of mine.
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Comment by Douglas Allen October 22, 2013 @ 9:17 pmit’s a classic!
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Comment by American Elephant October 22, 2013 @ 9:27 pmReblogged this on American Elephants.
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Comment by American Elephant October 27, 2019 @ 2:13 am