Some people love the fall aesthetics and pumpkin spice lattes, while others prefer the spooky aspects of Halloween. For those who love the spooky Halloween aesthetic but not horror films, this is the list for you. Here are some kid-friendly scary movies that are perfect for family movie nights or to celebrate the spooky season.
- Hocus Pocus: This Halloween-themed fantasy-comedy features the spirits of three 17th-century Salem witches who were burned at the stake and were accidentally resurrected by a group of kids. And to say thanks, the witches try to kill the children.
- Beetlejuice: This supernatural comedy horror film is about a couple who died and are unable to leave their home, so they hire a ghost, Beetlejuice, to scare away the new family that moves in.
- Don’t Look Under the Bed: When strange things start to happen in town because of the Boogeyman, the townspeople blame a teenage girl. She enlists the help of her brother’s imaginary friend, who has a secret of his own that could ruin her chances of defeating the Boogeyman.
- The Addams Family: This quirky movie follows the life of Gomez and Morticia Addams, whose family finds life in the suburbs rather difficult — especially when estranged Uncle Fester finds his way home.
- Halloweentown: This Disney Channel original movie follows Marnie and her family of witches and warlocks who, together, defeat not one, not two, not three, but four evil forces that threaten the magical world and the human world.
- Ghostbusters: Who you gonna call? Apparently, four middle-aged scientists who fight ghosts and hold off the apocalypse in this comedy classic.
- Twitches: This movie is a story of twin witches who were separated at birth and reunite on their 21st birthday. The Twitches must use their powers to save the world that’s facing an eerie darkness only they can defeat.
- Casper: Ghosts are typically as scary as they come, but Casper is a young, friendly ghost who peacefully haunts a mansion. The friendly ghost falls in love with a girl, but there’s nothing simple about falling for a human when you’re an apparition.
- Gremlins: As long as you follow the three rules — keep them away from bright lights, don’t get them wet, and never, ever feed them after midnight — your cute and cuddly Mogwai should be alright. But if you don’t, be prepared for a bunch of ferocious, mischievous green monsters to wreak havoc on your town.
- The Nightmare Before Christmas: In this movie, Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown, accidentally stumbles across the concept of Christmas. He becomes so obsessed that he kidnaps Santa Claus and attempts to take over Christmas entirely.
- Frankenweenie: How far would you go to bring a pet back to life? Probably not as far as this kid went. This movie puts a lighthearted spin on the classic story of Frankenstein. Instead of a mad scientist rebuilding a man, this film is about a young boy who brings his dog back from the grave.
- It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: This classic short film follows Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, and Lucy as they celebrate Halloween. While Charlie Brown prepares for a party, Snoopy sets his eye on the Red Baron and Linus decides to wait in a pumpkin patch for the mythical Great Pumpkin.
Read the full list of kid-friendly Halloween movies from The Hollywood Reporter here.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter