Spooky Viewing for Spooky Season: 50+ Things to Put on Your Watchlist this Halloween
By: Kylie Phillips, Communications & Marketing Specialist
It's the best time of the year - Halloween! That means cozying up on the couch with a pile of treats and your favorite Halloween/horror/slightly-spooky movies and TV! Use this list to help pick out a lineup of what to watch this October. The sweetest part is, all of the following titles are available free with your library card - and no commercials to interrupt your fright fest!
The following list contains a mixture of movies and TV for all ages. These vary on the scare-scale, so be mindful of ratings and content. You can also browse our catalog for different versions of the below titles (i.e. sequels, reboots, remakes, TV adaptations, movie adaptations, book adaptations, soundtracks) and other festive features!
Child-Friendly
Halloweentown (1998, TV-G) &
Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001, TV-PG)
Young teenager Marnie learns she is a witch in a family of witches, and travels to Halloweentown with her siblings to help their grandmother stop evil forces.
In the sequel, Marnie and her grandmother get trapped in Halloweentown while their family in the mortal world are in danger of getting turned into creatures.
Check out Halloweentown/Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge on DVD
Hocus Pocus (1993, PG)
Max and little sister Dani move to Salem, where on Halloween night they inadvertently bring three child-hungry witches back to life.
Casper (1995, PG)
An afterlife therapist and his daughter meet a friendly young ghost when they move into a crumbling mansion in order to rid the premises of wicked spirits.
Casper Meets Wendy (1998, PG)
Casper, a ghost, teams up with Wendy, a witch, against an evil warlock.
Check out Casper Meets Wendy on DVD
Tower of Terror (1997, TV-PG)
A disgraced reporter investigates an abandoned luxury hotel where five people mysteriously disappeared sixty years earlier.
Check out Tower of Terror on DVD
Monster House (2006, PG)
Young DJ always knew there was something strange about the old Nebbercracker house across the street. When the house becomes a living breathing monster, DJ enlists his pals Chowder and Jenny to learn the secret that keeps the house alive...
Check out Monster House on DVD or Blu-ray 3D
Corpse Bride (2005, PG)
A young man is brought into the world of the dead after mistakenly wedding a rotting corpse as he practiced his wedding vows.
The Addams Family (1991, PG-13) &
Addams Family Values (1993, PG-13)
The Addams Family: When long-lost Uncle Fester reappears after twenty-five years in the Bermuda Triangle, the other members of the off-beat Addams clan plan a great celebration, only to begin to suspect that he may not be who he claims to be.
Addams Family Values: Gomez and Morticia welcome a new addition to the Addams household, Pubert, their soft, cuddly, mustachioed baby boy. As Fester falls hard for nanny Debbie Jellinsky, Wednesday and Pugsley discover she's a black-widow murderess who plans to add Fester to her collection of dead husbands. The family's future grows even bleaker when the no-good nanny marries Fester and has the kids shipped off to summer camp.
Check out The Addams Family and Addams Family Values on DVD or Blu-ray, or browse the whole Addams Family collection in our catalog.
Coco (2017, PG)
Despite his family's generations-old ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector, and together, they set off on a journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history.
The Haunted Mansion (2003, PG)
Realtor Jim Evers and his wife and children are summoned to a mansion, which they soon discover is haunted. Some of the ghosts wish to keep the family there, and they must find a way to escape.
Beetlejuice (1998, PG)
The spirits of a deceased couple are harassed by an unbearable family that has moved into their home, and hire a malicious spirit to drive them out.
Abbott & Costello Meet the Monsters Collection (1948-1955)
Comedy meets horror when the screen's funniest duo, Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, encounter Universal's classic monsters...
Check out the Abbott & Costello Meet the Monsters Collection on DVD
Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost (1999, G)
When the gang meets up with famous fright-writer Ben Ravencroft, he invites them to New England for his hometown's big Autumn Harvest Festival. Things take a supernatural detour when they learn the place is haunted - by Ben's ancestor Sarah. The gang is on the case, tangling with bumbling mummies, monster turkeys and a ghostly secret hidden in the Ravencroft family's past.
Check out Scooby-Doo and the Witch's Ghost on DVD
Spirited Away (2001, PG)
When a young girl gets trapped in a strange new world of spirits, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free herself and rescue her parents.
The Book of Life (2014, PG)
The journey of Manolo, a young man who is torn between fulfilling the expectations of his family and following his heart. Before choosing which path to follow, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans three fantastical worlds where he must face his greatest fears.
ParaNorman (2012, PG)
From the makers of Coraline comes the story of Norman, a boy who must use his special powers to save his town from a centuries-old curse. In addition to spooky zombies, he'll also have to take on unpredictable ghosts, wily witches, and, worst of all, clueless grown-ups.
NOT for Kids
Halloween (1978, R)
Halloween night. A young Michael Myers butchers his older sister with a kitchen knife. Fifteen years later, he escapes from a mental institution only to return home and terrorize the town and babysitter Laurie.
Check out Halloween on DVD
Scream (1996, R) A year after her mother's death, Sidney Prescott and her friends become the targets of a masked killer.
Insidious (2010, PG-13) Josh and Renai have a happy family, until tragedy strikes their young son, and he begins to experience things that science cannot explain. Now they must try to prevent evil spirits from trapping their comatose child in a realm called The Further.
The House of the Devil (2009, R) College sophomore Samantha takes a babysitting job in the isolated mansion of the creepy Ulman family, unaware that a nightmare of unspeakable fear and torment awaits her when the ultimate evil is unleashed at midnight. From writer/director Ti West comes this acclaimed demonic thriller that's an unnerving return to late '70s/early '80s classic horror.
Stream The House of the Devil on Hoopla
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984, R)
Teenager Nancy Thompson must uncover the dark truth concealed by her parents after she and her friends become targets of the spirit of a serial killer with a bladed glove in their dreams, in which if they die, it kills them in real life.
Check out A Nightmare on Elm Street on DVD
The Boy (2016, PG-13) An American nanny is shocked that her new English family's boy is actually a life-sized doll that the parents care for just like a real boy. After violating a list of strict rules, a series of disturbing and inexplicable events bring her to believe that the doll is actually alive.
The Birds (1963, PG-13)
A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds suddenly begin to attack people.
The Conjuring (2013, R)
Based on true events, The Conjuring tells the thrilling story of ghost hunters Lorraine and Ed Warren, who help a family terrorized by an evil spirit in their mysterious farmhouse.
Happy Death Day (2017, PG-13)
A college student relives the day of her murder with both its unexceptional details and terrifying end until she discovers her killer's identity.
Pet Sematary (1989, R)
After tragedy strikes, a grieving father discovers an ancient burial ground behind his home with the power to raise the dead.
Check out Pet Sematary on Blu-ray
Carrie (1976, R)
Carrie White is a shy young girl who doesn't make friends easily. After her classmates taunt her about her horrified reaction to her totally unexpected first period, one of them takes pity on her and gets Tommy Ross, her boyfriend and class hunk, to invite Carrie to the senior prom. Meanwhile, another girl who has been banned from the prom for her continued aggressive behavior is not as forgiving, and plans a trick to embarrass Carrie in front of the whole school. What she doesn't realize is that Carrie is...gifted, and you really don't want to get her angry.
Weapons (2025, R)
When all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanish on the same night at exactly the same time, a community is left questioning who or what is behind their disappearance.
Check out Weapons on DVD
Orphan (2009, R)
A husband and wife who recently lost their baby adopt a 9-year-old girl who is not nearly as innocent as she appears.
Check out Orphan on DVD
Psycho (1960, R)
Disgruntled officeworker Marion Crane is fed up with the way life has treated her. Marion is trusted to bank $40,000 by her employer. Seeing the opportunity to take the money and run, Marion leaves town and makes a stop at the Bates Motel. The motel is managed by a quiet young man named Norman Bates, who seems to be dominated by his mother. Features one of the most iconic scenes in film history, the infamous "shower scene."
Check out Psycho on DVD
IT (1990, TV-14)
In 1960, seven pre-teen outcasts fight an evil demon who poses as a child-killing clown. Thirty years later, they reunite to stop the demon once and for all when it returns to their hometown.
Check out IT on DVD
Poltergeist (1982, PG)
A family's home becomes the center of paranormal activity that opens a doorway to the "other side." With help, they must cross over to get their daughter back.
Check out Poltergeist on DVD
Pan's Labyrinth (2006, R)
A dark fable set five years after the end of the Spanish Civil War. Eleven-year-old Ofelia witnesses the horrors of fascism when she and her pregnant mother are uprooted to the countryside, where her new stepfather, a sadistic captain in General Franco's army, hunts down Republican guerrillas who refuse to give up the fight. The violent reality in which she lives merges seamlessly with a fantastical interior world when Ofelia meets a faun in a decaying labyrinth. *Note: This film is in Spanish, but offers English subtitles.
Check out Pan's Labyrinth on DVD
Obsession (2025, R)
After breaking the mysterious 'One Wish Willow' to win his crush's heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.
Check out Obsession on DVD
Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010, R)
Two friends on vacation at their dilapidated mountain house are mistaken for murderous backwoods hillbillies by a group of obnoxious, preppy college kids. When one of the students is separated from the group, the boys try to lend a hand, but as the misunderstanding grows, so do the body count and the laughs.
Stream Tucker & Dale vs. Evil on Hoopla
The Exorcist (1973, R)
The frightening and realistic tale of an innocent girl inhabited by a terrifying entity, her mother's frantic resolve to save her, and two priests, one doubt-ridden, the other a rock of faith, joined in battling ultimate evil. The extended director's cut includes over ten minutes of footage deleted before the film's 1973 release.
Check out The Exorcist on DVD
The Brothers Grimm (2005, PG-13)
19th-century "folklore collectors" Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm are con artists who perform bogus exorcisms of "evil enchantments" while traveling from village to village in French-occupied Germany. The two soon find themselves ensnared in a genuinely supernatural crisis involving the curse of the Mirror Queen and other such fantastical marvels as the Big Bad Wolf, the Gingerbread Man, and other truly enchanted flora and fauna.
The Crucible (1996, PG-13)
A group of teenage girls meets in the woods at midnight for a secret love-conjuring ceremony. When the ceremony is witnessed by the town minister, the girls are accused of witchcraft. Soon the entire village is consumed by hysteria, and innocent victims are put on trial, leading to a devastating climax.
TV
Over the Garden Wall (2014, TV-PG)
From creator Patrick McHale, one of the minds behind Adventure Time. Cartoon Network's first ever animated mini-series. It follows the story of two brothers, Greg and Wirt, who find themselves in a strange forest. Along the way, they meet a bluebird named Beatrice who helps them navigate the strange land in the hopes of making their way home.
Check out Over the Garden Wall on DVD
Goosebumps (1995-1998, TV-Y7)
A series of scary anthology stories based on the children's books by R.L. Stine.
Find Goosebumps titles in our catalog. Check out Goosebumps: Attack of the Jack-O-Lanterns on DVD
The Nightmare Room (2000-2002, TV-Y7)
A horror anthology series centered on teens facing supernatural threats, many based on the books by R.L. Stine.
Check out The Nightmare Room: Scareful What You Wish For or The Nightmare Room: Camp Nowhere on DVD
Tales from the Darkside (1983-1988, TV-14)
Horror anthology series where the viewer is taken through ghost stories, science fiction adventures, and creepy, unexplained events.
Check out all seasons of Tales from the Darkside on DVD
Twin Peaks (1990-1991, TV-MA)
Follow FBI special agent Dale Cooper as he tries to hunt down just who killed Laura Palmer in the sleepy town of Twin Peaks, Washington.
Check out seasons 1-2 of Twin Peaks on DVD
Ghost Whisperer (2005-2010, TV-PG)
Ever since she was a young girl, Melinda Gordon has been able to see and talk to dead people. Earth-bound spirits who have yet to cross over to the other side seek her help in communicating and resolving unfinished business with the living.
Check out all seasons of Ghost Whisperer on DVD
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003, TV-14)
A young woman, destined to slay vampires, demons and other infernal creatures, deals with her life fighting evil, with the help of her friends.
Check out all seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on DVD
The Twilight Zone (1959-1964, TV-PG)
Ordinary people face uncanny and impossible events in standalone tales of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and suspense.
Check out all 5 seasons of The Twilight Zone on DVD
Check out Jordan Peele's The Twilight Zone (TV-MA, 2019-2020) on DVD
Creepshow (2019-2023, TV-MA)
An anthology horror series based on the 1982 movie features vignettes that explore terror, murder, the supernatural and the unexplainable.
Stream all 4 seasons of Creepshow on Hoopla
Wednesday (2022- , TV-14)
A sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams' years as a student at Nevermore Academy. Wednesday's attempts to master her emerging psychic ability, thwart a monstrous killing spree that has terrorized the local town, and solve the supernatural mystery that embroiled her parents 25 years ago-- all while navigating her new and very tangled relationships at Nevermore.
Yellowjackets (2021- , TV-MA)
A wildly talented high school girl soccer team becomes the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the Canadian wilderness.
Check out seasons 1-3 of Yellowjackets on DVD
Ghost Adventures (2008- , TV-PG)
Join paranormal investigator Zak and his crew as they travel around the globe in search of ghost sightings, eyewitness interviews, and come face to face with the spirits.
Check out Ghost Adventures on DVD
Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1990-2000, TV-Y7)
A group of kids calling themselves "The Midnight Society" spends each episode sitting around a campfire swapping scary stories. Creepy, but never gory or excessively frightening, common subjects included haunted houses, what goes on behind the neighbor's walls, and other things that go bump in the night.
Check out Are You Afraid of the Dark seasons 1-5 on DVD
Nickelodeon Out of the Vault Halloween
They're the wildest, craziest, and most animated characters from your childhood; and now you can relive the magic with this Out of the Vault Halloween Collection. This ten-episode collection contains such spooky classics as Hey Arnold!'s "Arnold's Halloween", Rocko's Modern Life's "To Heck And Back" and CatDog's "CatDogula." Pull up a seat and spend some time with your favorite animated friends from Nickelodeon!
Check out Nickelodeon Out of the Vault Halloween on DVD
Cartoon Network Halloween 9 Creepy Cartoon Capers
With rodent vampires and disco-dancing monsters, this collection of terrifying tales will leave you screaming for more! Includes 8 creepy cartoon capers.
Check out Cartoon Network Halloween 9 Creepy Cartoon Capers on DVD
Streaming
You can also browse and stream horror on Hoopla and horror on Kanopy free with your Clermont County Public Library card!
