There are Halloween movies that scare you.

There are Halloween movies that disturb you.

And then there are the ones you actually want to watch again every October.

You know the kind. The movies you can throw on while carving pumpkins, eating entirely too much Halloween candy, handing out treats, or spending a chilly October night on the couch.

They don’t necessarily need to be terrifying. In fact, we’d argue they don’t need to be scary at all.

They just need to feel like Halloween.

So grab the popcorn, dim the lights, and prepare to revisit some old favorites. Here are 10 Halloween movies that are actually fun to watch again.

1. Hocus Pocus (1993) 🧙‍♀️

At this point, can October legally happen without Hocus Pocus?

The Sanderson Sisters, Salem, talking cats, witches, graveyards and an absolutely ridiculous amount of Halloween atmosphere make this one of the easiest spooky-season rewatches ever.

Is it sophisticated cinema? That’s not why we’re here.

It’s goofy, nostalgic and gloriously Halloween.

🎃 Why it’s still awesome: It may be one of the most Halloween-looking Halloween movies ever made.

🍿 Perfect with: Apple cider and cider donuts.

👻 Spooky level: 👻👻

📺 Best for: Pure Halloween nostalgia.

2. Beetlejuice (1988) 🪲

Say his name three times.

Actually, maybe don’t. We’ve seen how that turns out.

Beetlejuice is weird in the best possible way. It’s part ghost story, part comedy and part wonderfully bizarre trip into a world that could only have come from Tim Burton.

Michael Keaton’s Beetlejuice is chaotic, inappropriate, hilarious and somehow still enormously entertaining decades later.

🎃 Why it’s still awesome: Nothing else really feels like it.

🍿 Perfect with: Popcorn and something suspiciously green to drink.

👻 Spooky level: 👻👻👻

📺 Best for: When you want Halloween weirdness with plenty of laughs.

3. The Addams Family (1991) 🖤

They’re creepy, they’re kooky, and somehow they’re also one of the most functional families in movie history.

There’s something wonderfully cozy about The Addams Family. Sure, their house is terrifying, their hobbies are questionable, and Wednesday probably shouldn’t be left unsupervised with sharp objects.

But they love each other.

In their own extremely Addams way.

🎃 Why it’s still awesome: Dark humor, fantastic characters and a spooky aesthetic that never gets old.

🍿 Perfect with: Halloween candy. Preferably something dark chocolate.

👻 Spooky level: 👻👻

📺 Best for: A funny, slightly twisted Halloween movie night.

4. Ghostbusters (1984) 👻

Who are you gonna call?

You already know.

Ghostbusters isn’t technically a Halloween movie, but ghosts + comedy + New York City + an enormous marshmallow-related incident earns it permanent October privileges.

Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson make ghost hunting look like a perfectly reasonable career choice.

Frankly, we’ve seen worse business plans.

🎃 Why it’s still awesome: Comedy, supernatural chaos and one of the most recognizable movie concepts ever created.

🍿 Perfect with: Marshmallows. Obviously.

👻 Spooky level: 👻👻

📺 Best for: People who want ghosts without nightmares.

5. Casper (1995) 👻

Sometimes you don’t want your ghosts crawling out of televisions or haunting abandoned hotels.

Sometimes you just want one who’s friendly.

Casper delivers exactly that.

It’s sweet, funny, nostalgic and just spooky enough to qualify for Halloween viewing without requiring you to sleep with every light in the house turned on afterward.

And if you grew up in the ’90s, this one probably comes with a hefty dose of nostalgia.

🎃 Why it’s still awesome: It’s basically comfort food in ghost-movie form.

🍿 Perfect with: Hot chocolate and way too many mini marshmallows.

👻 Spooky level: 👻

📺 Best for: Family movie night.

6. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) 🎃🎄

Halloween movie?

Christmas movie?

Yes.

Jack Skellington’s journey from Halloween Town to Christmas Town has somehow become essential viewing during two completely different holiday seasons.

That’s efficiency.

The stop-motion animation remains gorgeous, Halloween Town is wonderfully imaginative, and the whole movie has an atmosphere that practically demands to be watched once the leaves start falling.

🎃 Why it’s still awesome: It manages to make spooky feel cozy.

🍿 Perfect with: Halloween cookies now. Christmas cookies when you inevitably watch it again in December.

👻 Spooky level: 👻👻

📺 Best for: Basically everyone.

7. Practical Magic (1998) 🔮

Not every Halloween movie needs ghosts jumping out of closets.

Sometimes you need witches, romance, a gorgeous old house, small-town New England vibes and Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman being effortlessly watchable.

Practical Magic has become a fall comfort movie for a reason.

It’s witchy without being particularly scary, romantic without becoming unbearably sappy, and atmospheric enough to make you want to move into that house immediately.

Well, minus some of the supernatural complications.

🎃 Why it’s still awesome: Peak cozy witch energy.

🍿 Perfect with: A warm fall cocktail, mocktail or cider.

👻 Spooky level: 👻👻

📺 Best for: A cozy October night.

8. The Haunted Mansion (2003) 🏚️

Eddie Murphy.

A haunted mansion.

999 happy haunts.

We’re in.

Disney’s 2003 The Haunted Mansion may not have been showered with awards, but that’s hardly the point. It’s become the kind of movie that’s simply fun to revisit during Halloween season, especially if you have a soft spot for the classic Disney attraction.

There’s a spooky mansion, ghosts, secret passages, graveyards and plenty of supernatural silliness.

Mission accomplished.

🎃 Why it’s still awesome: It’s basically a Halloween theme-park ride you can watch from your couch.

🍿 Perfect with: Mickey-shaped snacks if you’re feeling ambitious. Regular popcorn if you’re a normal human.

👻 Spooky level: 👻👻

📺 Best for: Disney fans and family Halloween nights.

9. Hotel Transylvania (2012) 🧛

Dracula runs a luxury hotel for monsters.

That’s really all the sales pitch this movie ever needed.

Hotel Transylvania takes practically every classic Halloween monster, tosses them together at a resort and turns the whole thing into a fast, funny animated comedy.

Dracula, Frankenstein, werewolves, mummies and invisible men all show up for the party.

🎃 Why it’s still awesome: It’s colorful, silly and packed with classic monsters without actually being scary.

🍿 Perfect with: Pizza and Halloween candy.

👻 Spooky level: 👻

📺 Best for: Families, kids and adults who aren’t pretending they’ve outgrown animated movies.

10. Halloweentown (1998) 🎃

If you grew up watching Disney Channel around the turn of the millennium, you probably already understand.

Halloweentown is pure Halloween comfort viewing.

It’s got witches, monsters, pumpkins, magic and an entire town where Halloween isn’t merely a holiday. It’s basically municipal policy.

The effects may show their age, but somehow that makes it even more charming.

🎃 Why it’s still awesome: Few movies capture that childhood excitement about Halloween quite as well.

🍿 Perfect with: Your favorite childhood Halloween candy.

👻 Spooky level: 👻

📺 Best for: Maximum nostalgia.

The Best Halloween Movies Don’t Have to Terrify You

We love a genuinely scary movie.

But Halloween doesn’t have to mean spending two hours watching people make catastrophically poor decisions in dark basements.

Sometimes spooky season is better with witches, ghosts, monsters, ridiculous comedy, a giant marshmallow man and enough Halloween candy to make your dentist sense a disturbance in the universe.

These are the movies we come back to because they’re comfortable, nostalgic and just plain fun.

And really, that’s what Halloween should be.

So turn down the lights.

Grab something good to eat.

Pick a movie.

And Make Life Awesome. 🎃🍿

DOOZYDOO | Food. Fun. Travel. Finds.