By Jenny Gumbert
You’ve been there before: It’s an October evening and you’re trying to plan a Halloween-themed family movie night. You’re searching for a scary movie that won’t terrify your youngest or bore your oldest (or you, for that matter). The last thing you want is for everybody to sit in their separate corners, headphones on, staring at their personal screens.
Watching a movie or TV show is a great excuse to make popcorn, get out the candy corn, and spend quality time together this fall. That’s why we’ve curated a list of classic scary movie picks (and one TV show) that the whole group can enjoy. Now, you can choose a film based on the youngest person in the room and know that your whole party will still be happy to gather and enjoy the spooky fun.
Looking to elevate movie night? Follow the example of our creative customers who brought movie night outside with their Solo Stoves (pictured throughout this post).
(Note: We’ve included general age ranges based on Common Sense Media’s recommendations, but use your judgement about what’s best for your family.)
Non-scary Halloween fun
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Halloween fun with the Peanuts gang.
E.T.
An alien so friendly and ugly-cute that your kid will want one as a pet.
Coco
A child goes on a colorful journey through the Land of the Dead and learns about music, culture, and family.
Scares for almost everyone (ages 7+)
Monsters Inc.
Creatures that are more cuddly than creepy.
Casper
The friendliest ghost there is.
Nightmare before Christmas
Take a musical journey from Halloween Town to Christmas Town with Jack Skellington.
Labyrinth
David Bowie plays the Goblin King surrounded by Jim Henson creatures. Need we say more?
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Mildly spooky and delightfully British.
A little spookier (ages 10+)
Hocus Pocus
The Sanderson sisters return to Salem, Massachusetts, to suck the souls out of the town’s children and regain their youthful looks and powers.
Ghostbusters
The ghoulish 1984 classic about an amateur ghost fighting quartet saving New York City from paranormal phenomena.
Goosebumps
A fright-filled comedy based on R.L. Stine’s classic books about monsters, demons, and other chilling creatures.
The Witches
A creepy adaptation of Roald Dahl’s classic book about a boy and his grandmother who thwart the efforts of a children-hating coven of witches.
Coraline
This beautifully animated film follows a girl named Coraline who discovers a door that transports her into an alternative reality that starts pleasant but turns sinister.
Frightening fun (ages 13+)
Stranger Things (yes, it’s a TV show, but we couldn’t resist!)
Keep the scares going all October with this binge-worthy Netflix series. A group of tweens in 1980s Hawkins, Indiana, discover a mysterious girl named Eleven, an evil government plot, and a monster in a terrifying hidden world called “The Upside Down.”
Beetlejuice
A Tim Burton horror comedy about a recently deceased couple who gets in over their heads when they seek the help of a rude ghoul to frighten a family out of their home.
The Addams Family (1991)
Everyone’s favorite creepy, kooky, all together ooky family.
Gremlins
The ultimate creature classic; a young man receives a seemingly adorable pet as a gift, but quickly learns the consequences of feeding it after midnight…
What are your favorite movies to watch around Halloween? Share your answers, along with your Solo Stove Halloween photos and stories, with us on social media or via our submission form.
(Top photo submitted by Jason Frink)
