A favorite activity of many around Halloween is watching horror movies.  Whether the movie is scary or simply a fun story about Halloween, movies get us into the Halloween spirit.  Here is a list of ten movies that I believe are the best for watching during the Halloween season. (No particular order).

1. Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

This timeless Tim Burton classic is so fun, it is not only watched around Halloween but Christmas as well. The two holidays are combined flawlessly in an entertaining, memorable way. The characters are magnificently illustrated and the songs are super catchy. Burton’s story is complete with humor, music, emotion, and a bit of romance. It follows the Pumpkin King, Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon and Danny Elfman), and his pursuit to bring Christas to Halloween Town after growing bored with the same Halloween year after year. He pitches Christmas to his monster friends and they love it, but they don’t quite understand how to be jolly instead of scary. Jack’s friend Sally (Catherine O’Hara) warns him that his version of Christmas won’t go over well, but he does not take her advice.   There isn’t anything like Nightmare Before Christmas out there.  It’s truly one of a kind. To watch Nightmare Before Christmas is certainly a treat.    

1. Hocus Pocus (1993)

Hocus Pocus is a goofy, upbeat film that is perfect for Halloween. It is set in Salem, Massachusetts which is perfect due the town’s witchy past and adds to the charm of the movie. The movie follows a teenage boy, Max (Omri Katz), who moved to Salem with his family.  He ventures into an abandoned house with his younger sister (Thora Birch) and their friend, Alison (Vinessa Shaw). Allison tells them a story of a coven called Sanderson Sisters, Winifred (Bette Midler), Sarah (Sarah Jessica Parker), and Mary (Kathy Najimy), who used to inhabit the house. The kids accidentally free the witches and have to find the Sanderson Sisters’ spellbook before they do or the sisters will cast a spell turning themselves immortal. It includes the song “I Put a Spell on You” which was written for the movie and sung by Winifred. The movie really does put a spell on you. 

1. Trick ‘r Treat (2007)

Trick r Treat is quite different from other movies in the horror genre. The movie tells five different stories that occur on the same night and on the same street in Warren Valley, Ohio. It follows residents of the town (Leslie Bibb, Tahmoh Penikett, Anna Paquin, Brett Kelly, Brian Cox, and Britt McKillip) who break Halloween traditions and superstitions and suffer the consequences. A couple blows out the candles of their jack-o-lanterns before midnight, a college student meets a guy at a party who isn’t who he seems, a high school principal turns out to be a serial killer, a group of teens take a prank two far, and a sheltered man with out candy for kids is visited by a strange trick or treater. Trick r Treat is a perfect movie for Halloween. It is full of suspense and twists that keeps the audience on the edge of their seat.

1. Carrie (2013)

Carrie is a dark, chilling film centered around satanic beliefs and underestimation. The movie follows a sheltered, socially rejected teenage girl named Carrie (Chloë Grace Moretz) who experiences constant harsh bullying from her classmates. She isn’t allowed to do much of anything due to the rules of her extremely religious mother (Julianna Moore) whose past has led her to be psychotic.  She makes it seem like Carrie’s very existence is a sin and uses sin to explain any mishap. When a few girls from Carrie’s class pull an especially cruel prank on her, they are reprimanded and one of which, Chris Hargensen (Portia Doubleday) gets banned from prom.  While Chris plots an even more barbaric prank to get revenge on Carrie for ruining her prom, Carrie discovers she has telekinetic powers and learns to control them. Carrie is a captivating film and is quite creepy and intense. It’s inspiring with some gore mixed in. You never expect what will happen next.    

1. A Corpse Bride (2005)

Tim Burton really knows how to make a Halloween classic. The animation is outstanding and the characters are beautifully designed. A Corpse Bride is the story of a man named Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp) who is arranged to marry a woman named Victoria Everglot (Emily Watson).  He is nervous, but when he meets her he falls for her and cannot wait to marry her.  However, his nerves get the best of him and he messes up his vows which causes the wedding to be postponed. While practicing his vows in the woods, he places the ring on a branch that turns out to be the finger of Emily (Helena Bonham Carter), the corpse bride, who died in the woods while waiting for her fiance.  Emily takes Victor to the land of the dead as she now considers him her husband.  Victor has to get back to the land of the living before Victoria’s parents marry her off to another man.  A Corpse Bride teaches its audience that if you love someone, you need to let them do what’s best for themselves.  The movie is full of heart and catchy songs.    

1. Beetlejuice (1988)

Beetlejuice is a heartwarming film about family, loss, and learning to accept your circumstances. It follows a married couple, Adam (Alec Baldwin) and Barbara (Greena Davis), who suffer tragic deaths after accidentally driving off a bridge.  They make it back to their house without remembering how they got there, and only realize they’ve died after discovering a handbook for the recently deceased in their living room.  Since they’re dead, a new family moves into their home.  Adam and Barabra cannot leave the house and are stuck watching this new family inside their home and change everything.  None of the living can see them except the daughter of the new family, Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder).  Barbara and Alec make several attempts to haunt the Deetz’s and scare them from the house.  They seek help from a poltergeist named Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) who ends up being too chaotic for them.  Despite their desire to get rid of the Deetz family, they become close with Lydia which complicates things.  Beetlejuice is a creepy movie, but it is also hilarious. Beetlejuice’s character adds comedic relief to a seemingly dark plot.     

1. Hotel Transylvania (2012)

Hotel Transylavnia is a perfect movie to watch with your family around Halloween.  It is a fun movie about a hotel for monsters run by Dracula (Adam Sandler). He opened the hotel after his wife was killed by a mob of humans in order to provide a place for monsters to be safe from humans.  The hotel is surrounded by haunted forests and lethal obstacles that humans are unable to get through.  However, during the 118th birthday celebration for Dracula’s daughter, Mavis (Selena Gomez), a human named Jonathan (Andy Samberg) found his way to the hotel while backpacking.  Dracula notices right away that he is human and tries to disguise him as a monster.  Unfortunately for Dracula, when Mavis and Jonathan lock eyes, they fall instantly in love. Dracula refuses to trust a human with his only daughter since humans were responsible for the death of his wife. He has to learn to trust his daughter’s judgment and understand that humans are not the same as they were a hundred years ago. This movie is uplifting and hilarious while showing that love conquers all odds. There are two sequels to Hotel Transylvania that are just as entertaining.  At the surface, it appears to be just another goofy Adam Sandlar movie, but on a deeper level it is so much more.  It’s about family and acceptance which is such an important concept.  

1. Frankenweenie (2012)

Frankenweenie is another Tim Burton hit. A young boy named Victor (Charlie Tahan) is heart-broken when his dog and only friend, Sparky, is hit by a car while fetching a ball.  In science class, Victor learns that electricity can be used to reanimate the muscles of the dead. He uses this knowledge, and his love for his dog, to bring Sparky back to life. However, when his classmates get word of this, they think Victor is using this as his science fair project. Losing this science fair is not an option for these kids and they decide to bring their late pets and other dead animals back to life as well.  However, without the pure motives that Victor had, their attempts were unsuccessful. Their animals turned into monsters which Victor and Sparky had to defeat together. This Tim Burton film is an emotional one.  Sparky’s death as well as his reanimation always brings me to tears.  The cartoon film is in black and white which adds to the creepiness and makes it perfect to watch around Halloween.

1. Coraline (2009)
   1. Coraline is such a unique story that combines heart and horror wonderfully. When Coraline’s (Dakota Fanning) family moves into a new house, she starts to feel neglected by her parents and unhappy.  However, she finds a secret door in the house to a parallel universe.  In this universe, everyone has buttons over their eyes but her parents are attentive and all of the problems she had in her world are gone.  However, the universe is not what it seems and Coraline realizes that it’s all an illusion crafted by the demonic “Other Mother” (Teri Hatcher) to lure Coraline in and eat her soul. Coraline has to rely on her bravery and cleverness in order to get back to her world. Coraline teaches its audience to be careful what you wish for. It is exciting and well-written. Younger children might find it frightening, but it’s generally a great movie to watch with your family.
2. Halloween  (1978)

The original Halloween is a classic. It is very well made considering it is an older movie with its chilling soundtrack, well-placed camera angles, and haunting lighting. The film begins in the past when Michael Myers (Nick Castle), at six years old, murders his sister, Judith (Sandy Johnson).  He was sentenced to prison for fifteen years. However, on October 30, 1978, he manages to steal a car while being transferred to appear in court and escapes. He flees to his hometown, Haddonfeild, Illinois, and looks for more people to kill. He quickly becomes obsessed with a high school student named Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her friends. Laurie ha sno idea of the danger she’s in.  Meanwhile, Myers’s psychologist, Dr. Loomis (Donald Pleasence) and the town sheriff (Charles Cyphers) search the town for the loose killer. Can they contain Myers and spare the lives of Laurie, her friends, and everyone in Haddonfield? There are nine sequels to Halloween that continue this horrifying story. Micheal Myers being just a human being rather than a ghost of poltergeist makes the movie all the more terrifying. This iconic film will have you locking your doors before bed.

1. Poltergeist (1982)

Poltergeist is full of suspense and does not rely on jump scares to create a horrifying story. A family of fives moves into a new home in a newly constructed suburb.   How were they to know that the house was built on an ancient burial ground? Before long, bizarre occurrences begin to take place at the house. One of the stranger happenings is ghosts communicating with the family through the television, and only five year old Carol Ann (Heather O’Rourke) can hear what they’re saying. The ghosts do not seem to be threatening until one night they create a harsh storm and pull Carol Ann through a portal in her closet. She is trapped in the ghost world but can communicate with her parents through the television. Carol Ann’s parents, Steve (Craig T. Nelson) and Diane (JoBeth Williams), consult parapsychologists and eventually an exorcist to get their daughter back. Poltergeist, having been made in the early eighties, does not have the most realistic of effects. However, the characters and acting is magnificent and makes the movie frightening. Poltergeist is a classic and a movie everyone should see at least once.