Halloween Month has officially arrived, and we’re here to help you celebrate in style. While you can, obviously, watch Halloween movies any day of the year, there’s something about the October air that makes these films that much more potent. So in the spirit of spookiness and witchy times, we’ve put together the perfect 31-day Halloween movie marathon to keep you in the spooky mood all month long.
The idea? Watch one Halloween movie a day all the way through October 31st. Each day a new movie, and each movie a different sort. Be forewarned we do have a mix of kid-friendly and R-rated material mixed in, but nothing too over the top. We’ve also noted where you can find each film on streaming, if applicable, and have programmed a few of the titles to when they’ll be airing on Freeform during the network’s 31 Nights of Halloween marathon, in case you don't already own these films.
So stock up on candy corn, turn all the lights off, and follow along with our 31-day Halloween Movie Marathon guide.
Tuesday, October 1st
Hocus Pocus – Kick things off right with this family friendly classic, which is pretty darn close to the perfect Halloween movie.
Where to Watch: Airs on Freeform at 8:50pm ET
Wednesday, October 2nd
Halloween (2018) – Then go right into something truly terrifying with the 2018 direct sequel to the original film, which packs a gritty punch as Jamie Lee Curtis returns as Laurie Strode.
Where to Watch: Available on HBO Now and HBO Go
Thursday, October 3rd
Addams Family Values – This creepy, kooky, spooky sequel is far superior to the original in pretty much every way. Case in point: Joan Cusack.
Where to Watch: Airs on Freeform at 8:55pm ET
Friday, October 4th
Scream – The horror classic isn’t necessarily a Halloween movie, but Wes Craven’s love letter to horror movies fits right into this here movie marathon.
Where to Watch: Streaming on Netflix
Saturday, October 5th
Goosebumps – This Jack Black-fronted fright fest is surprisingly good and perfectly Halloween-y.
Where to Watch: Airs on Freeform at 9pm ET
Sunday, October 6th
What We Do in the Shadows – Again, not necessarily a Halloween movie per se, but this hilarious vampire comedy is a brilliant twist on a staple of the season.
Where to Watch: Available to rent on Amazon Prime or iTunes
Monday, October 7th
The Evil Dead – We begin the week with a marathon of Sam Raimi’s iconic franchise, and the first installment is a scrappy breath of fresh air.
Where to Watch: Available VOD via Showtime
Tuesday, October 8th
Evil Dead 2 – Is Raimi’s follow-up a sequel or a remake? When it’s this bloody good, it doesn’t really matter.
Where to Watch: Available VOD via Showtime
Wednesday, October 9th
Army of Darkness – The third film in Raimi’s Evil Dead trilogy travels to medieval times and puts more comedic spin on the franchise, with a fantastic Ray Harryhausen twist.
Where to Watch: Available VOD via Starz
Thursday, October 10th
Beetlejuice – Keep the delightfully odd good times rolling with Tim Burton’s truly electric horror-comedy, which boasts an all-timer performance from Michael Keaton.
Where to Watch: Available to rent on Amazon Prime or iTunes
Friday, October 11th
The Nightmare Before Christmas – Prepare for two holidays at once with this stop-motion animated classic.
Where to Watch: Airing on Freeform at 9:20pm ET
Saturday, October 12th
Halloween III: The Season of the Witch – An underrated sequel that has absolutely no connection to Michael Myers whatsoever, Halloween III is wonderfully, incredibly weird and more than a little kitschy. It’s fun!
Where to Watch: Available VOD on HBO Now
Sunday, October 13th
Psycho – End the weekend with one of the greatest horror films ever made.
Where to Watch: Available to rent on Amazon Prime or iTunes
Monday, October 14th
Casper – A bit of a lighter watch, this family film from 1995 is still pretty darn delightful.
Where to Watch: Available to rent on Amazon Prime or iTunes
Tuesday, October 15th
The Witches of Eastwick – Michelle Pfeiffer, Susan Sarandon, and Cher are three women with certain abilities who go up against the devil himself, played by Jack Nicholson. From the director of Mad Max: Fury Road. Need I say more?
Where to Watch: Available to rent on Amazon Prime or iTunes
Wednesday, October 16th
Practical Magic – Two sisters—played by Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman—try to avoid a legacy of witchcraft. A witchy movie with a romantic twist.
Where to Watch: Available to rent on Amazon Prime or iTunes
Thursday, October 17th
The Witches – This Roald Dahl adaptation terrorized a generation of young viewers, so pass it along to your young ones! Anjelica Huston is dynamite as a grotesque witch.
Where to Watch: Available to rent on Amazon Prime or iTunes
Friday, October 18th
The Craft – Witch week concludes with this iconic 90s teen drama about a coven of high school girls who are very into spells.
Where to Watch: Available VOD on EPIX, to rent on Amazon Prime or iTunes
Saturday, October 19th
ParaNorman – Though this LAIKA stop-motion film is airing early, DVR it and watch it later for a tremendous dose of Halloween spookytimes and a great story about anger and resentment that also packs a hilarious punch. One of LAIKA’s best.
Where to Watch: Airing on Freeform at 7am ET
Sunday, October 20th
Bram Stoker’s Dracula – Director Francis Ford Coppola only used old school filmmaking techniques to bring this horror classic to the screen, and the result is a lush and truly epic horror drama.
Where to Watch: Available to rent on Amazon Prime or iTunes
Monday, October 21st
The Monster Squad – This underrated gem is like The Goonies meets the Universal Monsters.
Where to Watch: Streaming on Hulu
Tuesday, October 22nd
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark – A new release, this Guillermo del Toro-produced film hits Digital HD today and is a terrific horror movie for younger viewers with an intriguing mystery and fantastic practical effects.
Where to Watch: Available to rent on Amazon Prime or iTunes
Wednesday, October 23rd
The Rocky Horror Picture Show – Again not necessarily a Halloween movie per se, but a spooky good time nonetheless.
Where to Watch: Available to rent on Amazon Prime or iTunes
Thursday, October 24th
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial – While iconic as a sci-fi film, you may have forgotten this Steven Spielberg classic takes place around Halloween.
Where to Watch: Available VOD on Starz
Friday, October 25th
It: Chapter One – While the sequel was a bit more divisive, the effectiveness of this initial horror installment in the franchise cannot be denied. Nor can the newly relevant Halloween costume of Pennywise the Clown.
Where to Watch: Available to rent on Amazon Prime or iTunes
Saturday, October 26th
Frankenweenie – Tim Burton adapts his own short film into feature length to sweet and unsurprisingly ghoulish results.
Where to Watch: Available VOD on Starz
Sunday, October 27th
Sleepy Hollow – Back-to-back Tim Burton movies conclude with one of his best, prettiest, and most consistently underrated efforts as his take on the Headless Horseman is both chilling and darkly funny.
Where to Watch: Available to rent on Amazon Prime or iTunes
Monday, October 28th
Halloweentown – Halloween week begins with this Disney Channel Original Movie that is every Halloween-loving kid’s wish-fulfillment fantasy come to life.
Where to Watch: Available VOD on Disney Channel
Tuesday, October 29th
Young Frankenstein – You’ll pull a stitch laughing at Mel Brooks’ comedy classic, filmed in the style of the classic Universal Monsters movies with a stacked cast of hilarious performers.
Where to Watch: Available to rent on Amazon Prime or iTunes
Wednesday, October 30th
Trick r Treat – The night before Halloween, treat yourself to this gory, disturbing, and delightful 2009 anthology film.
Where to Watch: Available to rent on Amazon Prime or iTunes
Thursday, October 31st
Halloween – But of course, it wouldn’t be Halloween without watching the John Carpenter classic on the night-of.
Where to Watch: Shudder
