Trick or Treat! 13 Family-Friendly Shows and Movies Perfect for Halloween

I’m going to be honest here: Finding something to watch as a family that will get my kids into the Halloween spirit, but won’t send them creeping into my room at 2 a.m. trembling from a nightmare, is easily one of my greatest challenges.

Trick or Treat! 13 Family-Friendly Shows and Movies Perfect for Halloween

It takes just the right mix to get that perfect spooky (but not too spooky) feel, so that the whole family is left ready to hit the neighborhood, pillowcases in hand, for a festive Halloween. Here are 13 tricks and treats everyone can enjoy, plus two slightly scarier options for those of you who might want to try being a little more daring this season.

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

This show is dark and just a little spooky, but ultimately, it’s an absurd comedy that is incredibly true to the original books. I don’t know if I could ask for someone more fit to play the wonky and evil Count Olaf than Neil Patrick Harris, living in his gothic, rundown estate.

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

Ultimately, the whole show gave me the opportunity to talk about how excellent these books are, and got my kids interested in reading them as a lead-up to Halloween.

Hubie Halloween

I watched Hubie Halloween last year with my teenage son, and we laughed — sure, because Adam Sandler. And yes, I understood twice as many jokes as he did, seeing as how the movie seems to be perpetually winking and nodding at previous Adam Sandler characters (cue Ben Stiller as Hal the Orderly).

Hubie Halloween

But what really makes this a great Halloween family movie is the wacky mixed with creepy, as Sandler’s goofy and charming Hubie saves his town on Halloween night. It‘s also loaded with offbeat jokes and characters that will leave the whole family giggling and excited for spooky season.

Goosebumps

Parents who grew up in the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s, this is your chance to introduce your kids to the awesomeness that is Goosebumps. There seemed to be 800 million of these books at the school library when I was a kid, and this series stays true to R.L.

Goosebumps

Stine’s delightfully creepy source material. It’s just like you remember: eerie, but never too frightening. One of the fun things my family did was flip through episodes that I remembered, talked about haunted villains that were popular (the mummy, the dummy…) and just soaked in the Goosebumps vibes as we ate some skeleton-shaped gummy candy.

Dreamworks Spooky Stories

Can we all just agree that Shrek is the best? This is one of the few unanimous opinions held among my family of five, and believe me, that says a lot. I can’t even get my kids to agree on, well, anything. So when I suggested we check out Dreamworks Spooky Stories to get ready for Halloween, it was the easiest sell of my life.

Dreamworks Spooky Stories

Top to bottom, regardless of opinions or pending sibling arguments, all the kids excitedly signed on. This series contains three hilariously spooky episodes, including the classic “Scared Shrekless” and a “Monsters vs. Aliens” short.

Dreamworks Spooky Stories

You’ll hear some members of the original voice cast (like Mike Myers and Antonio Banderas) and the whole vibe is perfect fodder for a fun family Halloween adventure.

The Spooky Tale of Captain Underpants Hack-a-Ween

I find Captain Underpants hilarious. Maybe it’s because I’m still a preteen at heart. I read the books with my son, and they got him interested in reading. In fact, for a long time, they were the only thing he’d read. We did the same thing with my youngest daughter, and now it’s the only thing she’ll read.

The Spooky Tale of Captain Underpants Hack-a-Ween

Thus, The Spooky Tale of Captain Underpants Hack-a-Ween was a huge hit. Yes, it contains a lot of Captain Underpants–style low-brow humor. No surprises there. But if you have young readers who are obsessed with Captain Underpants, this movie is a surefire way to get in the Halloween spirit, while also instigating a lot of snort-laughing in your living room. Trust me, I know.

Monster House

If you haven’t watched Monster House with your kids, I expect you to remedy that immediately.

Monster House

It has all the elements needed for an terrific Halloween family movie night: an unassuming neighborhood, an eccentric elderly neighbor who scares away kids, curious friends spying on said neighbor and a house that turns out to be a monster (but is, as it turns out,not necessarily a monster).

Monster House

The movie was produced by none other than Steven Spielberg, and that eccentric child-scaring neighbor is played by the world's most charming eccentric, Steve Buscemi. This movie came out in 2006, and we stream it each year as a family just before Oct. 31 — always at my kids’ request.

Monster House

The whole family is always left smiling and then looking out on the neighborhood, curious if any house out there might, in fact, actually be a monster.

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

If you grew up on Nickelodeon, as so many of us did, Are You Afraid of the Dark? is the exact fix your family needs to get a little spooky (and a lot nostalgic) this Halloween. This revival of the classic ’90s staple arrived in 2019 and, without a doubt, it holds true to the original. It includes the unforgettable gatherings of the Midnight Society, along with the creepy new villain Mr.

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Tophat, who sold his soul to the devil to have his dream of owning a carnival. Watching this with my kids got us ready for Halloween, sure. But it also gave me the opportunity to talk about how huge this show was when I was a kid.

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

And get this: My kids actually listened to my stories and asked questions. As a father of three, that’s truly unusual... and maybe even a little supernatural.

A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting

My teenage daughter recommended this one, mostly based on the title alone (she’s a huge fan of The Baby-Sitters Club), and it didn’t disappoint. It’s the story of a very precocious teen babysitter, Kelly Ferguson (Tamara Smart, leading a wonderfully multicultural cast), who discovers that there are boogeymen and monsters set out to terrorize children at night.

A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting

And as the title suggests, she learns to hunt them. The monsters are scary, but a little wacky at the same time. What my kids loved the most, particularly my two daughters, is that they were left with this feeling that, with enough gumption, they could give the monsters of this world a run for their money.

Scaredy Cats

My daughters have had this show on repeat since its release last October. When we went on a family vacation over the summer, they downloaded it for the drive, and anyone who’s ever prepped for a long road trip knows that’s a high mark of praise.

Scaredy Cats

It has good and evil, black cats, witches and magic. t’s imaginative, with quirky kiddos learning about a new world, and last year my youngest daughter abandoned her original Halloween costume to be a witch, simply because of this show.

Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness

The whole family was a little blindsided by how fun this movie was, my teenagers included. It has this wholesome Indiana Jones adventure vibe, with a creepy evil uncle and the true Halloween hook: the green, glowing Hamsters of Darkness.

Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness

It’s the story of Chickenhare, living a fish-out-of-water life, longing to be a treasure-seeking adventurer like his adoptive father but never fitting in as a chicken or a hare. There’s a lively skunk, Meg, who had all of us giggling, particularly when she skunked out a tavern during a brawl.

Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness

Every time the Hamsters of Darkness made an appearance, my two youngest snuggled a little closer to me on the sofa, but by the end they couldn’t stop talking about how much fun this movie was.

Enola Holmes

What this movie lacks in general spookiness, it makes up for in mystery and the antics of the world’s greatest detective’s little sister, who has stellar sleuthing skills of her own. It’s an absolutely fun movie, starring the amazing Millie Bobby Brown as Enola and the charming Henry Cavill as Sherlock Holmes.

Enola Holmes

We watched this as a family and loved it. This year, we’re talking about watching it again to get ready for the sequel (which comes out Nov. 4). We’re using it as an opportunity to throw a pre-Halloween Sherlock Holmes party, with detective costumes and magnifying glasses.

Enola Holmes

But honestly, do we need an excuse to be poorly dressed Victorian-era detectives? Indubitably not.

Nightbooks

My family really loved this movie. But I will say, if you have kids who are easily frightened, you might want to hold off on this one. It’s a modern retelling of Hansel and Gretel, but there’s also a hint of Baba Yaga, with a dash of The Shining. It’s the story of Alex Mosher, a young boy who loves writing scary stories.

Nightbooks

He ends up trapped in a magical apartment controlled by a witch who makes him write her stories each day.

Nightbooks

The film is produced by famed Evil Dead and Army of Darkness director Sam Raimi, and anyone who loves horror films will see a number of winks and nods to the classics, making this a wonderful gateway for kids who might be interested in scarier movies.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Now I’ll admit, I hesitated to include this one because it’s pretty scary. It’s based on the infamous scary story books by Alvin Schwartz that every ’90s kid checked out from the school library. They looked at the gruesome illustrations, read the stories and then told all their friends about them.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

If you have older kids who are interested in scary stories, or even the original books, consider watching it together. The movie is an awesome retelling, and you’ll see the illustrations that haunted you as a kid come to life. It’s truly a great way to get frightened as a family before Halloween.

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Trick or Treat! 13 Family-Friendly Shows and Movies Perfect for Halloween

Read more

Trick or Treat! 13 Family-Friendly Shows and Movies Perfect for Halloween

I’m going to be honest here: Finding something to watch as a family that will get my kids into the Halloween spirit, but won’t send them creeping into my room at 2 a.m. trembling from a nightmare, is easily one of my greatest challenges.

Read more

Trick or Treat! 13 Family-Friendly Shows and Movies Perfect for Halloween

Read more

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

This show is dark and just a little spooky, but ultimately, it’s an absurd comedy that is incredibly true to the original books. I don’t know if I could ask for someone more fit to play the wonky and evil Count Olaf than Neil Patrick Harris, living in his gothic, rundown estate.

Read more

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

Ultimately, the whole show gave me the opportunity to talk about how excellent these books are, and got my kids interested in reading them as a lead-up to Halloween.

Read more

Hubie Halloween

I watched Hubie Halloween last year with my teenage son, and we laughed — sure, because Adam Sandler. And yes, I understood twice as many jokes as he did, seeing as how the movie seems to be perpetually winking and nodding at previous Adam Sandler characters (cue Ben Stiller as Hal the Orderly).

Read more

Hubie Halloween

But what really makes this a great Halloween family movie is the wacky mixed with creepy, as Sandler’s goofy and charming Hubie saves his town on Halloween night. It‘s also loaded with offbeat jokes and characters that will leave the whole family giggling and excited for spooky season.

Read more

Goosebumps

Parents who grew up in the ’80s, ’90s and 2000s, this is your chance to introduce your kids to the awesomeness that is Goosebumps. There seemed to be 800 million of these books at the school library when I was a kid, and this series stays true to R.L.

Read more

Goosebumps

Read more

Dreamworks Spooky Stories

Read more

Dreamworks Spooky Stories

Top to bottom, regardless of opinions or pending sibling arguments, all the kids excitedly signed on. This series contains three hilariously spooky episodes, including the classic “Scared Shrekless” and a “Monsters vs. Aliens” short.

Read more

Dreamworks Spooky Stories

You’ll hear some members of the original voice cast (like Mike Myers and Antonio Banderas) and the whole vibe is perfect fodder for a fun family Halloween adventure.

Read more

The Spooky Tale of Captain Underpants Hack-a-Ween

Read more

The Spooky Tale of Captain Underpants Hack-a-Ween

Read more

Monster House

If you haven’t watched Monster House with your kids, I expect you to remedy that immediately.

Read more

Monster House

It has all the elements needed for an terrific Halloween family movie night: an unassuming neighborhood, an eccentric elderly neighbor who scares away kids, curious friends spying on said neighbor and a house that turns out to be a monster (but is, as it turns out,not necessarily a monster).

Read more

Monster House

The movie was produced by none other than Steven Spielberg, and that eccentric child-scaring neighbor is played by the world's most charming eccentric, Steve Buscemi. This movie came out in 2006, and we stream it each year as a family just before Oct. 31 — always at my kids’ request.

Read more

Monster House

The whole family is always left smiling and then looking out on the neighborhood, curious if any house out there might, in fact, actually be a monster.

Read more

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Read more

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Tophat, who sold his soul to the devil to have his dream of owning a carnival. Watching this with my kids got us ready for Halloween, sure. But it also gave me the opportunity to talk about how huge this show was when I was a kid.

Read more

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

And get this: My kids actually listened to my stories and asked questions. As a father of three, that’s truly unusual... and maybe even a little supernatural.

Read more

A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting

Read more

A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting

Read more

Scaredy Cats

My daughters have had this show on repeat since its release last October. When we went on a family vacation over the summer, they downloaded it for the drive, and anyone who’s ever prepped for a long road trip knows that’s a high mark of praise.

Read more

Scaredy Cats

It has good and evil, black cats, witches and magic. t’s imaginative, with quirky kiddos learning about a new world, and last year my youngest daughter abandoned her original Halloween costume to be a witch, simply because of this show.

Read more

Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness

The whole family was a little blindsided by how fun this movie was, my teenagers included. It has this wholesome Indiana Jones adventure vibe, with a creepy evil uncle and the true Halloween hook: the green, glowing Hamsters of Darkness.

Read more

Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness

It’s the story of Chickenhare, living a fish-out-of-water life, longing to be a treasure-seeking adventurer like his adoptive father but never fitting in as a chicken or a hare. There’s a lively skunk, Meg, who had all of us giggling, particularly when she skunked out a tavern during a brawl.

Read more

Chickenhare and the Hamster of Darkness

Every time the Hamsters of Darkness made an appearance, my two youngest snuggled a little closer to me on the sofa, but by the end they couldn’t stop talking about how much fun this movie was.

Read more

Enola Holmes

Read more

Enola Holmes

We watched this as a family and loved it. This year, we’re talking about watching it again to get ready for the sequel (which comes out Nov. 4). We’re using it as an opportunity to throw a pre-Halloween Sherlock Holmes party, with detective costumes and magnifying glasses.

Read more