6 Great Movies for Halloween

I've spoken about how Halloween wasn't really celebrated at my house as a kid. Or now, really. I still Love Halloween. One way we did manage to make the most of the night, as a family, was watching movies. And not just any movie, Halloween movies - of course!

If you're planning a trick-or-treat free night, or just want to get into the Halloween mood early, here are 6 Great Movies for Halloween, safe enough for the whole family! Enjoy!

1. Hocus Pocus

2. Frankenweenie

3. Casper

4. It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown

5. Worst Witch

6. The Witches

1. Hocus Pocus (1993)

On one side, a group of sisters, long dead from their days of wicked witches, on the other sides a group of kids follow local town lore. What's the worst that could happen?

My favorite thing about this movie is how the (then) new technology baffled the sisters. And who can ever forget the flying vacuum!

If you haven't seen this classic, I will spoil no more. But not only will you get a treat with a young Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler, and Kathy Najimy as the sisters, you get an itty bitty Thora Birch in this one too!

This is a silly movie you won't regret watching. Just a tiny bit scary parts that might make it best for viewing ages 7 and up, but mostly hilarious.

2. Frankenweenie (2012)

This is a Tim Burton film. If you've seen a Burton film, you will kind of learn to expect certain things. This film is often overlooked, but it really is quite funny, and surprisingly heartfelt.

I've spoken about some of my feelings about Frankenstein before, but this is a young Victor, before the Doctor, and is about a boy and his dog. Of course, when you bring a creature back to live, things can get out of hand!

My favorite thing is the cuteness! Not often is a "monster" portrayed in good light, but it's hard to be mad at a dog! Or is that just me?

3. Casper (1995)

Casper! The Friendly Ghost! The Friendliest Ghost around!

Not only did this movie spawn other movies, but it gave life to quite a few other venues, video games and cartoon series. Casper actually originated as a comic strip character, but this is the movie that brought him to my attention.

Dying quite young, Casper stays around his house to comfort his grieving parents. Unable to let his son go, Casper's father starts building a machine to bring the ghost back to life!

But, clearly, this doesn't work.

A young Christina Ricci plays the daughter to a therapist for ghosts is hired to get an old mansion ghost free. But Casper, and his three ghost uncles (not the Friendly kind, those fellas) aren't willing to go.

Everything is my favorite in this! A Must watch, but probably wouldn't watch with too young an audience, since this film kills of people like a Supernatural episode, to make them ghosts.

4. It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! (1966)

I can't even remember the first time I saw this movie. It's such a staple for Halloween, and a true classic. The Peanuts gang is ready to celebrate Halloween, but Linus is convinced that Halloween is the night that the Great Pumpkin comes up from the Pumpkin Patch to gift all the good boys and girls.

Linus is quite easily my favorite Peanuts character, well, after Snoopy. I love him more than Charlie himself because he is a loyal friend. Linus is optimistic, and no more so than in this tale. Being the kid brother to Lucy is not easy, but Linus isn't disheartened. He is most famous for his ever present comfort blanket, which he can use to achieve many feats, but it is his easy comradery and nonjudgmental persona that make him the kind of kid you hope your kids grow up to be. Heck, grown up can learn from how open minded and thoughtful Linus is.

The rest of the gang is getting themselves ready for Halloween, and trying to discourage Linus from wasting his night at the pumpkin patch. The normal hijinks of the crew is surely to make this story a staple for your family too!

5. The Worst Witch (1986)

Sometimes, movies with magic make it seem like it's the greatest thing ever to have magic. This is not that story.

Mildred Hubble is starting out in a prestige school, and immediately everything goes wrong for her. And poor Mildred just wants to make everything right, but just ends up making things worse.

My favorite thing about this movie is that it's probably the most realistic portrayal of how I would be with magic. Absolutely awful.

6. The Witches (1990)

There have been incompetent, silly, enjoyable witches. But this witches truly terrified my childhood. The first time I saw this movie was in the 2nd grade, as an in class movie. I had just barely gotten used to the English language. I was riveted and absolutely mortified.

I saw it a few years later and have grown to love this story. A young boy and his grandmother. How hard it is to make friends. How hard it is, especially as a kid, to have people believe in you. How very hard it is to believe in yourself.

This story is a true gem, and if you need to scare your kiddos a bit, they're likely to survive the therapy sessions this will endure.

Now get to watching! I'll go make some popcorn.

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