Spooky season is coming up, and we’re getting into the Halloween spirit here in NYC! To settle the ultimate debate we asked our followers what the best Halloween movies of all-time are. After hours of tallying votes (…and even more hours watching on the couch), we’ve come up with a list of the best Halloween movies. How’d we do? And let us know what we missed!
1. Halloweentown (1998)
When 13-year-old girl Marnie Cromwell discovers she’s a witch and finds a secret portal, she ends up in Halloweentown – a separate world where ghosts, ghouls, witches and werewolves live apart from humans. After her recent discovery, she sets out to help her also-witch grandmother Aggie save her mortal world from an evil warlock named Kalabar.
Disney+
2. Hocus Pocus (1993)
After teenager Max Dennison moves to Salem, Massachusetts, he explores an abandoned house with his sister, crush, Upon inadvertently resurrecting three witch sisters who used to live in the house, the crew and a talking cat named Thackery Binx must steal the Sanderson Sisters’ book of spells to prevent them from becoming immortal.
Disney+
3. Halloween (1978)
15 years after brutally murdering his sister as a child, masked killer Michael Myers returns to his hometown of Haddonfield, Illinois on Halloween night, where he terrorizes a teenage babysitter named Laurie Strode. It’s the first entry of what would be an iconic legacy of the horror character.
AMC+
4. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
This classic animated TV special based off the “Peanuts” follows Charlie Brown and his friends (including Linus) who wait around for the Great Pumpkin, a mythical figure to [never] appear.
Apple TV+
5. Coraline (2009)
11-year-old Coraline Jones stumbles across a magical door that seemingly leads to a perfect parallel world. In reality, she realizes there’s actually a plethora of sinister secrets on the “other side” and she muster up the courage to save herself and her parents from the other world.
Hulu, MAX
6. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
After newly engaged couple Brad and Janet have a breakdown during an isolated storm, they seek shelter at Dr. Frank-N-Furter’s house, a flamboyant transvestite scientist who has a bunch of eccentric friends. The hilarious music film is full of laughs and catchy songs.
Hulu, Disney+
7. Hotel Transylvania (2012)
This animated comedy tells the tale of Count Dracula, who runs high-end resort called Hotel Transylvania, a secret haven for monsters of all kinds. When a human unexpectedly checks in, Dracula disguises him as a monster to prevent panic…but not without a unique twist!
Hulu
8. Beetlejuice (1998)
A classic Tim Burton film, Beetlejuice revolves around a deceased couple Adam and Barbara Maitland who use chaotic ghost Beetlejuice to scare away the new living family that moved into their former home.
Prime Video/MAX
9. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
When 5 friends travel through rural Texas to visit a grandfather’s grave, they come across a deserted house, home to a family of deranged and cannibalistic killers led by the iconic Leatherface. After they pick up a hitchhiker on their travels they started to get picked off one-by-one by a chainsaw-wielding madman and his deranged family.
AMC+
10. The Conjuring (2013)
Paranormal activity investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren attempt to eliminate and confront the terrifying presence in a family’s farmhouse. It being based on a true story makes it even creepier.
MAX
11. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town and attempts to take over the holiday following his recent fascination. But it’s not that easy…
Disney+
12. Hereditary (2018)
After dealing with the death of their secretive grandmother, the Graham family begins to experience all sorts of disturbing supernatural occurrences, leading to some dark family secrets.
MAX
13. Halloween Kills (2021)
This Michael Myers follow-up film showcases the aftermath of his killing spree in Haddonfield. Since it picks up right after previous movies, it’s the last chance for the town to stop the killer once and for all.
Available via rent
14. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
When a young couple trying to have a baby move into a creepy apartment on Central Park West, they start to become increasingly worried about their neighbors’ involvement in a sinister cult.
Paramount+
15. Psycho (1960)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Psycho tells the story of Marion Cane who steals $40,000 from her employer’s client before going on the run and checking into a remote motel run by Norman Bates.
AMC+, Peacock Premium
16. The Shining (1980)
Jack Nicholson stars in The Shining as Stanley Kubrick, whose family becomes caretakers of an isolated hotel for the winter. Thanks to their sinister presence in the building, it drives the father to madness, among many other violent acts.
MAX, DIRECTV
17. The Addams Family (1991) & Addams Family Values (1993)
This franchise centers around The Addams Family, an eccentric family who love all things bizarre.
Paramount+
18. Get Out (2017)
Jordan Peele’s award-winning film traces a young African-American’s journey to his white girlfriend’s family’s house where disturbing secrets of racism and mind manipulation take place.
Peacock Premium, FXNow
19. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
Becoming one of the most iconic horror films, this movie follows a group of teenagers who are terrorized by Freddy Kreuger in their dreams. If they die in there dreams though, they die in real life.
MAX
20. Casper (1995)
Halloween’s most friendly ghost Casper is about the family-friendly creature who gets befriended by a girl named Kat. They work together to try to solve clues of Casper’s past and bring him back to human form…all while having to deal with Casper’s ghostly uncles.
Netflix
21. The Monster Squad (1987)
The ultimate monster fanatic movie. A bunch of kids who are hardcore monster fans team up to save their hometown from Count Dracula and his monster counterparts.
Paramount+
22. Scream (1996)
A year after the murder of her mother, Sidney Prescott and her friends get targeted by a masked killer known as “Ghostface.” Using horror movie conventions and parody, Scream cleverly uses the genre as ammunition to hunt down their pray.
MAX, AMC+
23. Trick ‘r Treat (2007)
Trick ‘R Treat weaves together four interrelated stories set on Halloween night in the small town of Warren Valley, Ohio. Riddled with Halloween spookiness, the tales include a school principal as a secret serial killer, a group of teens pulling off a deadly prank, a young woman’s experience with a spooky person named Sam, and a hermit’s experience with a mysterious trick-or-treater.
MAX
24. Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Halloween icon Count Dracula heads to London in pursuit of Mina Harker, the reincarnation of his lost love. Will English vampire hunters be able to stop his terror reign?
Available via rent
25. The Exorcist (1973)
Young girl Regan becomes possessed by a demon, and her mother seeks help from two priests who attempt to perform an exorcism.
MAX