Favorite Halloween Movies
by jaredpahl | created - 13 Sep 2016 | updated - 29 Sep 2019 | PublicThese aren't just my favorite horror movies. These are those Halloween-specific stories of ghosts and monsters. This is a list of my personal favorite flicks to get into the Halloween spirit.
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1. Sleepy Hollow (1999)
R | 105 min | Fantasy, Horror, Mystery
Ichabod Crane is sent to Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of three people; the culprit is legendary apparition The Headless Horseman.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson, Michael Gambon
Votes: 383,817 | Gross: $101.07M
2. Hocus Pocus (1993)
PG | 96 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
A teenage boy named Max and his little sister move to Salem, where he struggles to fit in before awakening a trio of diabolical witches that were executed in the 17th century.
Director: Kenny Ortega | Stars: Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, Omri Katz
Votes: 155,893 | Gross: $44.34M
3. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
PG | 76 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.
Director: Henry Selick | Stars: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey
Votes: 375,068 | Gross: $75.08M
4. Halloween (1978)
R | 91 min | Horror, Thriller
Fifteen years after murdering his sister on Halloween night 1963, Michael Myers escapes from a mental hospital and returns to the small town of Haddonfield, Illinois to kill again.
Director: John Carpenter | Stars: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran, Nancy Kyes
Votes: 306,705 | Gross: $47.00M
5. Dark Shadows (2012)
PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
An imprisoned vampire, Barnabas Collins, is set free and returns to his ancestral home, where his dysfunctional descendants are in need of his protection.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, Helena Bonham Carter
Votes: 280,435 | Gross: $79.73M
6. The Wolfman (2010)
R | 103 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Upon his return to his ancestral homeland, an American man is bitten and subsequently cursed by a werewolf.
Director: Joe Johnston | Stars: Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt, Simon Merrells
Votes: 111,721 | Gross: $61.98M
7. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
R | 123 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A vampire tells his epic life story: love, betrayal, loneliness, and hunger.
Director: Neil Jordan | Stars: Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Antonio Banderas, Kirsten Dunst
Votes: 347,337 | Gross: $105.26M
8. Beetlejuice (1988)
PG | 92 min | Comedy, Fantasy
The spirits of a deceased couple are harassed by an unbearable family that has moved into their home, and hire a malicious spirit to drive them out.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton, Annie McEnroe
Votes: 339,942 | Gross: $73.71M
9. Van Helsing (2004)
PG-13 | 131 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
The famed monster hunter is sent to Transylvania to stop Count Dracula, who is using Dr. Frankenstein's research and a werewolf for nefarious purposes.
Director: Stephen Sommers | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Richard Roxburgh, Shuler Hensley
Votes: 284,469 | Gross: $120.18M
10. Frankenstein (1931)
Passed | 70 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Dr Henry Frankenstein is obsessed with assembling a living being from parts of several exhumed corpses.
Director: James Whale | Stars: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff, John Boles
Votes: 79,686
11. Evil Dead II (1987)
R | 84 min | Comedy, Horror
Ash Williams, the lone survivor of an earlier onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits, holes up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie Wesley DePaiva
Votes: 181,873 | Gross: $5.92M
12. Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
R | 128 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
The centuries old vampire Count Dracula comes to England to seduce his barrister Jonathan Harker's fiancée Mina Murray and inflict havoc in the foreign land.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves
Votes: 238,334 | Gross: $82.52M
13. Hotel Transylvania (2012)
PG | 91 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Dracula, who operates a high-end resort away from the human world, goes into overprotective mode when a boy discovers the resort and falls for the count's teenaged daughter.
Director: Genndy Tartakovsky | Stars: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez
Votes: 280,940 | Gross: $148.31M
14. Young Frankenstein (1974)
PG | 106 min | Comedy
An American grandson of the infamous scientist, struggling to prove that his grandfather was not as insane as people believe, is invited to Transylvania, where he discovers the process that reanimates a dead body.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle
Votes: 168,865 | Gross: $86.30M
15. The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
PG-13 | 143 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A young soprano becomes the obsession of a disfigured and murderous musical genius who lives beneath the Paris Opéra House.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Gerard Butler, Emmy Rossum, Patrick Wilson, Miranda Richardson
Votes: 130,651 | Gross: $51.27M
16. Frankenweenie (2012)
PG | 87 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
When a boy's beloved dog passes away suddenly, he attempts to bring the animal back to life through a powerful science experiment.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Martin Landau
Votes: 117,087 | Gross: $35.29M
17. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Not Rated | 75 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Mary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived: Baron Henry Frankenstein, goaded by an even madder scientist, builds his monster a mate.
Director: James Whale | Stars: Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson
Votes: 53,236 | Gross: $4.36M
18. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)
Approved | 68 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
An animated adaptation of "The Wind in the Willows" followed by an adaptation of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow".
Directors: James Algar, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney | Stars: Bing Crosby, Basil Rathbone, Eric Blore, John McLeish
Votes: 17,886
19. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Horror
Two American college students on a walking tour of Britain are attacked by a werewolf that none of the locals will admit exists.
Director: John Landis | Stars: David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Joe Belcher, Griffin Dunne
Votes: 120,456 | Gross: $30.57M
20. Casper (1995)
PG | 100 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
An afterlife therapist and his daughter meet a friendly young ghost when they move into a crumbling mansion in order to rid the premises of wicked spirits.
Director: Brad Silberling | Stars: Bill Pullman, Christina Ricci, Cathy Moriarty, Eric Idle
Votes: 146,818 | Gross: $100.33M
21. The Wolf Man (1941)
Passed | 70 min | Horror, Mystery, Romance
Larry Talbot returns to his father's castle in Wales and meets a beautiful woman. One fateful night, Talbot escorts her to a local carnival where they meet a mysterious gypsy fortune teller.
Director: George Waggner | Stars: Claude Rains, Warren William, Lon Chaney Jr., Ralph Bellamy
Votes: 30,692
22. Corpse Bride (2005)
PG | 77 min | Animation, Drama, Family
When a shy groom practices his wedding vows in the inadvertent presence of a deceased young woman, she rises from the grave assuming he has married her.
Directors: Tim Burton, Mike Johnson | Stars: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson, Tracey Ullman
Votes: 298,747 | Gross: $53.36M
23. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
Not Rated | 83 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
The Wolf Man tries to warn a dimwitted porter that Dracula wants his brain for Frankenstein monster's body.
Directors: Charles Barton, Walter Lantz | Stars: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr., Bela Lugosi
Votes: 19,563 | Gross: $4.80M
24. Monster House (2006)
PG | 91 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
Three teens discover that their neighbor's house is really a living, breathing, scary monster.
Director: Gil Kenan | Stars: Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner, Spencer Locke, Ryan Whitney
Votes: 138,139 | Gross: $73.66M
25. The Haunted Mansion (2003)
PG | 88 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy
A realtor and his wife and children are summoned to a mansion, which they soon discover is haunted, and while they attempt to escape, he learns an important lesson about the family he has neglected.
Director: Rob Minkoff | Stars: Eddie Murphy, Marsha Thomason, Jennifer Tilly, Terence Stamp
Votes: 56,894 | Gross: $75.85M
26. The Monster Squad (1987)
PG-13 | 82 min | Action, Comedy, Fantasy
A group of young monster fanatics attempts to save their hometown from Count Dracula and his monsters.
Director: Fred Dekker | Stars: Andre Gower, Robby Kiger, Stephen Macht, Duncan Regehr
Votes: 35,290 | Gross: $3.77M
27. Practical Magic (1998)
PG-13 | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Two witch sisters, raised by their eccentric aunts in a small town, face closed-minded prejudice and a curse which threatens to prevent them ever finding lasting love.
Director: Griffin Dunne | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Stockard Channing, Dianne Wiest
Votes: 93,035 | Gross: $46.68M
28. Addams Family Values (1993)
PG-13 | 94 min | Comedy, Fantasy
The Addams Family try to rescue their beloved Uncle Fester from his gold-digging new love, a black widow named Debbie.
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld | Stars: Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Joan Cusack
Votes: 109,551 | Gross: $48.92M
29. The Addams Family (1991)
PG-13 | 99 min | Comedy, Fantasy
Con artists plan to fleece an eccentric family using an accomplice who claims to be their long-lost uncle.
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld | Stars: Anjelica Huston, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Dan Hedaya
Votes: 179,912 | Gross: $113.50M
30. Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)
R | 123 min | Drama, Horror, Romance
When the brilliant but unorthodox scientist Dr. Victor Frankenstein rejects the artificial man that he has created, the Creature escapes and later swears revenge.
Director: Kenneth Branagh | Stars: Robert De Niro, Kenneth Branagh, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Hulce
Votes: 59,320 | Gross: $22.01M
31. Trick 'r Treat (2007)
R | 82 min | Comedy, Horror
Five interwoven stories that occur on Halloween: an everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband; and a mean old man meets his match with a demonic, supernatural trick-or-treater.
Director: Michael Dougherty | Stars: Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Dylan Baker, Rochelle Aytes
Votes: 104,610
32. The Frighteners (1996)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror
After a tragic car accident that kills his wife, a man discovers he can communicate with the dead, and he uses that gift to con people. However, when a demonic spirit appears, he may be the only one who can stop it from killing the living and the dead.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Michael J. Fox, Trini Alvarado, Peter Dobson, John Astin
Votes: 95,470 | Gross: $16.76M
33. Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018)
PG | 90 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
Two young friends find a magic book that brings a ventriloquist's dummy to life.
Director: Ari Sandel | Stars: Wendi McLendon-Covey, Madison Iseman, Jeremy Ray Taylor, Caleel Harris
Votes: 23,743 | Gross: $46.70M
34. Goosebumps (2015)
PG | 103 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
A teenager teams up with the daughter of young-adult horror author R.L. Stine after the writer's imaginary demons are set free on the town of Madison, Delaware.
Director: Rob Letterman | Stars: Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Odeya Rush, Ryan Lee
Votes: 95,356 | Gross: $80.08M
35. Dracula (1931)
Passed | 75 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Transylvanian vampire Count Dracula bends a naive real estate agent to his will, then takes up residence at a London estate where he sleeps in his coffin by day and searches for potential victims by night.
Directors: Tod Browning, Karl Freund | Stars: Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, David Manners, Dwight Frye
Votes: 58,611
36. Halloweentown (1998 TV Movie)
TV-G | 84 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
When a young girl living with her secret witch mother learns she too is a witch, she must help her witch grandmother save Halloweentown from evil forces.
Director: Duwayne Dunham | Stars: Debbie Reynolds, Kimberly J. Brown, Judith Hoag, Joey Zimmerman
Votes: 21,256
37. Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)
PG | 89 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Dracula and his friends try to bring out the monster in his half human, half vampire grandson in order to keep Mavis from leaving the hotel.
Director: Genndy Tartakovsky | Stars: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James
Votes: 142,963 | Gross: $169.70M
38. The Evil Dead (1981)
NC-17 | 85 min | Horror
Five friends travel to a cabin in the woods, where they unknowingly release flesh-possessing demons.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Bruce Campbell, Ellen Sandweiss, Richard DeManincor, Betsy Baker
Votes: 232,337 | Gross: $2.40M
39. Season of the Witch (2011)
PG-13 | 95 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
14th-century knights transport a suspected witch to a monastery, where monks deduce that her powers could be the source of the Black Plague.
Director: Dominic Sena | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Ron Perlman, Claire Foy, Stephen Campbell Moore
Votes: 98,253 | Gross: $24.83M
40. The VVitch: A New-England Folktale (2015)
R | 92 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A family in 1630s New England is torn apart by the forces of witchcraft, black magic and possession.
Director: Robert Eggers | Stars: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie, Julian Richings
Votes: 300,571 | Gross: $25.14M
41. Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge (2001 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 81 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
A young witch and her grandmother work together to foil the plans of a wicked warlock's son before he can use powerful spells to create chaos in the world.
Director: Mary Lambert | Stars: Kimberly J. Brown, Judith Hoag, Daniel Kountz, Joey Zimmerman
Votes: 10,587
42. Wolf (1994)
R | 125 min | Drama, Horror, Romance
Publisher Will Randall becomes a demon wolf and has to fight to keep his job.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Michelle Pfeiffer, James Spader, Kate Nelligan
Votes: 60,307 | Gross: $65.01M
43. Coraline (2009)
PG | 100 min | Animation, Drama, Family
Wandering her rambling old house in her boring new town, an 11-year-old Coraline discovers a hidden door to a strangely idealized version of her life. In order to stay in the fantasy, she must make a frighteningly real sacrifice.
Director: Henry Selick | Stars: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Jennifer Saunders
Votes: 263,663 | Gross: $75.29M
44. ParaNorman (2012)
PG | 92 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A misunderstood boy takes on ghosts, zombies and grown-ups to save his town from a centuries-old curse.
Directors: Chris Butler, Sam Fell | Stars: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Tucker Albrizzi
Votes: 109,916 | Gross: $56.00M
45. The Witches (1990)
PG | 91 min | Adventure, Comedy, Family
A young boy stumbles onto a witch convention and must stop them, even after he has been turned into a mouse.
Director: Nicolas Roeg | Stars: Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Jasen Fisher, Rowan Atkinson
Votes: 54,643 | Gross: $10.36M
46. I, Frankenstein (2014)
PG-13 | 92 min | Action, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Frankenstein's creature finds himself caught in an all-out, centuries-old war between two immortal clans.
Director: Stuart Beattie | Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Bill Nighy, Miranda Otto, Virginie Le Brun
Votes: 83,914 | Gross: $19.08M
47. Dracula Untold (2014)
PG-13 | 92 min | Action, Drama, Fantasy
As his kingdom is being threatened by the Turks, young prince Vlad Tepes must become a monster feared by his own people in order to obtain the power needed to protect his own family, and the families of his kingdom.
Director: Gary Shore | Stars: Luke Evans, Dominic Cooper, Sarah Gadon, Art Parkinson
Votes: 207,578 | Gross: $56.28M
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