The 81 Best Halloween Movies of All Time

1. Practical Magic (1998)

• Cast: Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, Dianne Wiest, Stockard Channing
• Run time: 104 minutes

Bullock and Kidman are primo on their own. Together? Playing nonpracticing witches who try to use their hereditary gift for magic to fix their love lives? Solid gold. (Same goes for the Stevie Nicks soundtrack.)

2. Hocus Pocus (1993)

• Cast: Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker
• Run time: 96 minutes

More witches! The Sanderson sisters are resurrected after three centuries, and just in time for trick-or-treaters. But can Max stop them from carrying out their evil plan?

4. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

• Cast: Richard O'Brien, Tim Curry, Patricia Quinn
• Run time: 98 minutes

This cult musical about a couple (Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick) forced to rap on the door of a wacky scientist (Tim Curry) after their car breaks down is a must-watch for the soundtrack and costumes alone.

6. Ghostbusters (1984)

• Cast: Bill Murray, Casey Kasem, Dan Aykroyd
• Run time: 105 minutes

If you loved the 2016 version, you will definitely love the hilarious 1984 classic—starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Sigourney Weaver—about a group of professors turned ghost removers.

7. Edward Scissorhands (1990)

• Cast: Johnny Depp, Winona Ryder, Dianne Wiest, Anthony Michael Hall
• Run time: 105 minutes

This is a must-watch for anyone who thinks Johnny Depp’s kooky character acting began with Pirates of the Caribbean...

28 Ways to Dress Up Your Dog This Halloween

9. The Addams Family (1991)

• Cast: Raul Julia, Anjelica Huston, Christopher Lloyd
• Run time: 101 minutes

Anjelica Huston was nominated for an Oscar for her role in this film about a group of con artists who try to pull a fast one on the famously eccentric family.

11. Casper (1995)

• Cast: Christina Ricci, Bill Pullman, Cathy Moriarty
• Run time: 100 minutes

Christina Ricci is back at it when a friendly ghost falls in love with her. Too bad Casper's also-transparent relatives don’t approve.

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

• Cast: Peter Robbins, Christopher Shea, Kathy Steinberg, Bill Melendez
• Run time: 96 minutes

More for the family: Linus waits out the arrival of the Great Pumpkin, despite relentless teasing from Lucy, Sally and the rest of the Peanuts gang.

15. Corpse Bride (2005)

• Cast: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Emily Watson
• Run time: 77 minutes

The other animated Halloween movie from Tim Burton, this one is about a shy groom (voiced by Johnny Depp) practicing his wedding vows in front of a dead woman (Helena Bonham Carter) who, confused, assumes she’s now his bride.

16. Halloween (1978)

• Cast: Donald Pleasence, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tony Moran
• Run time: 91 minutes

As the first movie in the Halloween franchise, it introduces viewers to serial killer Michael Myers (Nick Castle) as he terrorizes the innocent residents of Haddonfield, Illinois.

17. Halloweentown (1998)

• Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Kimberly J. Brown, Joey Zimmerman
• Run time: 84 minutes

On her 13th birthday, Marnie (Kimberly J. Brown) learns she’s a witch. Join her as she follows her grandma to Halloweentown, a magical city where warlocks, trolls and zombies reside year-round.

18. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

• Cast: Heather Langenkamp, John Saxon, Ronee Blakley, Robert Englund
• Run time: 91 minutes

Director Wes Craven incited fear with this classic slasher film, which follows Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) as he stalks teenagers in their dreams.

20. Scream (1996)

• Cast: Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Matthew Lillard, Rose McGowan, Skeet Ulrich
• Run time: 111 minutes

A small town is on edge after someone commits a series of murders while wearing a Ghostface costume. The slightly comical horror scenes make it the perfect introduction to slasher films.

21. The Shining (1980)

• Cast: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Scatman Crothers, Danny Lloyd
• Run time: 144 minutes

When a struggling writer becomes a caretaker at an isolated hotel, he uncovers secrets about the property’s dark past. (Creepy children included.)

23. Carrie (1976)

• Cast: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, Nancy Allen
• Run time: 98 minutes

Based on Stephen King’s namesake horror novel, the movie follows Carrie as she discovers her supernatural powers.

24. The Exorcist (1973)

• Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn
• Run time: 122 minutes

When Regan (Linda Blair) starts acting bizarre, her parents seek medical attention only to realize she’s been seized by the devil.

25. Hotel Transylvania (2012)

• Cast: Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, Selena Gomez, Kevin James, Fran Drescher
• Run time: 91 minutes

Introducing Hotel Transylvania, a lavish resort run by Count Dracula that serves as a vacation-like escape for monsters.

26. Night of the Living Dead (1968)

• Cast: Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Marilyn Eastman
• Run time: 96 minutes

The O.G. zombie movie. It’s filmed in grainy black-and-white, which automatically makes everything 100 times scarier.

27. The Haunted Mansion (2003)

• Cast: Eddie Murphy, Terence Stamp, Nathaniel Parker, Marsha Thomason,
• Run time: 86 minutes

Jim (Murphy) and his family are in for quite the surprise when they visit a mansion that’s unknowingly haunted by Master Gracey (Nathaniel Parker).

29. Paranormal Activity (2007)

• Cast: Katie Featherston, Micah Sloat
• Run time: 85 minutes

Katie (Featherston) and Micah (Sloat) are excited to get settled in their new home. That is, until they discover that they’re not the only residents...

30. The Babadook (2014)

• Cast: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall
• Run time: 96 minutes

A single mom is trying to help her son get over his fear of monsters—that is, until she comes face-to-face with the sinister presence itself.

31. Monster House (2006)

• Cast: Steve Buscemi, Nick Cannon, Maggie Gyllenhaal
• Run time: 90 minutes

Three kids are convinced that there’s a creature living in the house next door...but no adults will believe them.

32. The Craft (1996)

• Cast: Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell
• Run time: 100 minutes

When Sarah (Robin Tunney) transfers to a new school, she meets a coven of witches who are keen on taking advantage of her telekenetic powers.

33. Poltergeist (1982)

• Cast: JoBeth Williams, Craig T. Nelson, Heather O'Rourke
• Run time: 114 minutes

The members of the Freeling family are in for a scare when they learn ghosts can access the house via their television set.

35. The Invitation (2015)

• Cast: Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard, Michiel Huisman
• Run time: 96 minutes

When a man (Logan Marshall-Green) attends a dinner party, he soon learns that his ex-wife (Tammy Blanchard) is planning revenge against the guests (including himself).

36. Boogeyman (2005)

• Cast: Barry Watson, Emily Deschanel, Lucy Lawless
• Run time: 89 minutes

As a child, Tim (Aaron Murphy) is haunted by the memory of his father being dragged away by the boogeyman. Years later, he’s forced to face his fears as an adult (Barry Watson).

38. Sleepy Hollow (1999)

• Cast: Johnny Depp, Christina Ricci, Miranda Richardson
• Run time: 105 minutes

Based on Washington Irving’s classic tale, it follows Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp) as he investigates a series of murders in the small village of Sleepy Hollow.

39. Pet Sematary (1989)

• Cast: Dale Midkiff, Denise Crosby, Fred Gwynne
• Run time: 102 minutes

Another Stephen King adaptation. The movie is a modern-day take on the fictional story about a couple who discovers a haunted burial ground near their home.

40. Trick 'r Treat (2007)

• Cast: Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, Dylan Baker
• Run time: 82 minutes

The lives of several strangers become intertwined on Halloween. Can they extinguish the Jack-o-Lantern before midnight?

42. The Nun (2018)

• Cast: Demián Bichir, Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet
• Run time: 96 minutes

When a nun takes her own life, the case is sent to the Vatican for investigation, where they uncover an unholy secret. Dun dun dun.

43. House on Haunted Hill (1999)

• Cast: Geoffrey Rush, Famke Janssen, Taye Diggs
• Run time: 92 minutes

Stephen Price (Geoffrey Rush) is offering a million dollars to anyone who can stay the night in a former insane asylum. He soon learns the haunted tales are more fact than fiction.

44. The Sixth Sense (1999)

• Cast: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams
• Run time: 107 minutes

Cole (Haley Joel Osment) is too scared to tell anyone about his supernatural abilities. That is, until he meets Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis), who uncovers the truth.

45. The Blair Witch Project (1999)

• Cast: Heather Donahue, Joshua Leonard, Michael C. Williams
• Run time: 80 minutes

Through archived footage, three film students embark on a wild journey as they search for answers about a local murderer named Blair Witch.

46. The Witches (1990)

• Cast: Anjelica Huston, Mai Zetterling, Jasen Fisher
• Run time: 91 minutes

When Luke (Fisher) accidentally eavesdrops on a convention of witches, he’s forced to flee before they turn him into a test subject.

48. Scooby-Doo: The Movie (2002)

• Cast: Freddie Prinze, Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard
• Run time: 86 minutes

Meet Mystery Incorporated, a group of four adults (plus one dog) who reunite to investigate a series of incidents at a popular resort.

49. The Witch (2015)

• Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Ralph Ineson, Kate Dickie
• Run time: 93 minutes

It’s 1630 in New England. A family encounters a dark force near their home after the youngest son, Samuel, suddenly goes missing.

50. Us (2019)

• Cast: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Elisabeth Moss
• Run time: 9116 minutes

Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o) returns to her childhood home with her family only to be greeted by masked strangers who look exactly like them.

52. Beetlejuice (1988)

• Cast: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Michael Keaton
• Run time: 92 minutes

Before she was a mom spooked on Stranger Things, Winona Ryder was a teenager spooked by ghosts (Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) in this comedy about a husband and wife haunting the new owners of their beloved house.

53. Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)

• Cast: Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Paul Reubens, Rutger Hauer, Luke Perry, Hilary Swank
• Run time: 86 minutes

No, not the TV show. This 1992 teen hit is what inspired the TV show. Kristy Swanson plays a flighty teenager who discovers she’s blessed with vampire butt-kicking powers. (Beverly Hills, 90210 heartthrob Luke Perry also stars.)

54. Double Double Toil and Trouble (1993)

• Cast: Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Olsen, Cloris Leachman
• Run time: 93 minutes

In an attempt to save their family home, the Olsen twins team up to outsmart their evil aunt (Cloris Leachman), who’s after a magic moonstone.

56. The Conjuring (2013)

• Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor
• Run time: 112 minutes

Two paranormal investigators are enlisted to help a family who recently moved into a new house. The problem? It has a supernatural presence. Cue the nightmares.

57. Rosemary's Baby (1968)

• Cast: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon
• Run time: 136 minutes

A young couple is desperate to conceive a baby. When they finally do, the young mother suspects an evil cult is plotting to steal the newborn.

59. Goosebumps (2015)

• Cast: Jack Black, Dylan Minnette, Amy Ryan, Ryan Lee
• Run time: 103 minutes

Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) is thrilled when he learns that his neighbor’s dad is a renowned sci-fi author. Things take a dramatic turn when he accidentally unleashes the franchise’s fictional monsters.

61. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

• Cast: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey, Ken Page
• Run time: 76 minutes

It’s one of Tim Burton’s best: When Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween Town, gets bored scaring people every year, he moves on to Christmas Town—and his plan goes awry.

63. Coraline (2009)

• Cast: Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders
• Run time: 101 minutes

A family flick that follows a young girl named Coraline (voiced by Dakota Fanning), who ventures into an alternate world after discovering a secret door.

64. Young Frankenstein (1974)

• Cast: Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Cloris Leachman
• Run time: 106 minutes

In Mel Brooks’s masterpiece, Dr. Frankenstein (Gene Wilder) inherits his grandfather’s estate in Transylvania and resumes his monster-making experiments with the help of servants Igor (Marty Feldman), Inga (Teri Garr) and Frau Blücher (Cloris Leachman).

67. Little Shop of Horrors (1986)

• Cast: Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia
• Run time: 93 minutes

Rick Moranis plays Seymour, a flower-shop assistant pining away for his coworker Audrey (Ellen Greene), who happens to have a boyfriend (Steve Martin). But when he discovers a plant that prefers to feed on human flesh and blood—boom, problem solved.

69. Ernest Scared Stupid (1991)

• Cast: Jim Varney, Eartha Kitt, Shay Astar
• Run time: 96 minutes

Seriously, the ’90s knew how to do Halloween. In this silly take on the holiday, Ernest accidentally unleashes an army of trolls on a small town on October 31. And to be honest, it holds up.

71. Truth or Dare (2018)

• Cast: Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, Violett Beane
• Run time: 100 minutes

It’s the childhood game we all know and love. But this time, it triggers an evil demon that forces a group of friends to confront their biggest fears.

72. Candyman (2021)

• Cast: Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Teyonah Parris, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett
• Run time: 91 minutes

In this sequel to the 1992 classic, a young artist gets more than he bargained for after exploring the history of the infamous Candyman. We promise, you won't look at mirrors the same way again.

73. His House (2020)

• Cast: Wunmi Mosaku, Sope Dirisu, Matt Smith
• Run time: 93 minutes

Two refugees escape their war-torn country and seek asylum in England—but the place where they end up turns out to be even more terrifying than the place they left...

74. It: Chapter 2 (2019)

• Cast: Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa
• Run time: 169 minutes

It’s been 27 years since the first Pennywise encounter. Watch The Losers Club reunite in this terrifying sequel.

76. The Hollow (2004)

• Cast: Kevin Zegers, Kaley Cuoco, Nick Carter, Stacy Keach
• Run time: 83 minutes

Inspired by Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, this film follows Ian, a teenager who learns that he's a descendant of Ichabod Crane. His presence leads to the return of the Headless Horseman, but will he and his friends succeed at taking him down?

77. Polaroid (2019)

• Cast: Kathryn Prescott, Mitch Pileggi, Grace Zabriskie
• Run time: 88 minutes

A teenager named Bird gets her hands on a seemingly harmless vintage Polaroid camera. But when she learns that it hold a mysterious, deadly curse, she must find a way to put an end to it.

78. Scream 2 (1997)

• Cast: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox
• Run time: 120 minutes

Set two years after the events of the first film, Scream 2 follows Sydney and Gale as they relive the same nightmare. Once again, a masked killer resurfaces and goes on a killing spree, but can Sydney and the gang stop him?