Halloween was always my favorite holiday when I was younger.
I love fall.
Autumn is the new year for many cultures, so maybe that’s why my soul has a yearning for new things.
I love hiking in the woods and smelling the detritus and viewing the splendor of the leaves as they pass away. Theirs is a most glorious death.
There is something magical about that crushed leaf smell on the breeze and the cool mornings with warm sunny afternoons. I love seeing pumpkins on porches. I love lighting candles as the nights begin earlier and earlier.
And the mosquitoes are gone.
Now that my girls are older, they can watch some scary movies with me. We watch certain movies for the pop culture references, film history, and to discuss how these movies portray folklore, historical circumstances, and mental illness.
I don’t like movies about possession. A lot of the modern films make me nervous. I prefer the classics before CGI.
And I still love the sweet kids’ classics that the whole family can watch together.
20 Favorite Family Friendly Halloween Movies
Hocus Pocus
“It’s a full moon tonight. That’s when all the weirdos are out.”
Ernest Scared Stupid
If you don’t love Ernest, we can’t be friends.
The Addams Family
“Are they made from real Girl Scouts?”
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
“There are three things I’ve learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin.”
Beetlejuice
Practical Magic
Always down for some midnight margaritas!
Corpse Bride
Honestly, anything and everything by Tim Burton, please.
Ghostbusters
“There is no Dana, only Zuul!”
The new one is good too.
The Haunted Mansion
Eddie Murphy, y’all.
Harry Potter series
Perfect time of year for a movie marathon.
Coco
Such a sweet film and teaches about Mexican culture.
Song of the Sea
The sweetest Irish story and great animation and music.
Hotel Transylvania series
“I do not say blah blah blah!”
Ella Enchanted
Loads of fun!
The Karate Kid
It takes place at Halloween, ok?
Spirited Away
A sweet metaphorical story.
Halloweentown
Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
We love anything Wallace & Gromit!
Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium
Magic and a great cast!
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
The first movie I saw in the theatre!
There are other great movies too, but I had to keep my lists concise.
What’s your favorite Halloween movie?
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heather K says
October 16, 2018 at 4:19 pmI’ll be honest, I’m quite surprised a lot of these movies are being encouraged on a Christian blog. And at the same time, I can’t be too critical of it because I used to love scary movies, for a long time after I became a Christian … that is, until I found myself home alone with kids at night, and visions of these horror scenes would come back to haunt me. Once I realized how strongly those movies affected me, even years later, I stopped watching them. And I tell my kids now to be very careful what they put in their minds because they can’t take it out.
I know each person has to decide these things for themselves, but I personally won’t watch movies like these for three reasons. One, because I think they encourage things that are completely contrary to God and holiness, and I can’t support that. Two, because these kinds of things – murder, witchcraft, violence, etc. – are very real in the world. Some people commit horrible crimes in real life, the same kinds of crimes we watch and laugh about in horror movies. And I think that’s terrifying, and not something to encourage by watching movies about it. And three, because I had a season of nighttime demonic harassment which really opened my eyes to the reality of the spirit world and how what we do affects the spirit world and is observed by the spirit world. This is a link to my experience, and to why I feel so strongly about things like these: https://mycrazyfaith.blogspot.com/2018/08/why-i-dont-doubt-existence-of.html
Sorry if this comes across like some sort of lecture, or like I am an old fuddy-duddy. I mean no disrespect. I mean this in a “let’s talk openly and friendly-like, as fellow believers in the Lord.” But I figure it’s open for comments because you provided it as a link on other blogs. So this is my two cents. Take what you want from it and toss the rest. Blessings!
Jennifer says
October 19, 2018 at 5:36 pmI’ve known many with your views and I tried to conform to this, but it’s just not who I am.
I’m so glad we can be friendly and discuss.
I don’t necessarily think crime and horror are to be laughed at, but perhaps as education and social commentary. They can be moralistic and educational. I want to watch with my kids to discuss. There’s a weird fascination with humanity’s potential for evil. I prefer the older films that don’t glorify or show the gore. The classics were so much better than some of the modern garbage films with CGI and glorification of murder and evil. And I have actually updated my post to remove the horror films.
Jessi's Design says
October 17, 2018 at 11:20 amOh man I’d forgotten about some of these! Thanks for sharing! (I’m pretty sure I know every line to Beetlejuice, haha!)
Jennifer says
October 19, 2018 at 5:34 pmThat’s amazing.
Michelle @ momsarefrugal.com says
October 17, 2018 at 2:27 pmI have seen almost all of the movies listed, the non-family ones I would never let my children watch and now question why my parents thought it was OK to watch. The possession movies still have embedded images in my eyes. For many years I wondered why I had trouble sleeping at night and had horrible nightmares, then when I became I Christian God opened my eyes to see that the movies were not holy. We are to keep our eyes on things above and he will give us peace. I don’t want my children to ever have the memories from seeing others’ kill someone.
ON the other hand, we do watch most of the family friendly movies. We still celebrate Halloween, but without the scary.
Jennifer says
October 19, 2018 at 5:33 pmYes, there has to be balance and I don’t like a lot of the popular themes in the recent horror genre. As for the movies not being holy…of course they aren’t. They’re social commentary on society. People have such potential for evil. They offer morals and interesting perspectives on psychology. It’s a constant evaluation of balance and education. I would rather watch with my kids and discuss, but there are some that give me the heebie jeebies.
Evelyn Edgett says
October 17, 2018 at 3:56 pmI also love these films–have you ever noticed that the original Halloween never really showed a lot of actual blood or violence? It was implied, not shown. I watched it in the theater when it first came out–scared the bejeebers out of me. My son has always gone with me to horror films–he likes the special effects, and is a big fan of Tom Savini, the make up artist. I love Practical Magic–much better than the book it was based from.
I’ve been a Christian for over 50 years, and I have watched a lot of scary movies. I don’t watch a lot of the newer ones, because they just aren’t that good. I loved the old Hammer films, in fact, Christopher Lee once said that horror films were intended to be morality tales, that taught ‘stay away from evil’.
Jennifer says
October 19, 2018 at 5:30 pmThank you so much! I LOVE the classics and think they’re way better than the newer movies. We love Savini and Raimi and the really good special effects artists. I love the movies before digital and CGI.
Mother of 3 says
October 18, 2018 at 6:36 pmHa! I am not nearly brave enough to watch any of the non- family ones and I think i have only seen a few of the family ones at that. Harry Potter is one of our very favorite family movies to watch year round and I actually made a Morticia Adams costume one year for Halloween because I did enjoy those movies but I guess I”m not much of a Halloween or Scary movie kind of person. Fabulous list though and you gave me a few ideas of some “new” movies to introduce my boys to. Pinned.
Jennifer says
October 19, 2018 at 5:31 pmI’ve had phases when I didn’t like scary movies, but my kids are older now and I’d rather they watch them with me so we can discuss.
Ann says
October 21, 2018 at 12:22 pmI’ve never been a big scary movie fan..you’ve listed some great options. Thank you for sharing at Party In Your PJs!