By Janet Gerges ‘26

Picture this: it’s a cool, crisp autumn evening. You’re settling down after a long day of school and work with a mug full of warm tea. You’ve been so excited about Halloween and the fall season and you’re so happy to sit down, relax, and watch a movie… but you have no idea what to watch! 

Well fear not, because I’ve got you covered with this list of my top seven Halloween movies!

7. Corpse Bride

This movie is a quintessential Tim Burton claymation film. Packed with encounters with the undead, skeleton dogs, and wedding villains, this movie is a ton of fun and super eerie! It is definitely a good option when you’re looking for a more cute, spooky film.

6. Beetlejuice

If you know anything about theater, you’ve definitely heard of Beetlejuice the musical, but the classic 1988 film is actually perfect for the Halloween season! It is certainly hair-raising because of its ghosts, but it’s also funny and musical. This movie will definitely satisfy your spooky movie needs.

5. Edward Scissorhands

Another Tim Burton movie! This cast starring Winona Ryder and Johnny Depp offers a frightening film about a man without real hands. It’s set in a warmer climate, but this film will still give you the chills in the way only a Tim Burton film can.

4. The Addams Family (1991)

While this isn’t the only adaptation of this extremely peculiar family, this is my favorite. It’s a spinoff of the original television show documenting the lives of an odd family who enjoy pain, suffering, and, obviously, the company of their family. This first movie is the story of finding a long-lost family member, and there is a second, even more sadistic film, Addams Family Values, that is also definitely worth the watch

3. Halloweentown

A 90s favorite, Halloweentown is a Disney Channel original movie about a family of witches who live in Halloweentown. Every year they find a new way to save the town from evil magic; witches, wizards, and creatures unite to save Halloweentown and the City Hall Pumpkin.

2. Hocus Pocus

Hocus Pocus has been quite famous recently due to a sequel being produced almost 30 years later! The first movie still remains as classic as ever: a trio of three evil sister witches coming back to life because of a black flame candle. If you love adventures and magic, this movie is the one for you!

1. The Nightmare Before Christmas

This might be one of the most well-known Tim Burton movies. It is a classic claymation film and spans multiple holidays: Halloween and Christmas. Halloweentown, the setting of this movie, gives you the very disturbing Halloween side of this movie, and all the characters are equally cute and scary. Jack Skellington is one of my favorite spooky season characters, and this movie is perfectly ominous.

I hope you can find some time in your busy schedules to bundle up with these cozy and creepy Halloween movies. Have a safe and haunting spooky season!