I absolutely love Halloween. I celebrate all month long. But, I'm a wimp and hate to actually be scared. Horror movies? Forget about it. Haunted houses? I cry. So I've put together a list of not-so-scary movies and TV shows to get you into the Halloween spirit, without giving you nightmares for a week.
1. The Addams Family (1991)
They're creepy, kooky, mysterious, and not-too-spooky. This spin on the old school TV show centers around the Addams' crooked lawyer, who helps a loan shark impersonate Uncle Fester in order to rob the family of their gold. Who doesn't love that?
2. Supernatural
You could honestly watch any episode of Supernatural and have a great, kind of scary time. But there's ten seasons on Netflix and that's just way too much, so I've narrowed it down to three stand outs.
Bloody Mary (S1, Ep 5)
The episode opens on a middle school girls' sleepover, when one is dared to go play Bloody Mary. No one dies, except the hosts father. Seeing the odd obituary draws Sam and Dean to the town to investigate.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester (S4, Ep 7)
Sam and Dean look into deaths linked to a witch, bent on raising a powerful demon on Halloween, named Samahain, and they are forced to call upon the angel Castiel for help.
Family Remains (S4, Ep11)
Sam and Dean try to stop a family from moving into a haunted house, and things get...complicated.
3. The Craft (1996)
Sarah Bailey, a sixteen year old with a history of suicidal tendencies and hallucinations, moves to L.A. with her family to start a new life - and is enrolled into a Catholic school. She befriends a group of girls who have an interest in the occult and witchcraft. Together, they find they have nearly unstoppable power. Everything seems great...until they learn the price of their magic.
4. Charmed
Ms. Hellfire (S2, Ep9)
Prue goes undercover to find out who sent an assassin to kill off 13 witches on Friday the 13th.
All Halliwell's Eve (S3, Ep 4)
On Halloween, the sisters are sucked into a time portal and wind up in Virginia, 1670. Once there, the sisters are without their powers and assigned by a group of good witches to rescue pregnant Charlotte and her unborn baby from evil.
Hyde School Reunion (S6, Ep 16)
Pheobe accidentally casts a spell that turns her and her old classmates back to their teenaged personalities. Chaos ensues.
5. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007)
Based on a Broadway musical. Tim Burton directed. Starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Alan Rickman. What more could you want?
Benjamin Barker is wrongfully imprisoned by Judge Turpin. After fifteen years in exile, Benjamin returns to London under the alias Sweeney Todd, seeking revenge against Turpin. He meets the widow Mrs. Lovett who tells him that his wife, Lucy swallowed arsenic many years ago, and Turpin assigned himself tutor of his daughter, Johanna. He opens a barber shop above Mrs. Lovett's store, initiating a crime rampage against those who made him suffer and lose his beloved family.
6. The Twilight Zone
Perchance to Dream (S1, Ep 9)
Edward Hall fights to stay awake, as he tells his psychiatrist that he's been dreaming in "chapters." He believes that if he falls asleep, the next chapter of his dream will lead to the Cat Woman, Maya, killing him.
The After Hours (S1, Ep 34)
Marsha White visits a department store, looking for a gold thimble to give to her mother. She can't find what she's looking for, and a salesperson suggests she try the 9th floor. She finds the thimble there, but on her way back to the main floor, discovers the thimble is scratched. She makes her way to the claims department, where she is told there is no 9th floor...
Eye of the Beholder (S2, Ep 6)
Janet Tyler is in the hospital having undergone treatment to make her look normal. She is desperate to look like everyone else, and has undergone 11 surgeries to make it so. Some of her earliest childhood memories are of people looking away, horrified by her appearance. Her bandages will soon come off and she can only hope that this, her last treatment, will have done the trick. If not, her doctor has told she will be segregated with a colony of similar looking people.
7. Children of the Corn (1984)
It's probably blasphemy to include a Stephen King movie on a list of not-scary movies, but honestly, the 1984 version is pretty cheesy.
It's probably blasphemy to include a Stephen King movie on a list of not-scary movies, but honestly, the 1984 version is pretty cheesy. A young couple finds themselves stranded in a remote Midwestern town where a religious cult made up of children kills anyone over the age of 18.
8. Goosebumps
Remember this show? Based on the book series by R.L. Stine, Goosebumps is classic 90s cheeseball "horror."
The Return of the Mummy (S1, Ep 11)
Gabe gets more than he bargained for on his trip to Egypt. His uncle, an archaeologist, is about to discover the tomb of a great ancient prince. But, legend says that if the prince's mummy is disturbed, he will come back to life and seek revenge on whoever woke him.
A Night in Terror Tower (Parts 1&2) (Specials, 3&4)
Eddie and Sue find themselves stuck in Terror Tower for the night and must try to find a way to escape.
The Perfect School (Parts 1&2) (S3, Eps 8&9)
After yet another prank, Brian's parents decide to send him to a summer school that claims to be perfect. However, he soon begins to think something far from perfect is going on...
9. Corpse Bride (2005)
10. American Horror Story
Halloween (Parts 1&2) (S1, Eps 4&5)
Literally so much happens in these episodes. But the important part is that it's Halloween, and the spirits that haunt the house can leave and get into trouble.
Dark Cousin (S2, Ep 7)
Sister Mary Eunice discovers the angel of death has descended on Briarcliff Manor.
The Axeman Cometh (S3, Ep 6)
When Zoe, Queenie and Nan use a ouija board to find out what happened to Madison, they awaken the spirit of a long-dead serial killer, the Axeman.
