Scary Movies for People Who Can’t Handle Scary Movies

• Get Out (2017), creepy & eerie (with a heavy dose of racial violence), but not scary in the “traditional” sense.
• 28 Days Later (2002), a fast-paced and suspenseful zombie flick with nothing more than some gore and social-emotional frights.
• Jaws (1975), a perfect film that is so fun to watch and too lo-fi to be really, truly scary.
• Little Shop of Horrors (1986), it’s a musical! You can’t be scared watching a musical!
• Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), see above.

non-horror classics

• The Addams Family (1991), the list could honestly end here…
• Dracula (1931) — it’s a standard for a reason.
• Ghostbusters (1984), why oh why couldn’t they crack a single sequel? At least the original is golden.

90s witch movies

• Witches (1990), I don’t want to hear about the Anne Hathaway version!!!
• Practical Magic (1998), no spookier than watching the news.
• The Craft (1996), the outfits! The sacred circle! The spells! The power of Mother Earth!
• Hocus Pocus (1993), it had to be on this list somewhere.

CAMPY & CHEESY

• The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), fun all year but extra fun in October.
• Beetlejuice (1988), and hey — why not add in the legasequel, too (2024).
• Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988), too silly to be scary.
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), if it didn’t scare you as a child, it won’t scare you now.

SPOOKY ANIMATED MOVIES

• Monster House (2006), it’s cute, it’s fun, it’s creepy, watch it!
• ParaNorman (2012), I watch this every year without fail and love it more every time.
• Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2006), why not throw it on, we’re having a good time.
• Igor (2008), a good spooky background movie.
• The Corpse Bride (2005), I guess I’m societally obligated to add this to the list (also see: Frankenweenie (2012), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Ed Wood (1994)).

Movies That Aren’t Halloween Movies But Feel Halloween-Coded Due to Tone or Costuming (and Even If They’re Not, Are Nevertheless Good to Watch in October)

• Coraline (2009), we all agree this is a Halloween movie, right?
• Blue Velvet (1986), maybe it’s just when I first saw it, but this has always felt like a Halloween-adjacent film to me.
• Disney’s Cruella (2021), okay hear me out. This movie kind of sucks, but it’s spooky season!
• Edward Scissorhands (1990), just put it on. I don’t care how many times you’ve seen it.

Halloween Costume Fodder (a.k.a. Musicals to Watch In the Fall)

• Wicked (2024), duh.
• Burlesque (2010), Christina? Cher? Stanley?
• Moulin Rouge (2001), the most Halloween-coded non-Halloween movie.
• Cabaret (1972), nothing’s scarier than the rise of the Nazi party.

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