The 31 best Halloween family films for children and teenagers

Grab some popcorn, dim the lights, and let the magic of Halloween come to life through the power of film! Get in the Halloween spirit with a family movie night!

Our curated list of 31 Halloween movies has something for everyone, from the littlest trick-or-treaters to mature teenagers looking for a good scare. Whether you’re in the mood for enchanting stories, light-hearted fun, or spooky thrills, these films are sure to set the stage for an unforgettable spooky season.

Here is our list of 31 Halloween movies for kids and teens, sorted by age:

Preschool and early elementary school

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad

(NR) These classic animated adaptations of The Wind in the Willows and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow shouldn’t scare even the youngest viewers.

Book of Life

(PG) The journey of Manolo, a young man torn between fulfilling his family’s expectations and following his heart. Before choosing a path, he embarks on an incredible adventure that spans three fantastic worlds in which he must face his greatest fears.

Casper

(PG) The iconic cartoon character of your youth returns. Dr. Harvey, an afterlife therapist hired to train the spirits living in a house, and his daughter Kat move in and soon Kat meets Casper, the friendliest spirit. But Casper’s uncles are still determined to drive away all “flesh creatures”.

Coco

(PG) This breathtakingly beautiful Day of the Dead film follows Miguel, an aspiring young musician, to the land of the dead to find his great-grandfather, a legendary singer, and uncover the secrets of his family’s history.

Curious George: A Halloween Boo-Fest

(TV-Y) In preparation for the annual Boo Festival, George and Allie visit Renkins’ farm to pick out the perfect pumpkin. There they hear the spooky story of the legend of No Noggin, a hat-kicking scarecrow who shows up on Halloween to kick people’s hats off their heads. Will George and Allie take a photo of No Noggin on Halloween night to prove once and for all that he is real?

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

(TV-G) The Peanuts gang celebrates Halloween with trick-or-treating and a Halloween party while Linus waits for the Great Pumpkin in the pumpkin patch.

Hotel Transylvania

(PG) Run by Dracula, Hotel Transylvania is a unique, high-end resort that houses only the best monsters and their families. The whole family will fall in love with the crazy characters in this series, from Drac and his daughter Mavis to Murray the Mummy and the werewolf pups!

The nightmare before Christmas

(PG) Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, tries to bring the magic of Christmas to Halloween Town and kidnaps Santa Claus.

Pooh’s Heffalump Halloween Movie

(G) It’s Lumpy’s first Halloween and he’s excited! But when Pooh eats all the Halloween candy before trick-or-treating, it’s up to Lumpy and Roo to catch the Gabloon and wish for even more candy before Halloween is over.

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Older elementary school

The Box Trolls

(PG) Based on the children’s novel There are monsters here by Alan Snow, this is the story of a little orphan boy who is raised in caves by underground garbage collectors.

Frankenweenie

(PG) Young Victor conducts a scientific experiment intended to bring his dog Sparky back to life, only to be faced with unintended, sometimes monstrous consequences.

Ghostbusters

(PG) The original film is still the best in our opinion! The Paranormal Paratroopers face their biggest challenge when a woman discovers that her refrigerator leads directly to the Gates of Hell! With the whole world watching, it’s up to the Ghostbusters to stop Manhattan from becoming a madhouse! In case you don’t remember, there are swear words in this text.

Goose flesh

(PG) After moving to a small town, Zach Cooper meets Hannah, his neighbor and daughter of RL Stine, the book’s author Goose flesh stories. Although Stine keeps all of the series’ monsters under wraps in his books, they are unintentionally released. The trio joins forces to bring the monsters back to where they came from.

labyrinth

(PG) When Sarah wishes for goblins to come and get her little brother, the King of the Goblins (the late, great David Bowie) obliges. Sarah has 13 hours to solve the puzzle of the labyrinth and get her little brother back.

Monster house

(PG) A group of children discover that a house in the neighborhood is actually a monster. To solve the house’s mystery, they must get inside before it takes away everyone who crosses its path.

ParaNorman

(PG) Norman must use his special powers to save his city from a centuries-old curse. But this young ghoul whisperer will soon find that his paranormal activities have reached their otherworldly limits.

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Tweens and young teens

Beetlejuice

(PG) After Barbara and Adam Maitland die in a car accident, they find themselves trapped in their home as ghosts. Their peaceful “existence” is disrupted when a yuppie family buys the house, but things get even worse when the Maitlands turn to Beetlejuice, a spirit that casts out people, for help. We tried it when our sons were 7 and 9 and they found it too scary.

Coraline

(PG) Coraline Jones is bored in her new home until she finds a secret door that leads her to a world just like her own – only better! But when this fantastic adventure becomes dangerous, Coraline must rely on her ingenuity and courage to get home.

corpse bride

(PG) After Victor messes up his wedding vows at rehearsal, he asks her to practice while traveling through the forest. He finally gets it right and ceremoniously places the wedding ring on a finger-shaped stick, which turns out to be the rotted finger of a murdered girl, who appears as a zombie and insists that she is now Victor’s wife.

Ghostbusters: Afterlife

(PG-13) In this 2021 Ghostbusters sequel, a single mother and her two children discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters and their father’s secret legacy after moving back into their late father’s dilapidated home.

Gremlins

(PG) An inventor gives his son a strange little creature with three very specific instructions on how to care for it. The rules are accidentally broken and the young man unleashes a horde of miniature monsters on his city.

Hocus pocus

(PG) We love both the original and the 2022 sequel starring the Sanderson Sisters. Their mischievous magic and spooky antics make this a family favorite that never gets old!

Hubie Halloween

(PG-13) Despite being ridiculed by most of the town, Hubie Dubois spends his time on Halloween policing the town and finds himself at the center of a real murder case on Halloween night.

poltergeist

(PG) The classic story about a family whose suburban home is haunted by evil forces. When the horrific apparitions escalate their attacks and trap the youngest daughter, the family must come together to save her before she disappears forever. The original is rated PG, but in the era before PG-13 existed, so it’s up to parents’ discretion. The remake (which I have never seen) is rated PG-13.

Warm bodies

(PG-13) This film is a Halloween version of Shakespeare’s classic tale of star-crossed lovers. It’s about a zombie named R who falls in love with Julia, one of humanity’s last surviving humans. It’s cheesy and incredibly funny.

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Older teens and adults

Carrie

(R) After merciless taunts from classmates and abuse from her mother, Carrie’s anger – and her telekinetic powers – are unleashed. And when a prom prank goes terribly wrong, events spiral out of control until the terrifying conclusion of this powerful, pulse-pounding horror story.

The incantation

(R) Based on the true story of Ed and Lorraine Warren, world-renowned paranormal investigators called to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in their remote farmhouse.

The Exorcist

(R) Based on the novel about the last known Catholic exorcism in the United States, which was performed on a young girl named Regan. Both the priest and the girl suffer numerous horrors.

The Fear Street Trilogy

(R) Based on the books by RL Stine, each film is set in a different time period as a group of teenagers work to break a curse that has plagued their city for hundreds of years.

The others

(PG-13) A woman with two light-sensitive children lives in a dark and eerie mansion in the Channel Islands of Jersey, and after three mysterious servants arrive, she becomes convinced that the house is haunted.

The shining one

(R) Based on the novel by Stephen King, directed by Stanley Kubrick and starring Jack Nicholson, this is the story of a writer who goes crazy in a snowy Colorado hotel with his wife and son. “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

Zombieland

(R) A cowardly imprisoned man teams up with an experienced zombie slayer to survive the zombie apocalypse. On the way to finding the last Twinkie on Earth, they meet two others and the four become partners in the fight against the undead. It’s both scary and hilarious.

Gather your family, curl up with some snacks, and prepare to create Halloween memories that will last long after the last pumpkin is carved!