23 Family-Friendly Movies To Watch This Halloween

Ah…Halloween…what a wonderful season to watch some family-friendly movies. With the weather getting colder and the days getting shorter, its perfect for snuggling up with your fave blanket and getting comfy!

Starting October 1, we only watch Family-Friendly spooky movies until Halloween. It has been the house tradition for years. And boy has our collection grown over the years as we searched for movies that wouldn’t be too much for them.

I need to preface this whole post by saying my kids are big time scaredy-cats. They scare very easily so finding something they both would be able to handle without too many sleepness nights has not always been easy.

I was a bit of faint hearted as a child so I get it and have tried to be cognizant and empathetic. There has been a couple times that we had to turn something off because we could tell it was going to have a bigger effect on them than they were ready for.

Ultimately, I think it is really important to know your kid and take the clues. Forcing your kid to watch something you don’t think they should be scared of because you watched it as a kid or you think is not scary can really negatively effect them. Don’t get me wrong, we have pushed them a little to see what they can handle, but if it is really effecting them, we shut it off.

How Family Movie Nights…

I absolutely love our weekly Saturday movies nights! We have a bit of a ritual and it makes watching movies together that much better.

We usually start our Family Movie Night with a game or two and then watch a movie. There are plenty of Spooky Games To Play for a complete Halloween themed family evening!

We have “movie lights” set up around the room to bring in a little ambience. Really it is just strings of Christmas lights around the perimeter of the ceiling that we sometimes change out based on the season. I enjoy our Halloween lights most since the are normally purple and orange and offer a little darker feel.

While the kiddos put on their pajamas, we turn off all of the lights in the house. Then my husband fires up the popcorn maker and we gather up all the snacks and drinks to enjoy.

My husband bought me an awesome carnival type popcorn machine for my birthday years ago and it is probably one of the most used gifts I have ever received! Something about the smell of freshly popped popcorn that makes you feel like you are at the movies.

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We have one rule everyone needs to follow: No Phones During Movie Time. Everyone has to be focused on the movie.

Best of all is that the kids normally snuggle up with me. I really think they are trying to steal my blanket but I will take it while I can get it. it won’t be long before they won’t even want to be around me!

Now to pick the movie…

One of the most difficult parts of movie night is just picking out the movie. Between our collection of movies and the 85 streaming services out there to watch, it can be difficult to narrow down. And although I know every year we are going to watch Hocus Pocus and the Nightmare Before Christmas, sometimes we want something else.

So let me help you out with your search by providing you with some of our favorite options in two categories: Animated and Live Action. Sometimes we want to more than animation.

Most of these movies have been watched over and over and over again so I am sure you’re I will be able to find plenty that work for your fam!

Without further ado, here are 23 (or so) movies that are perfect for your Not-Too-Scary Movie Night.

Animated Family-Friendly Halloween Movies:

1. Coraline
2. The Nightmare Before Christmas
3. ParaNorman
4. Coco
5. Hotel Transylvania – any of these movies
6. The Corpse Bride
7. Frankenweenie
8. Monster House
9. Book of Life
10. The Addams Family
11. Monsters Inc.

Live Action Family-Friendly Halloween Movies:

1. Hocus Pocus
2. Beetlejuice
3. Monster Squad
4. The Burbs
5. Ghostbusters – any of these movies
6. The House with the Clock On the Wall
7. Goosebumps
8. The Haunted Mansion
9. Casper
10. Little Shop of Horrors
11. The Mummy
12. Halloweentown – any of these movies

Yes, Tim Burton is well represented in this list. He has been a favorite of ours since before we even had kids. No one does dark and creepy in quite the same way! So you could even just snag his collection and base your Halloween marathon on his movies alone!

Really there are lots of different types of Halloween categories, you can really focus on a theme like the one mentioned above. Some others are movies with classic legendary monsters like all of the Hotel Transylvania series. Or focus on zombies, ghosts, aliens, etc for your movie night.

Let’s Do This Thing

Now it is time to pick a couple movies, grab some snacks and cuddle up with your favorite blanket (or kid) and enjoy the show!