20 Kid-Friendly Halloween Movies To Watch With Your Boos & Ghouls

Packaged together with a segment from The Wind and the Willows (you’ll find it in the second half of The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad), The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is based on the short story by George Washington Irving in 1819. Connecticut school teacher Ichabod Crane travels to the quiet Dutch settlement in New York (Sleepy Hollow) where he charms all the ladies, especially Katrina Van Tassel, the daughter of the wealthiest man in town. Brom Bones, another of Katrina’s suitors, doesn’t take to kindly to this “Yankee” and tells the superstitious teacher the story of the devilish Headless Horseman.

Stream The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, rated G, on Disney+

Pitchfork Pines isn’t an ordinary preschool. For one thing, all the students attend class at sundown. For another, the setting of the sun turns them from ordinary kids and into monsters with special powers! Under the tutelage of Igor and his granddaughter Esmie, the little monsters learn how to harness their powers and get ready for kindergarten. In this Halloween special, the monsters share their Halloween traditions with Vida, a visitor from Ciudad Monstruo who has never celebrated the holiday. She and her cousin Lobo teach them about Día de los Muertos.

Stream Super Monsters: Vida’s First Halloween, rated TV-Y, on Netflix

Wailing Wampus Werewolf is said to live in the Timberline National Forest. Boog is terrified by the story, so terrified that he decides not to go on the annual camping trip with his friends. But his friends are determined to help him overcome his fears... by scaring his fear right out of him. But as their plan unfurls, they begin to question whether or not there might actually be a werewolf lurking about.

Stream Open Season: Scared Silly, rated PG, on Netflix.

No list of Halloween family entertainment would be complete without this classic, the OG Halloween special and, dare we say, the GOAT? As Charlie Brown and his friends celebrate Halloween, Linus tries to convince everyone to join him in the pumpkin patch, where the Great Pumpkin will appear and bestow gifts of toys to all the sincere children who believe in its power! Surely it will come this year: it always comes to the most sincere pumpkin patch, and has there ever been a patch more sincere that this one?!

Stream It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, rated TV-G, on AppleTV

Marnie, Dylan, and Sophie don’t understand why their mother, Gwen, never lets them go out on Halloween. What’s the harm in a costume party? But when their grandma Aggie arrives for her annual October 31st visit, the truth is revealed: Aggie and Gwen are actually witches! Aggie wants Marnie to train as a witch; Gwen will hear none of it. But when Marnie and Dylan follow their grandma on a magical bus to her home in Halloweentown (where ghosts, goblins, and magic talismans are the norm) Marnie hopes to fulfill her destiny as a witch.

Stream Halloweentown, rated PG, on Disney+

Teenage Jordan and her younger brother Hunter are still reeling from the death of their mother when the family inherits their great-great Uncle Dragomir’s castle in Wolfsberg, Romania. There, creepy housekeeper Madam Varcolac keeps the big spooky place running. While in town, the pair learn about the Wolfsberg Beast, a monster that protects both the castle and the town. When an accident in Dragomir’s lab causes some big changes in Jordan, it’s up to Hunter and his new friends to save her. But Wolfsberg beasts aren’t the only creatures lurking in Romania.

Stream The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, rated TV-Y, on Netflix.

Apolla and Artemis are twins, born to a royal witch mother and powerful warlock father in the magical land of Coventry on Halloween night (naturally). But when an evil entity known as the Darkness threatens their safety and the realm itself, they are sent to Earth to live with two different families. Apolla becomes Camryn and Artemis becomes Alex... and each grows up unaware of their true, royal, and supernatural origin... and each other. On their 21st birthday, they reunite, realizing not only that they are twins, but that they are endowed with great magical powers and are destined to work together to save Coventry.

Stream Twitches, rated PG, on Disney+

It’s been 300 years to the day that the wicked and flamboyant Sanderson Sisters were hanged by the people of Salem for witchcraft. The locals still hold Halloween as a special holiday, but Max, who just moved to town from LA, doesn’t go in for all that hocus pocus. When the Sanderson sisters come back to life to resume their mission to remain young and beautiful forever by sucking the life out of all the children in Salem, it’s up to Max, his sister, Dani, and an immortal cat named Binx to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Stream Hocus Pocus, rated PG, on Disney+

Whipstaff Manor is a beautiful mansion in the town of Friendship, Maine, and legend has it that there’s a secret treasure hidden inside. One problem: it’s haunted by Casper, the friendly ghost, and his mischievous uncles! But when Casper sees a news report featuring Kat Harvey, the daughter of a prominent “paranormal therapist,” he schemes a way to bring her to the manor so he can finally have a friend. But greedy heiress Carrigan Crittenden has some schemes of her own; schemes that threaten the house and all who live (or... don’t... live?) there!

Stream Casper, rated PG, on Amazon Prime

After an angry mob of humans kills his wife, Martha, Count Dracula decides monsters need a place where they can be among their own kind, and where he can raise his daughter, Mavis, in safety. So he builds the luxurious Hotel Transylvania. Frequent visitors include Frankenstein (and his wife, Eunice); a huge family of werewolves; the Invisible Man; and a mummy named Murray. But Mavis longs for the company of other 118 year olds (or at least the relative equivalent) and longs to explore the human world. When Dracula agrees, little does he know that a hapless human named Johnny will stumble into his lair... or that Mavis will fall head over heels for him!

Stream Hotel Transylvania, rated PG, on Amazon Prime

Norman Babcock is a somewhat unusual kid who doesn’t really click with his family or his peers. But he still has lots of friends... they just so happen to be dead. Yes, Norman can communicate with ghosts. One day, his weird uncle tells him he must conduct a ritual to protect the town of Blithe Hollow from the spirit of a witch, who cursed the town centuries ago. But when the ceremony goes awry, Norman must summon all his courage, compassion, and supernatural powers to protect the town from a horde of newly revived zombies!

Stream ParaNorman, rated PG, on AppleTV+.

Miguel wants to be a musician, just like his hero, local legend Ernesto de la Cruz. Unfortunately, music is banned in his family. During an accidental trip to the Land of the Dead on Día de los Muertos, he meets the skeleton spirits of his ancestors, including the stern Imelda, who banned music in the first place when her husband left her to pursue his career. Determined to honor his family and his dream of becoming a musician, Miguel seeks the otherworldly blessing of de la Cruz to return to the Land of the Living before he is trapped among the spirits forever.

Stream Coco, rated PG, on Disney+

Zach and his family have recently moved to Delaware after the death of his father. He thinks he’s found a friend in Hannah, his next-door neighbor, but is warned to keep his distance by her weird father. There’s a reason for the hostility: Hannah’s father is none other than R.L. Stine, beloved children’s author and creator of the Goosebumps series, and he harbors a dark secret. It turns out that all of the characters he’s created actually exist, and must be locked away in their manuscripts lest they wreak havoc on the world. When the characters are unleashed, it’s up to Zach, Hannah, and Stine to set things right.

Stream Goosebumps, rated PG, on Netflix or Amazon Prime.

Babysitters are often asked to check for monsters under beds, but what do you do if you actually see one there? Based on the book trilogy of the same name, The Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting is the story of Kelly, a babysitter who must rescue the child in her care after he is kidnapped by the Boogeyman on Halloween night. But not only does a spooky world of monsters exist, so too does a secret society of those who, like her, are determined to protect children from the forces of evil.

Stream The Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting, rated PG, on Netflix

A boy who loves writing horror stories is captured by an evil witch is given an ultimatum: write her a scary story every night or else. He is kept in an enchanted apartment that he cannot escape, and he soon discovers he isn’t the only one. The children have a choice: prove useful to the witch and hope she doesn’t kill you (or worse) or fight back...

This Netflix original is produced by master of horror Sam Raimi.

Stream Nightbooks, rated TV-PG, on Netflix.

A small town Halloween festival is interrupted by the sudden appearance of a somewhat spooky carnival: Dr. Hysteria’s Hall of Horrors. High schoolers Beth, Kellen, Nicole and Luke are excited to go; Kellen even falls for the beautiful and mysterious Lilith, who works at the fair. But when Beth notices that the carnival seems to be bringing out the worst in all her friends, she discovers the horrible truth: this carnival is evil. Teens go there for fun, but are unwittingly preyed upon by the proprietors, who feed on their very souls!

Stream Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls, rated PG, on Amazon Prime.

Coraline Jones has recently moved to the Pink Palace, a spooky old house now divided into several apartments. When she finds a secret door in the living room, she crawls through only to discover a world fairly similar to her own, but better. Her parents are nicer, the house is more fun, and it seems that everyone there wants things to be special, just for her. But things are not always what they seem and, soon, it becomes clear why the owner of the Pink Palace never lets children board there – all of this has happened before. Can Coraline save herself, and her parents, before it happens again?

Stream Coraline, rated PG*, on Max.

*Full disclosure: this one is definitely on the scarier side of PG, so sensitive children be warned.

Helga knows all about witches. Her friend was captured by them when they were girls in Norway. She makes sure her grandson, Luke, knows all about how to spot them: square toes, itchy wigs, and, of course, vibrant purple eyes. When the two go on a holiday together on the English seaside, they just so happen to be staying at the hotel where all of England’s witches are secretly gathered to unleash their newest plot to harm children: a potion that will turn them all into mice! Will Luke be able to warn the world in time?

Stream The Witches, rated PG*, on Apple TV+.

*This one is also on the scarier side, as many children of the 90s who still live in fear of the Grand High Witch will tell you

Sydney Gordon is a bold, brave, adventure-loving girl. She loves all things spooky and definitely believes in ghosts, unlike her science-minded father, Howard, with who she has a strange relationship. When the family moves from Brooklyn to a small town called Bridge Hollow, Syd is delighted to find the town so obsessed with Halloween (Howard less so), especially after she meets her new school’s “Paranormal Society.” But when the supernatural realm comes to visit in earnest, things take a turn, and father and daughter will have to work together to save the day.

Stream The Curse of Bridge Hollow, rated TV-14, on Netflix.

Kat is an jaded punk and juvenile delinquent who blames herself for her parents’ deaths seven years ago. When Kat receives a strange mark on her hand that looks like a skull, Sister Helley’s urges her to tell know one. The mark, as it turns out, designates Kat as a “hell maiden,” one with the ability to summon demons. She decides to use her gift to call forth Wendell and Wild, who told her in a dream that they could bring back her parents.

But we know what happens when you trust the promises of demons, right?

Fortunately, Sister Helley has some experience in this arena, and she and Kat team up to defeat the forces of darkness... demonic and human.

Stream Wendell & Wild, rated PG-13, on Netflix.