No. Just no.
I don't even consider the Harry Potter movies as part of a Halloween lineup. I just....don't. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE the Harry Potter series, but it just doesn't belong as a Halloween lineup movie series......to me.
But anyway, here is a list for your family that I consider to be a good list for some family Halloween movie time. I had a childhood in the 70's, so this list is going to reflect that a little.......okay, a lot. The 70's were the best, you know.
I'm going to start my list off with Child of Glass by Disney 1978. Growing up, this was one of my favorite movies. It took forever for this to be released on DVD, you can now find it at Amazon.
The basis book for this movie is "The Ghost Belonged To Me" by Richard Peck, for those of you that enjoy a good read, as well.
A family moves into a new home. The son is quickly befriended by a girl's ghost and he has to solve this riddle:
"Sleeping lies the murdered lass,
Vainly cries the child of glass,
When the two shall be as one,
The spirit's journey will be done."
Throw in his neighbor Blossom and good murder mystery and you have a Disney classic.
http://www.amazon.com/Child-Glass-Barbara-Barrie/dp/B0069WB688/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1444149640&sr=1-1&keywords=Child+of+Glass
The next movie is also Disney, The Watcher In The Woods. The basis for this movie is "The Watcher In The Woods" by Florence Engel Randall.
Another move into a new home and another ghost. Moving into new homes makes for creeptastickness.
This is another one for the kids in the family. It's the creepy without the gore. Again, this one also has a book and it's by Ray Bradbury, "Something Wicked This Way Comes"
For the younger kids this should always be on your list of shows to watch. This is a classic and one of my childhood favorites.
Another book by Ray Bradbury was made into a Halloween special. The Halloween Tree is one of our family favorites. The cartoon follows the book pretty closely, but every family should read the short story. It's a great read for the Halloween season.
This TV special is made of cheesy goodness. Featuring Uncle Arthur from Bewitched and adding into the cauldron stars from that time, including KISS, Witchie Poo, Donnie and Marie, and Margaret Hamilton in her witch outfit from The Wizard of Oz!
Oh my stars, it's perfection!
Speaking of Uncle Arthur.....ANY of the Bewitched Halloween shows make for a good laugh.
There's "The Witches Are Out" from Season 1. Samantha and Endora protest the use of the "stereotypical hag witch" for the use of candy sales.
"Trick Or Treat" Season 2 Endora does not like the fact that Darrin wants Samantha to stay at home to entertain during Halloween and she causes him to turn into a werewolf.
"Twitch Or Treat" Season 3 Endora and Uncle Arthur have fun at a Halloween party thrown at Samantha's.
"The Safe and Sane Halloween" Season 4 This is the one with Tabitha and trick-or-treating with the storybook goblins.
"To Trick Or Treat or Not To Trick Or Treat" Season 6 Endora turns Darrin into a stereotypical witch.
Disney's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"
The Witches, based of the book of the same name by Roald Dahl. This movie has magic by Jim Henson and Angelica Huston as the Grand High Witch. That's really all that needs to be said.
Lloyd Alexander wrote a series called the Chronicles of Prydain and the second novel in the series is "The Black Cauldron". Disney made it into a cartoon movie (loosely based) in 1985. An evil king wants to rule the world using a cauldron, and a young pig keeper wants to prevent that from happening, so he sets out to destroy the cauldron.
No Halloween family movie night would be complete without this one. Hocus Pocus has captured everything in this movie, all the colors and sights of the season wrapped up neatly with magic cast by 3 witches running amok.
Casper, based on the cartoon character, Casper The Friendly Ghost, it's a delightful movie with Christina Ricci and Bill Pullman. I really enjoy this movie, it has a great storyline, characters, and sets.
The Worst Witch is a book series by Jill Murphy and it's brought to life by The Worst Witch movie with Fairuza Balk as Mildred Hubble, the Worst Witch. It also has Charlotte Rae and Tim Curry. This is THE witch school before Hogwarts was known by all mankind. Let me tell you, I do get a just a bit annoyed by the screaming scene, but it's a great movie and deserves it's place in a Halloween lineup.
Ah, the Grinch. Doesn't he deserve to have a place on this list? Yes, he most certainly does. But wait, he had his very own Halloween special! This is not How the Grinch Stole Christmas, this is Halloween is Grinch Night!
Scary Godmother is a book series too! Scary Godmother by Jill Thompson, is about a funky fairy witch saving the Halloween day!
Scary Godmother Halloween Spooktacular and Scary Godmother The Revenge of Jimmy
Halloween Spooktacular
The Revenge of Jimmy
Every list needs Halloweentown. All of them are great, but the first is my favorite.
Halloween ends with a bang on Monster house. This is one of our favorites!
Geena Davis, Wynona Ryder, and Alec Baldwin with Michael Keaton as Beetlejuice and you have one of the best movies EVER.
Another Tim Burton that I like better than The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Corpse Bride.
Before there was the CGI Frankenweenie, there was Frankenweenie with Shelley Duvall.
This one is a Rankin/Bass classic!
Halloween With The New Addams Family
This one seems a bit creepier and was suggested by my friend James. I would suggest it for the older kids in the family. I can't wait to watch it. Thanks James!
This one was also suggested by my friend, James. I look forward to watching this one, as well. After reading the description, I would also suggest this one for the older kids.
EDIT:
I had another friend suggest the Goosebumps series and movies. I agree! Just enough for a good fright, but not too much to scare the pants off of a child.
That's it for the list....so far. If you have any suggestions for non-gory Halloween shows or movies, please feel free to comment!
Bright Blessings,
Saga
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