It’s here. Looming above the academic buildings, festering in your dorm room, watching you from the shadows. Can’t you feel it?
It’s the time of year when darkness falls across the ‘Burg and the midnight hour is close to being heard. Buffalo Valley crawls in search of orange and blue blood to terrorize the neighborhood. The foulest stench is in the air, the funk of the basements on St. Catherine’s Street. Prison-dressed frat brothers rise from every tomb, closing in to seal your doom. You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes. You’re paralyzed, and I’ve got just the thing you need to save you on this thriller night: a spooky list of hauntingly Halloweeny horror movies and series.
Despite my birthday being in December, Halloween has always been my favorite time of the year. From January onwards, I yearned for a stroll along the leaf-clattered streets listening to a perfectly blended autumnal and Halloween-themed playlist, Halloween costumes galore and most importantly, the plethora of scary and not-so-scary movies to keep me company during the spooky season.
For years, I’ve begun my Halloween rituals in the last few weeks of August, but no earlier than Aug. 19. And if you think that’s too early, know that it used to be during the first week of August. I like to start with an ode to Disney Channel’s “Monstober”, a cleverly worded and nostalgic month-long celebration of Halloween on the network. My rule of thumb is that it’s never Halloween without pregaming the season with the childhood classics. I’ve put a lot of thought and years of experience into the art of Halloween for those wondering why I am so obsessed with it. However, the simpler answer is, well … Halloween is cool. So, for those who are also cool, I present to you …
Athaliah’s Spooky list of Hauntingly Halloweeny Horror Movies and Series!
- “Twitches”
- The best Monstober movie. Twin witches. Twitches. Tia and Tamera. Enough said.
- “Halloweentown”
- What is more Halloween than “Halloweentown”? It’s the perfect place to be year-round if you ask me, but especially during October. The score is incredibly nostalgic of the early feelings of Halloween as a child as well as the grainy graphics.
- “My Babysitter’s a Vampire”
- Disney Channel’s best show. Even if you don’t get through two seasons, the movie captures a dark fall vibe that fits perfectly with Halloween.
- “Girl vs. Monster”
- There is no Monstober without Luke Benward and Olivia Holt. “Had Me @ Hello” is also a certified banger. “Girl vs. Monster” is the embodiment of Halloween in the 20-teens.
- “Mostly Ghostly: Who Let the Ghosts Out?”
- Severely underrated, but a hidden gem. This movie genuinely terrified me as a kid, it’s definitely on the scarier side for Disney.
- “Fear Street” (all of them are great, but “Part Two: 1978” is peak)
- For a Netflix production, Fear Street was a great horror film franchise; the horror story stretched across each film so creatively. Also, I absolutely love a summer slasher film and Sadie Sink delivers in this.
- “Stranger Things: Season 2”
- Season 3 may be the best in aesthetics, but season 2 is the perfect Halloween watch. The fall vibe is immaculate and the Mind Flayer arc sends goosebumps down my spine.
- “IT: Chapter 1”
- This was one of the first horror movies I saw in theaters when I was 14; the Losers Club will always be a part of my heart.
- “AHS: Coven”
- Witches. New Orleans. Angela Bassett. Also, the amazing soundtrack, thank you Stevie Nicks. I haven’t been able to stop thinking of it since I watched it. One of the best pieces I’ve seen in witch media.
- “AHS: 1984”
- Very underrated. Again, summer slasher!
- “Jennifer’s Body”
- Megan Fox killing boys … and girls, she goes both ways. It’s a ‘yes’ for me.
- “Ghostbusters”
- I couldn’t have a hauntingly halloweeny horror movie list without “Ghostbusters”. It doubles for a movie and the song of the season.
- “A Nightmare on Elm Street” (1984)
- Johnny Depp in a crop top. Also, I vividly remember Freddy Krueger chasing me in my dream after I watched this…
- “Sinners”
- “Sinners” deserve its very own think piece. I love Black Horror as a genre; it’s new and everything the industry needs. I also love devilishly handsome Irish vampires named Remmick.
You’ve made it to the end of my (shortened) list. And though you might disagree, I know you can feel it. How your body starts to shiver, you simply can’t resist the thriller of my hauntingly halloweeny list this Halloween season.
AH HA HA HA HA HA HA.
AH HA HA HA HA HA HA.
AH HA HA HA HA HA HA.