By: MacKenzie Taylor
I love Halloween. I love the costumes. I love the vibe. But one thing that I don’t like is scary movies. It doesn’t matter how many I watch, or how many times I convince myself that none of it is real. They still get to me. Every. Single. Time. I could not sleep the night after I saw “The Conjuring,” and I remained on edge for the next four days that followed. I know I’m a baby when it comes to horror movies. Trust me, I know. I acknowledge it fully, and it’s not something I ever try to hide from people. So, if you’re like me and want to get into the Halloween spirit while avoiding the terror inducing gorefest of most scary movies, I may be able to help. Here’s a list of movies and TV shows that are October-oriented, yet won’t leave you afraid to close your eyes at the end of the day.
- Halloweentown (film series)
This movie series is actually celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. “Halloweentown” is one of my favorite movies to watch this time of year. It’s fun, has a bunch of Halloween creatures, and it’s Disney. The nostalgia it holds for me overpowers how utterly cheesy it can be at times. I remember watching it as a kid and wanting so badly to be Marnie. Now watching it as an adult, I find that Marnie is just really relatable. One thing that I think really holds up with this series is the example that Marnie sets about embracing and owning what makes you different. I think Debbie Reynolds as Aggie Cromwell said it best when she said, “Being normal is vastly overrated.”
- The Nightmare Before Christmas
Although this Tim Burton film is a melding of both Halloween and Christmas, I’ve always found it more enjoyable to watch during the spooky season. Some of us have been singing “This is Halloween” inside our heads since the first of the month. This film is a classic, and it just feels like one of those movies you have to put on during the Halloween season. Is it really Halloween if Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King, doesn’t grace your screen at least once?
- Supernatural
This show just entered its 14th season. The first 13 seasons are available to watch on Netflix, so you have plenty of Winchester content to keep you occupied for the month of October. One of the things that I think is so interesting about “Supernatural” is that it isn’t scary unless you are specifically afraid of what Sam and Dean happen to be hunting in that episode. For example, out of all the episodes I’ve seen, and I’ve seen a lot, there are less than five that genuinely scare me. One of these episodes involves mannequins that are coming to life, and I hate it with every fiber of my being. If mannequins don’t freak you out, then that episode will probably be a piece of cake for you to watch. “Supernatural” covers so many different fears that there’s bound to be at least one episode that will scare you. This show does creepy so well, and I think that makes it perfect for this list.
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The name “Vampire Slayer” is literally in the title, so that screams watch in October all on its own. This show is 22 years old now, but I think a lot of it still holds up after all that time. The last time I saw “Buffy” was eight years ago, but I’m currently doing a rewatch of it. October just felt like the perfect time for it because it kind of falls into the same realm as “Halloweentown.” It has its cheesy moments and the monsters aren’t necessarily scary, but it’s just such a fun show and so nostalgic for the 90s and early 2000s. The characters on the show are so unique and there are certain one-liners that still crack me up every time I hear them. All seven seasons of “Buffy” are available to stream on Hulu, and the rewatch is definitely making me extra excited for Halloween.
- Buzzfeed Unsolved
This ongoing YouTube series follows Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej as they travel to different haunted locations all over the country, and sometimes even outside of the country. The thing that makes this show so great is the dynamic between Ryan and Shane, because they’re two friends on two completely different sides of the belief spectrum. Ryan believes in the supernatural and for the most part takes their investigations pretty seriously. Shane, on the other hand, is a complete skeptic and cracks jokes every step of the way. Some of the locations they’ve gone to have really freaked me out, but their chemistry is just so intriguing that it keeps me clicking on the next episode. This is a good series to watch if you want to be creeped out, but still be able to go to sleep that night. The latest season featured an episode on the Mothman, so that kind of tells you what you’re getting into with these two.
