When Halloween rolls around every year, the first thing we want to do is watch Hocus Pocus. There's something about fall weather, pumpkin spice lattes, and seeing pumpkins start showing up in the stores that really makes us want to sit down and catch up with the Sanderson sisters. But as much as we love rewatching Hocus Pocus, there are actually a lot of other Halloween movies that enchant us in the same way, and we have plenty of love in our hearts to give to those too.
After all, Halloween isn't just about scary movies. Films about this beloved holiday don't have to include jump thrills, gore, and killer clowns to get us in the spirit. Plenty of films exist that are enchanting in the same way that Hocus Pocus is, and those movies deserve their chance to shine as well — especially because most of them are perfect to watch with our kids.
Planning a Halloween movie night? Here are plenty of movies that will share the same kind of magic that Hocus Pocus does, including a few classics we loved as kids and are so much fun to introduce to our own children.
'Practical Magic'
Rated: PG-13
In Practical Magic, Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock play Gillian and Sally, two witches who avoid using magic, even though they've been gifted with the powers. But after Gillian's boyfriend dies, they have to figure out how to resurrect him, and things definitely don't go the way they planned.
'Beetlejuice'
Rated: PG
Beetlejuice is a classic, and the best time to watch it all over again — or introduce it to kids — is Halloween. When a new family moves into a house haunted by the former owners who died in a car accident, the ghosts try to get Beetlejuice to help, but he's not exactly there to be of assistance. This movie also has an all-star cast, including Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Catherine O'Hara, Geena Davis, and Alec Baldwin.
'Casper'
Rated: PG
In Casper, a girl named Kat (Christina Ricci) and her dad (Bill Pullman) — a specialist who can speak to spirits — move into a haunted house to communicate with the spirits who live there. In the process, Kat and Casper end up forming a friendship … and Casper's uncles, who also haunt the house, cause a lot of mischief along the way.
'Halloweentown'
Rated: TV-G
Starring Kimberly J. Brown and Debbie Reynolds, Halloweentown is about a girl who finds out that she actually comes from a long line of witches. Once she figures out how to join her grandmother in Halloweentown, she might want to stay forever — especially when she finds out her family is in a fight against evil.
'The Nightmare Before Christmas'
Rated: PG
In The Nightmare Before Christmas, Jack Skellington is a pumpkin king from Halloweentown who is enchanted by everything he discovers in Christmastown and wants to bring some of those traditions home. Kidnapping Santa Claus is part of his plan, and things quickly go awry. This one's a magical classic that kids and adults can enjoy — from Halloween all the way through Christmas.
'The Addams Family'
Rated: PG-13
Another classic that's perfect to bring out right around Halloween, The Addams Family tells the story of a macabre, wealthy family that is infiltrated by a man pretending to be their Uncle Fester, who isn't exactly who he seems. Introducing kids to the many cartoon iterations of this one first might be fun, but this movie never gets old.
'Coraline'
Rated: PG
In the beautifully animated Coraline, a little girl (voiced by Dakota Fanning) ends up in a parallel universe where her house looks like her house and her parents look like her parents … but something's not quite right. She wants to go back to her real home, but it's definitely not going to be easy to make that happen.
'The Haunted Mansion'
Rated: PG
This movie, which stars Eddie Murphy and is based on the ride at Disneyland and Disney World, is about a family who stays in a mansion that they find out is haunted (duh). After discovering the story of the ghosts who inhabit the home, they end up helping them finally find peace after all of these years.
'The Craft'
Rated: R
Though some of us might choose to wait to watch this one until after the kids are in bed, The Craft is a classic movie about a group of girls who want to be witches and welcome a new friend into their rank who actually has powers. Chaos ensues, obviously, and it's a must watch for those who haven't seen it.
'Corpse Bride'
Rated: PG
This is another Tim Burton movie to keep the Halloween season going! Corpse Bride is about a man who ends up in the land of the dead, where a woman who was murdered wants to marry him. He doesn't want to marry her, though. His true love is back in the land of the living, and he has to find a way back.
'The Witches'
Rated: PG
Though a new version of this movie is on the way, there's no beating the '90s version of The Witches, which stars Anjelica Huston and is based on the beloved Roald Dahl book. It's about a little boy who spies on a convention of witches at a hotel and finds out they're planning on turning all children into mice — so he has to find a way to stop them.
'Double, Double, Toil, and Trouble'
Rated: No Rating
A Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen classic for Halloween will entertain the kids! Mary-Kate and Ashley play twins (of course) who have to save their parents and their family home when they're confronted with their Aunt Agatha — a witch who banished her sister, Sophia, with a magic moonstone. The girls have to get the moonstone back, save Sophia, and help their family keep their house.
'Under Wraps'
Rated: No Rating
Under Wraps is about kids who find a mummy and accidentally bring him back to life, leaving them with the challenge of helping him to be at rest by Halloween so he can reunite with the love of his life from long ago. This one first premiered as a Disney Channel original, and now, it's available on Amazon Prime.
'Mom's Got a Date With a Vampire'
Rated: No rating
This is another Disney Channel original movie to add to the list, and this one is available on Disney+. In Mom's Got a Date With a Vampire, kids become suspicious when their mom (Caroline Rhea) goes on a date with a man (Charles Shaughnessy) who they suspect may be a vampire. As a result, they must enlist the help of a vampire hunter to protect their mom.
'Ghostbusters'
Related: PG
Anyone who has kids who haven't seen Ghostbusters, well, this might be the year! The classic 1984 movie is definitely where they need to start — and it stars Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and Sigourney Weaver. A fun soundtrack, solid plot that holds up after all of these years, and some getting rid of spirits is all we need for this perfect Halloween movie.
'Goosebumps'
Rated: PG
Whether or not the family has read the book series by R.L. Stine, the 2015 movie starring Jack Black, Dylan Minnette and Odeya Rush is a great Halloween pick. The Goosebumps movie is about a teenager who works with Stine's daughter to save the town after the scary characters he's written about are set free.
'ParaNorman'
Rated: PG
In ParaNorman, a boy named Norman is able to speak to the dead, and because of his special abilities, he's the only one who's able to save his town when zombies come back from the dead and threaten his home. Yeah, that's a lot of responsibility on a kid, but they don't call him ParaNorman for nothing.
