13 whimsical and spooky Halloween movies for cowards.

You guys, I have to be so real with you: I love Halloween but I'm scared of everything.

I can get on board with a cosy murder mystery and I can even do a classic 80s and 90s 'scary' movie like Scream or Final Destination. But the next step up, when we're getting into real, true horror? Yeah, that ain't for me. I am simply too cowardly to enjoy truly terrifying movies with possessed demons and creepy clowns. Just looking at the poster for Saw makes me want to throw up. I googled the plot of that new Bring Her Back movie — no thanks! Couldn't sleep for days. 

You know what I do like? A mystical fall leaf. A witchy hat. A pumpkin. A fairy light. A sense of whimsy! 

And yes, I do have another classic hyper-specific list to share with you. This time, for Halloween.

Some of these movies are just nostalgic childhood films that will make you feel cosy and calm, while others will offer up the perfect amount of spook for a coward like me. One just has vampires, because okay, I needed another excuse to talk about Edward Cullen. 

Happy whimsical watching. 

Hocus Pocus

Image: Disney.

Does it get much better than this glorious Halloween film starring Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy?

In Hocus Pocus, a trio of wicked witches — Winifred, Sarah, and Mary Sanderson — are resurrected on Halloween night after a teenage boy, Max, accidentally lights a cursed candle in their long-abandoned cottage. 

Watch the trailer for Hocus Pocus. Article continues below.

Set in Salem, Massachusetts, the film follows Max, his little sister Dani, and their friend Allison as they race against time to thwart the witches' sinister plan to steal the life force of children to regain their youth. With the help of Thackery Binx, a talking cat cursed to live forever, the kids must try to outsmart the witches before dawn.

Stream Hocus Pocus (and the sequel, Hocus Pocus 2) on Disney+ now.

Practical Magic 

Image: Stan.

Witches, a dreamy small town, a gorgeous house, midnight margaritas; What's not to love?

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman star as the mysterious Owens sisters in Practical Magic, a must-watch movie this spooky season.

Orphaned at a young age, Sally and Gillian Owens are raised by their incredibly quirky aunts in a small town in Massachusetts. As they grow up to become two vastly different women — one is carefree!!! the other is not!!! — they continue to grapple with their family's witchy reputation.

The sisters find themselves drawn back together when a ghostly presence disrupts their lives. Together, they must turn to their magic to overpower the evil spirit of Gillian's former lover, who haunts their idyllic home after they… I'm not going to spoil it. They did something bad and now he won't go away. With charming witches (and a touch of the supernatural) this is the perfect comfort watch for spooky season.

Stream Practical Magic on Stan now.

Hubie Halloween

Image: Netflix.

Well, the title tells you this film is one for the spooky season (and so do I).

Set in Salem, Massachusetts, where all good Halloween content takes place, Hubie (Adam Sandler) is a dimwitted delicatessen employee who is routinely made fun of by the city's practical jokers. He spends his Halloweens monitoring the city as an official 'Halloween Helper.' Which, like, no thanks!

Hubie bravely investigates suspicious noises from his new neighbour, who may or may not be a werewolf. As people start disappearing, it becomes a race against time for Hubie to save the day, all while navigating his awkward crush on the town beauty, Violet.

Longtime Adam Sandler fans will especially love this pairing, as Julie Bowen stars as Violet (24 years after they were in Happy Gilmore).

Hubie Halloween is streaming on Netflix now.

Death Becomes Her 

Image: Binge.

If you watched the 'Taste' music video by Sabrina Carpenter and thought 'that looks like fun' I have good news. One of the main cinematic inspirations for that video was Death Becomes Her, the iconic film starring Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn and Bruce Willis. 

Two women — Madeline Ashton (Streep) and Helen Sharp (Hawn) — are locked in a fierce battle for the affections of the same man, Ernest Menville (Willis). When both women discover a magical potion that promises eternal youth, they eagerly drink it, only to find themselves cursed with decaying bodies that refuse to die.

As their friendship devolves into chaos, they resort to increasingly outrageous schemes to maintain their beauty and out-do each other as both women are trapped in a state of eternal rivalry — forever young, yet forever trapped in their deteriorating forms.

Stream Death Becomes Her on Foxtel, Paramount+ and Binge now.

Halloweentown

Image: Disney.

My inner child will never get over Halloweentown, the most magical and nostalgic of all Halloween movies. 

Starring the late Debbie Reynolds and childhood icon Kimberly J. Brown, the film follows the spooky-obsessed Marnie Piper, who discovers her witch heritage when her grandmother, Aggie Cromwell, invites her to the magical realm of Halloweentown.

The enchanting town is home to many supernatural beings, including witches, ghosts, and monsters. Marnie's adventure begins as she learns about her powers and battles an evil force threatening the town.

Halloweentown is streaming on Disney+ now.

A Nightmare Before Christmas

Image: Disney.

I'm well aware this is a trans-seasonal holiday favourite; it's right there in the title! But I think you have to watch this one during the spooky season in order to kickstart several months of casual Christmas cheer. 

Jack Skellington, the "Pumpkin King" of Halloween Town, leads the scary celebrations each year. Growing tired of the same old spooks, Jack finds new lust for life (and holiday seasons) after he discovers the door to other themed worlds. Stumbling into Christmas town, Jack decides he's tired of scaring people and wants to spread Christmas cheer instead. Unfortunately, his version of Christmas involves a lot more skeletons and a lot less jolly joy. 

With musical numbers and stunning stop-motion animated characters (which were captured on real sound stages in a whopping 109,440 frames), this is the ultimate film to watch as you go from Halloween to Christmas. 

The Nightmare Before Christmas is streaming on Disney+ now.

The Addams Family

Image: Netflix.

They're kooky, they're spooky, and they're the perfect addition to your Halloween movie roster. Of course, there are several versions of this tale you can watch. I'm a fan of The Addams Family (1991), personally. 

The film follows Morticia Addams (Anjelica Huston) and her husband, Gomez Addams (Raul Julia), and their children Wednesday Addams (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley Addams (Jimmy Workman).

The family plan to reunite Gomez with his long-lost brother Fester (Christopher Lloyd), who vanished 25 years ago. A ridiculous plan from a con artist leads to a fake Fester infiltrating the family in an attempt to steal their fortune. In true Addams Family style, chaos ensues amidst the dark humour.  

The Addams Family is streaming on Netflix, Paramount+ and Stan now.

Beetlejuice

Image: Stan.

A creepy, crawly film that's so nice they made it twice. Well, they recently made a sequel. But could anything beat the original? 

Beetlejuice boasts an all-star cast that includes Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis. 

The dark fantasy comedy film tells the tale of Adam and Barbara Maitland, a recently deceased couple who find themselves haunting their family home in Connecticut. Their peaceful afterlife is disrupted when the Deetz family — the eccentric Delia, her husband Charles, and their goth daughter Lydia — moves in.

After failing to scare the Deetz family away, the Maitlands do the unthinkable and summon Beetlejuice, a mischievous and crude spirit who offers to help them drive out the living family. The titular ghost-with-the-most is less of a haunting menace and more of a comedic disaster waiting to happen. Beetlejuice's methods quickly become dangerous and chaotic, and often lead to unintended consequences.

Beetlejuice is streaming on Stan, HBO Max and Binge now.

The Haunted Mansion 

Image: Disney.

Based on the famous Disneyland ride, The Haunted Mansion is both a 2003 and 2023 film (they do love a remake at Disney) that perfectly captures the ghostly spirit of Halloween. 

The OG version (2003) stars Eddie Murphy as Jim Evers, a Louisiana real estate agent who is eager to make a deal on Gracey Manor on the bayou. There, they meet the mansion's owner, Edward Gracey, as well as his butler Ramsley, maid Emma and footman Ezra. Offered the chance to stay the night when the weather turn stormy, the Evers family settle in for the night when things get… haunted.

The 2023 version offers a different take on the classic, with a single mum hiring a tour guide, a psychic, a priest and a historian to help exorcise her newly bought mansion after discovering it is inhabited by ghosts and ghouls.

The Haunted Mansion (2003 and 2023) are both streaming on Disney+ now. 

Twilight

Image: Stan

Hoa, hoa, hoaaaaaa. Not sure what I'm talking about? Watch Twilight and you will understand that I'm recreating the most iconic soundtrack of all time.

Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) moves to the rain-soaked small town of Forks, Washington, to live with her divorced dad. Sad! She goes to school and struggles to bond with new friends, even though everyone inexplicably becomes obsessed with her. Sad again! Then she sees a bunch of hot, adopted Cullens siblings. Her interest is piqued, but the tortured looking one Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) seems to hate her. More sad!

Watch the trailer for Twilight. Article continues below.

But then, this pale weirdo charms her and she starts connecting the dots between his weird cold hands and his super human strength: He's a vampire. Gasp! This is the ultimate mystical addition to your Halloween watch list.

Stream Twilight on Netflix and Stan now.

The Twitches

Image: Disney.

Another childhood classic for many of us, The Twitches is a Disney Channel original movie that follows twin sisters, Alex and Camryn (played by twins Tia and Tamera Mowry), who were separated at birth and adopted into separate families. 

On their 21st birthday, they discover each other and learn of their magical heritage as princesses from the enchanted realm of Coventry. They must unite their powers to combat a dark entity known as… the Darkness, of all things… which threatens their world. 

The Twitches is streaming on Disney+ now.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

Image: Netflix.

This definitely falls into this list purely because they celebrate Halloween via pumpkin decor… and that's enough, because there are also wizards and witches and trolls and ghosts. You get it.

If you've lived your whole life without hearing of this magical movie, here's the deal: Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) discovers he's a wizard on his 11th birthday. Enrolled in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry sees a magical world for the very first time in this film as he makes friends, meets his pseudo-family, and comes to terms with his… um… dramatic? past.

Harry Potter is streaming on HBO Max now.

Casper

Image: Paramount+.

Ahhh yes, the film that introduced me to my childhood crush and my adult crush: Devon Sawa and Bill Pullman. It also introduced me to Christina Ricci, my very favourite childhood actress. 

Casper follows paranormal therapist James Harvey (Pullman) and his daughter, Kat (Ricci) who move to a haunted mansion at the whim of spoiled heiress Carrigan Crittenden (Cathy Moriarty) in order to expel the ghosts living at Whipstaff Manor.

Living in the house is Casper, the friendly ghost, and his unhinged three ghostly uncles who try to torment and scare the Harveys away, which eventually fails in spectacular fashion.

Casper is streaming on Disney+ and Paramount+ now.

Feature Image: Disney.