Watch · ClassicsNo. 8605 · The 2026 edition
Classic Halloween TV specials, from the Great Pumpkin to Ghostwatch.
Twenty Halloween specials, shorts and TV movies first aired before 1995, including The Halloween Tree, The Worst Witch and The Midnight Hour, with a note on who each one suits.
Halloween TV specials used to be appointments. Many aired once a year, so you watched when they were on, and the good ones became part of the season. This list gathers twenty of them, all first shown before 1995, from half-hour cartoons to full-length TV movies, plus a sitcom revival, a variety-show oddity and two outings with Elvira.
We’ve ordered them by popularity, meaning how many people have voted on each, so the famous names lead and the deep cuts close the list. The ratings on those last few rest on small numbers of votes, so read them as hints. It’s a list for families who want the old favorites and for grown-ups chasing a half-remembered one, and where a pick isn’t for kids, the note says so.
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01
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Linus keeps faith in the Great Pumpkin while the rest of the Peanuts gang gets on with costumes and candy. Gentle, not scary at all, and easily the most popular entry here, so it’s the natural first pick for any family.
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02
Ghostwatch
A BBC crew checks out a poltergeist report at an ordinary London house, framed as a live Halloween-night broadcast, and the pretend-live format gets under your skin. The only scary entry here, and not for kids, so save it for after bedtime.
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03
Double, Double Toil and Trouble
Halloween night is crunch time for two girls wise beyond their years, who must save their parents from a money-hungry aunt with the help of magic and some mysterious new friends. Pick it when the kids want adventure more than frights.
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04
The Worst Witch
Hapless Mildred, a witch-school student with a talent for getting things wrong, has to foil the headmistress’s evil twin in time for a Halloween visit from the Grand Wizard (Tim Curry). A comic fantasy for any kid who has felt like the underdog.
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05
The Halloween Tree
History lesson meets rescue mission: four kids learn where Halloween’s customs came from while trying to save a friend’s life. Best for curious kids and the grown-ups watching alongside them, and only mildly spooky.
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06
The Midnight Hour
Five high school friends accidentally bring the dead back on Halloween night, and the town of Pitchford Cove ends up with some very unusual guests. A horror comedy with zombies and a little romance, mildly spooky and best suited to teens.
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07
It's Grinch Night
The Grinch gets a night named after him in this animated special, which isn’t scary at all. A soft landing for small kids who know him from Christmas and want to see what else he gets up to.
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08
Halloween with the New Addams Family
Preparing for Halloween is a family affair in this revival of the old Addams Family sitcom, and the Addamses go about it in their own unmistakable way. A funny curiosity for fans of the original.
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09
The Halloween That Almost Wasn't
Dracula hears rumors that Halloween may be ending and gives his mild-mannered monsters an ultimatum: get scary again or leave the castle. A gentle monster comedy, good for kids who like their vampires more silly than scary.
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10
Witch's Night Out
Nobody takes Halloween seriously anymore, and one witch has had enough, so she crashes the party at her old house and turns two monster-loving kids into real monsters. A quick, mildly spooky animated story for families who enjoy a little mischief.
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11
The Paul Lynde Halloween Special
Paul Lynde gets three wishes for Halloween from Witchipoo and the Wicked Witch of the West, KISS performs, and Florence Henderson turns That Old Black Magic into disco. Nothing scary here, just a variety-show oddity for fans of vintage TV at its strangest.
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12
Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special
Bugs Bunny and his friends take on Witch Hazel and a lineup of supposedly scary characters on All Hallows’ Eve, which promises classic cartoon slapstick. There’s not a real scare in sight, so it suits young kids and Bugs fans of any age.
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13
The Devil and Daniel Mouse
A young mouse strikes a bargain with the devil in exchange for rock stardom, learns what it costs, and needs her boyfriend’s help to get out of it. A mildly spooky animated musical for kids who can handle a devil in the cast.
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14
Claymation Comedy of Horrors
Clay-animated monsters played for laughs, in a short special with a hand-sculpted look that most of the cartoons here lack. Light on scares, and a good change of pace for anyone who likes their animation with texture.
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15
The Fat Albert Halloween Special
Costumes, pumpkins and trick-or-treating are all on the menu when Fat Albert and the gang take on Halloween. Not scary in the least, so it’s a safe pick for the youngest viewers and anyone fond of the original cartoon.
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16
Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy in the Pumpkin Who Couldn't Smile
Raggedy Ann and Andy play matchmaker between a boy who wants a pumpkin more than anything and a pumpkin nobody wants, while the boy’s grumpy aunt threatens trick-or-treaters with the police. Sweet, sentimental and a good fit for small kids.
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17
The Last Halloween
Live action and animation share the screen in this Hanna-Barbera special, which took an Emmy for visual effects from Industrial Light and Magic and Pacific Data Images. A good pick for effects fans and for families, with scares kept mild.
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18
Elvira's Halloween Special
Horror comedy is Elvira’s specialty, and her own Halloween special plays to it. Mildly spooky and more tongue-in-cheek than frightening, so it suits fans of her style and anyone who likes Halloween with a wink.
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19
Mystery Magical Special
The title promises mystery and magic, and the details we have point the same way: a family special, mildly spooky, with a fantasy streak. A deep cut with few votes, so it’s for completists rather than a first pick.
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20
Elvira's MTV Halloween Party
A costume-party talk show rather than a story: Elvira’s Halloween party for MTV is pitched at an older crowd than most of this list. It has the highest score here, but from the fewest votes, so treat that as a hint.
A Halloween special used to be a date on the calendar, and the waiting was half the fun.
Stack them by mood. Start with the short cartoons while the kids are still up, move on to something longer such as The Worst Witch or Double, Double Toil and Trouble, and save Ghostwatch for after bedtime. Witch’s Night Out and The Halloween That Almost Wasn’t make an easy double bill, since in both a classic Halloween figure wants the holiday to be scary again. Availability changes from year to year, so check each card for current places to watch; the full watchlist has plenty more.