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Collections / Spooky movies that aren't actually scary

Spooky movies that aren't actually scary

Some of us want the pumpkins, the fog and the cobwebs without lying awake afterward. This is the October shelf for exactly that: gothic and grinning rather than grim, more costume than carnage. Good for a family night, a low-key party, or anyone who likes the season more than the genre.

Can't choose? Answer three questions and get one movie for tonight.

Beetlejuice poster
Beetlejuice
1988 · dir. Tim Burton
🍅 83%★ 7.4fantasy · comedyMax

A newly dead New England couple seeks help from a deranged demon exorcist to scare an affluent New York family out of their home.

The Nightmare Before Christmas poster
The Nightmare Before Christmas
1993 · dir. Henry Selick
🍅 95%★ 7.9fantasy · animation · familyDisney+

Tired of scaring humans every October 31 with the same old bag of tricks, Jack Skellington, the spindly king of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus and plans to deliver shrunken heads and other ghoulish gifts to children on Christmas morning. But as Christmas approaches, Jack's rag-doll girlfriend, Sally, tries to foil his misguided plans.

Coraline poster
Coraline
2009 · dir. Henry Selick
🍅 91%★ 7.8animation · family · fantasyMaxHulu

Wandering her rambling old house in her boring new town, 11-year-old Coraline discovers a hidden door to a strangely idealized version of her life. In order to stay in the fantasy, she must make a frighteningly real sacrifice.

The Addams Family poster
The Addams Family
1991 · dir. Barry Sonnenfeld
🍅 67%★ 7comedy · fantasyParamount+

When a man claiming to be long-lost Uncle Fester reappears after 25 years lost, the family plans a celebration to wake the dead. But the kids barely have time to warm up the electric chair before Morticia begins to suspect Fester is fraud when he can't recall any of the details of Fester's life.

Corpse Bride poster
Corpse Bride
2005 · dir. Mike Johnson
🍅 85%★ 7.4romance · fantasy · animationMax

In a 19th-century European village, a young man about to be married is whisked away to the underworld and wed to a mysterious corpse bride, while his real bride waits bereft in the land of the living.

Ghostbusters poster
Ghostbusters
1984 · dir. Ivan Reitman
🍅 95%★ 7.8comedy · fantasyHulu

After losing their university jobs, three parapsychologists start a ghost-catching business in New York City and uncover a supernatural threat that could destroy the world.

Ghostbusters poster
Ghostbusters
2016 · dir. Paul Feig
🍅 74%★ 6.8action · fantasy · comedyHulu

Following a ghost invasion of Manhattan, paranormal enthusiasts Erin Gilbert and Abby Yates, nuclear engineer Jillian Holtzmann, and subway worker Patty Tolan band together to stop the otherworldly threat.

Monster House poster
Monster House
2006 · dir. Gil Kenan
🍅 75%★ 6.7animation · comedy · familyPeacock

Monsters under the bed are scary enough, but what happens when an entire house is out to get you? Three teens aim to find out when they go up against a decrepit neighboring home and unlock its frightening secrets.

Hotel Transylvania poster
Hotel Transylvania
2012 · dir. Genndy Tartakovsky
🍅 45%★ 7.1animation · comedy · familyHuluParamount+

Welcome to Hotel Transylvania, Dracula's lavish five-stake resort, where monsters and their families can live it up and no humans are allowed. One special weekend, Dracula has invited all his best friends to celebrate his beloved daughter Mavis's 118th birthday. For Dracula catering to all of these legendary monsters is no problem but the party really starts when one ordinary guy stumbles into the hotel and changes everything!

Casper poster
Casper
1995 · dir. Brad Silberling
🍅 59%★ 6.2fantasy · comedy · familyHuluPeacock

Casper is a kind young ghost who peacefully haunts a mansion in Maine. When specialist James Harvey arrives to communicate with Casper and his fellow spirits, he brings along his teenage daughter, Kat. Casper quickly falls in love with Kat, but their budding relationship is complicated not only by his transparent state, but also by his troublemaking apparition uncles and their mischievous antics.

Edward Scissorhands poster
Edward Scissorhands
1990 · dir. Tim Burton
🍅 92%★ 7.8fantasy · drama · romanceHuluDisney+

A small suburban town receives a visit from a castaway unfinished science experiment named Edward.

Sleepy Hollow poster
Sleepy Hollow
1999 · dir. Tim Burton
🍅 71%★ 7.3fantasy · thriller · mysteryParamount+

Skeptical young detective Ichabod Crane gets transferred to the hamlet of Sleepy Hollow, New York, where he is tasked with investigating the decapitations of three people – murders the townsfolk attribute to a legendary specter, The Headless Horseman.

Coco poster
Coco
2017 · dir. Lee Unkrich
🍅 97%★ 8.4family · animation · musicDisney+

Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector, and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel's family history.

Spirited Away poster
Spirited Away
2001 · dir. Hayao Miyazaki
🍅 96%★ 8.6animation · family · fantasyMax

A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.

Goosebumps poster
Goosebumps
2015 · dir. Rob Letterman
🍅 78%★ 6.3adventure · horror · comedyParamount+

After moving to a small town, Zach Cooper finds a silver lining when he meets next door neighbor Hannah, the daughter of bestselling Goosebumps series author R.L. Stine. When Zach unintentionally unleashes real monsters from their manuscripts and they begin to terrorize the town, it’s suddenly up to Stine, Zach and Hannah to get all of them back in the books where they belong.

Gremlins poster
Gremlins
1984 · dir. Joe Dante
🍅 86%★ 7.3fantasy · horror · comedyMax

After receiving an exotic small animal as a Christmas gift, a young man inadvertently breaks three important rules concerning his new pet, which unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous creatures on a small town.

What We Do in the Shadows poster
What We Do in the Shadows
2014 · dir. Jemaine Clement
🍅 96%★ 7.6comedy · horror

Vampire housemates try to cope with the complexities of modern life and show a newly turned hipster some of the perks of being undead.

The Lost Boys poster
The Lost Boys
1987 · dir. Joel Schumacher
🍅 75%★ 7.2horror · comedy · thriller

When an unsuspecting town newcomer is drawn to local blood fiends, the Frog brothers and other unlikely heroes gear up to rescue him.

Young Frankenstein poster
Young Frankenstein
1974 · dir. Mel Brooks
🍅 95%★ 8comedy

A young neurosurgeon inherits the castle of his grandfather, the famous Dr. Victor von Frankenstein. In the castle he finds a funny hunchback, a pretty lab assistant and the elderly housekeeper. Young Frankenstein believes that the work of his grandfather was delusional, but when he discovers the book where the mad doctor described his reanimation experiment, he suddenly changes his mind.

Hocus Pocus poster
Hocus Pocus
1993 · dir. Kenny Ortega
🍅 42%★ 6.9fantasy · comedy · familyDisney+

After 300 years of slumber, three sister witches are accidentally resurrected in Salem on Halloween night, and it is up to three kids and their newfound feline friend to put an end to the witches' reign of terror once and for all.

The shows that belong here too

Wednesday poster
Wednesday
2022– · 3 seasons · Netflix
★ 8sci-fi & fantasy · mystery · comedyNetflix

Smart, sarcastic and a little dead inside, Wednesday Addams investigates twisted mysteries while making new friends — and foes — at Nevermore Academy.

Over the Garden Wall poster
Over the Garden Wall
2014 · 1 season · Cartoon Network
★ 8.7mystery · sci-fi & fantasy · animationPrime VideoHulu

Two brothers, Wirt and Greg, find themselves lost in the Unknown; a strange forest adrift in time. With the help of a wise old Woodsman and a foul-tempered bluebird named Beatrice, Wirt and Greg must travel across this strange land, in hope of finding their way home. Join them as they encounter surprises and obstacles on their journey through the wood.

Every title above links to its kindred spirits. Find the one you love, then follow the thread. Or browse the mood behind this shelf: whimsical, playful, atmospheric.