Do you want a change from the regular hum-drum of scary horror movies? Are there young children with you most of the time? Are you just a weenie? Do not fear, there are still festive movies out there for you! Halloween is close, but not close enough that you don’t have enough time left to watch a few movies. These movies are spooky, but not too spooky that you’ll be up all night wondering if there actually is something underneath your bed. Read on for ten of the best not-so-scary scary movies.
1. “The Nightmare Before Christmas”: You know you can’t have a list of Halloween movies without this movie at the top of the list. Jack Skellington has plans to become the new Santa in town, but the best laid plans of mice and skeletons often go awry. I know there is an ongoing debate as to whether this movie is technically a Halloween or a Christmas movie, but can’t we all just accept that it’s both?
2. “Ghostbusters”: There are no references to Halloween in this movie, but it’s pretty spooky in its own right. Actually, some of the CGI in this movie is rather horrifying. But hey, isn’t that why it’s a classic?
3. “The Haunted Mansion”: This Disney movie is a little bit more obscure, but who doesn’t like a real-life adaption of the Haunted Mansion in Disney world with Eddie Murphy? Honestly, this movie does have a few slightly scary parts (the zombie scene was definitely horrifying), but overall, it’s a good laugh.
4. “Warm Bodies”: You can’t have Halloween without at least one mention of zombies. “Warm Bodies” is an interesting mashup of genres you don’t usually see: horror, comedy AND romance. It starts off as your typical zombie movie and then immediately derails. It’s a trip, I tell you.
5. “Corpse Bride”: Of course there’s another Tim Burton movie on this list. Honestly, you could put any of his movies down as Halloween-related for the spookiness factor alone.
6. “Casper”: Another Disney original, it’s a kid-classic. It’s literally about a ghost that lives in a haunted house. What more could you ask for in a not-spooky spooky movie? But for real, this is a really sweet and interesting movie about the cartoon ghost we all know and love.
7. “Rocky Horror Picture Show”: If you’ve only seen this poster or stills for this movie, you’d think it was a quirky movie involving some kind of scary-looking characters. If you’ve actually seen the movie, you know otherwise. This is possibly the strangest movie on this list, and also the only musical. If you haven’t seen it, you’re in for quite a ride.
8. “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown”: This one’s an “oldie but goldie.” It’s probably not as popular as the Christmas one, but the Great Pumpkin just had to make an appearance on this list. As per usual, Charlie Brown and the gang have all sorts of Halloween adventures. Hopefully, your Halloween won’t end up with you getting rocks instead of candy.
9. “Shaun of the Dead”: OK, last zombie movie, I promise. But this one actually is your “classic” zombie movie. However, because it’s a Simon Pegg movie, there’s no way it’s going to be serious. Yes, it’s a zombie-basher, but have you ever seen a zombie kill with a record disk or juke box? There’s no way you can’t at least crack a smile at that.
10. “Scooby Doo” (2002): This wasn’t the first Scooby Doo movie, but it was the first live-action one. Maybe I’m wearing rose-colored glasses, but I fondly remember this movie. It’s hard to not associate Scooby Doo with Halloween due to all the monster references. This movie will make a pleasant addition to your Halloween movie list, with the scariest part being Scooby’s animation.