Best Horror Films That Take Place on Halloween

Kate Rotunda
Oct 30
4 min read

Halloween is here! If you're anything like me you'll spend most of the day watching horror films and soaking up the last of the spooky season. In case you can't choose the perfect movie to watch, here is a list of horror films that actually take place on Halloween day.

Some honorable mentions that didn’t make the list but are still great movies that take place on Halloween are: Late Night with the Devil (2023), WNUF Halloween Special (2013), Halloween III (1982), VHS Halloween (2025).

A little boy in a burlap sack mask with button eyes, and an orange jumpsuit stands next to a tree at night

Trick R’ Treat (2007): Werewolves, zombies, and a physical embodiment of Halloween oh my! Trick R’ Treat is a non linear horror movie that takes place in a fictional neighborhood in Ohio on Halloween night. The story follows characters in the town experiencing various supernatural hijinks, while being watched in the shadows by “Sam”, a little creature making sure they obey the rules of Halloween. This movie may be a little cheesy at times, but it really is so much fun. It has comedy, horror, and some good sprinklings of gore. Perfect Halloween night watch if you have respect for the purity of Halloween (and want to see those who don’t be punished).

A man in a car is screaming, there are vines wrapped around his throat and arm.

Carved (2024): We’ve been sticking knives into pumpkins every Halloween and this time they are fighting back! Carved is set in the 1990s at a historical reenactment village while they have their Halloween celebration. During their jack o’ lantern contest one of the pumpkins comes to life and seeks murderous revenge against those who carved up its pumpkin brethren. Another fun movie that satisfies the need for gore and has a classic Halloween aesthetic. It also has a badass female lead and a group of people who actually try hard to survive, in case you're over horror movie characters making the worst possible decisions. A funny blood bath that will have you side eyeing the jack o’ lantern that's sitting on your stoop.

Two men in suits and a woman in a purple shirt stand facing the camera. In the background there are multiple tv screens with the words "Ghost Watch" projected across them.

GhostWatch (1992): What happens if you live broadcast a ghost into the homes of millions? GhostWatch is a horror film following a news team investigating a haunted house, in the style of a BBC broadcast. It allegedly fooled many people into thinking it was real when it first aired, scaring thousands of unsuspecting viewers. This is one of the best mockumentaries I have watched! The acting, style, and set up really make it believable as a real news broadcast. A perfect slow burn that builds to an amazing ending that introduces new implications into the haunting ability of ghosts in the age of technology.

A woman with brown hair and a red cloak stands to the left, to her right is a woman with red hair and a green dress and cloak, on the far right is a blonde woman with a pink dress and purple cloak. They stand in front of an iron fence with dead vines on it.

Hocus Pocus (1993): The witches are back and there's hell to pay! Okay, okay, I know it's not technically horror, but to me this is the Halloween movie. It's also the movie I credit with sparking my love for all things spooky. On Halloween night a virgin lights a cursed candle bringing back the Sanderson Sisters, three witches who feed on the souls of children. If you haven't seen this movie yet, stop reading this list and go watch it. It is just a blast to watch, it has Bette Middler, Sarah Jessica Parker, Kathy Najimy, and it embodies the fun/nostalgic side of Halloween perfectly.

Two young girls in black jackets sit outside in front of a tree. The girl on the right has a laptop on her lap and both girls are looking to the right at something off screen

Ginger Snaps (2000): Nothing can come between two sisters, well except maybe some lycanthropy. Gingersnaps follows two death obsessed sisters as they try to navigate high school, puberty, and a werewolf attack. I never realized before watching this movie that werewolfism is such a good metaphor for puberty. Unwanted hair, body changes, and bloodlust, the usual puberty things we all experienced. This movie is one of my all time favorites, it is gory and heart wrenching. If you're a fan of Jennifer’s Body I highly recommend this one as it has very similar themes, and a great demonic teenage girl strutting down the hallway scene.

A woman stands in the middle of a room decorated for halloween. Her brown hair is sticking up, she had upside down crosses as earrings and dark eye makeup. Her eye are orange and there is blood dripping from her mouth

Night of the Demons (1988): It wouldn't be a good horror movie list if I didn’t include a cheesy 80s movie, and I’m not sure it gets more 80s than this. A bunch of teenagers throw a party in an abandoned funeral home on Halloween night, but while messing around they accidentally awaken a darkness none of them are prepared for. This movie has it all: terrible acting and dialogue, rampant sexism, and hair bigger than lampshades. That being said, it is a great Halloween watch as it does revolve entirely around the idea that the veil between worlds is the thinnest and spirits are more powerful on Halloween night. Plus honestly sometimes you need a good brainless 80s movie to cleanse the palate.

A sunny day in the suburbs. The street is lined with trees and there is a long bush to the left of the image. Peeking out behind the bush is a man with a white mask on and a navy blue jumpsuit.

Halloween (1978) : And of course the original Halloween. Does this movie really need explanation for being on this list, I mean just look at the name! If you don’t already know, Halloween follows Laurie, a young babysitter whose town is being stalked by Michael Meyers, an escaped lunatic, on Halloween night. If you’re a big fan of slasher movies, you have Halloween to thank for all the tropes that make slashers so amazing: final girls, death by sex, and the unstoppable masked killer. Halloween is a classic for a reason and it is a mandatory watch every year around this time. I don’t think it's even physically possible to get through October without watching it (and possibly every other movie John Carpenter has made).

1 Comment

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