Top 10 Halloween Movies to Watch This October 2026

Now that we’re well into the month of October, fans of spooky season are waiting with bated breath for Halloween night. Whether you’re the kind to plan your costume months in advance for a party or scream your heart out at fright fests, nothing gets you into the festive mood like a good Halloween movie.

From cult-classic Hocus Pocus to A Nightmare on Elm Street and Practical Magic, here’s a list of spooky Halloween films that works for all ages. And if you’re game for running your heart rate off the charts, The Exorcist might do just that. Besides, what better time to watch these films than now? After all—it’s Halloween, everyone’s entitled to one good scare.

The Ultimate Watchlist for Halloween 2026

Coraline (2009)

Available to rent or purchase with Prime Video.

There’s something so eerie yet alluring about Henry Selick’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s eponymous 2002 dark fantasy children’s novella that just keeps audiences coming back. This 2009 stop-motion finds 11-year-old Coraline Jones (voiced by Dakota Fanning) and her negligent parents moving into an old Oregon apartment building called the Pink Palace. While exploring, Coraline finds a long corridor that leads to a parallel dimension—where she meets a more attentive version of her parents, only with buttons sewn over their eyes. Offering better food, attention, and fun, she is tempted to stay until the Other Mother starts to reveal her true intentions.

Practical Magic (1998)

Available to stream on Netflix.

Centuries ago, when ancestor witch Maria Owens was abandoned by her lover, she cast a spell never to fall in love again—except that it accidentally turned into a generational curse. Cut to present day, we meet orphaned witch sisters: quiet Sally (Sandra Bullock) and spirited Gillian Owens (Nicole Kidman). They are now living an anything-but-normal life with their spinster aunts, learning the uses of practical magic, and using all of their powers to fight the family curse. The cult classic is followed up by a 2026 sequel that welcomes the return of the Owens sisters and their aunts.

Nosferatu (2024)

A reimagination of F. W. Murnau’s 1922 silent German Expressionist classic, Nosferatu by Robert Eggers tells the tragic tale of newly-wed Ellen Hutter (Lily-Rose Depp) who is haunted by the infatuation of a vampire—played by a heavily-prosthesised Bill Skarsgård—after she moves into an isolated castle with her partner. The film is an exemplary display of stunning compositions and cinematography, with stellar supporting acts by Nicholas Hoult, Willem Dafoe, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Emma Corrin.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Available to stream on Disney+.

Our gothic horror and dark fantasy king, Tim Burton, is responsible for this 1993 family-fantasy. Chris Sarandon (speaking) and Danny Elfman (singing) provide the voices for the iconic Jack Skellington, while Catherine O’Hara delivers memorable lines as Sally. Though this stop-motion gem finds itself in a balancing act between the Christmas and Halloween movie categories year after year, we would be remiss to deprive you of anthems like “This Is Halloween” and “What’s This?” from composer Danny Elfman.

Halloween (1978)

Available to stream on Apple TV.

The title speaks for itself with this one. Known for birthing one of the most iconic villains in horror, Halloween feels extra creepy to watch on the 31st of October. The 1978 film revolves around escaped mental patient Michael Myers as he returns to his hometown to stalk teenagers on Halloween night. Trust us when we say it will take some time to get the image of the silent, masked slasher shredding his victims to pieces out of your head.

Hocus Pocus (1993)

Available to stream on Disney+.

Few films capture the spooky aura of the Halloween season as well as Hocus Pocus does—especially when it relies purely on hysterical performances without the need for grotesque scenes. The Disney comedy, starring Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy, and Sarah Jessica Parker as the Sanderson sisters, revolves around three 17th-century Salem witches who are accidentally resurrected on Halloween night by newcomers Max and his sister. Now the trio wants to secure permanent youth by sucking the life essence out of young children before sunrise.

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Available to stream on Astro GO.

Inspired by actual articles documenting a wave of unexplained nocturnal deaths in young men, writer and director Wes Craven conjured Freddy Krueger—a disfigured serial killer who wears a glove with razor-sharp metal blades and slashes children in their sleep. Here’s the catch: if he kills you in your sleep, you’re dead in real life too.

Casper (1995)

Available to rent or purchase with Apple TV.

Who says all ghosts are scary? In fact—this one’s friendly. Sweet, charming, and innocent, Brad Silberling’s feature film directorial debut follows an afterlife therapist and his daughter—played by Bill Pullman and Christina Ricci—who move into a crumbling mansion to rid the premises of lingering spirits. When Casper, the friendly ghost of a young boy, meets Kat, a special bond forms and he starts to fall in love with her.

The Exorcist (1973)

If movies are known for their world-building abilities, offering escapism and a few hours of leaving all knowledge and beliefs before the opening scene, The Exorcist is a disgustingly good example of it. This horror classic by William Friedkin follows 12-year-old Regan MacNeil, who, after playing with an Ouija board, becomes possessed by a demonic entity and starts to portray disturbing behaviour: superhuman strength, levitation, and even 360-degree head-spinning.

Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Available to stream on HBO Max.

An underrated work of Tim Burton’s, Sleepy Hollow is a gothic supernatural horror that follows young police detective Ichabod Crane (Johnny Depp), who’s been sent to a small town to investigate a series of decapitations. Set in the foggy, eerie atmosphere of New England, this adaptation of Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” sets a delicious tone for the holiday spirit despite not being explicitly related to Halloween.

READ MORE

The post Top 10 Halloween Movies to Watch This October 2026 appeared first on Grazia Malaysia.