Don’t miss this list of scary movies for kids! Not too scary or gross, these are great movies to give those kids of yours enough adrenaline to make them have a great time this Halloween.
You can read all about them below and make a plan for an epic Halloween movie night. This list is a great way to spend some spooky fun time together!
Here are some other Halloween Kids Movies to have on your movie night radar as well. Pop some popcorn and enjoy!
How do I determine if a movie is too scary for my child?
Trust your gut—you know your child best. If you’re hesitating, it’s usually a sign to wait or preview it first. Here’s a clear way to figure out if a movie might be too scary for your child:
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Check the rating and reasons behind it. Look beyond the “G, PG, PG-13” label—read the rating notes (e.g., “scary images,” “intense sequences,” or “violence”).
Read reviews from parents. Websites like Common Sense Media, IMDb’s Parent Guide, or parenting blogs often give detailed breakdowns of potentially frightening scenes.
Consider your child’s personality and age. Some kids shrug off spooky visuals, while others get nightmares from just a tense soundtrack. If your child is sensitive, even “mild” may be too much.
Preview the movie yourself (or watch clips/trailers). This gives you firsthand insight into tone, jump scares, and themes.
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Look for red flags in content.
Jump scares and creepy music
Dark or violent themes (monsters, ghosts, death)
Disturbing imagery (zombies, blood, eerie faces)
Intense suspense that drags on
Use a “scare scale” discussion. Before watching, ask: “Would you be okay with a ghost popping up suddenly?” or “What if a character gets chased?” Gauge their comfort.
Have a backup plan. If you decide to try it, keep the remote handy, watch together, and be ready to pause or switch to something lighter if it’s overwhelming.
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1
RL Stine’s The Haunting Hour: Don’t Think About It
RATED PG – For 13-year-old goth girl Cassie, fitting into a new school and neighborhood isn’t easy, but she entertains herself by playing pranks on the “popular” kids and her little brother, Max. As Halloween approaches, Cassie’s search for scares leads her to a mysterious Halloween store and an unusual book called The Evil Thing. When Max begs her to read the book to him, Cassie finally gives in, ignoring the warning “Do Not Read Aloud.” But it’s when they get to the last page of the book and its clear warning about the Evil Thing – “Don’t Think About It” – that the spooky adventure really begins. Starring Emily Osment and Cody Linley of Hannah Montana, Brittany Elizabeth Curran of The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, and the quintessential movie villain, SAW’s Tobin Bell, R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour: Don’t Think About It is sure to put a shiver in your spine!
NOT RATED – Gator Burt Willie carries on the tongue-in-cheek tradition of storytelling icon, The Cryptkeeper, only in G-rated family-friendly fashion. This program was created for kids under 11, and is jam-packed with the right amount of goose bumps and giggles
RATED PG – Even for a 12-year old, D.J. Walters has a particularly overactive imagination. He is convinced that his haggard and crabby neighbor Horace Nebbercracker, who terrorizes all the neighborhood kids, is responsible for Mrs. Nebbercracker’s mysterious disappearance. Any toy that touches Nebbercracker’s property, promptly disappears, swallowed up by the cavernous house in which Horace lives. D.J. has seen it with his own eyes! But no one believes him, not even his best friend, Chowder. What everyone does not know is D.J. is not imagining things. Everything he’s seen is absolutely true and it’s about to get much worse than anything D.J could have imagined.
RATED PG – Max is hardly a typical 11-year-old: he loves magic, detests sports, and can’t seem to say a single word to his crush, Traci, the most popular girl in school. But when he’s the only one who can see the ghosts haunting his house, two young spirits make him the deal of a lifetime: he’ll help them solve the mystery of their parents’ disappearance and battle a wicked ghoul, if they’ll help him go from being invisible to the most talked-about kid at school! Featuring an all-star cast including Madison Pettis (The Game Plan), Ali Lohan (TV’s Living Lohan), Luke Benward (How to Eat Fried Worms), Noah Cyrus (TV’s Hannah Montana) and Sterling Beaumon (Four Christmases), it’s one spooky mishap after another in this haunted adventure! Filled with thrills, chills and hilarious spills, R. L. Stine’s Mostly Ghostly will have the whole family on the edge of their seats!
RATED PG – Tim Burton presents an animation of a young man who is whisked away to the underworld and wed to a mysterious Corpse Bride while his real bride waits in the land of the living.
RATED PG – Twelve-year-old Danny Walker is shocked to learn that the small Minnesota town he just moved to can’t celebrate Halloween because of a local curse. With the help of his recently deceased (but still kicking) Uncle Fred, Danny must battle an army of prankster ghouls rising from the ground to break the curse once and for all – and bring back the magic of Halloween!
RATED PG – You’re in for a devil of a time when three outlandishly wild witches — Bette Midler (BEACHES, BIG BUSINESS), Sarah Jessica Parker (HONEYMOON IN VEGAS), and Kathy Najimy (SISTER ACT) — return from 17th-century Salem after they’re accidentally conjured up by some unsuspecting pranksters! It’s a night full of zany fun and comic chaos once the tricky 300-year-old trio sets out to cast a spell on the town and reclaim their youth — but first they must get their act together and outwit three kids and a talking cat! Loaded with bewitching laughs, HOCUS POCUS is an outrageously wild comedy that’s sure to entertain everyone!
Rated: PG-13. Coraline (2009) is a beautifully eerie stop-motion film that blends wonder with just the right amount of spooky. Rated highly across IMDb (7.8/10), Rotten Tomatoes (91%), and Metacritic (80/100), it tells the story of a curious girl who discovers a hidden door leading to an alternate world that at first seems perfect but quickly reveals a dark, sinister side. With its haunting visuals, unsettling villains, and powerful message about courage, family, and appreciating what you have, Coraline captivates older kids and adults alike. Best suited for ages 9 and up, it’s both a cautionary tale and a Halloween favorite that lingers long after the credits roll.
Rated: PG. Casper is a warm-hearted supernatural fantasy that weds gentle spookiness with touching emotional beats. Set in the crumbling grandeur of Whipstaff Manor, the film introduces Casper, a friendly ghost longing for companionship, whose existence is complicated by his mischievous ghost uncles, a lonely teenage girl (Kat), her widowed father, and a greedy heiress after hidden treasure. Though it features special effects and light supernatural thrills, the core of Casper is about loneliness, friendship, grieving loved ones, and learning to accept loss – wrapped in mid-’90s charm, whimsical humor, and gothic atmosphere. It's just scary enough to be exciting for kids, but its sweetness and emotional moments make it resonate with older viewers too.
Raged: PG. In The Addams Family (2019), the iconic spooky clan gets a glossy animated makeover, swapping gothic shadows for color-saturated humor as they prepare for a visit from their extended crew — all while battling a reality-TV star hell-bent on making their creepy hilltop mansion fit into suburban cookie-cutter norms. Though still delightfully weird, the film softens some of the sharper edges of earlier Addams incarnations, leaning into family, identity, and how being different can be a strength. With a charismatic voice cast (including Chloë Grace Moretz as Wednesday) and plenty of kooky visuals, it’s fun for kids who like a little creepiness, and for adults who remember the Addamses’ old charm — though those expecting the original’s darker macabre humor might find this version a tamer, more polished take.
