Six spooky and scary Halloween movies for all ages

In a scene from Goosebumps the movie, Jack Black is stood surrounded by zombies, he looks unnerved whilst pointing to them all

For many people Halloween offers a chance to dress up, look a bit spooky, and potentially go out for some trick-or-treating. Many Halloween costumes are inspired by films - and what’s better than coming back with a trick-or-treat haul, than sticking on a classic scary movie.

From dark fantasies set in ancient worlds, to menacing spiders and zombie-infested weather, BBC Bitesize presents a spooktacular list of movies to suit every age and scream threshold.

Two puppets in the shape of bird like dragons speak with each other in a lair — Image caption,
Two of the evil Skeksis - possibly the scariest feature of The Dark Crystal

The Dark Crystal (1982) - PG

What’s the plot? Set on the mythical planet of Thra thousands of years ago, the story sees young ‘gelfling’ called Jen embarking on a quest to find a missing shard of the dark crystal, which shattered many years before. Standing in her way are the evil ‘skeksis’, who use the broken crystal’s dark magic to drain life from their victims, and prolong their own.

Who’s in it? The film is performed entirely by marvellously detailed puppets. British actor Stephen Garlick provided the voice of Jen.

Who directed it? Jim Henson, the creator of The Muppets, alongside his long-time collaborator Frank Oz.

How scary is it? It’s much darker in tone than you might expect from the man who brought us Kermit the frog. There’s a strong sense of peril, but there’s nothing particularly graphic. One of the scary looking skeksis crumbling to dust is probably the most intense moment.

Behind the scenes? For the skeksis' appearance, Henson had originally been inspired by an illustration he saw in a copy of J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. “They were crocodiles and they lived in a palace,” remembered the film’s production designer Brian Froud in an interview. “But we moved from reptiles living in some sort of palatial environment into part turkey, part dinosaur.”

Three teenagers and an adult male (played by comedian Jack Black) scream in a car, the threat is not in vision — Image caption,
The Goosebumps movie is full of screams and silliness in equal measure

Goosebumps (2015) - PG

What’s the plot? When teenager Zach moves to a new town he soon falls for the girl next door, Hannah. But things soon get a little complicated, and supernatural. Zach discovers that Hannah’s dad is real-life, gazillion-book-selling teen-horror author R.L. Stine. The writer’s out-of-control imagination has conjured up real monsters that he keeps locked up in his books. Of course the monsters escape and spooky chaos ensues.

Who’s in it? Comedy superstar Jack Black stars as author R.L. Stine, he's more recently starred in A Minecraft Movie (2025).

Who directed it? Rob Letterman was in the director’s chair. He's also directed Gulliver’s Travels (2010) and Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019).

How scary is it? Not all that scary at all, truth be told. The presence of the hilarious Jack Black means there are many more laughs than screams. Plus, there’s always the sense that everything is going to work out in the end. A giant praying mantis and an evil clown do add some slightly more intense moments, alongside a couple of jump scares.

Behind the scenes? Real-life author R.L. Stine makes a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance as a high school drama teacher named Mr Black.

A man with long blond hair stares intently into a large jarge which he is holding. Inside it is an eight legged spider. — Image caption,
Actor Julian Sands alongside the real 'star' of the film Arachnophobia

Arachnophobia (1990) - PG

What’s the plot? When a deadly new species of South American spider hitches a ride in a coffin and accidentally arrives in a small American town, it mates with the native species and strange deaths begin to mount up. Local doctor Ross Jennings, who suffers from a deadly fear of the critters, teams up with local pest-control expert Delbert McClintock to investigate.

Who’s in it? Jeff Daniels (of Dumb and Dumber fame) plays Dr Jennings, while John Goodman plays the highly eccentric exterminator.

Who directed it? Raiders Of The Lost Ark and The Colour Purple mega-producer Frank Marshall made his directorial debut with Arachnophobia.

How scary is it? This depends on where you stand on spiders! True arachnophobes are strongly advised to give this one a very wide berth. For others though, the film stays on the side of creepy rather than horrific. There are some jump scares, mounting tension, as well as some sudden (non-gory) deaths. Not forgetting the intense, sometimes gooey, showdown set in a spider-infested basement.

Behind the scenes? The director conducted an extensive casting call to find just the right kind of spider to feature in the movie. “I held what I called the Spider Olympics,” he once explained. “I really put them through their paces to see if they could climb a glass, if they looked scary, to see how big they were or if they looked good on camera.”

An elderly man wearing a white tee shirt, a ghoulish clown in a tuxedo and a male with an animatronic squashed head sit on a couch togehter, screaming. — Image caption,
Say his name three times and he will appear. Michael Keaton (centre) as Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice (1988) - 12

What’s the plot? A happy couple find themselves trapped as ghosts, doomed to haunt their beautiful home. Which is fine by them, until a slightly obnoxious younger family move in. The spooks try to frighten them off, but finally are forced to hire a ‘bio-exorcist’, a ghost who specialises in scaring off the living. Enter ‘Beetlejuice’, a wildly eccentric character who causes nothing but chaos.

Who’s in it? Michael Keaton (who would start his two-film run as Batman the following year) plays Beetlejuice. Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis star as the ghostly couple.

Who directed it? This was former Disney animator Tim Burton’s second movie. It really establishes his inventive style. He would go on to direct many hit movies, including two Batman films, and Edward Scissorhands (1990).

How scary is it? While the tone is mainly anarchic comedy, things can get quite intense, and the movie features some gothic imagery, including shrunken heads. Keaton’s over-the-top performance makes sure things stay on the side of silly rather than really frightening. Though there are occasional references to more adult themes.

Behind the scenes? Tim Burton decided that less is definitely more when it came to his lead character. Beetlejuice only has 17 minutes of screen time in total and doesn’t make his first appearance until 25 minutes in!

The ghostly silhouettes of six males are surrounded by a misty fog as they approach a row of seats in a church like building — Image caption,
The Fog is full of atmosphere and intesity

The Fog (1980) - 15

What’s the plot? Nothing much happens in the sleepy, and fictional, town of Antonio Bay until one night a mysterious fog drifts in. Sitting in her lighthouse studio, local radio DJ Stevie Wayne is the first to suspect something is terribly wrong. She’s right on the money. The mist turns out to be filled with the shuffling corpses of long-dead sailors determined to take their revenge for an ancient crime.

Who’s in it? The classy cast includes 80s star Adrienne Barbeau, who is wonderful as the DJ. Mother-and-daughter acting duo Janet Leigh and Jamie Lee Curtis also appear.

Who directed it? Horror maestro John Carpenter was behind this frightful film.

How scary is it? There are a few pretty intense scenes, and the makeup for the zombified mariners is satisfyingly gooey (green goo and maggots, briefly). The film is framed as a ghostly tale told to youngsters sitting around a campfire, and Carpenter keeps the tone tense and spooky rather than going for outright shocks.

Behind the scenes? After watching the completed film, Carpenter decided it wasn’t scary enough and reshot a full third of the movie, adding slightly more intense zombie sailors, and refining the fog effects.

A young male, played by the actor Daniel Kaluuya, sits tense in a chair, his eyes roll into his head. A camera is filming him next to the director Jordan Peele — Image caption,
Director Jordan Peele (right) calls the shots in Get Out

Get Out (2017) - 15

What’s the plot? Chris Washington, a young black photographer, travels to meet his white girlfriend’s parents at their swanky, middle-class home. Things are mildly awkward, but take a turn for the out-and-out weird when his girlfriend hypnotises him on the pretence of helping him quit smoking. Instead she sends him to paralysing mental state called ‘the sunken place’. Just what is this apparently respectable family up to?

Who’s in it? This was Daniel Kaluuya’s breakout performance, starring as Chris Washington. He would later appear in Black Panther (2018).

Who directed it? Jordan Peele, who had previously been a comedy writer and performer, made his directorial debut with this low-budget, breakout hit.

How scary is it? This one is a pretty intense story of horror lurking in quiet suburbia. Peele mercilessly exploits both the creepiness and tension of Chris’s plight without giving the audience much in the way of relief. There are a few sudden shocks and occasional brief but quite intense moment of blood and violence. That said, most of the terror comes from the relentless tension and Chris’s increasing feeling of helplessness.

Behind the scenes? Peele (who is mixed race) has said the inspiration for the film came at least partly from his own experiences. “I’ve got to tell you, a fairly consistent part of my experience is worrying about how I’m going to be perceived in the ‘wrong’ neighbourhood. It’s one of the pieces of the African American experience that people don’t know is always there,” he told The Guardian newspaper in 2017.

This article was published in October 2025