20 Halloween movies to watch if you don’t want to get too scared

It’s said right in the movie: “It’s just a bunch of hocus pocus.” There’s nothing scary about Hocus Pocus. It’s just silly and fun and magical and the slightest bit spooky. It’s perfect for kids, but it’s great for adult scaredy cats, too. 

Practical Magic doesn’t have anything to do with Halloween — just magic. And while a few scenes have bits that are a little freaky, it’s not too scary to handle. Plus, there are plenty of fun parts to make up for it, like the midnight margarita scene. 

A few creatures that inhabit Halloweentown are unpleasant to look at, but that’s all that’s scary about Halloweentown. All in all, it’s a fun story about a magical land that could potentially be scary to visit in real life but is entertaining in film form. 

Certain aspects of Beetlejuice are a little creepy, but there’s nothing too intense for most audiences. If you don’t enjoy the gross and unsettling, you might not enjoy Beetlejuice, but it isn’t downright scary. 

There’s no reason to be scared by Edward Scissorhands. If you were to see a man with blades for fingers in real life, you’d have every right to be terrified. But seeing him through a screen is fine. The movie is more quirky and bizarre than it is scary. 

Don’t let the word “nightmare” in the title deter you. The Nightmare Before Christmas is not scary at all. It’s just fun and a little kitschy and a tiny bit spooky. The Christmas aspects help to dampen anything scary about Halloween Town. 

Sure, Death Becomes Her is a bit gruesome, and because of the death scenes, it’s labeled a horror film, but it won’t give you nightmares. If anything, the death scenes just add to the film’s comedy. 

Casper isn’t scary. He’s a friendly ghost! And his movie isn’t scary, either. There are plenty of ghosts in the film, but they’re funny and harmless. There may be a jump scare or two, but Casper is overwhelmingly just a fun Halloween film. 

The Disney ride that inspired the film is scarier than the actual film. The Haunted Mansion has bits and pieces that are slightly scary, but there’s nothing that’ll truly inspire fear. Any scary moments are quickly balanced by the comedy genius of Eddie Murphy. 

Okay, it is downright terrifying when the witches remove their masks to reveal their true forms, but the rest of the film is not scary. If you’re at all freaked out by the witches, just cover your eyes for that scene. 

The scariest part of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is the idea that there are people in the world who are making pies out of human meat and selling them to unwitting customers. But there’s a very small chance that that’s actually happening. And honestly, how scary can a musical be?

Again, it’s hard for musicals to actually be scary. Little Shop of Horrors is not horrific at all, just weird and silly and full of odd accent work, and Steve Martin as an unethical dentist. There’s also an anthropomorphic plant, but CGI wasn’t advanced enough to make him look scary. 

The Rocky Horror Picture Show is another musical that’s a little ghastly and off-the-wall, but it’s not scary unless you're afraid of Tim Curry in drag. 

They might be busting ghosts, but those ghosts aren’t scary. One of the smartest things a filmmaker can do is take something that could be scary, like ghosts, and pair it with comedy legends, like Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd. The result is a non-scary Halloween classic. 

Some of the gremlins are upsetting to see on film, but that’s about where the horror begins and ends. There is some violence, but there’s enough comedy to counteract it. The gremlins are too small to be truly scary. 

Any movie that features a theme song with prominent snapping can’t be scary. The Addams themselves might be a little freaky to encounter in real life, but they’re harmless, and there’s nothing about any of their movies to be scared of.

Scooby-Doo might have incited fear in you as a child, but the 2002 live-action film and its sequel are just fun and mysterious. It had a big enough budget to be entertaining and cast stars, but it didn’t have a big enough budget to make any of the scary characters truly terrifying. 

If you don’t want to get scared at all, watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. It’s about 45 minutes long, and there’s absolutely nothing even remotely scary about it. It’s mostly about pumpkins and children’s Halloween celebrations.  

Frankenstein is considered to be one of the best horror films of all time, but it’s really not scary. Even if you’re an absolute weenie when it comes to scary movies, you’ll be able to handle Frankenstein. Maybe it’s the black-and-white, but it’s a breeze to watch compared to horror films made in the ‘80s and after. 

The Goonies is just a fun film. It’s not scary, and it doesn’t really have anything to do with Halloween, but it captures the spirit of the holiday and has the slightest bit of spook. It’s a great option when you’re not in the mood to be terrified.