Spooky season is here, and discussions are being had about what to watch on Halloween: "what's the best spooky family movie?", "Where can I see the best Dracula movie?", "What spooky movie can I watch every day in October?" All very important questions, but they all center around the same basic premise: Halloween means scary movies -- often those meant for adults.
The spooky film fixation, however, hardly leaves room for a likewise important discussion of spooky TV shows. Even when discussed, these tend to revolve around the more adult-oriented offerings, often leaving cartoons unspoken for. There are many cartoons that offer spooky and scary kicks suitable for the whole family and a full night. From DeadEndia to the Boiling Isles, here are some of the best and brightest bump-in-the-night-type cartoons worth streaming, and where to find them in October 2022.
Dead End: Paranormal Park is an Overlooked Netflix Spookfest
With similar vibes to Steven Universe and Gravity Falls, Dead End: Paranormal Park feels sorely overlooked in the cartoon pantheon. Featuring a dog being possessed by a demonic warlord at a nightmarish Dollywood-inspired theme park, the show is appropriately spooky. However, it also features a heartfelt coming-of-age tale for its main character, a trans man, and a full-fledged romance for him. It's at times serious and poignant -- dealing with themes such as social anxiety -- but doing so in a way that allows for joy and fun. One of the most important episodes of the series features a musical curse, which naturally causes its brilliant cast (including Emily Osment, Zach Barack and Alex Brightman) to have to sing their feelings. Dead End: Paranormal Park is a silly, family-friendly adventure with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making the Netflix scarefest a bingable wonder.
The Owl House Features Witches, Wizards & Demons on Disney+
The Owl House is a fan-favorite from Disney, in spite of its unceremonious early cancelation. It features a world completely contrary to Disney's own lighter version of fantasy. It has maniacal faeries and conmen dotting the Boiling Isles where the majority of the story takes place. While it goes to morose and dark places, The Owl House is mostly a comedy -- and a clever one at that -- sharply parodying fantasy while being a love letter to it. It even goes directly against the format of The Hero's Journey, making it as much a comedy as it is a meta commentary. Given the vast number of people who already subscribe to Disney+, it's well worth giving the 100% on Rotten Tomatoes-rated cartoon a shot.
The Addams Family (1973) Is a Perfect Follow-Up to the Original Show on Pluto TV
The Addams Family's most famous outings are their live-action bouts, with 1991's entry being the widely accepted best. However, overlooking their unique adventures throughout America is almost as criminal as the creepy, cooky family themselves. This is well worth watching for the mythos of the franchise, as it added the macabre elements into the family's repertoire and refined the best elements of the original TV show into what they are known as today. It's smart and fun, and it's well worth catching for free on Pluto TV, even though its Rotten Tomatoes score is still undecided.
Over the Garden Wall is a Fall-Themed HBO Max Classic
In spite of all of these shows having a Halloween vibe and some actually having episodes on the holiday, Over the Garden Wall is the only one that takes place entirely on a Halloween night. It's yet another coming-of-age story, but it also plays into the Halloween concept of a masked identity. Even the nightmarish atmosphere is itself called into question. From the autumn leaves to the winds of winter, it evokes Halloweens all over the Western world and all the seasonal changes it marks. It's also awkward and hilarious while keeping itself poignant. It's also very short, meaning that the series' 93% rating is earned in only a few hours of total runtime -- short enough to be viewed on the same day as another short, spooky series.
Gravity Falls is a Summery Scarefest on Disney+
Unsurprisingly, Gravity Falls -- one of the best creepy cartoon shows in the last decade -- makes the list. It isn't technically a Halloween-themed series, as it canonically takes place over the course of a summer. However, it shares some great DNA with the other shows on this list. For example, Gravity Falls uses The Owl House's atypical approach to mythical creatures, as well as the silly, adult-friendly (though not necessarily oriented) humor of Dead End: Paranormal Park. With a 100% critic score and a 96% audience score, a brilliant creative pedigree and a large fandom, it's worth binging, even out of season. Though it pairs better with a cool soda than a warm cider, there's nothing wrong with hopping onto Disney+ to stream Dipper Pines' coming-of-age and beautiful awkwardness.
Batman: the Animated Series is HBO Max's Best Spooky Superhero Offer
Is Batman: The Animated Series specifically set on Halloween? No. It's not even constrained to one season like many spooky TV shows. However, its noir-for-children atmosphere blended with costumed villains and heroes makes the 98% audience-rated show well worth the watch. Batman has always been associated with Halloween in his modern era, and the animated series' atmosphere and general plot line go well beyond the typical constraints of a Halloween-centric show. As an animated series centered on a society with evil woven into its very fiber, it makes Batman feel like something of a slightly funny, action-packed Halloween epic. If nothing else, "Nothing to Fear" -- an episode featuring the series' first appearance of the Scarecrow -- should be seen on HBO Max as it enters its perfect season.
Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! Is Only Part of HBO Max's Classic Collection
Perhaps no series is more strongly associated with the Halloween season than the classic adventures of Scooby and the gang. Their most recent shows have received critical praise for their unique, brilliant storytelling. Many Scooby-Doo films have elements as classic and intrinsic to the show as the original series. All of these are well worth a watch, rewatch, and a campaign for an HBO Max revival.
The show that started it all blends a spooky atmosphere and corrupt, evil men with bright, silly characters who -- in many cases -- just want a snack. The zany, silly characters manage a perfect balance that lends to the franchise's persistence, even well before the era of reboots and legacy sequels. It's well over a half-century old, contributing to its Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 82%, but the show is worth a watch on HBO Max.
Naturally, there are many movies worth watching over the Halloween season. There are many live-action shows that similarly are owed a watch. However, there is no need to stick it out without a nice blend of childlike fun and creepiness. If one enjoys Spirited Away but wants a bit more length on its thematic marriage, they could do far worse than looking to some of the cartoons available on streaming for an answer.