The 10 Best Horror Movies That Take Place On Halloween

As its title would suggest, John Carpenters' 1978 horror classic Halloween takes place throughout the spooky and terrifying holiday as Michael Myers hunts down poor unsuspecting babysitters one by one in gruesome and grizzly murders. With pumpkins, costumes, and an overall vibe that just screams spooky season, the film is one of the biggest and best horror movies that takes place on Halloween as it manages to give audiences that warm and fuzzy feeling of fall while simultaneously scaring the living daylights out of them.

When Trick ‘r Treat was released straight to video in 2007, almost no one could have foreseen that almost two decades later it would become a staple of the Fall and Halloween season and be widely considered one of the greatest Halloween movies of all time. An utterly brilliant anthology story that tells the tale of werewolves, zombies, serial killers, and the heart of Halloween, the film is so drenched in the Halloween atmosphere one can't help but get excited at the upcoming season, and Trick 'r Treat more than delivers on the fights, fun, and excitement.

While it may not be a stereotypical horror movie, Hocus Pocus is one of the pristine examples of a horror movie that takes place on Halloween and manages to be rich in the fall and spooky atmosphere, and while it may be aimed towards children, it has garnered a reputation of being one of the most important Halloween movies ever made. The plot of the story itself is quite creepy, with a group of witches returning from the grave desperate to swallow the souls of children in order to stay young forever, and while it does have that Disney charm, it still manages to stay just spooky enough to be considered frightful.

Based on the impeccable and downright horrifying works of Alvin Schwartz and Stephen Gammell, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is an almost linear anthology adaptation of the classic novel of the same name that is the perfect introduction to the horror genre for teens and tweens who have never watched a scary movie before. With numerous titular scary stories throughout the film, audiences are all but guaranteed to find at least one that will keep them entertained and utterly enthrall them with a tense atmosphere, chilling visuals, and a spooky vibe and costumes that help the film shine.

Arguably director Rob Zombie's most acclaimed and beloved work, House of 1000 Corpses is a mean, nasty, and gnarly little film that delves deep into the minds of utterly unhinged individuals as they hunt, haunt, and terrorize a group of unsuspecting teens on Halloween night. With Zombie's trademarked visual style and a remarkable cast of characters, the film is utterly terrifying, but also surprisingly well-fleshed out with a world that feels believable in its own sick and twisted way. House of 1000 Corpses isn't for the faint of heart, but it is undoubtedly one of the most beloved cult horror movies of all time.

A ticking time bomb that masterfully mixes elements of science fiction, horror, and the Halloween aesthetic, Halloween III: Season of the Witch is not only one of the most underrated horror movies of all time but one of the best films to watch during the fall season. A film that revolves around masks that kill their wearers, Season of the Witch shows both the leadup and actual day of Halloween as one desperate man attempts to stop a robotic enterprise from killing millions of children on Halloween night.

Terrifier is a film that took the indie horror world by storm when it was released in 2018 and managed to become larger than life itself and introduced a new horror icon to the world of terror. Following Art the Clown as he rampages throughout Detroit and brutally, viciously, and maliciously murderers anyone in his way, the film itself is perfectly adequate, but what makes the film work soo masterfully is Art himself. COmpletely unhinged and, as the title would suggest, terrifying, the film showcases some of the most unforgettable and deeply disturbing acts of violence ever shown on the silver screen.

A staple of classic, cheesy 80s horror, Night of the Demons is a must-watch for the spooky season as it follows a group of high school teens as they conduct a seance during a Halloween party only to summon a demon that is as deadly as she is ravishing. Wickedly entertaining and fantastically frightful, Night of the Demons manages to toe the line of outright terror with an aura of fright that helps the film feel far more fun than outright scary. The film is indeed a cult classic that has somewhat gone under the radar, but more than deserves a watch, especially during the Fall season.

Rob Zombie unleashes all his Rob Zombie-isms in his 2016 film 31, a film that follows a group of carnival workers who are kidnapped on Halloween, held hostage, and forced to partake in violent games to appease a group of sadistic clowns for twelve hours. Utterly depraved, brutally violent, and glossed in the Zombie style that fans either love or despise, 31 is arguably the acclaimed director's most controversial work, and isn't a frightfully fun film to put on during the holiday, but a waking nightmare from which there is no waking.

An anthology film from some of the brightest young minds in Hollywood at the time, Tales of Halloween showcases 10 mystifying stories that range from ghosts and goblins to monsters to devils and everything in between. A frightfully fun film to get audiences in the Halloween spirit, while every short may not be the best, there are plenty that more that live up to the exciting premise and deliver the frights as well as deliver that indescribable feeling one gets when watching a film drenched in spooky fall atmosphere.