Halloween: the holiday known for heart-dropping frights, intricate store-bought costumes, and thousands of dollars worth of candy passed out every year. Though these individual aspects of the holiday make for a night of terrifying tricks and tasty treats, one of the most overlooked details of Halloween is the iconic movies that result. Over the years, Halloween movies from every genre have gained popularity and are still rewatched by families every year. These are some of the most iconic Halloween movies to date:

Hocus Pocus:

Over three hundred years after three witches were executed in Salem, Massachusetts, a teenage girl, Max, explores their abandoned home, accidentally summoning them once again. With the help of a boy who was turned into a cat, Max and her friends must figure out a way to steal the witches’ book and end the witches reign. 

The Nightmare Before Christmas:

This film, released in 1993, follows the misadventures of Jack Skellington as he stumbles into a realm unknown to both him and the people of Halloweentown: Christmas. After discovering this, he plots to kidnap Santa Claus and become the new bringer of Christmas, but he soon discovers how quickly his plans can go astray.

Halloweentown:

Following an annual Halloween visit from grandma, three children secretly travel to Halloweentown, where citizens are rapidly disappearing from an unknown cause. The three of them must learn the ways of the witch to try to defeat the powerful force that threatens to take over the world and destroy Halloweentown, including all of its residents.

Haunted Mansion:

This movie, released in 2003, tells the story of workaholic Jim Evers as he takes his family on a vacation to a sinister mansion in the woods. After discovering that the mansion is haunted and that his wife has unexpected connections to its past, Evers must figure out how to lift the curse and escape the house once and for all.

Beetlejuice:

This movie, directed by Tim Burton and released in 1988, follows a pair of recently decreased lovers, Barbara and Adam Maitland, as they haunt their own house to scare away the Deetzes family who moved in following the couple’s death. The Maitlands contact a freelance ghost, named Betelgeuse (Beetlejuice) to assist them in their quest and must learn to take advantage of his chaotic nature to get their house back.

Ghostbusters:

Originally released in 1984, Ghostbusters tells the story of three scientists who, after experimenting with the supernatural one too many times, find themselves involved with an ancient shape-shifting demon, Gozer the Destructor, and they must learn how to defeat the demon and save New York and humanity as a whole.

Little Shop of Horrors:

Released in 1986, this Sci-fi/Fantasty movie follows the journey of flower assistant Seymour Krelborn as he struggles with a plant, which he names Audrey II, who can talk. Audrey II only eats flesh and blood, and Seymour must figure out how to satisfy his plant while not putting his job, or life, at risk.