5 Creepy Kids Films for Halloween

As Halloween gets closer, I kind of wondered about kids films for the season. Most of the time when you see Halloween-themed movie marathons on television they're all R-rated films. So, does that mean that there are no scary kids films for Halloween?

Well... no, actually there are a few—you just have to dig around a little bit.

5: The Canterville Ghost (1944, 1985, 1986, 1996)

This is one that I think most people know about because there are so many adaptations of the story.

An American family moves to Victorian England and purchases Canterville Chase—a mansion in the countryside haunted by the ghost of Sir Simon de Canterville, a 14th Century nobleman who once owned the house. The ghost has a hard time adapting to having to share his space and it doesn't help that the family—with the exception of the eldest daughter—seems to enjoy tormenting him!

I saw an animated version of the film, and it was both hysterically funny and atmospherically creepy. It wasn't overly graphic about anything, most of the humor works perfectly, and it's not too scary so it's a good entry-level film to the horror genre. There's nothing inappropriate that I can recall for kids so this is perfect for family viewing this Halloween season.

4: The Little Vampire (2000)

A young kid moves from California to Scotland and befriends a vampire. What follows, in addition to the usual comedic hi-jinks that one would expect, is a heartwarming film about friendship and determination.

I didn't watch this one until a few years ago, and while I thought it was a fun time-waster; it was also somewhat irritating. I will say that the vampire cows were probably the funniest part of the film.

Yes, you read that correctly: there are vampire cows in this movie.

3: Corpse Bride (2005)

Tim Burton is no stranger to creepy movies and this one's no exception.

Corpse Bride follows a young man who accidentally 'marries' a woman while practicing his wedding vows—the caveat here is that the woman is... well... a corpse. Hence the title of the film.

Now, the film itself is a fairly lighthearted romantic comedy with a few horror elements (although I don't know that you'd really call it a horror film). There are more than a few creepy moments which fit in with Burton's usual flair.

2: The Black Cauldron (1985)

Here's one that hardly anyone talks about nowadays. The Black Cauldron was a dark fantasy film released by Disney in 1985. It was the first Disney film to be given a PG rating upon its release, and was, at the time, the most expensive animated feature film ever made; with a budget of $44 million.

The story follows Taran, a young farm boy with a bad habit of daydreaming about glory instead of doing what he's supposed to be doing. This kid finds himself teaming up with a band of misfits to save a clairvoyant pig (yes, really) from the villainous Horned King who wishes to use the pig's powers to locate a mythical Black Cauldron that could create an undead army to, I guess, take over the world.

So, it sounds good and it's a Disney movie. What's the problem? This film bombed when it was released and almost bankrupted the animation department of the studio grossing a little over $20 million at the box office.

This film is great as a visual spectacle, but you do need a lot of patience to get through it; the pacing is ridiculously slow, and most of the characters are unlikable jerks. Still, it's got a good atmospheric feel to it and it is one Disney's scariest kids' films.

1: Coraline (2009)

A girl named Coraline moves into a new apartment and finds a secret door to another world. This world is the same as her own, except that everything is much cooler than in her real life...

I like this one, it's a combination of comedy, horror, adventure, and action, and everything is perfectly balanced. There are certainly sequences that will probably scare the pants off of a younger viewer and possibly a few older ones; but it's nothing too intense.

The animation and music are fantastic and this film is well worth watching.