Fall Guide 2012: Halloween Movies & Specials

Television over the next week-and-a-half will be filled with Halloween-themed episodes, movies and specials, some of them quite gory or frightening. Here are a few of the more family-friendly options we could find. Know of some we missed? Please share it in the comments section. Note that all times below are Central.

'The Goonies' will be shown on ABC Family on Monday, Oct. 29.Also, if you want to know what your favorite regular TV program has planned this month, the website "Zap 2 It" gives you sneak peeks and air dates of Halloween-themed episodes of shows including "Happy Endings," "The Mindy Project," "Modern Family," "The Office," "Parks and Recreation" and more. If the adults in your house want to get the chills, check out the lineup for the AMC FearFest, featuring horror classics such as "Rosemary's Baby" and some not-so-classic like "Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan." The channel TCM is also showing a "Classic Horror" series on Wednesdays in October, including the 1931 version of "Frankenstein" and "The Wolf Man," on Halloween.

But back to the more family-friendly options:

The animated classic "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" will be shown 

• on Wednesday, Oct. 31, at 7 p.m. on ABC 

Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas," a PG-rated animated film from 1993, will be shown 

• on ABC Family on Monday, Oct. 22, at 5:26 p.m.

Tim Burton's "Edward Scissorhands," a PG-rated film from 1990 starring Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder, will be shown

• on Monday, Oct. 22, at 5 p.m. on ABC Family
• on Tuesday, Oct. 30, at 6 p.m. on ABC Family
• on Wednesday, Oct. 31, at noon on ABC Family

"Ghostbusters," the 1984, PG-rated film starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, will be shown on

• Monday, Oct. 29, at 10:30 a.m. and 5:10 p.m. on the Encore Channel

Tim Burton's "Beetlejuice" a 1988 film about a ghoul helping a newly dead couple haunt the new owners of their home, will be shown

• on Tuesday, Oct. 30, at 8 p.m. on ABC Family
• on Wednesday, Oct. 31, at 10 a.m. on ABC Family

"Hocus Pocus," the 1993, PG-rated film starrting Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as witches who come face-to-face with trick-or-treaters, will be shown

• on Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 8 p.m. on ABC Family
• on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 4 p.m. on ABC Family
• on Sunday, Oct. 28, at 4:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. on ABC Family
• on Monday, Oct. 29, at 7:30 p.m.  on the Disney Channel
• on Wednesday, Oct. 31, at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on ABC Family

"Scooby-Doo," a 2002, live-action PG-rated movie starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar will be shown

• on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 6 p.m. on ABC Family
• on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 9 a.m. on ABC Family
• on Sunday, Oct. 28, at 6:30 a.m. on ABC Family

"Scooby-Do 2: Monsters Unleashed," a PG-rated, live-action film from 2004, will be shown 

• on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 8 p.m. on ABC Family
• on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 11 a.m. on ABC Family
• on Sunday, Oct. 28, at 8:30 a.m. on ABC Family

"The Haunted Mansion," a 2003 comedy horror rated PG, starring Eddie Murphy and loosely based on the Disney ride, will be shown 

• on Thursday, Oct. 25, at 4 p.m. on ABC Family

"The Addams Family," a 1991 film, rated PG-13, and  starring Angelica Huston and Raul Julia, will be shown

• on Thursday, Oct. 25, at 6 p.m. on ABC Family
• on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 1 p.m. on ABC Family
• on Sunday, Oct. 28, at 10:30 a.m. on ABC Family
• on Wednesday, Oct. 31, at 2 p.m. on ABC Family

"Addams Family Values," a PG-13-rated sequel from 1993, will be shown 

• on Thursday, Oct. 25 at 8 p.m. on ABC Family
• on Saturday, Oct. 27, at  3 p.m. on ABC Family
• on Sunday, Oct. 28, at 12:30 p.m. on ABC Family
• on Wednesday, Oct. 31, at 4 p.m. on ABC Family

"Teen Witch" a PG-13-rated film from 1989 about a girl who turns into a witch on her 16th birthday will be shown 

• on Friday, Oct. 26, at 4 p.m. on ABC Family

"Matilda," a PG-rated film from 1996 about a girl who develops extraordinary mental abilities (based on the Roald Dahl story), will be shown

• on Friday, Oct. 26, at 8 p.m. on ABC Family
• on Saturday, Oct. 27 at 5 p.m. on ABC Family

"Monster House," a PG-rated film about three teens who discover their neighbor's house is a living, breathing monster, is computer animated and from 2006. It will be shown

• on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on ABC Family
• on Sunday, Oct. 28, at 2:30 p.m. on ABC Family
• on Monday, Oct. 29, at 12:30 p.m. on ABC Family

"Coraline," an animated film from 2009 rated PG,  is about a girl who finds a secret door in her new home that leads to an alternate realitiy. It will be shown

• on Saturday, Oct. 27, at 11 p.m. on ABC Family

"Goonies," about a band of misfits on an adventure to find a pirate's treasure, is a 1985 film rated PG. It will be shown

• on Monday, Oct. 29, at 5 p.m. on ABC Family

"The Mummy," a 1999 film rated PG-13 about a mummy escaping a tomb and seeking revenge for a curse laid upon him 3,000 years earlier will be show

• on Monday, Oct. 29, at 7:30 p.m. on ABC Family

Comments

[Maggie]

What a fantastic list!!! Thank you!!! (Do you remember The Worst Witch?? What a terribly wonderful movie!!)

[Tara Burghart]

I don't remember "The Worst Witch," but now I'll have to check it out! In fact, I had never seen "Hocus Pocus" until last year -- I started watching it, but the beginning was way too scary for my little one, so I'll have to catch it in my alone time. Lifetime has a whole series of witch movies -- with a new installment this month. I didn't list them here, they seem more like mom-entertainment for when you should be doing anything else other than watching a Lifetime movie!