By Hania Piechocinski
What’s better than watching scary (or not so scary) movies during the spooky season? That’s right, nothing! In this article you will discover the five most popular and iconic Halloween movies and TV shows to date.
- Hotel Transylvania
The animated film Hotel Transylvania is extremely popular and one of the first movies that comes to mind when thinking about Halloween related movies. In the first movie of the franchise, a few monsters living in Count Dracula’s Hotel find themselves invited to the birthday party of Dracula’s daughter Mavis. The film was released in 2012, and is the 5th highest grossing Halloween movie of all time, with a whopping 358.4 million made at the box office.
- Annabelle
The film Annabelle is the 6th highest grossing Halloween film with over 250 million dollars made at the box office. The Annabelle doll made its first appearance in 2013 in the successful movie, The Conjuring. Following its fame, the film Annabelle was officially brought to life. A scary yet fun fact about Annabelle is that the doll is actually based on a real life doll that used to be in the Warren Occult Museum. The doll was believed to be possessed by a demon, hence it sat in a case that said “Do Not Touch”.
- It
The movie It is based on a Stephen King’s novel and is the highest grossing Halloween movie ever made. The film was released in 2017; however, the book had a commonly known miniseries adaptation in 1990, of course starring Pennywise the clown. The film grossed 701.8 million at the box office and is considered the biggest theatrical debut in horror film history. An interesting fact about the movie is that there are exactly 23 jumpscares, making it have a jump scare rating of 4 out of 5.
- Wednesday
Wednesday is a TV show about a character unsurprisingly called “Wednesday” from the Addams Family movies. While the TV show is connected to the movies in the franchise, you do not need to watch the movies first to understand what happens in Wednesday. The TV show follows Wednesday’s years as a student when she tries to master her psychic ability and solve the mystery that involved her parents. The series starring Jenna Ortega became a success in 2022 and is being renewed for Season Two which will be released sometime in 2025. The suspenseful TV show will leave you guessing at what will happen next, and is a great TV show to watch during the haunted season.
- Coraline
The family yet horror movie Coraline is arguably the most popular horror animated movie ever made. The story follows a girl named Coraline who discovers a secret door that leads to an alternate universe. This world is very similar to hers, and would be even better than her normal one, if it weren’t for the fact that her family tries to keep her trapped there forever. She must now use her knowledge, resources and bravery to make it back to her own world with her real family.
Hotel Transylvania, Annabelle, It, Wednesday and Coraline are all fantastic movies or TV shows to watch during the Halloween season that will leave you spooked and scared. So, get your friends, candy, TV and a remote, and press play!