Top 10 Halloween Movies for Kids

The first holiday of autumn. Leaves begin to turn red, orange and brown. The air begins to turn cooler. It is a sign of changing and to me, of Halloween. Horror movies are part of the fun, but when you have kids you have to find movies that can be scary and fun at the same time. Here is my Top 10 Halloween Movies for kids. They are in numerical order, but they are all wonderful movies.

10. Halloweentown (1998)

Marnie (Kimberly J. Brown) and her family have done a good job of ignoring Halloween until the arrival of Grandmother Aggie (Debbie Reynolds). Marnie's mother, Gwen (Judith Hoag) seems to have been hiding a very important secret from her three kids. Who unknowingly hold supernatural powers. Marnie who is turning thirteen must begin her training as a witch or loser her powers forever. Marnie begins to secretly train with Grandma Aggie and in doing so brings the whole family through a portal and into the aternate world of Halloweentown. Soon an intense battle begins between good and evil and the family must battle together the evil warlock, Kalabar (Robin Thomas).

9. Coraline (2009)

Coraline (Dakota Fanning) is bored in her new home. Her writer parents seem to have no time for her. Her only friends are and annoying little boy, Wybie and some eccentric neighbors. Wybie gives Coraline a button eyed doll that he found in his Grandmothers old trunk. The doll remarkably resembles Coraline. When Coraline finds a little hidden door covered with wallpaper is gets her mother to unlock the door only to find it sealed off with bricks. Later that night Coraline goes back to the door and discovers that the bricks have magically disappeared.
Coraline enters the door and finds another world where everything is as she dreams it to be. In this world her "Other Mother" and "Other Father" have all the time in the world for her. Eventually Coraline becomes comfortable in this world and is asked to stay. Before she decides she discovers some very dark secrets that her "Other Parents" have and with the help of a talking cat that travels between both worlds she tries to escape back to her real world, but it may be to late.

8. The Halloween Tree (1993)

It tells the story of a group of trick or treating children who learn about the origins and influences of Halloween when one of their friends is spirited away by mysterious forces. This film is hard to find on dvd, but is shown on the cartoon network around Halloween each year.

7. A Nightmare before Christmas (1993)

Jack Skeleton, a resident of Halloweentown, is bored of the same routine every year and discovers another town called Christmas town and decides to introduce the new and exciting holiday to the residence of Halloweentown.

6. Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983)

Dark's Pandemonium Carnival comes to a small town only to prey upon the townspeople by granting their wishes at the expense of their souls. Charles Halloway, the town librarian; his son, Will; and Will's best friend, Jim, discover the secret of Dark's nightmarish carnival. Halloway must confront his own fears and regrets to save the boys and the town.

5. Tim Burton's Corpse Bride (2005)

Victor Van Dort (Johnny Depp) is to wed the lovely Victoria (Emily Watson). But the wedding rehearsal goes sour. Victor finds himself in a quite a dillema when he is caught between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Victor suddenly finds himself accidentally married to the Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter), a blue-tinted, half-skeletal beauty.

4. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1999)

Ichabod Crane arrives in the community of Sleepy Hollow as the new schoolteacher. Ichabod is introduced to Katrina Van Tassel, who is charmed by his manners and education. But Ichabod's attentions to the lovely Katrina are not welcomed by handsome blacksmith Brom Bones and when Brom tries to scare Ichabod by posing as the "Headless Hosrseman" of local legend, they are paid an unexpected visit.

3. The Lady in White (1988)

When little Frankie (lucas Haas) is locked in the school cloack room overnight he witnessed the ghostly image of a little girl murdered. Frankie is also attacked and nearly strangled to death, but escapes. Frankie begins to link the death of the little girl to the mysterious "Lady in White" a local legend. Parents should watch this one with the kids. Some scenes maybe to harsh for little ones, but this is a good family movie all around.

2. Monster House (2006)

DJ has his suspicions about the man who lives across the street. When Dj and his friend Chowder find their basketball in the old mans yard they try to retrieve it but DJ is snatched up by the oldman who suddenly suffers a heart attack. When the old man is taken to the hospital the boys and a cany selling prep-school girl discover that there is something supernatural about the house. This one is becoming a classic in my house.

1. It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
This one was a given. A classic Halloween movie that will live on through the ages. Charlie Brown gets rocks in his trick-or-treat bag, his friend Linus awaits the great pumpkin in his pumpkin patch. Sally loyally awaits with him. Snoopy battles the Red Baron in an epic aerial assault. I love this film and always remember to watch it with the kids every year.

All these movies can be found on DVD or on television at some point around Halloween. I hope you all get to check them out and enjoy each and every one of them.