Top Five Halloween Marathons on TV

For the spookiest night of the year, many of us would rather have a fun, free fright right in our living room. Halloween is possibly surpassed only by Christmas with the sheer volume of specials, marathons and holiday theme programing. With some channels offering week or month long programming and others just specials on October 31^st, there is something for everyone from toddlers to seniors. All times listed are EST.

ABC family once again has the 13 nights of Halloween aimed at families with teens & tweens, running from October 19^th all they way through the 31^st

Some of the highlights include:

Hocus Pocus--10/19 2pm

Staring Bette Midler, Sahara Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy as witches from 1693 who are brought back to life by a surprised teenager (Omri Katz). From 1993, its fun & cheesy, but not really scary. A great trip down memory lane though if you were a kid in the 1990s!

The Haunted Mansion--10/20 8pm

A surprising well written & produced film starring Eddie Murphy. Based on the classic not-so-scary ride at Walt Disney World, it follows the misadventures of a family who move into the wrong house.

Beetlejuice--10/22 8pm

If you haven't seen this classic 1988 tale about a crazy ghost (Michael Keaton) helping a recently deceased couple (Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis) take revenge on the new family who moved into their old home, you must have been hiding under a toadstool for 20 years!

Tim Burton's Corpse Bride--10/25 5pm

One of Tim Burton's best, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter star in this endearing animated story about a deceased bride who is accidently wedding to a living man practicing his wedding vows. A fantastic journey to the Land of the Dead ensues, but will this union last?

Poltergeist--10/31 7:30pm

One of the classic ghost movies of all time. Over 25 years later this story of a typical suburban family's run in with the other side still has the power to spook & startle.　

Not be outdone, SyFy (formerly the Sci Fi channel) airs its 31 days of Halloween Marathon for the entire month of October. From slightly creepy to fantastically scary, there is at least one movie every evening and a mini marathon every Saturday and Sunday.

Staring on October 1^st at 6:30 pm EST with Pitch Black (a fantastic Vin Diesel sci fi creature feature) and ending with a five hour live Ghost Hunter event. From 9pm EST to 3am Halloween night, the hunters will be conducting their investigation at the Waverly Hills Hospital, where according to Jason Hawes "had 63,00-plus deaths due to tuberculosis." (EOnline Ghost Hunter's Live Event) As a special feature, viewers will be invited to text the Ghost Hunters directly through the Syfy website if they see any paranormal activity. Other highlights of the month include The Crow (10/13 11pm EST), Saw I, II, & III (10/17 starting at 4:30pm EST) & Children of the Corn IV, V, VI & VII (10/18 starting at 11:00am EST).

If classic movies are more your style, Turner Movie Classics once again have a great selection of horror movies all day Halloween. Starting from 8:00am EST with 1945's In the Dead of the Night all the way until 3:45 the next morning with Son of Dr Jekyll, you won't have a moment to rest. Other highlights include 1963's Diary of a Madman with Vincent Price at 1:45PM EST and 1945's The Body Snatcher with Boris Karloff & Bela Lugosi at 11:15pm EST.

However, some of us can't watch scary movies on Halloween until after bed time. For those of us with toddlers, Noggin has promised special Halloween episodes of Little Bill, Maggie and the Ferocious Beast and Miss Spider's Sunny Patch, with times to be announced later.

The Showtime family of channels is offering a variety of Halloween inspired films on Oct 31^st
Highlights include:

The remade Texas Chainsaw Massacre: the Next Generation on Snonext at 8pm EST, starring Matthew McConaughey and Renee Zellweger.

Steven King's the Mist on Showtime Beyond 7:45PM EST,

Halloween (2007) directed by Rob Zombie on The Movie Channel at 9:00PM EST

An episode from one of the best series on TV--Dexter-on Showtime & Showtime HD at 8:00PM EST.

This Halloween you're limited only by how much you want to scream & how many hours are available on your DVR.

ABC Family
SyFy Channel
EOnline Ghost Hunter's Live Event
Turner Classic Movies
Noggin
Showtime