15 Spooky Cartoons That Your Halloween Just Isn't Complete Without
Halloween is one of the best times of the year no matter how old you are. You've got the decorations, the candy, and of course, a great excuse to watch spooky shows and movies! Of course, some of us (especially kids) are a little too squeamish for movies like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre or Nightmare on Elm Street, but thankfully there's lots of cartoons to get you into the spirit too!
It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! (1966)
Let's get the most obvious choice out of the way here. If you love cartoons and don't watch this at least once a year, I'm pretty sure there's something wrong with you.
Disney Shorts - Lonesome Ghosts (1937)
A group of bored ghosts lure Mickey, Donald and Goofy to their creepy haunted mansion to play tricks on them, and the results are endlessly entertaining. It still holds up even after a whopping 80 years!
Halloween Is Grinch Night (1977)
While not quite the holiday classic that its predecessor, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, was, this TV special is still pretty excellent. The Grinch descends on Whoville to cause terror with his Paraphernalia Wagon, and the scene where a young Who named Euchariah dives into it is some genuine nightmare fuel.
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1949)
One of the most famous spooky stories in history, Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, gets a great adaptation from Disney, with catchy songs, gorgeous animation, and a genuinely scary Headless Horseman.
The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo (1985)
The Scooby gang gets in over their heads when they accidentally open the Chest of Demons and release 13 ghosts into the world, and it's up to them to catch them all with the help of wizard Vincent Van Ghoul (who's voiced by legendary horror actor Vincent Price)!
Disney's Haunted Halloween (1985)
If you like your scares more on the educational side, Disney has you covered. Taking clips from some of their most famous Halloween cartoons and adding narration over them that explains the origin of Halloween, it's informative AND fun.
The cartoons just get spookier from here!
The Simpsons - Treehouse of Horror (1991 - Present)
Starting with the original "Treehouse of Horror" episode in the show's second season, every year since has had Springfield's most dysfunctional family doing their own take on classic Halloween fare. These episodes are almost always the best of each season, and totally worth your time.
Fantasia (1941)
While most of Fantasia is actually pretty whimsical and fun, the "Night on Bald Mountain" segment is legitimately terrifying. A giant demon (who the narrator calls "Satan" but all materials for the movie refer to as the Slavic god "Chernabog") toys with the souls of the damned, and it's as awesome as it is scary.
Looney Tunes - Hyde And Hare (1955)
A short that's both funny AND creepy, Bugs finds himself adopted by the infamous Dr. Jekyll, and I'm sure you can already guess where things go from there.
Garfield's Halloween Adventure (1985)
Garfield and Odie dress up to go trick-or-treating, but eventually get lost and have to find their way home on the creepiest day of the year. Great stuff.
Disney Shorts - The Mad Doctor (1933)
One of Disney's earlier shorts is one of their spookiest. During a thunderstorm, Pluto is kidnapped by the minions of The Mad Doctor, and Mickey has to venture to the doctor's castle to get him back. Of course, the castle is plenty freaky.
Daffy Duck's Quackbusters (1988)
In this last Looney Tunes movie to feature Mel Blanc as the voice of the characters, Warner Bros. compiled a bunch of Daffy's spookiest adventures into a continuous movie, with new animated segments to bridge them together. Because every kid needs to see references to Night of the Living Dead and The Exorcist!
Disney Shorts - The Skeleton Dance (1929)
Because of course this has to be on here.