When other, braver individuals are sitting down to watch a Mike Flanagan marathon or check out the latest Exorcist movie, those of us too frightened to venture into the far corners of the horror genre must look elsewhere for our Halloween treats. Lucky for us, family-friendly films (read: relatively not scary but still spooky enough to satisfy those Halloween vibes) for the season are not hard to come by. Hocus Pocus (and its admittedly delightful sequel), The Nightmare Before Christmas, Scary Godmother: Halloween Spooktacular, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, and more are there for kids, sure, but they’re also there for us—the scaredy cats and nostalgia fiends.
Of all the various channels, studios, and streamers in the Halloween business, the best of the best all come from one place: Disney Channel. Despite now being most known for the High School Musicals and Descendants of its catalog, Disney Channel’s first ever original TV movie was the Halloween-themed Under Wraps from 1997 (which unfortunately is not currently streaming anywhere). Since then, Disney Channel has become the go-to place for fun Halloween movies, even spinning out various franchises from its holiday offerings. More than anything, Disney Channel’s Halloween movies act as a gateway, a gentle guide into the world of monsters and frights; for some, they act as a bridge before crossing over into increasingly terrifying horror, and for others, they are a consistent source of Halloween spirit worth revisiting every single year.
Below, we’ve ranked the 10 best Disney Channel Halloween movies, but if you’re in the mood for something spookier, check out our various horror lists as well—if you dare…
10. Invisible Sister (2015)
Released in the prime of Girl Meets World and starring GMW lead Rowan Blanchard, Disney Channel’s Invisible Sister is a fun Halloween adventure that quickly becomes a sweet story of sisterhood. When nerdy high schooler Cleo’s (Blanchard) science project goes awry, her popular older sister Molly (Paris Berelc) gets turned invisible. Due to the nature of the chemicals, it’s a race against the clock to make Molly corporeal again before the midnight on Halloween—or she’ll be invisible forever. Being invisible is both a blessing and a curse for both Molly and Cleo, as Molly discovers the truth behind her popularity and Cleo is no longer in the shadow of her sister. Despite not seeing eye to eye, Molly and Cleo’s efforts to reverse the invisibility highlight the special bond that exists between sisters, and brings a sense of meddlesome, sisterly fun to the Halloween season.
9. Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 2 (2020)
The ZOMBIES franchise genuinely feels like a fever dream. The first film is Disney Channel’s take on institutionalized racism in a heavy-handed allegory where the entire town of Seabrook is prejudiced against the green-haired, titular zombies that live gated out of the city proper—until Seabrook High decides its time to integrate. In its sequel, a new group of outsiders (a pack of werewolves, another heavy-handed metaphor for indigenous peoples) forces the denizens of Seabrook—including the zombies—to question just how accepting they really are, all while Zed (Milo Manheim) struggles with his status as the model minority. Despite its slightly unhinged premise and execution, ZOMBIES 2 is genuinely delightful. It’s got fun music, lovable characters, and a more solid footing than its predecessor. The werewolves are a particular highlight, and Addison’s (Meg Donnely) turn to the wolf side is particularly entertaining, even if it doesn’t stick. Despite this franchise not being strictly Halloween-themed, the monsters of Seabrook are worth seeking out this spooky season.
8. Girl vs Monster (2012)
Are you scared of the monsters under your bed or in your closet? Of the shadow moving out of the corner of your eye? Good, that’s how they like it. In the world of Girl vs Monster, those monsters, ghouls, and demons need fear to survive, inducing it to feed. Skyler (Olivia Holt), though, it’s afraid of anything. That is, until she finds out that she’s actually a descendant of monster hunters, a duty of which her parents have currently taken up, and is now the target of an evil sorceress hell-bent on possessing her body. Filled with music, metaphors about the anxieties of growing up, and some lovable kids to boot, you could do much worse when choosing a Disney Channel original to watch than Girl vs Monster. It’s campy at best and slightly silly at worst, but it has a lot of heart, all bolstered by an incredibly charming Holt at its center. Stand up to your fears and add Girl vs Monster to your Disney Halloween watchlist this season.
7. Don’t Look Under the Bed (1999)
Widely considered to be the most terrifying Disney Channel Original Movie ever released, Don’t Look Under the Bed is about as deep into the horror genre as a PG rating can go. In fact, Disney Channel received so many complaints from parents that it pulled the film from its annual Halloween broadcasts in 2006, and it hasn’t aired on the network since. Skeptic Frances (Erin Chambers) is forced to confront her own beliefs about the supernatural when she comes face-to-face with Larry (Ty Hodges), a self-proclaimed imaginary friend. When Frances is framed for a series of pranks in her neighborhood, she must team up with Larry to take down the boogeyman, a terrifying creature hell-bent on stirring up trouble—and scares—in her town. Featuring an admirable intensity and some truly inspired monster designs, Don’t Look Under the Bed is a must-watch if you’re looking for something on the spookier side this Halloween.
6. Twitches (2005)
They’re twins, they’re witches, they’re Twitches! Starring Tia and Tamera Mowry, Disney Channel’s Twitches follows twins Alex (Tia) and Camryn (Tamera), who, on their 21st birthday, meet for the first time and realize that they were not only separated at birth, but also that they each possesses an inexplicable magical spark that ignites when the two touch hands. As Alex and Cam wrestle with their newfound sisterhood and magical identities, they discover that they are royalty in the magical realm of Coventry, which is in grave danger. Forced to choose between returning to their normal lives or accepting their newfound power and responsibility, Alex and Cam must band together to save Coventry—before it’s too late. Featuring a genuinely frightening villain and a killer soundtrack (seriously, The Go-Go’s and Aly & AJ in a single movie is what dreams are made of), Twitches is charming and heartwarming, using its magical backdrop as a launching pad for its poignant commentary on sisterhood and power, grounded by the always-entertaining Mowry twins.
5. Halloweentown High (2004)
Following in the footsteps of the previous two films, Halloweentown High is another delightful adventure for Marnie (Kimberly J. Brown) and her family of Cromwell witches and warlocks. This time, instead of saving the magical land of Halloweentown through the power of familial love, Halloweentown High follows Marnie as she begins to integrate her human world-school with monsters from across the veil. Aggie (Debbie Reynolds) even becomes a teacher at the high school, all in an effort to help assimilate the Halloweentown citizens into the human world. It’s just as charming as the previous entries in this franchise, once again reiterating that the world is a better place when we celebrate our differences and similarities, and learn to all live together in harmony. (And die-hard fans of this franchise will know that this film should have been the last, not the disastrous Return to Halloweentown.)
4. Twitches Too (2007)
Building on the unshakable charm of the first film, Twitches Too picks up not long after the events of Twitches, with twin witches Alex (Tia Mowry) and Cam (Tamera Mowry) now living together and attempting to harness their newfound powers. Bouncing back and forth between their home dimension and the magical land of Coventry, the twitches must band together once again to face an evil darkness that intends to devour the kingdom. Filled with campy humor, sisterly bickering, and surprisingly high stakes, this sequel has just as much heart as the original film, but deftly expands its sprawling magical world and lore, all in service of the larger story about sisterhood and family told across both films. In many ways, Twitches feels like the prequel to this larger story, merely laying the groundwork for the magic-tinged, family drama that follows in its delightful sequel.
3. Halloweentown II: Kalibar’s Revenge (2001)
Picking up two years after the events of the first Halloweentown, Halloweentown II: Kalibar’s Revenge catches up with the magical Cromwell family to tell another heartwarming story about family, magic, and connection. After spending two years training under her grandmother Aggie (Debbie Reynolds), Marnie (Kimberly J. Brown) has blossomed into a confident teenage witch. But when she breaks one of her grandmother’s cardinal rules to impress a cute boy, Marnie finds herself once again forced to save the magical Halloweentown (and the human world) from the influence of the same evil she believed her and her family snuffed out those few years ago. Featuring countless memorable gags including all the color disappearing from Halloweentown and humans morphing into their costumes, Halloweentown II: Kalibar’s Revenge is just as enjoyable as its predecessor, and expands on the touching familial threads to offer even more spooky season fun.
2. My Babysitter’s a Vampire (2010)
Being a Canadian import, My Babysitter’s a Vampire isn’t a Disney production, but it did air as a Disney Channel original in the United States. And with how enjoyable, fun, and actually good this film is, that technicality is enough for me to refuse to exclude it from this list. Starring now-Riverdale alum Vanessa Morgan as babysitter Sarah, My Babysitter’s a Vampire is a response to the post-Twilight vampire craze. The movie (and the subsequent series) poke fun at the vampiric culture that sprung up around those films, and instead take a hilarious and slightly more realistic look at the reality of what being a creature of the night would probably entail. Instead of the soft, sparky Edward, the film’s central vampire heartthrob Jesse (Joe Dinicol) is a jerky, male manipulator who ruins Sarah’s life by turning her into a vampire. A strikingly poignant commentary on abusive relationships wrapped in a hilarious yet kid-friendly Halloween romp, My Babysitter’s a Vampire is a must-watch of the Disney Channel (and Disney Channel-adjacent) holiday outings.
1. Halloweentown (1998)
Halloweentown is, without a doubt, one of the best Disney Channel original movies ever made—Halloween-themed or otherwise. A charming and heartfelt tale of connection and love, Halloweentown follows Marnie Piper (Kimberly J. Brown) as she discovers that she comes from a family of witches, including her grandmother Aggie Cromwell (Debbie Reynolds), that hails from the magical Halloweentown across the veil from the human world. When Marnie and her two siblings end up in Halloweentown, they get caught in a much larger conspiracy, forcing them to band together and face down their fears without the help of their mother and grandmother in order to save both Halloweentown and the human world from a monstrous influence. This first film is, more than anything, about the love and joy shared between grandmother and granddaughter, and highlights the true power that comes from familial bonds and shared understanding. It doesn’t hurt that it provides good old-fashioned, spooky fun, either.
Anna Govert is the TV Editor of Paste Magazine. For any and all thoughts about TV, film, and her unshakable love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, you can follow her @annagovert.
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