7 Scary Halloween Movies Age-Appropriate for Kids

Halloween is a time for everyone to enjoy a little fright. Sure, kids love dressing up, apple bobbing and trick-or-treating. But why not find a Halloween movie they can watch too?

While most of the best Halloween movies are strictly for adults – for obvious reasons – there are some decent Halloween movies for kids.

Here are seven of the best:

1. Little Shop of Horrors

It's a light-hearted musical with some great songs and a decent touch of humour. But at the heart of the story is a man-eating plant that craves human blood. The movie raises questions about choices and consequences. And there's even a scary dentist thrown in for good measure.

2. Tremors

Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward star as a pair of handymen in Nevada. When a local man is found dead on top of a pylon, a doctor says he died of dehydration, probably because he was afraid to climb down. Then more bodies are found, leading to fears of a serial killer on the loose. But the truth is far more terrifying.

3. Paranorman

Norman Babcock talks to the dead – so he's a loner. He makes a friend in Neil, but is also tasked with some sort of ritual to protect the town. And is that a vision of witches in the town many years ago that he's just seen? It's as scary as stop-frame animation can be, and ideal for those not quite ready for live-action horror.

4. The Simpsons: Treehouse of Horrors

This is real safe ground. You know where you're at with The Simpsons, and while it does have some spooky scenes, it's definitely suitable for all ages. It's got the humour you'd expect and, of course, we all know it ends well.

5. Coraline

Based on Neil Gaiman's novel, this is the story of a girl who discovers an alternate reality. When she returns home, she's warned not to mess around in this other world. But she's a child and this is a movie, so of course she goes back.

6. Beetlejuice

After being killed in a car accident, Barbara and Adam Maitland are told that they must spend the next 125 years living in their old house as ghosts. To get the existing inhabitants out, they enlist the help of Beetlejuice. It's more comedy than real horror, but kids will love it.

7. Monster House

A computer-animated supernatural film about the strange goings-on in a supposed monster house and its oddball resident, Mr Nebbercracker. But when Zee and his friends set out to fix things, they find that the situation is not quite as they imagined.