Spooky season is here, and discussions are ongoing about what to watch on Halloween: “what is the best scary family movie?”, “where can i see the best Dracula film?”, “What scary movie can I watch every day in octoberAll very important questions, but they all revolve around the same basic premise: Halloween means horror movies, often aimed at adults.
The fixation of scary movies, however, leaves little room for an equally important discussion of scary TV shows. Even when discussed, these tend to revolve around the more adult-oriented offerings, often leaving the cartoons unmentioned. There are plenty of cartoons that offer spooky and spooky kicks suitable for the whole family and a full night out. From DeadEndia to the Boiling Isles, here are some of the best and brightest bump-in-the-night anime worth streaming, and where to find them in October 2022.
Dead End: Paranormal Park is an Overlooked Netflix Spookfest
With vibrations similar to Steven Universe and Gravity Falls, Impasse: paranormal park feels sorely overlooked in the cartoon pantheon. Featuring a dog possessed by a demonic warlord in a nightmarish Dollywood-inspired theme park, the show is deservedly spooky. However, it also carries a sincere feeling coming-of-age tale for its main character, a trans man, and a romance in his own right. Sometimes it’s serious and poignant — deal with themes such as social anxiety – but do it in a way that allows for joy and fun. One of the show’s most important episodes features a musical curse, which understandably compels its brilliant cast (including Emily Osment, Zach Barack and Alex Brightman) to sing about their feelings. Impasse: paranormal park is a silly, family-friendly adventure with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making Netflix’s scarefest a bingable marvel.
The Owl House features witches, wizards and demons on Disney+
The owl house is a Disney fan favorite, despite its unceremonious early cancellation. It presents a world completely contrary to Disney’s own lighter version of fantasy. It has maniacal fairies and tricksters dotting the boiling isles where the majority of the story takes place. As he goes to gloomy and dark places, The owl house is primarily a comedy – and clever at that – heavily parodying fantasy while being a love letter to it. It even goes directly against the format of The Hero’s Journey, making it as much comedy as it is meta-commentary. Considering the large number of people who already subscribe to Disney+, it’s worth giving the 100% rated cartoon a chance on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Addams Family (1973) is a perfect sequel to the original show on Pluto TV
The Addams Family the most famous releases are their live fights, with the 1991 entry being the widely accepted best. However, ignoring their unique adventures across America is almost as criminal as the creepy, cooky family themselves. It’s worth watching for the franchise’s mythos, as it added the macabre elements to the family’s repertoire and refined the best elements of the original TV show into what they’re known for today. It’s smart and fun, and well worth catching up on Pluto TV for free, even if its Rotten Tomatoes score is still undecided.
Over the Garden Wall is a fall-themed HBO Max Classic
Despite all of these shows having a Halloween vibe and some actually having episodes during the holidays, Over the garden wall is the only one who takes place entirely on a Halloween night. It’s yet another coming-of-age story, but it also plays into Halloween’s concept of a masked identity. Even the nightmarish atmosphere is itself called into question. From autumn leaves to winter winds, it evokes the Halloween celebrations throughout the Western world and all the seasonal changes they mark. It’s also goofy and hilarious while still being poignant. It’s also very short, meaning the series’ 93% rating is achieved in just a few hours of total runtime – short enough to watch on the same day as another scary short series.
Gravity Falls is a summer Scarefest on Disney+
Without surprise, Gravity Falls – one of the best scary cartoons of the past decade – makes the list. It’s not technically a Halloween-themed series, as it canonically takes place over the course of a summer. However, it shares great DNA with the other shows on this list. For instance, Gravity Falls uses The owl houseatypical approach to mythical creatures, as well as the silly and adult-friendly (but not necessarily oriented) humor of Impasse: paranormal park. With a 100% critic score and a 96% audience score, a brilliant creative pedigree, and a huge fandom, it’s worth a shot, even off-season. While it pairs better with a cold soda than a hot cider, there’s nothing wrong with jumping onto Disney+ to stream coming-of-age and the beautiful goofiness of Dipper Pines.
Batman: The Animated Series is HBO Max’s best spooky superhero offering
East Batman: The Animated Series specifically set at Halloween? No. It’s not even limited to one season like a lot of scary TV shows. However, its dark kid atmosphere mixed with costumed villains and heroes makes the 98% ratings show well worth watching. Batman has always been associated with Halloween in its modern day, and the atmosphere and overall plot of the animated series goes far beyond the typical constraints of a Halloween-centric show. As an anime series centered on a society where evil is woven into its very fiber, it makes Batman feel like a slightly funny, action-packed Halloween epic. If nothing else, “Nothing to Fear” — an episode featuring the Scarecrow’s first appearance on the show — should be seen on HBO Max as it enters its prime season.
Scooby-Doo, where are you? Is just part of the HBO Max classic collection
Perhaps no series is more strongly associated with the Halloween season than the classic adventures of Scooby and the gang. Their most recent shows have received critical acclaim for their unique and brilliant storytelling. Many scooby-doo the films have elements that are as classic and intrinsic to the series as the original series. It’s all well worth a watch, re-read and campaign for an HBO Max revival.
The show that started it all mixes a creepy atmosphere and corrupt, wicked men with brilliant, dumb characters who – in many cases – just want a snack. The goofy and silly characters strike a perfect balance that lends to the franchise’s persistence, even long before the era of reboots and legacy sequels. It’s well over half a century old and contributes to its 82% viewership score for Rotten Tomatoes, but the show is worth watching on HBO Max.
Naturally, there are plenty of movies to watch during the Halloween season. There are many live shows that we also owe a watch. However, it doesn’t have to stick it out without a good mix of childish fun and goosebumps. If we appreciate Taken away as if by magic but want a little more length on their thematic wedding, they could do a lot worse than watch some of the cartoons available to stream for an answer.