Less-Scary Halloween Season Movies

For people who want to sleep this month.

My own Halloween decor, presented as qualifications.

First of all, Spooky Season happens whenever you say it does, and lasts for as long as you like. If the mood hits you in May, mazel. Fear the social media judgments of others not. They’re simply jealous that they don’t love anything as much as you love the sight of an abandoned mansion in the moonlight.

The Halloween corner of the calendar is something of a speciality of mine, and having had several requests for my personal take on mood-setting and spirit-lifting cinema, I thought I’d jot all my thoughts down in one easily reference-able and bookmarkable list for your creepy convenience.

Is this a “complete” list of Spooky Season Cinema? No, because such a thing could never exist. Instead, it is a very Shani-specific list of films that I enjoy and watch every year, time permitting. If you love the Halloween season but don’t particularly enjoy chainsaws or movies that are on some sort of mission to make you shit your pants, you are safe here — keep reading. My list is about fun, not necessarily about making you afraid to get out of bed in the middle of the night to pee.

Clue, 1985: Let’s start strong. Clue is more than a movie, it is an entire mood. More often than not during the months of September and October, this film is casually on in the background while I go…