Here’s how you introduce your child to the franchise that, when they’re in college, they will realize dominates friend group costumes. The gang is always solving mysteries, but these ones are spooky for Halloween. There’s 2 seasons worth of stories, and some of the episodes focus on mysteries like kids being turned into monsters, sewer creatures spewing frozen yogurt at their victims and stopping an evil entity from taking over the world.

Watch Scooby Doo!: Mystery Incorporated, TV-Y7.

Hotel Transylvania 2, the second in the Hotel Transylvania series, is about Mavis and her new human husband Jonathan. In this movie, they have a kid of their own, and Dracula (now a grandfather) does everything he can to prove that their baby Dennis needs to stay in Transylvania because of his vampire roots. It’s possible he just misses his daughter and grandson, which most people can relate to.

Watch Hotel Transylvania 2, PG.

(Warning: this might be a hard watch for dog lovers.) Phantom Pups is a show on Netflix about kids who move into a new home and realize it’s haunted by the ghosts of puppies who used to live there. Sounds ruff, right? Dog lovers that they are, they attempt to bring them back to life so they can run around and play like real puppies again.

Watch Phantom Pups, TV-Y.

Blippi’s Halloween episode has Blippi all about the Halloween spells. He wants to use spells to get treats, pumpkins, and decorations. This episode of Blippi would be really ideal for a young kid who isn’t totally aware of what Halloween is; Blippi can help get them excited about going trick-or-treating (no magic needed) and the fun things you get to do in October.

Watch Blippi’s Spooky Spell Halloween, TV-Y.

The scary book series you read as a child is also a series. Created in 1995, this one’s a bit of an oldie but a goodie. In the one season of the show, each story is split into two episodes so it’s more easily digestable. It is not a cartoon, although the cover image Netflix has suggests that it is. It’s rated G, but you might want to check out the show for yourself before you let your kids watch it since the book series was pretty scary back in the day.

Watch Goosebumps, rated G.

Even Shrek celebrates Halloween! Shrek’s Swamp Stories has four episodes. The first episode is just the other three combined, so you can watch them all at once, or individually. The episode Scared Shrekless is about the characters’ night in Lord Farquaad’s haunted mansion. Puss in Boots: The Three Diablos is about Puss’ attempt to find a ruby stolen by a villain called “The Whisperer.” And finally, Far Far Away Idol focuses on a singing competition.

Watch Shrek’s Swamp Stories, PG.

Perfect for little kids, Masha’s Spooky Stories walks kids through why they don’t need to be scared — of thunder, of the dark, of being without their parents, etcetera. It’s a good spooky option because it teaches kids why spooky isn’t can be good, and then they can enjoy other spooky movies and shows (which your older kids may appreciate). There’s six episodes of stories told by Masha, who enlists friends to help her tell them.

Watch Masha’s Spooky Stories, TV-Y.

Based on the book series of the same name, A Series of Unfortunate Events is a show with three seasons that focuses on three orphaned siblings — Violet, Klaus, and Sunnie — attempt to investigate the death of their parents. Meanwhile their guardian, Count Olaf, is trying to get their inheritance, so they also have to outsmart him in order to make sure he doesn’t get it.

Watch A Series of Unfortunate Events, PG.

Creeped Out is a two season show on Netflix appropriate for kids eight and older. It focuses on “The Curious,” a masked character who collects stories about “dark magic, otherwordly encounters and twisted technology.” The kids on the show say they know something creepy is going to occur soon when they hear the whistle of “The Curious.” The first episode focuses on scary things that happen online, so it may be something to avoid if your child is skiddish about social media or recently got a phone.

Watch Creeped Out, PG.

OK, so Hubie is not the most popular guy in his hometown of Salem, Massachusetts. He’s a super eccentric, overly devoted community volunteer that can be a little too much for people, which causes them to play pranks on the poor guy, played by Adam Sandler. So when he finds himself in the midst of an investigation for a real life murder, it’s up to the townspeople to actually rely on Hubie and to stop treating him like such a joke.

The film is rated PG-13, for crude and suggestive content, mild language, and brief partying. But if your kid is already an Adam Sandler super fan, this might be the movie for them.

Watch Hubie Halloween, rated PG-13.

Join Shrek, Donkey, and his friends in DreamWorks Spooky Stories, a compilation of three Halloween specials that come in at 65 minutes long. In the first one, Shrek challenges Fiona, Donkey, Puss in Boots, and others to spend the night in Lord Farquaad’s haunted castle. They tell each other scary stories to pass the time. Then in the next part, the evil ghost of Lord Farquaad captures Fiona, and Donkey and Shrek have to rescue her in this eerie adventure. Finally, the last one features different DreamWorks characters: Susan Murphy (aka Ginormica) and the monsters from Monsters vs Aliens. An alien presence is detected in Susan’s hometown before Halloween, so she and the monsters investigate.

Watch DreamWorks Spooky Stories, rated TV-PG.

What’s better than a made-for-TV movie? Absolutely nothing.

In this movie, made for Nickelodeon, Victoria Justice stars as a high school girl geek named Jordan who discovers that she has a long lost relative living in Romania. But right before her family moves there, she learns that she has to move because her father has fallen on hard economic times. As it turns out, Jordan turns into a werewolf when she is in Romania, and must do everything in her power to avoid her younger brother, who wants to slay her. Uh oh.

Watch The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, rated TV-Y.

Most people know pumpkins to be perfectly round, but Spookley is a square pumpkin. With the help of a super friendly scarecrow and spider, Spookley is able to come to terms with his feelings of inadequacy at the pumpkin patch and prove himself to his fellow gourds.

At just 47 minutes long, this shorter than average film is a quick and easy watch with a really heartwarming and solid message. Your kid will love that it’s about a pumpkin, which is such a ubiquitous Halloween object, while you will love the message that they walk away with once the movie is over.

Watch Spookley the Square Pumpkin, rated G.

After being recruited by a super secret society of babysitters, a high school girl named Kelly must fight the bogeyman and a number of his super scary monster friends when they kidnap the child that she is watching on Halloween night. Not only does she discover that there is a secret society of babysitters, but also a secret group of monsters that prey on children. Sounds spooky!!!! While this film might cause your little ones to jump more than usual, it is one of those realistic, scary stories that will entertain your hidden horror enthusiast.

Watch A Baby Sitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting, rated TV-PG.

What’s better than one witch? A gathering of witches! Each and every Halloween, witches from all over the world gather to celebrate such a super special evening in time. Beatrix is a young girl who can’t wait to be inducted to become a witch, but when an incident threatens to take her title away from her before she even has it, she must act fast to save the day with whatever powers she has.

If you’re looking for a kid-friendly way to introduce witches and powers to your little ones, A Witches Ball is the film to do so.

Watch A Witches’ Ball, rated PG.

If you were a fan of the Captain Underpants book series as a kid, and if your kids can’t get enough of the hilarious stories now, then you’ll want to put on this 46-minute-long short film starring your favorite Captain Underpants characters during Halloween.

In The Spooky Tales of Captain Underpants Hack-a-Ween, Melvin is attempting to cancel Halloween, but Harold and George use their smarts to create their own similar holiday called Hack-a-Ween. Much to their surprise, the holiday is a huge success. But be warned — this might inspire your kids to want to invent their own fun holiday. Uh oh.

Watch The Spooky Tales of Captain Underpants Hack-a-Ween, rated TV-Y7.

Davis is a shy, introverted 17-year-old, who is the new kid in his school. But when the most popular girl in school mistakes him for a vampire, he decides to play along — especially since no one knows who he is in this new space. As the rumor gains him some popularity, he decides to play along with it. That is, until, the truth becomes harder to hide and Davis has to fess up to his real identity.

If you’ve ever had to deal with the inner workings of high school or being the new kid in town, then this film with a Halloween twist will be oh so relatable.

Watch Liar, Liar, Vampire, rated TV-PG.

Alex is a huge fan of scary stories, a great hobby to have around Halloween. He’s so good at telling them that an evil witch decides to trap him in her magical apartment — and she forces him to tell a scary story every night to stay alive! He is trapped in the ultimate scary story, so he teams up with another prisoner named Yasmin to attempt their escape together. Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones) stars as the evil witch in this cute and suspenseful Netflix original film from 2021. It’s based on a horror-fantasy children’s book of the same name by J.A. White.

Watch Nightbooks, rated TV-PG.

What do you get when you combine talking garden gnomes and colorful animation? Netflix’s original animated film from 2018, Gnome Alone. When a teenager moves into a new home in a new town with her mom, she discovers that her brand new home is under attack from a group of beasts living underneath it. It’s up to her and a group of talking garden gnomes to help save her town and also the world. While this film might not be super spooky, it does involve talking garden gnomes saving the world, which is pretty darn supernatural.

Watch Gnome Alone, rated PG.

When it comes to defeating evil super villains, 8-year-old Zoey is able to transform into StarBeam, a superhero ready to save the day. In her own Halloween short film, StarBeam and her trusty sidekick, Boost, have to save the day from the super greedy Captain Fishbeard, who is looking to steal everyone’s Halloween treats for himself. Bum bum bummm. And every single parent knows that nothing comes between a kid and their candy.

StarBeam Halloween Hero is a great program for little ones to learn more about trick-or-treating while still being very entertained. And it’s short enough to keep even the youngest kids happy.

Watch StarBeam Halloween Hero, rated TV-Y.

Kids will love Sharkdog’s Fintastic Halloween, which premiered in 2021. This 25-minute short film (perfect for little attention spans!) focuses on the Sharkpack as they get ready for Halloween. They tell the scary story of “Fearsome Fog,” which seems like just a spooky legend…at first. But then, a slimy sea monster appears and threatens to ruin the friends’ fun trick-or-treating plans! Can Sharkdog save the holiday from the monster or will the Sharkpack have to suffer a horrible fate of no candy this Halloween? You’ll have to watch this cute special to find out!

Watch Sharkdog’s Fintastic Halloween, rated TV-Y.

Dressed like a train, an alien, and a cute little ghost, Cory, Freddie, and Chrissy are all set for Halloween! Even Cory and Chrissy’s parents, Mama Carson and Papa Carson are in the spooky spirit, as they are dressed up like a witch and a unicorn, respectively. As the kids search for king-sized candy bars during trick-or-treating, they come across a scary part of town with a haunted house! A Go! Go! Cory Carson Halloween is just 21-minutes long and not too scary, perfect for kids who are begging to watch a Halloween movie before bed.

Watch A Go! Go! Cory Carson Halloween, rated TV-Y.

Navigating your first few Halloweens as a kid can be complicated and a little scary. But kids have nothing to be fearful of, especially if they watch Super Monsters Vida’s First Halloween. This super short film focuses on the Super Monsters as they introduce their super unique Halloween traditions to Vida and then attend a Día de los Muertos party, which stands for Day of the Dead, which is a Mexican holiday celebrated in Mexico right after Halloween. Sounds super wholesome and interesting, right?

This is a great way for your kid to learn about American traditions and Mexican traditions that happen this time of the year.

Watch Super Monsters Vida’s First Halloween, rated TV-Y.

Trick-or-treating is a blast, and there’s nothing more fun as a kid than getting home and dumping your bag of goodies on the carpet. So much sugary deliciousness in one spot! In True Tricky Treat Day, True is looking at her candy on the carpet, when a hungry Yeti sneaks a forbidden treat. Suddenly, the whole Rainbow Kingdom is filled with Howling Greenies! True and her friends must work together to save the day. This 23-minute special is adorable and just the right amount of Halloween fun for little ones who don’t want to watch anything too scary.

Watch True Tricky Treat Day, rated TV-Y.