You can keep your jump scares

A Great Big List Of Not-So-Scary “Scary Movies” For Us Wimps To Watch This Halloween

Nightmare-fuel-free, because we actually like sleep.

by Deirdre Kaye

15 hours ago

Spooky Mommy 2025

There’s a lot to love about fall and Halloween. But not all of us enjoy the extra creepy, super scary Halloween movies that dominate October viewing. Sure, we want to partake in the slightly frightening festivities; we just don’t want to end up terrified to walk around our neighborhood or our own houses. Come Halloween, a good chunk of us spirited citizens just want to watch a not-so-scary movie while sipping and nibbling on fall-themed snacks and treats.

Luckily, there are actually *tons* of movies to watch leading up to Oct. 31 that aren’t as scary as others. Sure, many are a little campy. Yes, blood-hungry gore fans might even call some of these “childish.” But for horror wimps like me (and maybe you, too?), they’re just the right amount of Halloween-y fun — without giving anyone nightmares.

Not-So-Scary “Scary Movie” Safe Bets

1. Hocus Pocus & Hocus Pocus 2

The truly silly and slightly spooky adventures of the Sanderson sisters might be one of the best “introductory Halloween movies” you could watch. After being summoned out of a protective spell they placed on themselves in New England during the Salem Witch Trials, Winifred, Mary, and Sarah find themselves riding Hoovers around town in “modern” America on the hunt for a virgin. The original, from 1993, was spectacular. The sequel, set some 30 years later, is also delightful.