Written by Mackenzie Manley, Content Specialist, Downtown Main Library
Ready your Jack-o-Lanterns: Halloween is around the corner, which means it's primetime for horror (or plain ol’ spooky) movie marathons.
The Library is how you curate your movie night watchlist for free. Keep reading for suggestions broken down by subgenre.
Franchise Horror Series
Horror brims with iconic franchises. The movie marathon builds itself. Pick your poison:
Halloween may be an on-the-nose pick, but you can’t go wrong with Michael Myers and his uncanny inability to die. John Carpenter’s searing score is as iconic as the masked boogeyman himself. And Jamie Lee Curtis as Laurie Strode is the template for the final girl trope.
Wes Craven is the director behind two staple horror franchises: Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream. Pick either for an evening of scary, meta-fictional, endlessly quotable fun.
If you’re in the mood for Y2K horror vibes, try Final Destination, where the characters attempt to cheat death itself. This franchise is responsible for bringing many irrational fears to life.
Throw it back to classic 1960s horror with George A. Romero’s gravely influential Night of the Living Dead. Like most zombie films, Night of the Living Dead served as a reflection of the decade’s social change. Plus, the franchise gives you an excuse to explore zombie movies. Shaun of the Dead, anyone?
Werewolves & Vampires, Oh My!
Two creatures of the night reign supreme on All Hallow’s Eve — werewolves and vampires. No, we’re not talking about Edward and Jacob, and our old friend Dracula (or Nosferatu) is a given.
Feast on these fanged, fur-ridden flicks.
Ryan Coogler’s Sinners scored 16 nominations in 2025’s Academy Awards, the most for any single movie in Oscar history. A sensory smorgasbord, Sinners blends a Jim Crow-era Mississippi setting, a rich score, and bloody vampires who can do a mean Irish jig. The result is a thrilling, entrancing, richly detailed film that’s equal parts fun and compelling.
Horror meets comedy in An American Werewolf in London, the story of two American backpackers who are attacked by a strange creature in the Yorkshire Moors. If you’re into practical effects, John Landis’ film delivers a harrowing transformation scene.
An American Werewolf in London
Want a side of teenage angst with your werewolf viewing? Watch Ginger Snaps, which follows two outcast sisters navigating adolescence and their evolving dynamic. Dreary and dark, it may also make you want to grab some tissues. It’s perfect for fans of The Craft and Jennifer’s Body, two other horror vehicles navigating the terror of being a teenage girl.
Vampire’s Kiss is a wild romp of a dark comedy featuring Nicholas Cage overacting to the highest of heavens. Released in 1989, it follows an off-kilter businessman (think Patrick Bateman, but zanier) running amok in the streets of Manhattan believing that he is, indeed, a fanged, bloodthirsty monster. We can’t promise that it’ll scare you, but it is so wild that you won’t be able to look away.
Supernatural Flicks
These movies feature supernatural tales, ghosty encounters, and psychological twists.
Ari Aster has cemented himself as one of this decade’s provocative directors, and while not all his films are horror, his debut feature-length film Hereditary set the stage. Twisty and disturbing, it follows a family grappling with grief, disturbing family secrets, and looming forces outside of their control.
Do you see dead people? The Sixth Sense is a classic first horror movie experience, marking it as an ideal pick to wind down your Halloween movie marathon.
Carrie just got revived by Mike Flanagan as a TV series for Amazon Prime. Revisit the original 1976 movie based on Stephen King’s novel and starring Sissy Spacek. Carrie has a vengeful emotional core that boils to an unfathomably bloody breaking point.
Starring Nicole Kidman, The Others follows a mother who moves into an isolated cottage with her children. When a governess and servants arrive, supernatural things begin to go bump in the night. If you want to make it a night of atmospheric slow-burn films with a historic setting, pair it with Robert Eggers’ The Witch.
Family-Friendly
Little goblins and ghouls, these movies are for you. Check out films the whole family can enjoy. All these movies are spooky-not-scary and rated PG. Bonus: Any of these picks would be perfect to watch while winding down from trick-or-treating.
Jim Henson’s fantastical Labyrinth has been spooking kids since the 1980s. Sixteen-year-old Sarah must rescue her little brother from Goblin King Jareth, who is played by none other than David Bowie.
If you want animated fare, pop in ParaNorman, which follows a tween with the ability to speak with the dead. This stop-motion movie is rife with centuries-old curses, zombies, ghosts, and lessons about self-acceptance.
Make it an animated double feature with Monster House. A childhood staple of the early ‘00s, Monster House takes haunted to another level when a group of friends discovers that a house in their neighborhood is literally alive.
We’re taking a stance: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a Halloween movie. Steven Spielberg’s classic sci-fi flick features one of cinema history’s most iconic trick-or-treating scenes. Nostalgic and heartfelt, there’s a reason Elliott and E.T. have been a staple costume year after year.
Bonus Picks
Try a few wildcard films out for a spin.
Want to squirm at body horror? David Croenberg’s Videodrome presents a gnarly examination of humanity’s relationship to mainstream media. For a more modern body horror flick, pick up The Substance. Warning: Neither are suited for faint stomachs.
For a spooky, campy, downright silly time, watch House. The Japanese comedy-horror film follows seven schoolgirls visiting a relative's country home, only to face down supernatural phenomenon, including a hungry piano and a possessed cat that shoots beams from its eyes. You won’t be scared, but you will laugh at its absurdity.
Take Invasion of the Body Snatchers to high school and you’ve got The Faculty. Starring Clea DuVall, Elijah Wood, Josh Hartnett, Usher, and Jordana Brewster, this sci-fi horror is an absolute roller coaster as students discover their teachers have been taken over by mind-controlling alien parasites.
Still noodling your movie marathon list? The Library is an ideal place to remind yourself of the beauty of browsing Blockbuster. Come to any of our 41 branches and peruse our shelves for your next watch! Or stream hundreds of films on Kanopy or Hoopla from the comfort of your own home.
Mackenzie is currently Reading “We Used to Live Here” by Marcus Kliewer.
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