It’s the beginning of fall which means cooler weather, pumpkins, and big sweaters. But it also means that Halloween is right around the corner; a time where some dress up, some eat a lot of small bite-size pieces of candy and chocolate, and one carves pumpkins. With the cold weather, lots of us choose to cozy up on a couch eating said candy and watching Halloween movies. The following is a list of some student’s favorite ‘spooky season’ movies.
Tied for third place are three movies, one an animated musical, another a classic horror film, and the other a beloved family film. These movies are “The Corpse Bride”, “The Conjuring”, and “Hocus Pocus” respectively.
On the musical side of things, “The Corpse Bride”, released in 2005, directed by Tim Burton and Mike Johnson. It is a story about Victor, arranged to marry his love Victoria, but he gets cold feet about the ceremony and escapes to a forest to practice his wedding vows. While in the forest he finds Emily, a girl who was murdered after marriage. He is brought to the land of the dead, where he has to try to find his way above ground before Victoria is forced to marry a terrible man.
For those who love horror movies, “The Conjuring” might be a good pick. Released in 2013, this supernatural thriller tells a story of paranormal and demonologist duo Lorraine and Ed Warren, who were called to investigate the Perron home. After the Perrons moved into their new home a myriad of supernatural encounters leads them to call the Warrens.
“Hocus Pocus,” a family favorite since 1993. Directed by Kenny Ortega, this story takes place in Salem Massachusetts; Max, his sister Dani, and new friend Allison explore the old house of three witches that were executed 300 years ago. Not believing the legend of the witches, Max summons the three, and now they have to try and stop the witches from becoming immortal.
“I have little siblings at home, so instead of excluding them with a horror movie, ‘Hocus Pocus’ is family-friendly with some good laughs included. We’ve been watching this every [year] during Halloween season for the past couple years,” sophomore Hannah Litchenfield said
Coming in second place is a stop-motion favorite, “Coraline”. Made in 2009 and directed by Henry Selick, Coraline is an animated horror-thriller that is also a children friendly movie. Based on a 2002 novel by the same name, it is about a girl named Coraline who finds herself in a new home. After finding a door hidden behind the wallpaper, she finds herself in a parallel world where she meets her ‘other mother’ who is the opposite of her workaholic real-mother. She soon finds out that this other world is not all that it seems.
In first place we have “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. A 1993 classic by Tim Burton, directed by Henry Selick. It follows Jack Skellington the pumpkin king and his misadventures as he leaves his home of Halloweentown, and stumbles into Christmastown, fascinated by the warm people and colorful lights, he plots to take over the holiday and make it his own.
That concludes Poll Explained: Halloween Movies edition. These five movies were chosen by students at this school as the top movies to watch during Fall. Candy, pumpkins, hot drinks, and movies, what better way to spend time during Autumn?

The following are some honorable mentions:

“Hubie Halloween” (2020) – Comedy/Mystery
“Monster House” (2006) – Horror/Fantasy
“Halloween Town” (1998) – Family/Fantasy