I made a rule for this year, October our TV must only have scary, paranormal or Halloween based movies and TV shows (exceptions are documentaries and educational shows\/movies). \u00a0This is what we have watched so far or I have ready and waiting for the rest of the month. \u00a0We probably won\u2019t watch all of them, they are simply there if we need them.<\/p>\n Monster House (2006)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Plot <\/strong>\u2013 It\u2019s Halloween and our protagonist young boy gives the scary guy across the road a heart attack.\u00a0 While he is away, the kids decide to take advantage of his absence and investigate his house where the old man often stashes all their toys that end up in his yard.\u00a0 Soon they come face to face with the monster house that the man was truly protecting them from.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013 This has some interestingly real behaviour by the characters, the uncaring annoyed teenaged babysitter, the blackmailing girl scout, the oblivious parents. \u00a0It\u2019s an interesting one for sure.<\/p>\n Hotel Transylvania (2012)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Plot <\/strong>\u2013\u00a0Count Dracula, after losing his wife to a mob of humans, runs a grand hotel for all monsters to gather and be safe from humans who might hurt them.\u00a0 On his daughters 118th birthday he throws a party for her coming of age, but soon discovers a human boy has trespassed into the hotel.\u00a0 How can he keep the human from scaring and killing and everyone? And how can he keep his daughter from falling in love with a human?<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013 The turnabout where humans are considered the horrible ones by the monsters is interesting, and Draculas attempts to make everything go his way are quite amusing. \u00a0A good fun movie, for kids and adults.<\/p>\n Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Plot<\/strong> \u2013 Dracula now has a half human, half vampire, grandson and is looking for any way to make the little one more monster than human.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013 I haven\u2019t seen this one yet, so I have no notes, I\u2019m looking forward to watching it though.<\/p>\n ParaNorman (2012)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Plot <\/strong>\u2013 Norman is a young boy who can see ghosts.\u00a0 Suddenly an old curse in the form of a young girls ghost is inflicted upon the town, and Norman, with some help, has to stop her from destroying everything.\u00a0 He also has to take on some zombies, and try to navigate the rules the adults try place upon him.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013 Not as fun as most animated movies for kids, it has some serious overtones to it and a lot of the undertones won\u2019t be understood by the young kids. \u00a0But my daughter loves this one despite all that, my son can take it or leave it though.<\/p>\n Frankenweenie (2012)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Plot<\/strong> \u2013 Young Victors pet dog is hit and killed by a car, so Victor decides to use science to bring the dog back to life. \u00a0That\u2019s when things start to go wrong.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013 Honestly I don\u2019t really like this one much, but the kids do so, yay. \u00a0Like ParaNorman, this one is a fair bit more serious than things like Hotel Transylvania, a bit less overtly fun.<\/p>\n Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Plot <\/strong>\u2013 Jack Skellington, the king\u00a0of Halloweentown, discovers Christmastown and Santi Claus and decides this is exactly the change his little town needs.\u00a0 But it\u2019s just not so easy as all that.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013 Everyone loves this movie, but I still have trouble with all that singing!<\/p>\n Coraline (2009)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Plot<\/strong> \u2013 Coraline finds a doorway to another world that almost identical to her own, but everyone has buttons for eyes and they all seem so much nicer than the people in her world. \u00a0Seem, being the operative world.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013 Certainly a darker one for the kids, but it\u2019s an interesting one to watch and kids seem to enjoy it.<\/p>\n The Book of Life (2014)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Plot <\/strong><\/span>\u2013 Manolo is a young man torn between doing what his family wants and what his heart wants. \u00a0This is a story of love, life, death and the afterlife.<\/p>\n Notes <\/span><\/strong>\u2013 This one is not about Halloween,\u00a0but it is perfect for Dia los Muertos. \u00a0This is a great look into Mexican lore and a good beginning place for Aztec mythology as well.<\/p>\n Strange Magic (2015)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Plot<\/strong> \u2013 Based on a Midsummers Night Dream, this movie is about a battle between fairies, elves and goblins for a powerful potion.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013 Not really a Halloween movie to be honest, I include it because I think it\u2019s great for Beltane which is also coming up for us in Aus. \u00a0It has enough darker aspects to it to just fit into my rules for this month. \u00a0While it seems to be about your typical good fairies vs bad goblins, things just aren\u2019t how they appear. \u00a0It shows that dark and scary things aren\u2019t always so dark and scary. \u00a0Except the singing, which is terrifying.<\/p>\n Hocus Pocus (1993)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Plot <\/strong>\u2013 On Halloween, three witches are accidentally summoned back from the dead, they have until dawn to suck the life out of a child so they don\u2019t die again.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013 If you don\u2019t know this movie, I don\u2019t know that you count as human. \u00a0This is an awful movie really, but it\u2019s fantastic at the same time.<\/p>\n The Witches (1990)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Plot<\/strong> \u2013 A group of witches are meeting in a hotel, kidnapping kids\u00a0planning to rid the world of all children. \u00a0A little boy discovers their secret and tries to stop them, even after they turn him into a mouse.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013 It\u2019s been ages since I have seen this, but I remember the witches have purple eyes. \u00a0Who doesn\u2019t want purple eyes?<\/p>\n Hansel and Gretel Witch Hunters (2013)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Plot<\/strong> \u2013 Hansel and Gretel, after their encounter with the gingerbread hosue witch, grow up to be famous witch hunters. \u00a0A town hires them to find and kill the witches who are kidnapping some of their children, for a rite on the blood moon that will make the witches invincible.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013 Not everyone likes this one, but not everyone matters. \u00a0It actually includes good witches and a change of attitude from the hunters going from \u201ckill them all\u201d to \u201ckill the bad ones\u201d. \u00a0My kids enjoy it too, but it is probably not suitable for all kids<\/em>.<\/p>\n Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n Plot<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0The great and powerful con-man Oz is transported to the magical land of Oz, where he meets a nice witch who tells him he is the prophesied wizard and king of Oz.\u00a0 He just has to defeat the wicked witch before he can become king, and get all that gold in the treasury.\u00a0 But not everything is as it seems.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013\u00a0Not a horror or Halloween movie, but, the wicked witch is in it, so it has to be watched. \u00a0 Some might prefer the more original Oz movies, but the singing, dear Gods the singing.\u00a0 This one is mostly singing free!<\/p>\n Goosebumps (2015)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Plot<\/strong> \u2013 The new kid in town sneaks into R.L. Stines house and accidentally releases all of the monsters from the books. \u00a0Fun and horror ensue as they rush to defeat the monsters.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013 It\u2019s Goosebumps, it has Jack Black as Stine, what else can I\u00a0say?<\/p>\n Into the Woods (2014)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Plot<\/strong> \u2013 A number of fairytales converge in this musical. \u00a0A witch wants to regain her power and enlists the help of the baker and his wife, promising to release their curse of barrenness if they get her the objects she needs.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013 This is probably the only musical movie I actually like. \u00a0But it has some serious dark tones to it that makes it not suitable for all kids<\/em>, my kids didn\u2019t understand those dark tones so loved it immensely. \u00a0I love a fairytale that pays homage to the original horrible variants, and those charming princes are ridiculously hilarious and inept.<\/p>\n Maleficent (2014)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Plot<\/strong> \u2013 Maleficent is betrayed by the human she loved and turns from a good-hearted fairy warrior into a dark and vengeful \u201cwitch\u201d of a fairy. \u00a0To get revenge on her former love, she curses his newborn daughter to sleep as in death on her 16th birthday. \u00a0Another fairy amends the curse with the saving grace of true loves kiss and Maleficent gets more than she bargained for.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013 Not your typical sleeping beauty story, this one is dark and powerful and, in my opinion, amazing. \u00a0I really do love this one, and so do my monsters. \u00a0And it\u2019s not a musical, so that\u2019s a bonus! \u00a0May not be considered a Halloween movie usually, but when everyone is dressing up as Maleficent, how can it be ignored?<\/p>\n Sleepy Hollow (1999)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Plot<\/strong> \u2013 Ichabod Crane travels to Sleepy Hollow to investigate some unusual deaths. \u00a0He is soon confronted with the impossible.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013 Johnny Depp stars in a\u00a0Tim Burton movie. \u00a0What else needs to be said? \u00a0Parental discretion is advised though of course, not suitable for all kids<\/em>.<\/p>\n The Brothers Grimm (2005)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Plot<\/strong> \u2013 Jakob and William Grimm, two brothers and con artists who create fake witches and other horrors in various towns and offer their services, for a price, to get rid of those horrors are conscripted to investigate what turns out to be a real supernatural horror.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013 I know, a lot of people hate this one for some reason. \u00a0Whatever. \u00a0I like it, possibly because I love fairytales especially when they become twisted, but I find it\u2019s not too adult for my kids and that makes it even better. \u00a0But, it\u2019s probably not suitable for all kids<\/em>.<\/p>\n Eight Legged Freaks (2002)<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Plot<\/strong> \u2013 Toxic waste is accidentally left in a waterway. \u00a0A spider collector takes some crickets from that waterway, feeds them to his spiders and they grow bigger and bigger from the toxic waste exposure. Soon, the spiders are taking over the town.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013 Total B-grade awfulness, but it\u2019s terribly amusing as well. \u00a0My kids absolutely loved this one, although my daughter didn\u2019t so much enjoy her dad sneaking up behind her and doing spider fingers on her neck haha! \u00a0Perhaps not suitable for all kids<\/em>, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s all that bad.<\/p>\n The Mummy 1, 2, 3 (1999, 2001, 2008)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Plot<\/strong> \u2013 A librarian, her con-man brother and an old soldier travel to find the lost city of Hamunaptra, while there they awaken a mummy who is bent on destroying the world. \u00a0Then they do it a second time. \u00a0Many years later, they and their son awaken the Dragon Emperor.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong> \u2013 Mummies. \u00a0Mummies are Halloween, simple as that. \u00a0Not suitable for all kids<\/em> of course, but these aren\u2019t too bad either so most kids are probably fine with these ones.<\/p>\n TV Shows and Short Movies<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Not\u00a0Included for This House<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n I hope all of that gives you some inspiration!<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I made a rule for this year, October our TV must only have scary, paranormal or Halloween based movies and TV shows.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2764,"featured_media":977,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[136,42,3,125,46],"tags":[33,68,32,123,58],"class_list":["post-975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-calendar-events-festivals","category-general","category-multimedia","category-pagan-parenting-and-homeschooling","category-personal","tag-festivals","tag-movies","tag-paganism","tag-parenting","tag-sabbats"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Kids](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/690\/2016\/10\/LA_Times_Festival_of_Books_2012_-_Paranorman_and_two_zombies_6958890464.jpg\")
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