It’s TUESDAY TALK, which means Fancy Ashley and I have teamed up! Once a month we join forces and chit chat about anything and everything. Like always, blogger friends we invite you to join us!
Today, I’m in the full Halloween spirit! Our costumes have all arrived, we have fun plans on Halloween night, our pumpkin carving date is set, the weather is cooling off, and I’ve already set a few Reese’s Cups WAY back in the pantry to hide. We’re Halloween READY!
But we’re having a big debate about…
HALLOWEEN MOVIES!
My kids are in that awkward stage where they want to watch something scary but it’s hard to find something scary but still appropriate for their ages. So, our family is kind of stumped!
There’s a part of me that’s envisioning THIS as my future if we go too scary! We need something in between, It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown and Halloween. Know what I mean? They want something a little scary but nothing that’s gonna have them running into my room for weeks on end.
I remember watching Tremors with Reba McEntire when I was little. I think it was a complete accident and the super appropriate kid movie stopped playing so it automatically clicked over to regular television that happened to be on the channel airing Tremors. I had bad dreams for days! So much so that I just googled the rating on that movie and am shocked it was only PG-13!
Does your family have a favorite “in between” kind of scary Halloween movie you’d recommend for 5th and 6th graders? If so, PLEASE share!!
And do you remember the scariest movie you watched when you were little? I don’t even remember another option coming close to Tremors for me! What about you?
I can’t wait to watch your suggestions! Thanks, friends!
Only ELEVEN days to Halloween! Let’s make them spooky…well, maybe just a tad spooky. 😉
XO
My kids really enjoy the Goosebump movie (and book) series! And we have 3rd, 5th, and 8th grader in this home.
I was terrified of everything as a kid; even the witch in the Wizard of Oz freaked me out. Maybe a movie like Hocus Pocus or The Adams Family?
I unfortunately don’t know of any scary movies appropriate for that age! There’s not many though!
As a kid, the Nightmare before Christmas scared the heck out of me! (I hate that type of weird 90s animation, its so creepy) E.T. Also terrified me (Haven’t watched it since and never will again).
And I watched the Exorcist at a sleepover when I was in Middle school and that just did me in.
Funny enough, I LOVE scary movies now. 🙂
I can't wait to read the comments on this one! Everyone always says "Hocus Pocus" My daughter had watched it with dad last year. We (10 year old, 6 year old and 5 year old) started watching it the other night and I thought the beginning wasn't quite age appropriate–hanging?! Sucking the life out of a little girl?! My 10 year old daughter assured me "don't worry mom, it gets better" 😉 Maybe I am a little overprotective, but I wanted to go back to Room on the Broom and Charlie Brown!
Were you listening to the Musers yesterday morning??? They were talking about Poltergeist which I had completely forgotten about…it scared the heck out of me when I was little! Bahahaha!
Hocus Pocus, Ghost busters and the Addams family, definitely spooky and scary but also light and fun too!!
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Just watched the old Mary-Kate and Ashley movie double double toil and trouble eith a 6 and 8 year old! It’s cute mild scary and On hulu
Casper, ghostbusters & Adams Family 🙂
Casper, ghostbusters, & Addams Family
Hocus Pocus or Double Double Toil and Trouble—an old Marykate and Ashley movie!
Edward Scissorhands!
I've got nothing. Carter is really in to all things scary. He watched and loved Jurassic Park at like 2, and those dinosaurs are SCARY!!!!!!
Goosebumps 2!!!!!
My first scary movie was Halloween with my much older cousin and Nightmare on Elm Street 3 at my best friend's 10 year old slumber party. Scared me for years, but I still love scary movies 🙂 Heck the library scene in Ghostbusters was still freaking me out in college since I worked at a library! Apparently I enjoy being scared, lol;) no recommendations- the scariest movie we were allowed was Ghostbusters and my kids weren't allowed anything remotely scary until they were teenagers (my oldest had nightmares for years after Wizard of Oz).
I cannot wait to read all of these comments later! In our house with a 7 and 4 yr old we are enjoying Casper, Goosebumps and little bit of Hocus Pocus. We seem to be in the same boat with what is appropriate and what won't scare them!
Children of the Corn scared the heck outta me!! Not sure why my mom felt like it was age appropriate..lol but growing up in the country with corn fields all around…not a good choice!
House With A Clock in it's Walls and Beetlejuice. My 5th grader loved them! Have you showed them Ghostbusters yet? That's another good one! I can't wait for Witches to come out on HBO Max, Witches was one of my favorite Halloween movies as a kid!
Little Monsters! It’s a lighter take on monsters under the bed—a classic from my 80’s/90’s childhood!
I love scary movies now, but growing was a different story. I remember having nightmares for a long time after watching The Wizard of Oz at age 5. The wicked witch of the west REALLY got to me! The Exorcist came on the TV when I was babysitting at age 13 (kids were in bed already), and I was too scared to get off the couch to turn the channel, so I hid under a blanket! Yes, that was back in the dark ages before TV's had remote controls. 🙂
I loved The Haunting and The Mummy when I was in 4th grade–both are definitely scary but I loved them! But two of the best "scary" movies are Signs and The Sixth Sense! I'm not sure what you allow your kids to watch, but I believe these are all PG-13.
We just watched Edward Scissorhands. It's kind of Christmas, kind of Halloween. Other than that I don't know as I hate scary movies even as an adult.
The Halloweentown movies on Disney Plus are good, and not too scary! My 5 year old daughter watched 2 of them and so far hasn't had any nightmares 🙂
Halloweentown with Debbie Reynolds and Twitches with Tia & Tamera Mowry. Both were Disney Channel original movies and both have sequels! I think they're a good mix of cute and spooky!
What about "The Worst Witch", Disney's "Haunted Mansion", Disney's "Tower of Terror"…If you have Disney+ I would think you could find some on there. Good luck.
My dad and I watched House in haunted hill (1999 version) when I was 9…. Let’s just say that was NOT appropriate! I had nightmares for weeks! We never watch scary movies,… Everything scares me 😀
We watched the Addams Family with our 9 year old, both the new animated one and the old one with Angelica Huston and Raul Julia. I thought they both seemed fine (notwithstanding Wednesday is always trying to kill her brother!).
Have you watched Goosebumps? That might be a good in between movie…my kids (14, 11 and 10) didn't thing it was too scary.
My kids love Goosebumps and The Haunted Manison. I DO NOT recommend the new Adam Sandler movie on Netflix, Hubie Halloween. Super inappropriate for kids! Started watching it with my boys and 10 mins in had to turn it off.
We loved the movie “The House With A Clock In it’s Walls”, and the first Goosebumps movie. They both have Jack Black in them.
Casper!!
Halloween Town series, I think there's four of them. Twitches, but the boys might not enjoy it. The Mary Kate and Ashley movie, Double Double Toil and Trouble. Nightmare before Christmas. I was sick one year and napping on the couch when I woke up to Halloween and that creepy mask. Terrified me for weeks!
I remember watching old scary movies like Arachnophobia, Poltergeist, Jaws, The Birds, etc when I was younger! I think the Sixth Sense is also PG 13
Ernest Scared Stupid? I haven't seen it in awhile so I haven't watched it through the eyes of the young, but I think it'd be ok. I watched it when I was little and don't remember being scared.
Ernest Scared Stupid
The old Disney movie – Bed Knobs and Broomsticks is a good family "scary" movie.
they're not scary, but we love the Hotel Transylvania movies.