13 Kid-Friendly Scary Movies

Young children still want to embrace the Halloween spirit and watch scary movies, they’d just prefer not to get that scared, thank you very much. Luckily, there are kid-friendly scary movies that have nothing to do with Michael Myers, Freddy Krueger, Jason Voorhees, or lots of blood and gore.

Kid-friendly scary movies such as The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Dark Crystal, Return to Oz, Coraline, and Beetlejuice are a terrific way of introducing children to spooky content without scaring the bejesus out of them. You want them to enjoy Halloween, not get so freaked out that they are afraid to turn out the lights.

All of the following animated and live-action scary movies are rated G and PG for the little trick-or-treaters in your life, but that doesn’t mean that adults can’t enjoy them as well. How many of these kid-friendly fright flicks will you watch before Halloween this year?

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Henry Selick directed the timeless stop-motion animated musical The Nightmare Before Christmas based on Tim Burton’s weird and wonderful characters.

Although Disney originally deemed the tale of Jack Skellington — the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town — and his misguided attempt to take over the Christmas holiday as too dark and scary for children, The Nightmare Before Christmas gained a massive cult following and inspired a line of collectibles and merchandise. The whimsical movie is now a seasonal watch for children of all ages.

For an extra dimension of Halloween fun, check out The Nightmare Before Christmas on Blu-ray 3D if you have the right setup at home.

Coraline (2009)

Henry Selick also directed the 2009 stop-motion dark fantasy Coraline based on the novella by Neil Gaiman. The movie about the lonesome titular girl who discovers a portal in her new home to a tempting but deceptively sinister alternate universe received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature.

Kids with busy parents will relate to Coraline and might actually walk away from the movie with a better appreciation of the sacrifices their folks make to keep them safe and happy.

Released in 3D in theaters and available on Blu-ray 3D at home, Coraline pops even more with the added dimension and is a must-see for kids around Halloween.

ParaNorman (2012)

2012’s ParaNorman is a perfect example of how stop-motion animation lends itself to scarier and quirkier stories than traditional animation. The horror-comedy directed by Sam Fell and Chris Butler is about a young boy with the ability to communicate with spirits who tries to end a witch’s curse in place for three centuries on his Massachusetts town.

The 3D movie earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature. Your kids won’t care about that, but they’ll get into the spooky and imaginative animation.

Frankenweenie (2012)

Tim Burton’s simultaneous parody of and homage to Frankenstein, Frankenweenie follows a young boy named Victor Frankenstein who uses the power of lightning to resurrect his dog Sparky. When other children use Victor’s scientific discovery to bring their deceased animals back to life, their small town is overrun with zombie pets.

Frankenweenie earned an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Film. Losing a pet is something almost every child will experience, and Frankenweenie tackles the difficult subject with compassion and Burton’s patented movie magic that kids will appreciate.

Monster House (2006)

The animated horror-comedy Monster House is about a sentient haunted house that comes to life and scares neighborhood residents every Halloween. The human characters in the movie were created using motion-capture animation, which gives them more realistic facial expressions and movements than most CGI-animated films.

In his review of the Oscar-nominated Monster House, Roger Ebert said it was “one of the most original and exciting animated movies” that he’s seen in a long time and compared it favorably to the work of Tim Burton. An added bonus — at least for goth-adjacent parents — is hearing postpunk icons Siouxsie and the Banshees and their song “Halloween” over the end credits, which is a cool surprise in a movie aimed at kids.

Corpse Bride (2005)

Tim Burton and Mike Johnson directed this 2005 stop-motion musical fantasy based on oddball characters created by Burton. Set in Victorian era England, Corpse Bride features the voice of Johnny Depp as Victor — a young man who accidentally pledges himself to Emily the Corpse Bride (Helena Bonham Carter) while practicing his wedding vows in a forest.

In a delightful twist on expectations, Corpse Bride depicts the Land of the Living as gray and dull, while the Land of the Dead is colorful and full of music and dancing. Despite Corpse Bride‘s macabre title, kids embraced the PG movie as an annual Halloween favorite. The Academy also nominated Corpse Bride for the Best Animated Feature Oscar.

Hocus Pocus (1993)

The PG-rated fantasy-comedy Hocus Pocus follows three witch sisters (Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy) who are resurrected by a teenage boy on Halloween night in Salem, Massachusetts.

Despite the spooky historic setting, wicked Sanderson sisters, and supernatural elements, Hocus Pocus leans into silly comedy as the witches plot and scheme. Millennials who thought the Halloween favorite was a treat when they were kids are now showing it as well as the sequel, Hocus Pocus 2, to their own little hobgoblins. A third film is currently in development.

Labyrinth (1986)

Jim Henson’s musical-fantasy film Labyrinth stars Jennifer Connelly as a 16-year-old girl who journeys into a magical maze populated with bizarre creatures to rescue her infant brother from Jareth, the Goblin King (David Bowie).

It’s a shame that kids today have to grow up without Henson and Bowie still with us, but Labyrinth is an excellent way to introduce a new generation to both Henson’s puppet wizardry and haunting Bowie songs such as “As the World Falls Down.” The cult-favorite movie also teaches children that their younger siblings depend on them and that being an older brother or sister is an important responsibility.

The Dark Crystal (1982)

The dark fantasy film The Dark Crystal directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz is about two Gelflings, Jen and Kira, who embark on a quest to heal the Dark Crystal and restore order to their world of Thra.

Although The Dark Crystal has some magical and fantastical elements that might scare the tiniest of Gelflings in your home, I remember seeing it as a kid and getting a kick out of the disgusting, reptilian-looking Skeksis, especially during the banquet sequence. If your kids also squeal with delight at the creatures gorging themselves during that scene instead of getting scared, the prequel series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance is streaming on Netflix as well.

Return to Oz (1985)

This unofficial, nonmusical sequel to The Wizard of Oz stars Fairuza Balk as Dorothy, who returns to the magical land of Oz to find that the evil Nome King has taken over. With the help of her new friends, Dorothy tries to make Oz great again.

Return to Oz didn’t perform well at the box office but has since developed a cult following by fans of L. Frank Baum’s books for staying closer to the source material than the MGM musical. Yes, Return to Oz is somewhat dark and a tad twisted in a PG-rated way, but kids who like The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth will also want to follow Dorothy down the yellow brick road in this movie. The underappreciated sequel at least earned an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects.

Goosebumps (2015)

Goosebumps is based on R. L. Stine’s beloved children’s horror-book series of the same name. In the movie, Jack Black plays a fictionalized version of Stine, whose monsters have escaped from his books and create chaos in the real world. Odeya Rush stars as Stine’s daughter, who is secretly a character from his books who came to life.

The core message in Goosebumps is that stories and one’s imagination are powerful tools. If kids weren’t already fans of the book series before watching this movie, perhaps it will inspire them to read more. This is a win-win situation for any parent: a scary movie that kids will like that might also compel them to pick up a book.

Beetlejuice (1988)

Tim Burton’s fantasy-comedy Beetlejuice is about a recently deceased ghost couple (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) who hire a repulsive bio-exorcist named Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) to scare the new owners of their house away.

Winona Ryder nails it as Lydia Deetz, a teenage goth who at one point says, “Live people ignore the strange and unusual. I, myself, am strange and unusual.” Although Beetlejuice itself is unapologetically strange and unusual, the PG movie isn’t scary so much as playfully weird and fun. Kids will like the oddball characters and how the ghosts struggle to scare the Deetz family.

Ryder returns as an elder goth Lydia Deetz with a daughter (Jenna Ortega) of her own in the long-awaited PG-13 sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, also directed by Burton.

Monsters, Inc. (2001)

The Pixar animated film Monsters, Inc. focuses on the monsters James P. “Sulley” Sullivan (John Goodman) and his one-eyed BFF Mike Wazowski (Billy Crystal). The two work at the titular factory that generates power from scaring children, although the monsters discover that scaring children isn’t so easy anymore.

Monsters, Inc. is a comedy and isn’t the least bit scary, but it will tickle kids to think that there is a team of goofy monsters out there working overtime trying — and failing — to scare them. If they believe even for a little while that Monsters, Inc. is as scary as cinema or life gets, that’s a beautiful thing.