Halloween is one of the most celebrated holidays in the United States. From haunted houses to costume parties, there are many ways to enjoy the day. Many children look forward to the last day of October, anticipating going trick or treating and having a fun night of costumes and candy. However, for most people, Halloween celebration isn’t just on October 31st. Many people watch horror movies to get into the spirit of Halloween throughout October.

“Every year me and my family sit down to watch a Halloween movie at least once,” freshman Chloe Bunn said.

There are many different traditions that people follow on Halloween. Originally, it was a pagan celebration created to welcome the harvest. A common tradition back then was to light bonfires and dress in costumes to ward off ghosts. This is likely why monsters and horror are associated with the holiday. Many scary movies use Halloween as a setting to explain their supernatural plot. 

“[Watching Halloween movies] is how my sister and I bonded,” senior Mackenzie Glasmann said. “ [The Nightmare Before Christmas] is my favorite because I have always loved Christmas and Halloween and that movie mashed them both together.”

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) is a Tim Burton film that takes place on Halloween and the days leading up to Christmas. It’s a classic fantasy movie about Jack Skellington, the esteemed pumpkin king of Halloweentown. After stumbling upon Christmastown, Jack goes on an adventure to take control of Christmas and add his own spooky twist to the holiday. This popular family favorite is known for its stop-motion animation style, similar to Coraline (2009).

“Coraline would have to be my favorite scary movie because of its animation,” freshman Sadie Nattier said. “They found other ways to induce fear other than gore and they take a more psychological approach.”

Coraline is a creepy animated film that follows a young girl who travels to another world through a secret door in her bedroom. The other world closely resembles Coraline’s own, but everything seems better in some way. She had seemingly everything she had ever wanted in this world but she decided to leave for good. Her family in the other world wants her to stay forever, and Coraline must use all of her strength to try to get back home. Many scary movies like A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) use alternate universes and inescapable worlds to give viewers an unsettling feeling of never being sure that you are in your own world.

“Freddy Krueger is my favorite evil person,” sophomore Jiovanni Valdivia said.

A Nightmare on Elm Street is a horror film about a group of teenagers who are mysteriously being attacked in their dreams. Though each teen’s nightmares are different, the thing that they have in common is their attacker. It’s up to Nancy and her boyfriend Glenn to figure out how to defeat the man who tries to kill them while they sleep. A Nightmare on Elm Street is one of the most well-known horror franchises of all time. Whether you prefer horror or Halloween, watching movies is a great way to get into the fall spirit.

“A good mix of things comes to my mind when I think of Halloween, [such as] dressing up, horror, and the overall fall feel of things,” Nattier said.