Freeform has wasted no time building its extra-spooky programming schedule for the month of October. The channel’s annual “31 Nights of Halloween” kicks off in just two weeks!
The event should really be called “31 Days of Halloween” because, for most of the month, the Halloween-themed classics will air from dawn to dusk. On many of these days, you can even get into the spooky spirit as early as 7 a.m.
The schedule is subject to change, so we’ll keep you up to date with any curveballs that Freeform throws our way. But as of right now, we have dozens of iconic Halloween films and TV specials to look forward to!
Check out the programming schedule below, mark your calendars, and set your DVRs so that you don’t miss a moment of your favorite Halloween classics.
Friday, October 1
Walt Disney Pictures
2:30 p.m. – Casper (1995)
5:00 p.m. – The Addams Family (1991)
7:00 p.m. – Addams Family Values
9:00 p.m. – Hocus Pocus
Saturday, October 2
7:00 a.m. – The Goonies
9:35 a.m. – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
12:15 p.m. – Casper (1995)
2:45 p.m. – The Addams Family (1991)
4:50 p.m. – Addams Family Values
6:55 p.m. – Monsters, Inc.
9:00 p.m. – Monsters University
11:30 p.m. – Ghostbusters (1984)
Sunday, October 3
Columbia Pictures
7:00 a.m. – Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
8:40 a.m. – Ghostbusters (1984)
11:10 a.m. – Matilda
1:15 p.m. – Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
2:55 p.m. – Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas
4:35 p.m. – Hocus Pocus
6:45 p.m. – Maleficent
8:50 p.m. – Maleficent: Mistress of Evil
11:30 p.m. – The Craft (1996
Monday, October 4
12:30 p.m. – Decorating Disney: Halloween Magic
1:30 p.m. – The Goonies
4:00 p.m. – Matilda
6:00 p.m. – The Craft (1996)
8:30 p.m. – Fright Night (2011)
12:00 a.m. – The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror”
Tuesday, October 5
10:30 a.m. – Matilda
12:30 p.m. – Casper (1995)
3:00 p.m. – Shrek
5:00 p.m. – Shrek 2
7:00 p.m. – Shrek Forever After
9:00 p.m. – Hocus Pocus
12:00 a.m. – The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror”
Wednesday, October 6
Warner Bros. Pictures
10:30 a.m. – Casper (1995)
12:30 p.m. – Shrek
2:30 p.m. – Shrek 2
4:30 p.m. – Shrek Forever After
6:30 p.m. – Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
8:00 p.m. – The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror”
12:00 a.m. – The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror”
Did you know?The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) is known as a Tim Burton film, but the legendary director was actually so preoccupied filming Batman Returns and Ed Wood that he was not as involved with this one. Burton has also stated that while he did come up with the idea for the film through a poem that he wrote, he was not interested in the tedious process of producing a stop-motion animation. Director Henry Selick was the mastermind behind the production of this film.
Selick told Sight & Sound in 1994, “It’s as though [Burton] laid the egg, and I sat on it and hatched it. He wasn’t involved in a hands-on way, but his hand is in it. It was my job to make it look like ‘a Tim Burton film,’ which is not so different from my own films.”
Thursday, October 7
11:30 a.m. – Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
1:30 p.m. – Halloweentown
3:30 p.m. – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
6:00 p.m. – Ghostbusters (1984)
8:30 p.m. – Ghostbusters II
12:00 a.m. – Jaws 3
Friday, October 8
10:30 a.m. – Ghostbusters (1984)
9:00 p.m. – Family Guy Halloween Programming
12:00 a.m. – Frankenweenie (2012)
Saturday, October 9
7:00 a.m. – Turbo (2013)
9:10 a.m. – Shrek
11:15 a.m. – Shrek 2
1:20 p.m. – Shrek Forever After
3:25 p.m. – Hotel Transylvania 2
5:30 p.m. – Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
7:40 p.m. – Hocus Pocus
9:50 p.m. – The Addams Family (1991)
11:55 p.m. – Addams Family Values
Sunday, October 10
DreamWorks Animation
7:00 a.m. – Shrek
9:05 a.m. – Shrek 2
11:10 a.m. – Shrek Forever After
1:15 p.m. – Hotel Transylvania 2
3:20 p.m. – Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
5:30 p.m. – Hocus Pocus
7:40 p.m. – The Addams Family (1991)
9:45 p.m. – Addams Family Values
11:50 p.m. – Casper (1995)
Did you know? Leonardo DiCaprio was this close to being cast as “Max” in Hocus Pocus. He turned it down, instead joining the cast of Whats’s Eating Gilbert Grape. That particular film couldn’t be further away from Hocus Pocus when it comes to tone. I guess Halloween-themed fun isn’t really Leo’s style, but if it were, maybe he’d have won an Oscar even sooner?
Monday, October 11
11:30 a.m. – Jaws
2:30 p.m. – Jaws 2
5:05 p.m. – Alien
7:45 p.m. – Aliens
12:00 a.m. – The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror”
Tuesday, October 12
3:00 p.m. – Decorating Disney: Halloween Magic
4:00 p.m. – Casper (1995)
6:30 p.m. – Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas
8:00 p.m. – Mrs. Doubtfire
12:00 a.m. – The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror”
Wednesday, October 13
Disney Channel / Singer-White Entertainment
12:30 p.m. – Casper (1995)
3:00 p.m. – Halloweentown
5:00 p.m. – Mrs. Doubtfire
8:00 p.m. – The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror”
12:00 a.m. – The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror”
Did you know?Halloweentown (1998) was only the fourth Disney Channel Original Movie. There are now over 100 original movies to the Disney name. The entire movie was filmed in Oregon, adding to the dark, chilly, and very Halloween-y vibes of the setting.
Thursday, October 14
1:00 p.m. – Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
3:30 p.m. – Hook
6:45 p.m. – Matilda
8:50 p.m. – Hocus Pocus
Friday, October 15
11:00 a.m. – Matilda
9:00 p.m. – Family Guy Halloween Programming
Saturday, October 16
7:00 a.m. – Ghostbusters (1984)
9:30 a.m. – Ghostbusters II
12:00 p.m. – Mrs. Doubtfire
3:05 p.m. – Men in Black (1997)
5:15 p.m. – Men in Black II
7:15 p.m. – Hocus Pocus
9:25 p.m. – Maleficent
11:30 p.m. – The House with a Clock in Its Walls
Sunday, October 17
Sony Pictures Releasing
7:00 a.m. – The Middle Halloween Episode
7:30 a.m. – Mrs. Doubtfire
10:30 a.m. – Men in Black (1997)
12:40 p.m. – Men in Black II
2:40 p.m. – The House with a Clock in Its Walls
5:10 p.m. – Hocus Pocus
7:20 p.m. – Hotel Transylvania 2
9:25 p.m. – Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
11:35 p.m. – Toy Story of TERROR!
12:05 a.m. – Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
Did you know? Barry Sonnenfeld was chosen as director for Men in Black because of his ability to work with dark humor. He proved this with his fantastic work on The Addams Family and Addams Family Values.
Monday, October 18
2:00 p.m. – Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride
4:00 p.m. – Toy Story of TERROR!
4:30 p.m. – Hotel Transylvania 2
6:30 p.m. – Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation
8:30 p.m. – Casper (1995)
12:00 a.m. – The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror”
Tuesday, October 19
12:30 p.m. – Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
3:40 p.m. – X-Men: First Class
6:50 p.m. – Men in Black
9:00 p.m. – Men in Black II
12:00 a.m. – The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror”
Wednesday, October 20
20th Television
10:30 a.m. – X-Men: First Class
1:30 p.m. – Cowboys & Aliens
4:00 p.m. – Men in Black
6:00 p.m. – Men in Black II
8:00 p.m. – The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror”
12:00 a.m. – The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror”
Did you know? There have been over 30 “Treehouse of Horror” specials from The Simpsons, and the tradition will continue until the show’s historic run finally comes to an end.
In the opening segment of the first five “Treehouse of Horror” specials, the writers included a gag in which the camera panned through a graveyard of tombstones. Many of the tombstones would display the names of failed TV shows that had been canceled the previous season. As time wore on, however, The Simpsons team realized that their own writers were involved with many of those canceled projects. They decided to drop the bit soon after that.
Thursday, October 21
4:00 p.m. – The Craft (1996)
6:30 p.m. – The Huntsman: Winter’s War
9:00 p.m. – Maleficent
12:00 a.m. – Mirror Mirror
Friday, October 22
10:30 a.m. – The Craft (1996)
9:00 p.m. – Family Guy Halloween Programming
12:00 a.m. – Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
Saturday, October 23
7:00 a.m. – Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
9:30 a.m. – Casper (1995)
11:50 a.m. – Shrek
1:55 p.m. – Shrek 2
4:00 p.m. – Halloweentown
6:05 p.m. – Hocus Pocus
8:15 p.m. – Ghostbusters (2016)
11:30 p.m. – Fright Night (2011)
Sunday, October 24
20th Century Fox
7:00 a.m. – Casper (1995)
9:30 a.m. – Shrek
11:40 a.m. – Shrek 2
1:45 p.m. – Halloweentown
3:50 p.m. – Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas
5:30 p.m. – Ghostbusters (2016)
8:45 p.m. – Hocus Pocus
10:55 p.m. – Mrs. Doubtfire
Monday, October 25
1:00 p.m. – Decorating Disney: Halloween Magic
2:00 p.m. – The Goonies
4:30 p.m. – Scared Shrekless
5:00 p.m. – Shrek
7:00 p.m. – Shrek 2
9:00 p.m. – Shrek Forever After
12:00 a.m. – The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror”
Tuesday, October 26
12:00 p.m. – The Goonies
2:30 p.m. – Scared Shrekless
3:00 p.m. – Shrek
5:00 p.m. – Shrek 2
7:00 p.m. – Shrek Forever After
9:00 p.m. – Maleficent
12:00 a.m. – The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror”
Wednesday, October 27
Universal Pictures
1:00 p.m. – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
3:30 p.m. – Casper (1995)
6:00 p.m. – Matilda
8:00 p.m. – The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror”
12:00 a.m. – The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror”
Did you know? The legendary film critic Roger Ebert gave Casper three out of four stars in a 1995 review. This is quite notable, as many critics criticized the film for being “meandering,” “mindless,” and even too dark for some folks’ tastes. Ebert, meanwhile, said of the film, “The real stars of the movie are the special effects and animation artists…As a technical achievement, it’s impressive, and entertaining.”
Thursday, October 28
11:30 a.m. – Casper (1995)
2:00 p.m. – Matilda
4:00 p.m. – Ghostbusters (1984)
6:30 p.m. – The Craft (1996)
9:00 p.m. – Hocus Pocus
12:00 a.m. – Frankenweenie (2012)
Friday, October 29
12:30 p.m. – Men in Black (1997)
9:00 p.m. – Family Guy Halloween Programming
12:00 a.m. – Men in Black II
Saturday, October 30
7:00 a.m. – Decorating Disney: Halloween Magic
8:00 a.m. – Ghostbusters (1984)
10:30 a.m. – Men in Black (1997)
12:35 p.m. – Men in Black II
2:35 p.m. – Goosebumps
5:05 p.m. – Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween
7:10 p.m. – Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas
8:50 p.m. – Hocus Pocus
11:00 p.m. – Mrs. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
Sunday, October 31
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
7:00 a.m. – Mrs. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
10:00 a.m. – Goosebumps
12:30 p.m. – Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween
2:35 p.m. – Hocus Pocus
4:45 p.m. – Casper
7:15 p.m. – Maleficent
9:20 p.m. – Hocus Pocus
11:30 p.m. – Ghostbusters (1984)
We’ll update the schedule with any changes that Freeform announces in the coming weeks. Now, let’s get ready for a month-long Halloween pregame!
