October 2026 Movie Guide
Friendly ghosts, silly witches, animated monsters, or just enough spooky to feel like Halloween. Here is what is airing on Freeform, what is streaming on Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+ and Netflix, and 17 family favorites sorted by scare level. Made for Orange County and Los Angeles County families. All TV times are Pacific.
Choose who is on the couch, then tap the button. Movies you have already checked off get skipped first.
0 of 17 watched this October
Freeform’s yearly lineup is back with Hocus Pocus, Casper, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Monsters, Inc., Scooby-Doo, Ghostbusters and more. This is the family-friendly part of the schedule, in Southern California time. See Freeform’s official schedule.
Some titles toward the bottom of the schedule, like Ghostbusters, The Addams Family, Cruella (2021) and Haunted Mansion (2023), may be better for older children. Check ratings and your child’s comfort level. All programming is subject to change. Confirm with your TV provider before movie night.
Turn on JavaScript to see the day-by-day schedule, or open Freeform’s official schedule above.
Prefer to skip the TV guide? Pick a service. Streaming lists change, so check the app before movie night.
Don’t want to sort through the whole list? Start here.
Ratings are only a starting point. Some kids love ghosts and monsters, and others find even cartoon scares unsettling. You know your kids best.
Check them off as you go. The green tag shows where it is airing or streaming right now, based on the lists above.
Ages 3 to 6. Silly, sweet, and short on jump scares. Two of these are under half an hour, which is a good bedtime-friendly start.
Linus waits all night in the pumpkin patch while the rest of the gang goes trick-or-treating. Gentle, funny, and over before anyone gets sleepy.
It first aired on TV in 1966 and has come back every October since. Charlie Brown getting a rock in his trick-or-treat bag is the line most families still quote.
A kind witch keeps making room on her broom for new animal friends, until a hungry dragon shows up. Rhymes the whole way through.
It comes from the picture book by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler, the same pair behind The Gruffalo. Read the book first and let your kid spot what changed.
A giant rabbit is wrecking the town’s vegetable contest, and two clay inventors are on the case. Monster-movie fun with almost no real fright.
It won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Every character is hand-made clay, filmed one frame at a time.
Dracula runs a hotel for monsters, and a human teenager walks in. Fast, goofy, and packed with monster jokes for kids and parents.
It was directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, who also made Dexter’s Laboratory. The slapstick timing is his trademark.
Ages 6 and up. A little spooky, a lot of fun, and the ones most families end up rewatching every year.
Three witch sisters come back to Salem on Halloween night, and three kids and a talking cat have until sunrise to stop them. The one everybody asks for first.
It did poorly in theaters in 1993. Years of TV airings turned it into a Halloween tradition, and a sequel finally followed in 2022.
The Sanderson sisters return, and this time a new group of teens has to stop them. Watch it as a double feature right after the original.
It came out nearly 30 years after the first movie, with the three main actresses back in their roles.
A lonely friendly ghost makes a human friend, and his three rowdy uncles make everything harder. Sweet, with a few sad moments to talk through.
It was one of the first big movies to build its lead character entirely with computer graphics. Casper started as a cartoon in the 1940s.
On her 13th birthday, Marnie learns her family are witches and follows her grandmother to a town where every day is Halloween.
It started life as a Disney Channel Original Movie and spawned three sequels. Debbie Reynolds plays the grandmother.
Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas and tries to take it over. It counts for both holidays, so it works all season.
It is stop-motion, directed by Henry Selick from a story by Tim Burton. The songs were written by Danny Elfman, who also sings Jack’s singing parts.
The creepiest, kookiest family on the block gets new neighbors who really do not like them. Dark humor, but nothing truly scary.
The family began as single-panel cartoons in The New Yorker in the 1930s, then became a 1960s TV show.
The gang has split up and gets pulled back together to solve a mystery on a spooky island. Expect a few mild jokes aimed at parents.
This live-action version uses a computer-animated Scooby. The cartoon original first aired in 1969, which makes the franchise more than 55 years old.
Ages 9 and up. Still PG, but with real creepy moments. Check the parent guide first if your kid is sensitive.
Coraline finds a secret door to a better version of her life, and the “other mother” has button eyes. Beautiful and properly creepy.
It is made by the studio Laika with stop-motion puppets, from a story by Neil Gaiman.
Three kids are sure the house across the street is alive. They are right. A fun pick for anyone who has ever looked at a house a little too long.
It was made with motion capture, where real actors’ movements are recorded and turned into animation. Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis were executive producers.
Norman can talk to the dead, and his town needs him to stop a centuries-old curse. Spooky, funny, and kinder than it looks.
It comes from the same stop-motion studio as Coraline. The hair on the puppets was sculpted by hand.
A boy brings his beloved dog back to life, and his classmates try the same trick with worse results. Black and white, with a big heart. Be ready for a sad opening.
Tim Burton first made Frankenweenie as a short film in 1984. This feature is his stop-motion remake.
Every monster from the books escapes into a small town, and a teen has to help the author put them back. Good for kids who already love the series.
Jack Black plays R.L. Stine, the author of the real Goosebumps books. Look for the Easter eggs from the original covers.
A boy moves in with his uncle and finds out the old house, and the uncle, are full of magic and a ticking secret. Another good one for the house-loving crowd.
It is based on a 1973 children’s novel by John Bellairs. Jack Black and Cate Blanchett star.
Everything in this group is checked off. Clear your checklist above to start over.
A good movie night is mostly picking the right movie for the smallest kid in the room.
No baking skills needed. Pair a snack with the movie and let the kids help.
For most families, Hocus Pocus, Hotel Transylvania, Casper, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and The Addams Family (2019) are safe, fun starting points. Little kids do best with It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and Room on the Broom.
Try It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, Room on the Broom, or Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit. They are the gentlest picks on this page.
Stick to the Little Ghouls group and read the Parent guide first. Hotel Transylvania and the Great Pumpkin special are the safest places to start.
Coraline, Monster House, ParaNorman, Goosebumps, and The House with a Clock in Its Walls have the most real chills while staying PG.
Tap Where to watch on any card. It opens a search that shows the services currently carrying that title. Streaming lists change often, so check close to movie night.
Freeform is airing Hocus Pocus repeatedly throughout October 2026 as part of its 31 Nights of Halloween. It is also streaming on Disney+.
Hocus Pocus, Hocus Pocus 2, Casper, Monsters, Inc., Monsters University, Scooby-Doo, The Haunted Mansion, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Frankenweenie, Toy Story of TERROR!, Spooky Buddies and several Ghostbusters movies are in the lineup.
Halloweentown, Twitches, Hocus Pocus, Hocus Pocus 2, Frankenweenie, The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Haunted Mansion, Muppets Haunted Mansion and Toy Story of TERROR!, among others.
Yes. Peacock’s 2026 family lineup includes Casper, Spookley the Square Pumpkin, The Book of Life, The Addams Family (2019) and The Addams Family 2, both animated, plus Monster Family and the Harry Potter films.
Yes. Look for A Really Haunted Loud House, Monster High: The Movie, Monster High 2, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf and Liar Liar Vampire. The live-action Addams Family (1991) and Addams Family Values (1993) are there too, rated PG-13 and better for older kids. Hotel Transylvania and Hotel Transylvania 2 arrived on October 1, 2026.
Three things we are doing this fall for local families.
Open to K to 6 students. Three winners each get a $50 Amazon gift card. Entries are due October 23.
Reserve a free kit for trick-or-treating night. Pickup is October 31, 5 to 7 PM, at Heroes (San Marino) Park in Buena Park. Quantities are limited.
Enter to win one of 3 free mini photoshoot sessions at our client photoshoot on Saturday, November 7, 2026, 8 AM to 12 PM, at Heritage Park in Santa Fe Springs. Entries close Friday, October 23.
Christine Almarines
Real Estate Agent | CA Real Estate Group | Caliber Real Estate
📧 christine@carealestategroup.com
DRE #01412944
Christine Almarines is a top real estate agent in Buena Park and Cerritos helping homeowners sell in Orange County and Los Angeles County.
Pop some popcorn, turn off the lights, pile up the blankets and let everyone take turns choosing. If you live in Orange County or Los Angeles County, bookmark this page. We will keep sharing seasonal things to do, local events and family activities all year. Happy Halloween.
Schedule and streaming information come from Freeform, Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+ and Netflix’s own published Halloween guides, as of October 2026. All programming is subject to change. Ratings and streaming availability change too. Use the Parent guide and Where to watch links on each card to confirm before movie night. Movie titles belong to their owners and are mentioned for guidance only. This page is not affiliated with any studio or service.
Verified against official sources as of publication. Event details can change — confirm before you plan around any one item.
Cerritos has a full month ahead: city programs, a packed concert calendar at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, a month-long pumpkin patch at Los Cerritos Center, and the weekly farmers market that runs all year. Here’s what’s actually on the calendar for things to do in Cerritos this October, pulled directly from official sources.
Neither listing included a specific time on the city’s site. Call the city at (562) 860-0311 to confirm before you plan around either one.
Farm-fresh produce every Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to noon, rain or shine, at Cerritos Towne Center in the northwest parking lot of the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts. Closed on major holidays only.
Running October 1 through October 31, 2026, at Los Cerritos Center (239 Los Cerritos Center, Cerritos, CA 90703). A full month of fall activities at the mall. Specific daily hours weren’t listed on the mall’s event page — call (562) 402-7467 to confirm before you go.
This exhibition runs throughout October during regular public hours at the historic Rancho Los Cerritos site. Public hours in early October were listed as 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays and 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekends — check rancholoscerritos.org for the exact schedule the week you plan to visit, since museum hours can shift.
The CCPA has one of its fullest calendars of the year this October. A few highlights, all confirmed directly from the venue’s own events calendar:
This isn’t the full lineup of things to do in Cerritos this month — the CCPA has shows nearly every night. See the complete, up-to-date schedule and buy tickets at ccpa.cerritos.gov.
Saturday, October 24, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., in the Regal Edwards Courtyard at Cerritos Towne Center, 12731 Towne Center Drive, Cerritos, CA 90703. Free admission, free on-site parking.
This is a family event — trick-or-treat candy stations, character meet-and-greets, face painting, balloon twisting, kids’ crafts, and a live DJ. Costumes are encouraged, and organizers recommend arriving early. Hosted by Cerritos Towne Center (@shopcerritos), confirmed on their Eventbrite listing and Instagram announcement.
The city typically partners with Los Cerritos Center on a community Halloween Festival late in the month — past years have run costume parades, entertainment, game booths, rides, and food trucks. I could not confirm an exact 2026 date and time from official sources as of this writing, so check the City of Cerritos community events page or call the Recreation Services Division at (562) 916-1254 for the confirmed date before you plan your night around it.
Staying in for a family movie night instead? Our Halloween Movie Calendar lists what is airing on Freeform, what is streaming, and 17 family-friendly picks sorted by scare level.
Yes, every Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to noon, at Cerritos Towne Center.
Yes, tickets are sold through the CCPA box office and website directly. Call (562) 916-8510 or visit ccpa.cerritos.gov.
The mall’s event listing didn’t specify a cost. Call (562) 402-7467 to confirm before you go.
Not confirmed as of this writing. Check the city’s community events page or call (562) 916-1254 closer to the date.
Yes, free admission and free parking, Saturday, October 24, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Cerritos Towne Center.
If a full month of concerts, a pumpkin patch, and city events like this has you thinking about what it’s actually like to live here, the guide to top neighborhoods in Cerritos and the current Cerritos market update are good next reads.
Christine Almarines
Real Estate Agent | CA Real Estate Group | Caliber Real Estate
714-476-4637
christine@carealestategroup.com
DRE #01412944
Christine Almarines is a top real estate agent in Buena Park and Cerritos helping homeowners buy and sell in Orange County and Los Angeles County.
Please fill out the form below and we will be contacting you shortly
with information about your home.