Halloween films for kids who scare easily

Every October, some parents face the same problem. Your child wants a Halloween film night. Your child also cannot cope with anything scarier than a slightly cross Gruffalo. This list is for exactly that child.

When I was little, the scariest film I remember watching at home was Return to Oz. I still haven’t watched it as an adult, although perhaps I should. Sleepovers were another matter. I watched Beetlejuice, which I didn’t find particularly scary, followed by Poltergeist and, rather more questionably, The Silence of the Lambs at the age of 12. I’m not sure that last one was entirely appropriate viewing!

My son has inherited my love of horror, so we watch quite a few scary films together now, which I absolutely love. When he was younger, I let him watch all the films on this list, and thankfully, none of them resulted in nightmares. Of course, every child is different, so what worked for him won’t necessarily work for everyone.

These are Halloween films for young kids who like the idea of spooky much more than the reality. They’ve got pumpkins and the odd skeleton, but the scares are brief and there’s always a laugh round the corner. I’ve ordered them from gentlest to spookiest, so you can start at the top and stop the moment the cushion comes out.

How the sofa score works

Each film gets a hide-behind-the-sofa score out of five. One is a giggle. Five would be a child who won’t go to the loo on their own for a week, and nothing on this list gets anywhere near that. The highest score here is three.

I’ve also included the BBFC age rating (opens in new tab) and a line from the Board’s own content advice, which is the most reliable guide to what’s actually on screen.

A U is generally suitable for anyone aged four and over. A PG can contain scenes that might upset younger or more sensitive children, and that’s where you’ll want to watch it yourself first.

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

Sofa score: 1 Rated U.

The BBFC’s advice says the film has “comic scary scenes, although these are brief and balanced by reassuring humour”, and that “nobody is harmed”.

Aardman’s first full-length Wallace and Gromit film is the perfect first Halloween film for British kids. Wallace and Gromit run a humane pest-control business in the run-up to a giant vegetable competition, and something big and furry is eating everyone’s prize marrows. There’s a full moon, a monster and a spooky vicar. It’s also funnier for the grown-ups than half the films aimed at them.

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Sofa score: 1 Rated PG for “mild scary scenes”.

The BBFC says the skeletons, witches and talking pumpkins are balanced by humour and musical numbers, and there’s “no realistic injury detail”.

Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas and decides to take it over. It’s a musical, so the tension keeps being interrupted by songs. For a nervous child, that’s ideal. Bonus: it works for both Halloween and December, so you get two film nights out of one.

Hotel Transylvania (2012)

Sofa score: 1 Rated U for “mild scary scenes and rude humour”.

The BBFC notes that it turns “apparently frightening monsters into likeable characters”.

Dracula runs a hotel where monsters can escape from humans, and his daughter’s birthday party is gatecrashed by a human backpacker. That’s the whole joke: the monsters are the scared ones. Expect a lot of wind-related comedy. Small children will think it’s the best film ever made.

Hocus Pocus (1993)

Sofa score: 2 Rated PG for “mild scary scenes, violence, sex references”.

The BBFC mentions a zombie rising from a grave, a young girl “briefly menaced by witches”, and a cat who is run over “but subsequently makes a full and rapid recovery”.

There are also a couple of jokes about virginity that will sail over younger heads. Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy play three Salem witches brought back to life on Halloween night. It’s camp and silly, and the witches are more ridiculous than frightening. It’s a rite of passage. There’s a sequel on Disney+ too, if it goes down well.

Monster House (2006)

Sofa score: 3 Rated PG for “scary scenes and mild language”.

The BBFC’s key warning is the house itself, which twists into “the shape of a monster face as its ‘tongue’ reaches out to try grab and swallow passers by”.

Three kids become convinced the house across the street is alive, and they’re right. It’s clever and funny, but it’s a proper monster film in places, and the house chasing people down the road is a big moment. Save this for a child who’s already survived a couple of the films above.

ParaNorman (2012)

Sofa score: 3 Rated PG for “mild scary scenes, violence, innuendo”.

The BBFC says the threatening scenes are “lightened by comedy and often have reassuring outcomes”, though a severed head does appear briefly “in a comic context”.

Norman can talk to ghosts, which makes him an outcast at school, and he’s the only one who can save his town from a centuries-old witch’s curse. It’s from Laika, the stop-motion studio behind Coraline. The zombies are more pathetic than scary. It also deals with bullying and grief, so it’s worth a chat afterwards.

Coraline (2009)

Sofa score: 3 Rated PG.

The BBFC’s case study says the “air of spookiness” becomes “increasingly menacing”, but that the comedy, the stop-motion style and “a reassuring happy ending” keep it at PG.

This is the one to watch yourself before you show it to anyone under seven. The Other Mother with button eyes is properly unsettling, and some adults find it creepier than proper horror films. For a brave eight-year-old, though, it’s brilliant.

Tips for a scare-free film night

Watch in the daytime, or at least early evening, when it’s still light outside. It changes everything. Let your child hold the remote. Being able to pause a scary bit (or skip it) gives them control, and a child who feels in control is far less likely to be frightened. Many will never press it.

Talk about how the film was made. Stop-motion films like Coraline and ParaNorman are brilliant for this, because you can look up clips of the animators moving tiny puppets one frame at a time, and a puppet is much harder to be scared of.

Finish with something silly. A cartoon or a daft song before bed takes the edge off whatever the last scene was.

If they do get scared

It happens. Even a U can catch a sensitive child off guard, usually at a moment you’d never have predicted. Don’t brush it off. Telling a frightened four-year-old “it’s only a film” rarely lands, because to them it didn’t feel like only a film.

Pause it, ask what the scary bit was, and let them explain it in their own words. Then show them it’s pretend.

Look up the voice actors, find behind-the-scenes photos, or rewatch the scary scene with the sound off. A monster with no music and no roar is just a puppet pulling a face, and most kids work that out within about ten seconds. Some children would rather stop, and that’s fine too.

Switching to something else for the evening doesn’t mean they’ve failed Halloween. Many come back a year later. Bedtime is when the delayed fright tends to arrive. A hall light and a quick chat about the funniest bit of the film usually do the job.

I’ve always found that a film doesn’t need blood or gore to be unsettling. Sometimes it’s the music, the atmosphere or one particularly creepy character that stays with you long after the credits roll.

A few children really don’t enjoy being scared, even a little. They don’t have to. Pumpkin carving, a costume and a bag of sweets make a perfectly good Halloween on their own.

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