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There’s something about a Halloween TV episode that takes you right back: the iconic costumes, the over-the-top scares and the hijinks that make you want to revisit your favorite shows year after year.
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From supernatural showdowns to office-party disasters, the best Halloween TV episodes deliver a little bit of everything spooky season has to offer.
Whether you’re in the mood for a nostalgic trip back to your favorite ’90s sitcoms, a few genuinely creepy twists or some hilariously ill-fated scares, these 10 episodes are a surefire way to trick your mind into the treat of the Halloween spirit.
10 best Halloween TV episodes to watch ahead of the spooky holiday:
1. The Simpsons, “Treehouse of Horror” (season 2, episode 3)
This is the very first of 25 years of special episodes of The Simpsons in celebration of All Hallow’s Eve from 1990. With a much darker tint than the rest of the seasons, parody plotlines and recurring characters like aliens Kang and Kodos, these thematic episodes top any true fan’s favorites list. And if you want more, The Simpsons has multiple Halloween episodes, but check out “Treehouse of Horror V” from 1994 (season 6, episode 6). Diehard fans agree that this one was an instant classic. From “The Shinning,” where Homer plays a schlumpy version of Jack Nicholson’s famed character Jack Torrance, to “Nightmare Cafeteria,” which features cannibalistic teachers cooking children at Bart’s elementary school, there’s a gory laugh for everyone.
Watch it on Hulu.
2. Boy Meets World, “And Then There Was Shawn” (season 5, episode 17)
One of the very best episodes of this 1990s classic is its Halloween special, where Cory (Ben Savage), Topanga (Danielle Fishel) and their friends get detention but things get freaky when everyone starts getting killed by ridiculous means. Feeny (William Daniels) gets stabbed by scissors, Eric (Will Friedle) and Feffy (Jennnifer Love Hewitt) are crushed by an avalanche of books, Angela (Trina McGee) and Jack (Matthew Lawrence) get pushed out of a window and Kenny (Richard Lee Jackson) is stabbed in the head with a pencil. It’s all a nightmare that Shawn (Rider Strong) is having while he’s in detention. Even the cast says it’s one of the most memorable episodes to have filmed.
Watch it on Disney+.
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “Halloween” (season 2, episode 6)
What if you actually became the character you portrayed on Halloween? That’s the fun premise of this 1997 episode of Buffy. The trio—Buffy (Sarah Michelle Gellar), Willow (Alyson Hannigan) and Xander (Nicholas Brendon)—are recruited to be trick-or-treat escorts for the neighborhood kids, so they rent their costumes from a shop in town. They and everyone who rented a costume there suddenly transform into their characters and chaos is released onto the streets. Buffy loses her ability to slay as she becomes a historic noblewoman in the dress she rented. Spike and his new minions get the better of her… it’s one of the most fun episodes and includes some good moments between Buffy and Angel (David Boreanaz).
Watch it on Hulu.
4. Supernatural, “It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester” (season 4, episode 7)
Just before Halloween, Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) investigate two mysterious deaths in a small town and find hex bags and deduce that a witch is sacrificing people to summon a demon named Samhain—one of the Seals needed to free Lucifer. Because of that Castiel (Misha Collins) brings in a specialist angel named Uriel (Robert Wisdom) to smite the entire town. The episode from 2008 contains trick-or-treaters, witch hexes, angels and demons, zombies and ghosts and some good, old-fashioned investigation by the brothers.
Watch it on Peacock.
5. The Office, “Halloween” (season 2, episode 5)
This one is full of memes. In this 2005 episode, Halloween turns out to be quite a stressful day when Michael (Steve Carrell) and his team learns that he has to fire an employee by the end of the month. Michael is unsurprisingly ill-equipped to make the decision but it’s made funnier thanks to his costume: a bobbling papier-mâché second head. He tries firing a few different people and causes the office to crash out, which spurs on Jim (John Krasinski) to tell Pam (Jenna Fischer) how he really feels (a big moment). This is also the episode where Dwight (Rainn Wilson) dresses up as a Sith Lord (he says it’s Anakin Skywalker) from Star Wars. It’s a classic The Office episode with the fun of Halloween hijinks.
Watch it on Peacock.
6. Brooklyn Nine-Nine, “Halloween” (season 1, episode 6)
As the first of the show's famous annual precinct heists, this one from 2013 is a classic. It’s a typically busy Halloween night at the precinct, but despite that, Jake (Andy Samberg) bets Holt (Andre Braugher) that he can steal his Medal of Valor before midnight to prove he’d be a better perp than anyone. Santiago (Melissa Fumero), who is not a Halloween person, has to go undercover at a warehouse party with Charles (Joe Lo Truglio) and Terry (Terry Crews) wants to figure out why Rosa (Stephanie Beatriz) was kicked out of Catholic school. Costumes abound in this episode, which makes it extra fun to watch.
Watch it on Netflix.
7. Bob’s Burgers, “The Hauntening” (season 6, episode 3)
This is the show’s fourth Halloween-themed episode, but definitely the best. Louise complains that she never gets scared after visiting a haunted house, so Bob and Linda make a haunted house that they think will do the trick. We get to see all sorts of spooky inventions they come up with and learn what actually freaks Louise out.
Watch it on Hulu.
8. Parks and Recreation, “Meet ‘n’ Greet” (season 4, episode 5)
As one of the most memorable episodes from the series, “Meet ‘n’ Greet,” from 2011, puts Ben (Adam Scott) in a very awkward place as his roommates April (Aubrey Plaza) and Andy (Chris Pratt) throw a surprise Halloween house party, while Leslie (Amy Poehler) hires Tom's Entertainment 720 to organize a meet and greet for her and the Pawnee business owners she hopes to court their votes for her race for City Council. None of it goes well.
Watch it on Peacock.
9. The X-Files, “Bad Blood” (season 5, episode 12)
From 1998, “Bad Blood” follows Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) recount the events that led up to Mulder killing a teen boy he thought was a vampire. We’re given each of their accounts of what happened, which feature interesting differences that make you wonder which is true. It’s one of the highest-rated episodes and Halloween episodes throughout the series, but if you want more, check out season 2, episode 20, “Humbug,” where the duo searches for a killer in a Florida town inhabited by sideshow performers, and season 5, episode 5, “The Post-Modern Prometheus,” a loose retelling of Frankenstein.
Watch it on Hulu.
10. BoJack Horseman, “Mr. Peanutbutter’s Boos” (season 5, episode 8)
We’re taken to the past in this Halloween episode at BoJack’s (Will Arnett) annual Halloween party. Mr. Peanutbutter (Paul F. Tompkins) takes a trip down memory lane with Pickles (Hong Chau) reminiscing first about Halloween 1993 when he took his wife Katrina (Lake Bell) to the party, then to 2004 with his then-wife Jessica Biel (playing herself), and to 2009 when he’s married to Diane (Alison Brie). He realizes in each scenario he wanted to have the best Halloween ever and ended in a fight with his current partner. Maybe he’s the problem? The timely costumes throughout is really a great touch.
Watch it on Netflix.
Honorable mention: “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” special (1966)
Though it first aired for youthful audiences back in the ‘60s, this fall special continues to broadcast each year to the delight of both young kids and nostalgic older audiences. While most of the Peanuts Gang concern themselves with finding the perfect Halloween costume, wise young Linus stakes out the patch and awaits the Great Pumpkin’s arrival.
Watch it on Apple TV or for free on YouTube.