So, you’re sitting at home on Halloween night, flickering jack-o-lanterns grinning on the porch, the wind moaning around your house (and, if you live in Southern California right now, the air conditioning on), and you’re wondering: what can I possibly watch on the TV that I haven’t seen before?

Well, buckle up, kids, HorrorBuzz is here to the rescue, with a bunch of scary suggestions for your All Hallow’s Eve pleasure. Some of these are creepy, some of these are funny, some of these are just plain weird, but they all have that certain Halloween spirit we’ve come to appreciate.

It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

The perennial favorite, the hands-down best animated Halloween special, and reigning champ for nearly sixty years (!!!). It’s got some great gags, a beautifully-animated sequence of Snoopy, the World War I flying ace, trapped behind enemy lines in France, and a really nice snapshot of a simpler time when “tricks-or-treats” was the highlight of a kid’s entire month.

Garfield’s Halloween Adventure aka Garfield in Disguise

I’m not a big fan of the orange fat cat, so I wasn’t expecting to like this much, but I was pleasantly surprised by it. Garfield and Odie dress up as pirates in order to get “Candy candy candy candy candy!” And there are some genuinely creepy moments, when Garfield and Odie stumble across an old man’s cabin, and he relates a scary story about ghostly pirates and their buried treasure. The animation on him is something to behold, for sure.

Gary Larson’s Tales From the Far Side

Holy cow. This was an unexpected treat. Just like Larson’s comic, be prepared for a surreal, spooky, occasionally tasteless and often just plain odd series of vignettes, with little throw-away gags in the backgrounds, filled with zombies, monsters, headhunters, aliens, and all manner of creepy creatures. Directed by Marv Newland (“Bambi Meets Godzilla“).

The Paul Lynde Halloween Special

Betty White. Billy Barty. Tim Conway. KISS. Florence Henderson. Donny and Marie Osmond. Margaret Hamilton. Billie Hayes. And, of course, Paul Lynde himself. If anybody reads that cast list and doesn’t immediately drop everything to  watch this 1976 camp classic, then I don’t want to know you. Seriously. It is capital-F-Fabulous.

The Worst Witch

Oh, poor little Mildred, just can’t do anything right in her first year at witch school. Will she ever pass her exams and become a real witch? She can’t make a proper spell, she crashes when she tries to fly her broom…and she’s stuck in the worst special effects in a long time. I seriously feel bad picking this earnest production apart, since its heart is in the right place, and all the A-list talent (Fairuza Balk, Diana Rigg, Charlotte Rae) are trying very hard to make Halloween gold out of (very very cheap) straw, but you can’t ignore the bad writing, cheap effects, and seriously tacky songs. When Tim Curry shows up as the Grand Wizard to sing the stupidest Halloween song ever, you just gotta throw up your hands, turn off your brain, and settle in for some dumb fun.

Toy Story of Terror

The Toy Story gang are all back with a very fun little tale of fright for kids of all ages. Nothing too scary here: the toys are staying overnight in a motel when Mr. Potato Head goes missing. His friends go out to search for him and get more than they bargained for.

The Halloween that Almost Wasn’t (AKA The Night Dracula Saved The World)

Judd Hirsch as Dracula? Henry Gibson as Igor? John Schuck as Frankenstein’s monster? Mariette Hartley as a witch? Were you alive during the 80s? Then you probably recognize all those names, and you probably already have an idea of what you’re in for. Dracula has called all his monster friends together to fight a rumor that Halloween might be cancelled this year. Almost like a cross between the Groovie Ghoulies and a bad episode of Laugh-in.

The Halloween Tree

Based on the classic book by Ray Bradbury, this is a worthy animated adaptation that condenses the original story while keeping the main theme and ideas largely intact. Telling the story of Halloween and all its attendant rituals, we follow a group of young children who, while chasing after their sick friend Pip, run into Mr. Moundshroud who introduces them to The Halloween Tree and takes them on a magical, spookified journey. The animation isn’t the best, barely approaching Hanna-Barbara levels, but it is still a great little treat (and nice to hear the wonderful voice of Leonard Nimoy as Moundshroud).

Roseanne

Throughout its eight-season run, Roseanne became well-known for the terrific Halloween episodes they produced. There are seven to choose from, and I can heartily recommend each and every one. The cast looks like they are having a blast, and the makeup and effects are fun.

The Fat Albert Halloween Special

Fat Albert and the gang learn some valuable lessons (when did they ever not learn a valuable lesson?) on Halloween about tricks in a graveyard, treats for Mudfoot, and not judging a mean old lady by its cover. Nothing really to write home about, but pretty much on par for a typical Fat Albert episode.

Mad Monster Party?

First released in theaters (in March??) and later shown on television as a Halloween special, this one holds a precious place in my heart. I was obsessed with this show as a kid, and I could not get my face close enough to the screen when it was on. Voices by Boris Karloff, Phyllis Diller, and Allen Swift, it is animated in the same style as Nightmare Before Christmas, using little model figures and moving them bit-by-bit in order to show fluid movement. A very time-consuming method. Filled with goofy gags and catchy, jazzy songs, it really is a favorite treat of mine.

Ghostwatch (BBC)

Not as hard-to-find as it used to be, this special aired on the BBC on Halloween in 1992. I just saw this for the first time a few months ago, and I was blown away. Even though it was filmed months earlier, it was presented on TV as if it was a live program, complete with remote newsfeeds, viewers calling in to the program, actual well-known TV hosts as the hosts, and supernatural shenanigans. It prompted some controversy at the time, as viewers became disturbed by what they saw, assuming it all to be real. It was really ahead of its time, predating and predicting the current plethora of “ghost hunting” shows on our airwaves now, and, even though the acting is a little hokey, and the effects aren’t always the most realistic, there are a number of times I sat up and thought, “What was that? What did I just see?” Chilling. Frankly, the less you read about this before viewing, the better.

HorrorBuzz wishes you a very Happy Halloween!