Every October, millions of Americans spend Halloween night watching horror movies. Dozens of spooky, Halloween-themed films play on TV throughout the month. 

But Halloween doesn’t have to be scary. In fact, watching cute and festive Halloween movies is a better way to celebrate than watching scary movies.

I love scary movies. The suspense is thrilling, and it’s fun to theorize about who will get killed next, but horror movies are predictable. However, most popular horror movies reuse the same tired tropes, whether it be found footage, demonic possession, or having the villain pick off the survivors one by one. They’re predictable. 

While more festive movies like “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” probably aren’t thrilling in the same way “Halloween” or “The Conjuring” are, they set the tone for the holiday in a much better way. 

The red and orange watercolor leaves in “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” match the falling leaves outside, and watching kids trick-or-treat onscreen in “Hocus Pocus” embodies the excitement and anticipation for Halloween. 

Unlike horror movies, there’s also much more variety to family-oriented Halloween movies. 

Of course, these movies have their own tropes, and many of them follow the same formula where a group of kids has to defeat evil. And in that sense, family-oriented Halloween movies don’t seem much better than horror movies. 

But they’re much more creative than horror movies. Even while using the same tropes, these movies have completely different aesthetics, and that’s what makes them so enjoyable to watch year after year. 

Take “Coraline,” for example. The unsettling black button eyes of the characters and the classic Tim-Burton-esque way of twisting the Other Mother into a monster are both actually spooky and have a much different style than the lighthearted, friendly nature of Casper. 

I agree; it’s fun to curl up on the couch with the lights off and holding a big bowl of popcorn to watch a scary movie on a chilly October night. But the effects of watching a scary movie are the same no matter what time of year they’re viewed. 

But you probably wouldn’t watch “Halloweentown” or “Hocus Pocus” in July. It just wouldn’t pack the same punch that it does during October, when witches, pumpkins and bright orange leaves are making their annual comeback. 

As a horror fan, I will definitely have my fill of watching classic horror movies on Halloween night. But I won’t forget to throw in some fun, festive movies, too — ‘tis the season, after all.