Day 1 of Freeform's '31 Nights of Halloween' Is a Millennial Dream: 5 Freaky Films You Can Watch Today

Mar. 15, 2025

Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy in ‘Hocus Pocus’; Joey Zimmerman, Emily Roeske, Debbie Reynolds, Kimberly J. Brown in ‘Halloweentown’.Photo:Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock; Singer White/Ventura Valley Film/Kobal/Shutterstock

Sarah Jessica Parker, Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy Hocus Pocus; Joey Zimmerman, Emily Roeske, Debbie Reynolds, Kimberly J Brown Halloweentown

Disney/Kobal/Shutterstock; Singer White/Ventura Valley Film/Kobal/Shutterstock

Get your popcorn and pumpkin spice:spooky seasonis upon us, and Freeform has the perfect lineup for day one.

The networkrecently unveiledits “31 Nights of Halloween” schedule, and is starting Oct. 1 strong with ’90s and early ’00s fan-favorite films that will have a certain segment of the population feeling all the nostalgic feels.

Halloweentownstarts the seasonal celebration, with a 1 p.m. airing of the franchise’s first film.

Joey Zimmerman, Emily Roeske, Debbie Reynolds, Kimberly J. Brown in “Halloweentown”.Disney

Halloweentown

At 90s Con in Daytona Beach, Fla., last month,Brown told PEOPLEthat fans ask her about another film “literally every day,” adding, “the possibilities are endless.”

Dina Waters, Wallace Shawn, Eddie Murphy, Marc John Jefferies, Aree Davis in “The Haunted Mansion”.Walt Disney/courtesy Everett Collection

THE HAUNTED MANSION, Dina Waters, Wallace Shawn, Eddie Murphy, Marc John Jeffries, Aree Davis, 2003

Walt Disney/courtesy Everett Collection

Next up, audiences will be treated to a 3 p.m. airing of the originalThe Haunted Mansion. TheEddie Murphy-led film, which was released in 2003, is based on the Disney theme park attraction of the same name. In it, Murphy stars alongside Marsha Thomason, Wallace Shawn, Jennifer Tilly and Dina Spybey-Waters.

The movie tells the story of two real estate agents, Murphy and Thomason, who get trapped in a haunted mansion in the Louisiana Bayou with their two children.

Twenty years later,Disney remade the filmwith a somewhat spookier approach. The new film starredRosario Dawson,LaKeith Stanfield,Tiffany Haddish,Owen Wilson,Danny DeVito,Jared LetoandJamie Lee Curtis. There’s also a 2021 take on the tale starring the Muppets.

“The Nightmare Before Christmas”.Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock

‘The Nightmare Before Christmas’.

Touchstone/Kobal/Shutterstock

The film follows Jack Skellington (Chris Sarandon, with the singing voice ofDanny Elfman), the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, who becomes obsessed with Christmas Town and recreating it in his home world. With help from rag doll Sally (Catherine O’Hara), he learns the importance of being true to one’s self, as well as the real meaning of the Christmas spirit.

Michael Keaton in 1988’s ‘Beetlejuice’.Warner Brothers /courtesy Everett

BEETLEJUICE, Michael Keaton (center), 1988

Warner Brothers /courtesy Everett

Another Tim Burton flick will follow at 6:45 p.m., when the director’s originalBeetlejuicewill air. The film premiered in 1988, and follows a recently deceased couple (Alec BaldwinandGeena Davis) now “living” as ghosts confined to their home. They contact Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), a sleazy spirit who “helps” haunt the house, but soon he becomes dangerous to the couple and the living tenant’s daughter, Lydia (Winona Ryder).

Alongside Baldwin, Davis, Keaton and Ryder, the film also starsCatherine O’Hara. The latter three returned for the film’s sequel,Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, which premiered last month and also starsJenna OrtegaandJustin Theroux.

Kathy Najimy, Bette Midler, and Sarah Jessica Parker in ‘Hocus Pocus’.AJ Pics / Alamy

Hocus PoKathy Najimy, Bette Middler, and Sarah Jessica Parker in ‘Hocus Pocus’.cus

AJ Pics / Alamy

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The Sanderson sisters reunited for a sequel in 2022, breaking streaming records on Disney+ whenHocus Pocus 2debuted. AthirdHocus Pocusfilmwas announced in June 2023.

source: people.com