Halloween approaches, and as with every big celebration, TV is here to pander to our collective nostalgia with a torrent of holiday-themed films from decades past. We’ve combed the listings to create a daily viewing schedule to tide you over until the big 3-1. It goes without saying that all films on offer pair excellently with fun-sized candy bars.
Thursday 10/20: Hocus Pocus (5 p.m., Freeform)
Because who doesn’t want to see Bette Midler lead a Halloween-themed band through a spooky rendition of “I Put a Spell On You” over and over until death do us part?
Friday 10/21: The Cabin in the Woods (5 p.m.) and Zombieland (7 p.m., SyFy)
Duck out of work early on Friday to catch Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard’s meta-horror-comedy The Cabin in the Woods. Make it a double feature with Zombieland, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, and Emma Stone as survivors of a zombie apocalypse.
Saturday 10/22: Sleepy Hollow (11:20 a.m., Freeform)
Start your weekend right: With Tim Burton’s foggy 1999 version of the legend of Sleepy Hollow, starring a frightfully pale Christina Ricci and Johnny Depp.
Sunday 10/23: Frankenstein Created Woman (8 p.m., Turner Classic Movies)
In this 1967 reimagining of the Mary Shelley classic, from the prolific horror director Terence Fisher, a young woman with a disfigured face is brought back from the dead — minus the physical aberration, of course — just long enough to avenge the death of her lover.
Monday 10/24: Practical Magic (7 p.m., Freeform)
Light some candles, fire up the margarita maker, and settle in with this ’90s classic starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock as Gillian and Sally Owens, witchy sisters facing down an ancestral curse that kills off any man who dares to love an Owens woman.
Tuesday 10/25: Addams Family Values (6 p.m., Freeform)
I think we can all agree this 1993 sequel is the finest of the Addams Family filmography — it’s the one where Wednesday (Christina Ricci, a figurehead of ’90s goth) and her brother, Pugsley (Jimmy Workman), wreak havoc on the poor, unsuspecting preps at summer camp.
Wednesday 10/26: The Purge (6 p.m.) and The Purge: Anarchy (8 p.m., FX)
You’ve made it this far; time to up the creepy quotient. FX is airing the first two installments in the Purge franchise back-to-back, if you want a peek at what Trump’s America might look like.
Thursday 10/27: A Nightmare on Elm Street (8 p.m., AMC)
Wes Craven’s 1984 classic introduced the world to both Johnny Depp and the terrifying nightmare-demon-slash-serial-killer Freddy Krueger, played by Robert Englund. Ready a notepad at your bedside to record your inevitable scary dreams — maybe the next Nightmare on Elm Street will be in there.
Friday 10/28: Dracula (1931) (8 p.m., Turner Classic Movies)
If you see one version of Dracula this Halloween season (we’ll make an exception for Dracula Dead and Loving It, of course), make it the classic 1931 version starring Hungarian transplant Bela Lugosi as the count.
Saturday 10/29: Poltergeist (8 p.m., HBO)
Settle in for a spooky Saturday night with this 1982 cult classic about an invasion of evil ghosts that abduct a young couple’s (Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams) daughter. Make sure to shut off your TV when it’s over, lest any lingering spirits attempt to use it as a portal.
Sunday 10/30: The World’s End (2 p.m.) and Shaun of the Dead (4:45 p.m., Comedy Central)
You deserve an afternoon of (dark) comedy after the horrific week this list has put you through. Treat yourself to a lazy Sunday with an Edgar Wright marathon on Comedy Central, starting with The World’s End, which depicts a pub crawl gone horribly wrong, followed by the 2004 zombie uprising comedy Shaun of the Dead.
Monday 10/31: The Shining (7:45 p.m., IFC)
Heeeere’s The Shining! Cap off your very spooky week with Stanley Kubrick’s classic 1980 adaptation of the same-named Stephen King novel, and congratulate yourself on making it through this slightly stressful week of horror and mayhem. Let the countdown to November 8 — the actual scariest night of the year — begin!