You’re probably watching a lot of scary movies this October. Add some fun Halloween episodes to that list! TV shows have gifted us with a lot of cool costumes, parties, and scares. With this Halloween not being business as usual, hang out with your favorite characters to bring some fun to the holiday.
10. The Big Bang Theory – “The Imitation Perturbation” (Season 12, Episode 6)
If you only watched the first few seasons of The Big Bang Theory or are a few seasons behind like me, it’s still worth checking out the Halloween episode from season 12. Howard dresses up as Sheldon and imitates him! It’s the best costume I’ve ever seen on this show. But as you can see, the other characters bring it as well:
Bonus: Want more fun costumes? Check out “The Middle-Earth Paradigm” (season 1, episode 6), “The Good Guy Fluctuation” (season 5, episode 7), and “The Holographic Excitation” (season 6, episode 5).
Where to watch: HBO Max
9. The Vampire Diaries – “Haunted” (Season 1, Episode 7)
Vampire Diaries is a perfect binge for October with the vampires, werewolves, and witches, but the series even has a Halloween episode in the first season. Vicki is transitioning into a vampire, and it’s not going well due to her addictive personality. It’s also Halloween, and there’s a party at the school. Elena is dressed as a sexy nurse, and Bonnie and Caroline are witches. Vicki invites Jeremy to the party and ends up losing control, and Stefan has to step in. You’ve got the fun costumes and the intensity of an out-of-control vampire. It’s a great episode to add to your Halloween list.
Where to watch: HBO Max and Peacock
8. One Tree Hill – “An Attempt to Tip the Scales” (Season 3, Episode 4)
Season three is one of my favorites of One Tree Hill. Episode four is particularly good too. Putting aside the fact that it’s a Halloween episode, there’s a lot to enjoy, including Haley trying to find a way back to Nathan, Brooke is still playing hard to get with Luke, Haley and Brooke have an amazing apartment, and Dan is running for Mayor, with Deb driving him crazy. Then, you add in a fun costume party at Trick with Fall Out Boy performing. What’s not to enjoy?
Plus, the costumes are amazing. Haley is dressed as Sandy from Grease, Brooke is a sexy devil in a costume she makes, Peyton is an angel of death, Mouth is Tony from Saturday Night Fever, and Nathan is Batman. Brooke tricks Luke, and he ends up going as Tommy Lee instead of Jack from Pirates of the Caribbean, which is a shame because he was incredibly sexy in it. Drama and costumes! The perfect viewing experience.
Bonus: For more Halloween fun from One Tree Hill, check out “Not Afraid” (season 8, episode 6). Brooke is dressed as one half of a Clockwork Orange, and the kids have a great group costume, Harry, Hermione, and Ron.
Where to watch: Hulu
7. How I Met Your Mother – “Slutty Pumpkin” (Season 1, Episode 6)
I couldn’t create a Halloween episode list without the “Slutty Pumpkin.” In season one of How I Met Your Mother, Ted introduces us to his dream girl he met on Halloween whom he’s still pining for. His romantic streak runs deep, and so does his faith in finding the one. The story of the Slutty Pumpkin is hilarious, especially the way it’s told. Ted tells the story to Robin, and the rest of the crew chime in because they’ve heard it a million times. Aside from the backstory and Ted waiting to see her again, you’ve got Marshal dressed up as a pirate (we get the pirate in this show), and Lilly is dressed as his parrot. The best couple costume ever! Plus, Barney cycles through a few costumes, including a flight pilot, devil and a penguin.
Bonus: If you want to check out the end to the Slutty Pumpkin story, check out “The Slutty Pumpkin Returns” (season 7, episode 8). For even more How I Met Your Mother Halloween fun, watch “Canning Randy” (season 6, episode7).
Where to watch: Hulu
6. Grey’s Anatomy – “Thriller” (Season 10, Episode 7)
Halloween is always a treat for the doctors in the ER of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. There are many fun, creepy patients for Halloween, but there are particularly two that stand out in this episode. The man who survives two bullets in his heart and his organs are on the opposite side of his body, and he seems like a zombie. He even bites Leah! Talk about a too real Halloween. She’s fine, by the way. There’s also a creepy older woman that’s looking for Heather and keeps disappearing. It’s like there’s a ghost in the hospital.
Grey’s always does well with holiday fun.
Bonus: Want more? Check out “Haunt You Every Day” (season 4, episode 5). It has a little boy trick-or-treating for ears. It’s so cute.
Where to watch: Netflix
5. New Girl – “Keaton” (Season 3, Episode 6)
The second season of New Girl has a great Halloween episode, but this one is even funnier. Nick has taken over from Schmidt’s mother pretending to be Michael Keaton, writing him emails helping him navigate his life. Jess intervenes when she needs Schmidt not to attend her Halloween party because Cece will be there. Schmidt overhears Jess, Winston, and Nick plotting the next Keaton email and decides to attend the party after all. Chaos ensues. If the funny shenanigans aren’t enough, the gang all have great costumes. Schmidt is a “Civil Serpent,” Jess is Joey Ramona Quimby (inspired by one of her students), Winston is David Letterman, and Nick once again pulls off a low-key costume, Birthday Boy King.
Bonus: “Halloween” (season 2, episode 6) is also worth watching for more fun costumes.
Where to watch: Netflix
4. Friends – “The One With the Halloween Party” (Season 8, Episode 6)
I had difficulty deciding where to place the Friends’ Halloween episode. It’s a classic and deserves to be on this list, but there are a variety of Halloween episodes ranging from similar to this one to scary ones to episodes full of drama. Ultimately, I placed it at number four because it never gets old seeing Chandler dress up as a pink bunny and Ross as Doody. Plus, Joey is dressed up as Chandler. If we can’t attend Halloween parties this year, we can at least relive a great one.
Where to watch: HBO Max
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – “Fear Itself” (Season 4, Episode 4)
While season four of Buffy had its ups and downs, “Fear Itself” was a standout episode. One of the fraternity houses is having a Halloween party, and you have to go through a haunted house to get to it. It appears to be just a fun Halloween, but the fraternity brothers accidentally draw a symbol that conjures a demon when blood is dropped on it. So, the haunted house turns real, and Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Oz have to not only get through it but also survive it. It’s a funny, creepy episode to enjoy on Halloween.
Bonus: While monsters stray away from Halloween, Buffy and the gang love it. In “Halloween” (season 2, episode 6), the gang turns into their costumes, and in “All the Way” (season 6, episode 6) the monsters come out to play on All Hallows Eve.
Where to watch: Hulu
2. Pretty Little Liars – “This is A Dark Ride” (Season 3, Episode 13)
Pretty Little Liars came close to being number one on my list. These liars know how to do a great Halloween special. “This is A Dark Ride” is the best of them. The costumes are amazing – Hannah is Marlin Monroe, Aria is Daisy Buchanan from The Great Gatsby, Spencer and Toby are a mobster couple, and Emly is Barbarella. Not only that, it’s nice and scary as Aria gets kidnapped, and the body that was in Allison’s grave makes a surprise appearance at the end. PLL can scare you in a typical episode, too, but this one brings the right amount of Halloween festivities to make it a great viewing experience for the spooky season. Costumes and screaming. A perfect combination.
Bonus: If you’re in the PLL mood, check out “The First Secret” (season 2, episode 13), where you can go back in time to see the liars dress up and attend a Halloween party with Allison. The other Halloween special was “Grave New World” (season 4, episode 13). While it doesn’t take place on Halloween, it brings a lot of creep factor to it.
Where to watch: HBO Max
1. Supernatural – “The Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester” (Season 4, Episode 7)
“The Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester” is one of my most-watched Supernatural episodes. It doesn’t get any better than watching Sam and Dean go after Samhain on Halloween. He is one of the oldest demons in existence, and the Celtics used to worship him on All Hallows Eve. Sam and Dean aren’t wearing costumes, but you do get to see Sam improvise to save them from Samhain – they used to wear masks to hide from him, Sam says, and Sam covers him and Dean in blood, and it works! Bonus, Ashely Benson guest stars on this episode, so if you were disappointed I didn’t put PLL as number one, you can still get one of the liars here.
Another Bonus: If you want to see Sam and Dean enjoy Halloween and not just fight monsters, check out “Last Holiday” from the current season. It’s very brief, but you can see them carve pumpkins (this episode is on The CW app.)
Where to watch: Netflix
What are you binging this Halloween? Tweet me @MandyTTCarr or comment below.
