The Best Scary Movies for Kids By Age
This Halloween, many families have big plans to stay home and watch a scary movie. Which scary movie should you watch? That all depends on the age of your kids and their tolerance for witches, ghosts and monsters. Will zombies give them nightmares? How about zombies dressed as high school cheerleaders singing musical numbers?
There are plenty of “scary” movies your kids can watch without getting nightmares afterward. Or, you can up the ante and see if your kids enjoy a little spookiness. My kids surprised me. For instance, I found Coraline terrifying, but my kids loved it. They also didn’t get scared watching Hocus Pocus or any of the Harry Potter movies. Meanwhile, 35 years after I saw Poltergeist, I am still scared of clowns.
I asked everyone to share their favorite scary movies for kids and then I put together a list by age (based on what’s recommended by Common Sense Media) from 3 to 16 . I left out the whole teen horror movie genre and slasher movies like Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street, because those are really movies you should not be watching with your parents. I went with more family friendly fare, even in the scariest category.
Not Too Scary (Ages 6 and under)
1) Room on the Broom
Where to watch: Netflix
Recommended age: 3
2) Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest
Where to watch: Hulu
Recommended age: 3
3) It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
Where to watch: Apple TV
Recommended age: 4
4) Super Monsters Save Halloween
Where to watch: Netflix
Recommended age: 4
5) Monsters Inc
Where to watch: Disney
Recommended age: 5
6) Toy Story of Terror
Where to watch: Disney
Recommended age: 6
7) Hotel Transylvania
Where to watch: Hulu
Recommended age: 7
Slightly More Scary (Ages 7 )
8) Coco
Where to watch: Netflix, Disney
Recommended age: 7
9) The Addams Family (2019)
Where to watch: Prime Video, Hulu
Recommended age: 7
10) Halloweentown
Where to watch: Disney
Recommended age: 7
11) Scoob!
Where to watch: HBO Max
Recommended age: 7
12) The Little Vampire (2018)
Where to watch: Netflix
Recommended age: 7
13) Nightmare Before Christmas
Where to watch: Disney
Recommended age: 7
14) E.T.
Where to watch: Prime Video (rent for $3.99)
Recommended age: 7
15) Little Monsters (1989)
Where to watch: Prime Video
Recommended age: 8
16) Zombies
Where to watch: Disney
Recommended age: 8
17) The Spiderwick Chronicles
Where to watch: Prime video
Recommended age: 8
18) Labyrinth
Where to watch: Prime Video (rent for $3.99)
Recommended age: 8
19) Casper
Where to watch: Hulu
Recommended age: 8
20) Goosebumps
Where to watch: Netflix
Recommended age: 9
21) Don’t Look Under the Bed
Where to watch: Disney
Recommended age: 9
22) Coraline
Where to watch: Hulu
Recommended age: 9
23) Harry Potter Series
Where to watch: Peacock TV, Prime Video (rent for $3.99)
Recommended age: 7 through 12
Scarier, But Still Not Really that Scary (Ages 10 )
24) Hocus Pocus
Where to watch: Disney
Recommended age: 10
25) Monster House
Where to watch: Hulu
Recommended age: 10
26) Haunted Mansion
Where to watch: Disney
Recommended age: 10
27) ParaNorman
Where to watch: Netflix
Recommended age: 10
28) FrankenWeenie
Where to watch: Disney
Recommended age: 10
29) Into the Woods
Where to watch: Prime Video
Recommended age: 10
30) The Corpse Bride
Where to watch: Hulu
Recommended age: 10
31) The Witches (2020)
Where to watch: HBO Max
Recommended age: 10
32) Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting
Where to watch: Netflix
Recommended age: 11
33) The House With A Clock in It’s Walls
Where to watch: Hulu
Recommended age: 11
34) Ghostbusters (1984)
Where to watch: Prime Video (rent for $2.99)
Recommended age: 11
35) Ghostbusters (2016)
Where to watch:
Recommended age: 11
36) The Addams Family (1991)
Where to watch: Netflix
Recommended age: 12
37) The Vampire’s Assistant
Where to watch: Netflix
Recommended age: 12
38) Gremlins
Where to watch: Netflix, Disney
Recommended age: 12
39) The ‘Burbs
Where to watch: Hulu
Recommended age: 13
40) Drop Dead Fred
Where to watch: Hulu
Recommended age: 13
41) Edward Scissorhands
Where to watch: Hulu
Recommended age: 13
42) Fun Size
Where to watch: Prime Video
Recommended age: 13
43) Hubie Halloween
Where to watch: Netflix
Recommended age: 13
44) Beetlejuice
Where to watch: Prime Video (rent for $3.99)
Recommended age: 13
Scary (Ages 14 )
45) Poltergeist (1982)
Where to watch: Netflix
Recommended age: 14
46) The Sixth Sense
Where to watch: Prime Video
Recommended age: 14
47) Scream
Where to watch: Prime Video
Recommended age: 16
48) Dark Shadows
Where to watch: Hulu
Recommended age: 14
49) The Village
Where to watch: Prime Video
Recommended age: 14
50) The Others
Where to watch: Hulu
Recommended age: 14
51) The Shining
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
Recommended Age: 16
55) Blair Witch Project
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime
Recommended age: 16
What’s your favorite scary movie to watch as a family?
The post The Best Scary Movies for Kids By Age appeared first on Mommy Shorts.
