Halloween specials are where television shows get to misbehave. Plots become stranger, costumes get sillier, the lighting suddenly goes moody, and even the most normal sitcom characters find themselves dealing with monsters, ghosts, cursed parties, or at the very least, embarrassing fancy dress. Some of these episodes are spooky, some are completely ridiculous, and some are oddly emotional, but they all share one thing: they are endlessly rewatchable every October.
This list rounds up ten of the most beloved Halloween-themed episodes across comedy, horror, animation and sci-fi. From legendary parodies and chaotic parties to haunted houses and outbreaks of suspiciously zombie-like behaviour, these are the perfect picks for a cosy night in. Grab some snacks, dim the lights, and prepare for nostalgia, chaos and quite a lot of fake blood.
10. Modern Family – “Halloween” (Season 2, 2010)
Modern Family turned Halloween into a family project. Claire goes completely overboard trying to create the ultimate haunted house experience, and drags the rest of the family into her spooky vision. Naturally, everything falls apart in the most dramatic and public way possible. It is fun, fast, mildly stressful if you have a perfectionist streak, and full of quotable moments.
What makes it great is the balance between chaos and warmth. Underneath the fake cobwebs and dodgy make-up, it is about how everyone in the family shows up for each other, even if they are suffering through it. A perfect Halloween watch if you prefer a laugh to a fright.
9. The X-Files – “The Post-Modern Prometheus” (Season 5, 1997)
Stylishly filmed in black and white, this episode is a love letter to classic monster cinema. Mulder and Scully investigate reports of a deformed figure known as The Great Mutato, and what follows is part horror, part myth, part tragic comedy. It feels like a Halloween bedtime story told by someone who grew up on late-night monster movies.
It is frequently called one of the best episodes of The X-Files due to its bold visual style, offbeat tone and surprisingly tender ending. It is spooky without being gory, and clever without taking itself too seriously. A brilliant pick if you like Halloween that leans gothic and dramatic.
8. Community – “Epidemiology” (Season 2, 2010)
Greendale Community College throws a fancy dress party that very quickly becomes a quarantine situation. A dodgy batch of leftover canteen food turns the students into rage-fuelled, biting, zombie-like creatures. The study group has to fight their way through the building, stay alive, and ideally avoid getting bitten by their own friends. All of this unfolds to an ABBA soundtrack, which makes it even funnier.
The writing is razor sharp, the references to horror films come thick and fast, and there are brilliant character moments throughout. Fans often rank this as one of the best episodes of Community full stop. It is Halloween nonsense at its absolute finest.
7. Bob’s Burgers – “Full Bars” (Season 3, 2012)
The Belcher kids decide they are too old for baby sweets and sneak off to get proper trick-or-treating done on King’s Head Island, where the rich people live and the houses give out full-size chocolate bars. Naturally, it does not go to plan. Meanwhile, the adults get tangled up in a ridiculous “whodunnit” involving a murdered guinea pig.
It is playful, fast and packed with candy-obsessed energy. The kids’ plot captures that perfect Halloween feeling of thinking you are extremely grown up when actually you are still in a pair of wonky plastic fangs. If animated sitcoms are your comfort watch, this one belongs in your queue.
6. The Office (US) – “Halloween” (Season 2, 2005)
Set almost entirely in the Dunder Mifflin office, this episode sees Michael Scott in a two-headed costume, desperately trying to work out who he has to fire by the end of the day. The rest of the staff are in various levels of effort with their outfits, from full commitment to “I put on a cape so now I am Count Something.”
It is one of those episodes that is not supernatural at all, yet still counts as a Halloween classic because of how instantly recognisable it is. It showcases awkward humour, petty rivalry and deeply relatable workplace energy. Anyone who has ever had an office fancy dress day will feel seen.
5. Stranger Things – “Trick or Treat, Freak” (Season 2, 2017)
Set on Halloween night in 1984, this episode follows the Hawkins kids as they go trick-or-treating dressed as the Ghostbusters, while Will continues to struggle with his visions of the Upside Down. The nostalgic 80s atmosphere is perfect: neon costumes, small-town autumn streets, and that constant sense that something is not quite right.
It is a brilliant midpoint between cosy and unsettling. You get genuine friendship moments and retro fun, along with looming dread and supernatural tension. If your ideal Halloween watch is kids-on-bikes adventure with actual monsters lurking in the background, this is the one.
4. Brooklyn Nine-Nine – “Halloween” / “Halloween Heist” (Season 1, 2013)
The first Halloween Heist episode kicks off what became a beloved yearly tradition for Brooklyn Nine-Nine. The basic idea: members of the squad compete to steal a chosen object and be crowned “the ultimate detective slash genius.” It is ruthless, ridiculous and wonderfully over-dramatic. There are costumes, misdirection, fake alliances and betrayals that would make Shakespeare proud.
While later Heist episodes become even more elaborate, the original has a scrappy charm and sets the tone for one of the show’s best running jokes. It is less about horror and more about friendly chaos and competitive nonsense, which is a very specific Halloween vibe.
3. Friends – “The One with the Halloween Party” (Season 8, 2001)
The gang throws a Halloween party, and it immediately turns into a wonderfully silly costume showcase. Chandler is stuck in a too-bright outfit he hates, Ross explains his baffling “Spudnik” costume to anyone who will listen, and Phoebe has an unexpected run-in with her twin’s fiancé. There is also the extremely important subplot of who would win in a fight: Monica in a Catwoman suit or Joey dressed as Chandler.
It feels like classic comfort viewing. The jokes land quickly, the physical comedy is fantastic, and the whole thing is basically 22 minutes of pure nostalgia dressed in plastic capes and rubber masks.
2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – “Fear, Itself” (Season 4, 1999)
It is Halloween in Sunnydale, which means someone, somewhere, is going to open a doorway to something horrible. The gang heads to a frat house party that becomes genuinely haunted, trapping everyone inside and forcing them to face their deepest fears. Buffy feels abandoned, Willow worries she cannot control her magic, Xander fears being ignored, and so on.
What makes it so good is the balance of real character drama and sharp comedy. There are proper scares, classic Buffy quips and a finale gag that remains one of the funniest payoffs in the entire series. If you like supernatural, this is essential October viewing.
1. The Simpsons – “Treehouse of Horror V” (Season 6, 1994)
No Halloween TV list is complete without The Simpsons. The “Treehouse of Horror” episodes became a seasonal tradition, and “Treehouse of Horror V” is often called the best of the lot. It features three mini-stories, including a pitch-perfect parody of The Shining, plus time travel chaos and a school cafeteria situation that is much darker than you would expect from a cartoon about a yellow family.
It is fast, referential and packed with jokes that still hold up decades later. The episode also helped cement the idea that Halloween television could be anything it wanted to be: spooky, silly, violent, surreal and still somehow sweet. If you only watch one Halloween special, make it this one.
Final Thoughts
Halloween TV episodes are comforting in a very specific way. They let familiar characters break routine, wear something ridiculous, fight something impossible, or occasionally get turned into the undead. Some of them lean into proper horror, some are basically costume parties with bonus plot, and some are love letters to the spooky stories we grow up with.
If you are planning a themed watch night, you could easily build a line-up from this list and cover everything from family-friendly chaos to full-on monster trouble. Bring snacks, light a pumpkin-scented candle, and enjoy the shrieks, laughs and extremely questionable outfits.
What to Watch Next
Which Halloween TV episodes did we miss? Everyone has that one special they rewatch every year, so let us know your favourites. Do you go for classic American sitcoms, 90s horror vibes, or something more recent and strange?
If you are in the mood to keep things spooky, you might also like to explore the top haunted places in the UK for some real-world chills, or check out some classic horror films that still make people nervous to turn off the lights for your next film night.
For more information on the shows and casts mentioned above, you can browse episode guides and trivia on IMDb. You can also find production backgrounds and interviews on Variety, one of the leading entertainment industry publications.
Happy Halloween viewing.