Spooky season may have multiple start dates, but things start getting real when Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween schedule comes out. And gather ‘round, ghouls, because that time is now. With just a little over four weeks until Oct. 1, Freeform is sharing the official lineup for the 31 Nights of Halloween programming that’s been around for years. It’s basically a family tradition for a lot of us at this point, and many of us can remember when the entire lineup used to just be 13 Nights of Halloween.
If you’re hoping for something totally new and different this year from Freeform, well, you’re actually kind of in luck. While the channel is known for showing Halloween favorites like Hocus Pocus, Beetlejuice, and Halloweentown over and over, this year Freeform has branched out a bit to bring some pretty fun network premieres, including Arachnophobia (eek), The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (oh yes, the animated classic), and Muppets from Space.
All of your traditional favorites are still there — you will see Hocus Pocus and its sequel from 2022 (a world television premiere) more than once — but I love the “new” movies being added in. It gives the Freeform 31 Nights of Halloween programming a bit of an extra vintage vibe, and since Halloween is one of those holidays full of nostalgia, I’m here for it.
While I think it’s almost a little rude to show Casper and Ghostbusters: Afterlife back-to-back (imagine what Venkman would do to that sweet little guy and his house of weirdo uncles), I’m extremely pleased with the line-up. Oct. 13, a Sunday, is made perfect with a Tim Burton marathon featuring all of your favorites, and there are plenty of double features throughout the program, including double features of Hocus Pocus and Pixar favorites like Monsters, Inc. and The Incredibles.
The above schedule is mostly primetime viewing, and I think it’s worth noting which movies will only be shown once during the block:
- Arachnophobia, Oct. 2 at 1 p.m.
- The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Oct. 4 at 2:30 p.m.
- Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Oct. 6 at 11:30 p.m.
- Hocus Pocus 2, Oct. 6 at 9 p.m.
- Encanto, October 9 at 8:50 p.m.
- Toy Story of Terror!, Oct. 11 at 3 p.m.
- Something Wicked This Way Comes, Oct. 12 at 11:55 p.m.
- Frankenweenie, October 13 at 12:30 p.m.
- Twitches, Oct. 15 at 11:30 a.m.
- The Haunted Mansion (2003), Oct. 16 at 6:50 p.m.
- Muppets From Space, Oct. 17 at 12:00 a.m.
- Little Shop of Horrors, Oct. 18 at 12:00 a.m.
- Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween, Oct. 21 at 4:00 p.m.
- Spider-Man: Far From Home, Oct. 22 at 5 p.m.
- Spider-Man: No Way Home, Oct. 22 at 7:55 p.m.
- Aladdin (2019), Oct. 24 at 5:55 p.m.
And, of course, you can expect to catch Hocus Pocus 10 times during the primetime 31 Nights of Halloween block. If you’re a big Halloweentown fan, there will be a double feature from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Oct. 10, but you won’t catch it again in the primetime blocks.
So, get your popcorn ready and go ahead and schedule out which nights you need all the family together on the couch. Sisters! We’ve waited 300 years! (OK, more like less than 12 months, but it feels like 300 years.)
