Halloween is the time for costumes, candy, and trick-or-treating, but there’s another time-honored tradition to get into the spooky spirit: the Halloween special. From Linus sitting in a pumpkin patch to catch a glimpse of the Great Pumpkin on Halloween night in the 1966 classic It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, to Casper the Friendly Ghost scaring up a lesson in haunting at Casper’s Scare School, here’s how to watch Halloween specials for boys and ghouls of all ages — including for free.
Looking for more frightful fare for grown-ups? Reference our guide on how to watch the Halloween movies in order, the most overlooked horror movies to watch in October, and the best horror movies you can watch online for free this Halloween.
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It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: How to Watch the Peanuts Halloween Special
Costumes, candy, this classic special — some things just scream Halloween. Join the Peanuts gang for a timeless adventure as Charlie Brown preps for a party, Snoopy sets his sights on the Red Baron, and Linus patiently awaits a pumpkin patch miracle.
You can watch It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on Apple TV+.
Casper’s Scare School: The Movie — A Halloween Special
Casper has to be able to graduate through Scare School before he gets banished to the valley of the shadows forever. He goes on many adventures with the students that attend there. As a result of Casper being too friendly when playing with a boy named Jimmy, Kibosh, The King of the Underworld, has Casper enrolled into a Scare School headed by the two-headed headmaster Alder and Dash. He befriends Ra, a mummy with unraveling issues and Mantha, a zombie girl who keeps falling apart. When Casper discovers the two-headed headmaster’s plot to use a petrification potion to turn Kibosh into stone and take over the Underworld and Deedstown, he and his new friends must stop him.
You can watch Casper’s Scare School for free on the official YouTube channel.
Mickey and Friends Trick or Treats
Mickey and gang are off trick-or-treating when Donald spies the spookiest mansion he’s ever seen. With the belief that the spookiest house has the best treats, he convinces his friends to risk a visit. Turns out that the owner of the place is Witch Hazel, who doesn’t have any treats and instead casts a spell on them. With songs and comic spookiness, Mickey and Friends Trick or Treats celebrates the fun of Halloween and the meaning of friendship in this stop motion-animated Halloween special.
You can watch Mickey and Friends Trick or Treats on Disney+.
Garfield and Friends: Garfield’s Halloween Adventure
Garfield’s Halloween Adventure finds the feisty feline and his pal Odie dressed as pirates out to pillage a village and return the bags full of candy. Instead, the two get shipwrecked, then discover a haunted house inhabited by treasure-hunting pirates who’ve returned from the grave. Lou Rawls sings “This Is The Night” and “Scaredy Cat.”
You can watch Garfield’s Halloween Adventure for free on the official YouTube channel.
SpongeBob Halloween Special: Kreepaway Kamp
While at Kamp Koral for a reunion, SpongeBob and the gang — Patrick, Sandy, Pearl, and Harvey — are stalked by a mysterious figure lurking in the shadows as campers start disappearing one by one in this 45-minute SpongeBob SquarePants Halloween episode.
You can watch Kreepaway Kamp on Paramount+.
Arthur: Hic or Treat
D.W. gets a case of the hiccups that just won’t go away. At least her Halloween costume as ‘Hiccup Girl’ is all set! Will she have the hiccups for the rest of her life, or can Arthur and his friends scare the hiccups out of her?
You can watch the Arthur Halloween episode for free on the official YouTube channel.
Scared Shrekless: The Shrek Halloween Special
Halloween is Shrek’s (Mike Myers) favorite holiday, so he challenges his pals to spend the night in Lord Farquaad’s abandoned castle. The last one to be scared Shrekless wins.
You can watch Scared Shrekless on Peacock and on Hulu (or Disney+ with Hulu).
Halloween Is Grinch Night
The Grinch who stole Christmas is back to steal Halloween in this 1977 television special inspired by Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Grinch is up to no good when a storm blows into Whoville.
You can watch Halloween is Grinch Night for free on YouTube.
Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo!
It’s Halloween, and an enemy wants revenge against Mystery, Inc. They’ll team up with their arch-nemesis to solve this macabre mystery featuring the voices of Frank Welker (Scooby-Doo and Fred), Grey DeLisle (Daphne), Matthew Lillard (Shaggy), Kate Micucci (Velma), Myrna Velasco (Coco Diablo), and Anthony Carrigan (Trevor Glume).
You can watch Trick or Treat Scooby-Doo! on Max.
Curious George: A Halloween Boo Fest
Strange happenings in the country lead everyone’s favorite most curious monkey George to investigate the Legend of No Noggin, a hat-kicking scarecrow for this feature-length Halloween special.
You can watch Curious George’s Halloween Boo Fest on the official YouTube channel.
Toy Story of Terror!
What starts out as an exciting road trip for the Toy Story gang takes an unexpected turn for the worse following a detour to a roadside motel. After Mr. Potato Head suddenly disappears, his friends find themselves caught up in a hilarious mystery that must be solved before they suffer the same fate.
You can watch Toy Story of Terror! on Disney+.
The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About Halloween!
The Cat in the Hat takes Nick and Sally on a Halloween ride filled with howlers and shockers and scary fandangles, big laughs and music and fun from all angles. Their fright-filled adventure takes them deep into the Oooky-ma-kooky Closet where Nick and Sally discover the very best Halloween costumes ever.
You can watch The Cat in the Hat Halloween special for free on the official YouTube channel and on Amazon’s Prime Video.
Bluey Halloween Episodes
Happy Halloween from the Heelers! You can watch the Heeler family celebrate spooky season in this compilation available on the official YouTube channel.
The Simpsons Halloween Short: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Sideshow Bob (Kelsey Grammer) teams up with the most infamous Disney villains of Disney+ to share the true meaning of the Halloween season. Filled with music, mayhem, and madness, this 2024 short from The Simpsons is simply to die for.
You can watch The Simpsons: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year on Disney+.
