So here are episodes of TV shows which are scary enough to be Halloween episodes. Even though the holiday is never mentioned.
The Brady Bunch, “Fright Night”
This episode aired the week of Halloween so I can’t imagine that was a coincidence. It still isn’t a Halloween show per se, it’s just the kids playing pranks trying to scare each other, but it’s about as close to being a Halloween episode without actually being one that you’re going to get on this show. After the boys scare the girls into thinking there is a ghost outside, they get their revenge by daring them to sleep in the attic, and scaring them. Then all six gang up to scare Alice in a scene which is kind of a bit creepy, course having that creepy Hawaiian Idol music from the Hawaii episodes helps. The episode ends with Mike reprimanding all the kids in one of his harshest punishments. There is also a season one episode when Mike wants to sell the house so the kids dress up as ghosts to scare the potential buyers away. And of course The Slumber Party episode where the boys try ro scare the girls with costumes and silly tricks.
Laverne and Shirley, “Haunted House”
This one didn’t surprise me at all. This series covered everything from earthquakes to hurricanes. In this episode, the girls and Lenny and Squiggy go to a house for a new couch. The house is said to be haunted. And we get all the tropes from the sounds of chains being dragged through the halls to dogs barking at the moon. Even a revolving door and a piano that plays by itself. The girls get trapped and the episode is about how they can escape the crazy house. By the way I looked for Happy Days but while they had a few Halloween episodes it seems they were all set on Halloween. But either way they are worth checking out. By the way Designing Women did a haunted house episode also, logical considering they were designers.
Perfect Strangers, “The Horn Blows at Midnight”
A psychic visits the Chronicle and predicts that Larry will die at midnight on a stormy night after he has sat on a lamb and eaten a golden ring, or something. I don’t have a copy of the episode to re-watch it. At first Larry dismisses the notion but as the predictions start to become true, things get a little scary. All four nervously wait as midnight approaches, and when it does they scream…and nothing happens. And yes Taxi did the same premise a few years earlier in “Jim the Psychic” and that episode was pretty good too though not as scary. It did have a better payoff though.
Newhart, “The Stratford Horror Picture Show”
Is the Stratford Inn haunted? This is Season 4 which makes this premise stupid, you’d think this would come up in the first few episodes of the season. But give the series credit the show remember the dead witch in the basement from “Mrs. Newton’s Body Lies A-Mould’ring in the Grave”. At first it’s mostly just rattling windows and making eerie noises. Everyone thinks its a ghosts, except Dick of course. Then they discover a secret passage which is what the culprits arr using to sneak around the house. Turns out it’s really the original honors who want the inn back. After a failed attempt to be a ghosts the truth is revealed. Not bad but it’s obviously played safe, never going all out. this is Newhart after all.
Full House “It Was A Dark And Stormy Night”
This is a pretty good episode, and even a little scary! But it’s clearly set at the end of summer and not on Halloween. The girls return home to summer camp and have brought with them the camp rabbit. In their efforts to return to they go to the camp on a dark and stormy night, and hi jinks ensue. The camp is pretty creepy in the rain and the dark. First Steve’s car breaks down. Then a the gurls believes a maniac that was brought up at the start of the episode as a camp story is out to get them (and the scene where Steve tells that story is creepy also). Then the lights go out…and you can probably guess how this ends. For Full House it’s actually pretty creepy. The moral of the episode is one I’ve experienced, going back to a place where you had a lot of fun is never the same.
The Cosby Show, “Nightmare on Stigwood Avenue”
Whether or not this one counts can be debated, to be honest, but I figure it’s worth a mention. In the episode Rudy dreams that Olivia has become a witch who always gets her way, and even has all the adults under her sway. The mood is kind of creepy and I always found it funny out of character everyone is, especially Cliff and Clair.
Some are going to ask why i didn’t mention The Hogan Family’s “Nighmare on Oak Street”. Two reasons. One is because I’ve talked about that before. The other being that while that one zombie scene scared the crap out of me as a kid, the episode as a whole isn’t really scary. Even that one scene in hindsight is more goofy than scary.
Small Wonder, “The Lawsonville Horror”
(pic not from the episode i needed something here)
Say what you want about this silly show, it did manage a good episode once in awhile. And this one was pretty decent, goofy but decent. Vicki is shocked during a lightning storm which causes her to become magnetic. Course the family doesn’t know this, and when the house starts getting trashed they think they have a ghost in the house. They even hire a pair of paranormal experts to help. When the truth is revealed, and since they don’t want the experts to know Vicki is a robot, they stage a fake exorcism which is so cheesy it’s delightful! There are all kinds of cool special effects in this one which help to make this an enjoyable episode of this silly show. By the way this aired originally on Halloween.
Boy Meets World, “And Then There Was Shawn”
Yeah you all knew this one was coming. This episode is a spoof on horror movie’s as Shawn dreams the class is being killed off by a serial killer ala Scream. I watched the episode and it was good, hitting pretty much every horror trope and even including an appearance by Jennifer Love Hewitt, how awesome is that? The mood is creepy and I can see why so many remember it. I had one small gripe, and that is that they try to tie it into a moral for the episode. The dream is about Shawn coping with his best friends breaking up. Why? Couldn’t it have just been for fun? I don’t know maybe I’m thinking to much about this one, and I probably would have liked it better had I been a fan of the show. Especially since most fans consider this the best episode of the whole series. And yes The episode is creepy and even scary, but honestly-Facts of Life did it better. Speaking of that…
Facts of Life, “Seven Little Indians”
For an episode that has nothing to do with Halloween per se, man is this episode drenched in Halloween atmosphere! It’s pretty much the same as the Boy Meets World one except in my opinion much better. There is a Rod Serling-esque narrator, a fake out ending, over the top music, and everyone gets killed in different ways. There are even some cute 4th wall gags. And some of the scary scenes are kind of scary. Especially that sight if Blair in a fright wig at the end, which I never forgot after I saw it the episode. And even with all that, the episode is funny at the same time! I love this episode.
Dinosaurs, “Little Boy Boo”
I love this one! Ok so how do you do a Halloween episode of Dinosaurs? Easy! The episode is about Robbie being stuck babysitting. So he tells the Baby a scary story about how a curse was put on him and he turns into a werewolf. Actually sorry it isn’t a werewolf, it’s a wild caveman, a Were-MAN. And as Dinosaurs did, a lot of gags focus on the tropes of those classic old movies. Like Earl screaming “Let’s hunt the creature we don’t understand therefore fear!”. But the best part is the ending, when Robbie convinces the Baby it wasn’t a story but that he really is a wereman, and has to east the toes of a baby dinosaur to be cured! Turns out Robbie has scared the Baby so bad that he has to do something to fix it. He has no treats for the baby, so goes out to the neighbors to see if he can find some. But they think it’s just a trick. Oh did I mention it was October 31st? The only way to do this justice is to share the exchange :
Neighbor: You Sinclair kids come over here at the middle of the night on the 31st of October and expect me to give you candy? GET LOST.
Robbie Sinclair: Hmm, next time maybe we should wear costumes.
Robbie Sinclair, Baby Sinclair: Naw.
Robbie Sinclair: Hmm, next time maybe we should wear costumes.
Robbie Sinclair, Baby Sinclair: Naw.
You gotta love it!
Head of the Class, “Poltergeist”
Finally, One of my favorite episodes. Of anything. I’ve seen it a million tones. When Janice claims she is being haunted by a poltergeist, Charlie sets out to find the truth. The “scary” scenes are great and leads to one of my favorite laughs ever in the end. Even the talk between Janice and Charlie after the truth is revealed is very well done. Just a great episode.
There are more I could have listed, but I think I covered most. Though for some reason I couldn’t find many from the last several years, not sure why that is. Sometimes I think in our quest for smarter and better written TV we’ve lost the sense of fun that many shows had in the old days. Anyway, that’s a ramble for another day. If I missed your favorite comment and let me know.
Next time, Halloween episodes that…aren’t!
There are more I could have listed, but I think I covered most. Though for some reason I couldn’t find many from the last several years, not sure why that is. Sometimes I think in our quest for smarter and better written TV we’ve lost the sense of fun that many shows had in the old days. Anyway, that’s a ramble for another day. If I missed your favorite comment and let me know.
Next time, Halloween episodes that…aren’t!
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