In this Studio Ghibli film, young hatmaker Sophie encounters a mysterious wizard named Howl. The Witch of the Waste curses her by turning her into an old woman. Sophie then meets a mysterious anthropomorphic scarecrow who leads her to Howl’s castle. There, she takes up residence as a live-in cleaning lady, hoping to break free from her curse with the help of the wizard’s magic. The world of the film is filled with sorcery, curses, a magical castle, and an animated flame, making it perfect for Halloween while never being scary. Along with the world and plot of the film, the relationships between the characters and the romance between Sophie and Howl create a captivating story. Not only does this story follow Sophie’s journey of independence and self-discovery, but the film explores anti-war themes with Howl’s critique of the war between two neighbouring kingdoms. The stellar cast of voice actors for the English dub of the film, consisting of Christian Bale, Billy Crystal, and Josh Hutcherson, is the cherry on top.
In this animated show, half-brothers Wirt (Elijah Wood) and Greg (Collin Dean) find themselves lost in a spooky forest (for reasons unknown until later in the series), desperately trying to return home. In each episode, the two boys discover a new cast of characters who travel across time and space, while the woods and a few recurring characters connect each new adventure to the next. This critically acclaimed show has adorable and quintessential autumnal visuals, a great original soundtrack, and clever and hilarious dialogue. Over the Garden Wall is also filled to the brim with references and connections to other media, like the plot’s similarities to Dante’s Inferno and 19th- and 20th-century Americana culture. This take on a story about folklore has the perfect amount of spooky vibes while never being overly scary. Interspersed with humour, this show makes for a tremendous non-scary watch for Halloween.
In this new Marvel miniseries, Agatha Harkness (Kathryn Hahn), who first appeared in WandaVision (2021), gets her moment in the limelight. This series returns to the fictional town of Westview three years after the events of WandaVision, with Agatha still trapped under the Scarlet Witch’s (Elizabeth Olsen) spell. After finally being released from the spell thanks to the help of Teen (Joe Locke), Agatha creates a coven consisting of Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone), a divination witch, Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), a witch gifted at potion-making, Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn), a blood witch (a child of a witch), and Mrs. Hart (Debra Jo Rupp), Agatha’s neighbour and their “green witch,” to embark on a journey through the trials of the Witches’ Road in hopes of regaining her lost powers. Similarly to WandaVision, this series explores different genres and time periods, as each trial of the road takes them to a different place and transforms their costumes to match, like when they were transformed into the 70s for one of the trials. Agatha All Along has a great cast of characters, and the sapphic tension between Agatha and Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza), a romantic figure from Agatha’s past, is immaculate. The final two episodes will be released on Oct. 30, just in time for Halloween, making this the perfect binge-worthy show for the spooky holiday!
A Discovery of Witches
A Discovery of Witches is a series based on Deborah Harkness’ All Souls Trilogy of novels. The story starts in Oxford, where the non-practicing witch and history of science professor Diana Bishop (Teresa Palmer) discovers a centuries-missing bewitched manuscript at the university’s famous Bodleian Library. This discovery leads to Diana meeting Matthew Clairmont (Matthew Goode), a vampire and professor of biochemistry, who work together to uncover the mystery behind this enchanted manuscript. This show is the scariest on this list, as it does get violent and suspenseful at times, but since I could handle it despite my extremely low tolerance for frightening things, it merits its place on this list. This time last year, I became obsessed with this show; the autumnal dark-academic aesthetic of Oxford, the magic, the mystery, and the romance entrap the viewer into this fantastical reality, making it an excellent watch for Halloween!
