Spooktacular Halloween TV: 20 Picks to Celebrate The Season

by Karen A. Romanko 

I’ve been posting my Spooktacular Halloween TV picks on Facebook one at a time over the last few weeks, but this is the compiled list of 20 programs in honor of Halloween. The shows are listed in the order I shared them, not my order of preference. I watched them from my DVD collection, but googling the episode title and date should help you find them on streaming services or YouTube. The corresponding photos in the collage are in numerical order, posts 1-4 in the top row, 5-8 in the second row, etc. Happy Halloween! 🎃

Spooktacular Halloween TV #1. “The Ghost of A. Chantz,” a 1964 episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show. The gang encounters strange happenings at a secluded cabin. Pictured: Laura Petrie (Mary Tyler Moore) and friend/fiend. #Halloween #DickVanDykeShow

Spooktacular Halloween TV #2. “The Haunted House,” a 1963 episode of The Andy Griffith Show. The boys investigate strange doings at an abandoned house. I couldn’t love this photo more. The difference between their expressions is priceless. Andy (Andy Griffith), questioning, but cool. Barney (Don Knotts), terrified! 😱🎃 #Halloween #AndyGriffithShow

Spooktacular Halloween TV #3. The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh (a.k.a. Dr. Syn), first shown on Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color in 1964. Every other year or so around Halloween, I watch this wonderful adventure on DVD. As a kid, I so loved the story of smugglers in 18th century England, who disguised themselves in eerie, menacing costumes to stay one step ahead of the King’s soldiers. Patrick McGoohan portrays the Scarecrow, who by day works as Dr. Syn, a peace-loving parish vicar. 😱 🎃 #Halloween #PatrickMcGoohan

Spooktacular Halloween TV #4. “A Safe and Sane Halloween,” a 1967 episode of Bewitched. Tabatha (Erin Murphy) “twitches” some fantasy creatures out of her book and takes them trick-or-treating. My favorite part of this one is when the jack-o’-lantern‘s head floats around poor Mrs. Kravitz‘s living room. 😱 🎃 #Halloween #Bewitched

Spooktacular Halloween TV #5. “House of Misfit Dolls” (great title), a 2024 episode of Sister Boniface Mysteries. I watched this one last night on DVD, and it’s a delightfully weird and creepy entry in the series. Pictured: Octavia Hemlock (Debbie Chazen) and friends. 😱 🎃 #Halloween #SisterBonifaceMysteries #Dolls

Spooktacular Halloween TV #6. The Snoop Sisters, “The Devil Made Me Do It!” (1974). This one is a campy treat with Helen Hayes as intrepid amateur sleuth Ernesta Snoop and Alice Cooper as a satanic rock star. For some reason mystery shows were obsessed with satanism in the 70s. This is one of my favorite TV photos of all time. 😱 🎃 #Halloween #AliceCooper #Snoopsisters #HelenHayes

Spooktacular Halloween TV #7. “The Haunted House,” a second season episode of Leave It to Beaver (1957–1963). Beaver (Jerry Mathers) thinks a new neighbor is a witch! Excellent camera work in this scene, making mundane items look creepy. 😱 🎃 #Halloween #LeaveItToBeaver

Spooktacular Halloween TV #8. “Agents of Satan,” an episode of Voyagers aired on October 31, 1982. Witches! In Salem! Intrepid time travelers Phineas Bogg (Jon-Erik Hexum) and Jeffrey Jones (Meeno Peluce) must save Abiah Folger (Jennifer Holmes), who is being chased through a misty swamp by a mob, with torches even, as the story opens. The superstitious townsfolk believe the future mother of Benjamin Franklin to be a witch! The companion story is about Houdini, so lots of Halloween fun in this one. 😱 🎃 #Halloween #TimeTravel #salemwitchtrials 

Spooktacular Halloween TV #9. “Halloween with the Addams Family,” a 1964 episode of The Addams Family. Every day is Halloween at the Addams household, but this episode brought the holiday to the forefront in the family’s inimitable “ooky” way. My favorite moment comes when the Addams children, Pugsley (Ken Weatherwax) and Wednesday (Lisa Loring), dressed as normals (almost), but fearful that their Halloween costumes are too scary, recite in eerie unison, “Do not be alarmed. We are only little children.” Hilarious! 🎃 😱 #Halloween #AddamsFamily

Spooktacular Halloween TV #10. “Ghost Wolf,” a 1953 episode of Adventures of Superman. Clark, Lois, and Jimmy investigate when the Daily Planet’s timber company is in danger of closing due to accidents and reports of a werewolf! I do love the first “dark series” of this show, with its noir feel, emphasis on mysterious happenings, and portrayal of Lois Lane by the marvelous Phyllis Coates. Pictured: Jane Adams. 🎃 😱 #Halloween #Superman #GeorgeReeves #Werewolf #PhyllisCoates

Spooktacular Halloween TV #11. “Take Me to Your Loudon,” a 1987 episode of Newhart, which uses as its inspiration Orson Welles’s 1938 radio broadcast of “The War of the Worlds” and the panic it caused. Dick Loudon (Bob Newhart) and wife Joanna (Mary Frann) host a Halloween party at the Stratford Inn, but news of an alien invasion soon spreads, spurred by a broadcast of The War of the Worlds on a local TV station. Dick is the only sane one as usual, but the crazy quotient increases when reports of glowing cows reach the inn. A vivid Halloween outing and one of the best episodes of the series. 🎃 😱 #Halloween #Newhart #WarOfTheWorlds

Spooktacular Halloween TV #12. “The Mystery of the Haunted House,” a 1977 episode of The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries. There’s some sort of story here, yada yada yada, but the real star is the haunted house attraction with its mirrors, secret passages, and even a cool club with Frankenstein as a waiter. Pictured: Parker Stevenson, Shaun Cassidy, and Richard Kiel as the monster. 🎃 😱 #Halloween #HardyBoys #ShaunCassidy #ParkerStevenson

Spooktacular Halloween TV #13. “The Witch,” a 1963 episode of The Fugitive. This one is not a favorite among Fuge fans, but I’ve always liked it. A young girl (Gina Gillespie) with an interest in the occult tells a lie which gets Dr. Kimble (David Janssen) in big trouble. I like things that I’ve never seen on television before, because there’s often so much sameness. This episode is definitely something different. Pictured: “Naiad.” 🎃 😱 #Halloween #DavidJanssen #Naiad

Spooktacular Halloween TV #14. “Lizard's Leg and Owlet's Wing,” a 1962 episode of Route 66. I truly wanted to like this Halloween episode of Route  66, but it missed the mark for me. I know it’s a fan favorite, however, so I’m including it on my Spooktacular list. Pictured: Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, and Lon Chaney. 🎃 😱 #Halloween #Route66 #Frankenstein #Wolfman

Spooktacular Halloween TV #15. “Wicca Work,” a 2006 episode of New Tricks. The team investigates a death that might have been caused by witchcraft. One of my favorite episodes of the series, both funny and creepy, my favorite Halloween combo. Pictured: Stephanie Beacham. 🎃 😱 #Halloween #NewTricks

Spooktacular Halloween TV #16. “Catspaw,” aired October 27, 1967. Black cats, witches, dungeons, and skeletons, it’s the Halloween episode of Star Trek. Pictured: William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, and friend. 🎃 😱 🖖🏼#Halloween #StarTrek #WilliamShatner

Spooktacular Halloween TV #17. “Steele Crazy After All These Years,” a 1983 episode of Remington Steele. A poltergeist may be murdering people at a college reunion. Pictured: Pierce Brosnan and Mark King. 🎃 😱 👻 #Halloween #PierceBrosnan #RemingtonSteele 

Spooktacular Halloween TV #18. “The Ghost of the Mission,” a 1957 episode of Zorro. Is there a ghost of a mad monk haunting the mission? Sergeant Garcia (Henry Calvin) thinks so, with a little help from a tale by Don Diego (Guy Williams). 🎃 😱 👻 #Halloween #Zorro #GuyWilliams #Ghosts

Spooktacular Halloween TV #19. “Castle De'ath,” a 1966 episode of The Avengers. The duo investigates strange happenings at a Scottish castle. Could there be ghosts about the place? Mrs. Peel (Diana Rigg) explores a dungeon in her négligée, as was the habit of women during the 1960s. 🎃 😱 👻 #Halloween #Ghosts #Avengers #DianaRigg

Spooktacular Halloween TV #20. Saving my favorite for last, “The Devil You Say,” a 1973 episode of McMillan & Wife. It has everything you could ask for in a Halloween episode--a Satanic cult, past-life regression, trick-or-treaters, and a Queen of Witches, one who is thought to be slumbering in the body of Sally McMillan (Susan Saint James). If Serena, the witch/goddess, doesn’t awaken, poor Sally will be sacrificed during an elaborate ritual. Not to worry, though, as Sally’s dashing husband Mac (Rock Hudson) will arrive in the nick of time to save her. It’s the most Halloween fun with one of the most adorable TV couples ever! Pictured: Rock Hudson, Susan Saint James, and Werner Klemperer. 🎃 😱 👿 #Halloween #RockHudson #SusanSaintJames