Top 10 Spooky Halloween Episodes That Haunted Us as Children
#10: “Filet of Soul” “Dexter’s Laboratory” (1996-2003)
After Dexter and Dee Dee demand too much of their creatively named goldfish, Fishy, the poor thing expires. Their mom tells them, very creepily we might add, to flush the dead pet down the toilet but the siblings leave it for the next day. This proves to be a big mistake because Fishy’s ghost visits them that night. In addition to the slimy spooky specter, Dee Dee’s pulled into the “sewer beyond”, and gets attacked by a giant tentacle. We’re not sure if it’s the crossed-out eyes, or just the possibility of the toilet being a portal to another dimension, but we definitely steered clear of nightly bathroom visits for a while after this episode.
#9: “Sugar Frosted Frights” “Rocko’s Modern Life” (1993-96)
Rocko and Heffer are hyped for Halloween and ready to spend the night out trick-or-treating. But Filburt? Not so much. Given his neurotic nature, it’s no surprise that he’s afraid of the holiday. It only takes one piece of delicious candy, still in the wrapper, to send the usually sane turtle running around feral in O-Town looking for more. The psychedelic “Fantasia”-like trip conjures up some eerie images and the idea of the Hopping Hessian coming to steal legs is just chilling. But the source of Filburt’s fear might be the most disturbing. Years of crazy Aunt Gretchen’s lies about poisonous candy left Filburt traumatized and, to be honest, the few minutes she appears on screen left us that way too.
#8: “What Scared Sue Ellen?” “Arthur” (1996-2022)
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Season 4’s “The Fright Stuff” is one of a few “Arthur” Halloween episodes. It follows an ongoing prank war between the boys and the girls which comes to a head at Muffy’s haunted mansion costume party. While season 3’s “What Scared Sue Ellen?” came out in December, it packed enough spooky moments to earn a spot on this list. Sue Ellen is uncharacteristically afraid of a strange sound in the woods. In a dream, the Baba Yaga tries to devour her, then pops up at her bedroom window. Later, she wonders if the sound is from a banshee, giving us another haunting visual. With both of these urban legends being their own kinds of scary, how was this not a Halloween episode?
#7: “Scaredy Pants” “SpongeBob SquarePants” (1999-)
Halloween in Bikini Bottom is a tough night for SpongeBob because he’s incredibly easy to scare, so he attempts to do the scaring for a change, and becomes the soul-stealing Flying Dutchman. He enlists Patrick’s help, and as always, the nautically nonsensical pair do the most, with Patrick shaving SpongeBob down to his brain. It’s a cursed image forever burned into our minds. Though the appearance of the real Flying Dutchman spooked us, too, a bigger fright comes in the “Graveyard Shift”. It wasn’t the Hash-Slinging Slasher that sent chills down our spines. No, that credit goes to the surprise Count Orlok cameo. The shockingly hideous Nosferatu might’ve actually been our first jump scare.
#6: “The Headless Horseman of Halloween” “The Scooby-Doo Show” (1976-78)
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No matter how it’s told, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” is one of those stories that will always provoke a sense of unease, and we think Mystery Inc would agree. While attending an All Hallow’s Eve party at Crane Manor, the gang comes face-to-pumpkin with the Headless Horseman. It doesn’t help that the mansion grounds are thick with fog, creating the ultimate horror atmosphere. True to “Scooby-Doo” form, the ghoul was just some guy dressed as the Horseman to commit a crime. But that doesn’t make watching the previous events any less hair-raisingly zoinks!-worthy.
#5: “Angelica’s Worst Nightmare” “Rugrats” (1991-2004)
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While the “Rugrats” Halloween specials were creepy and fun, the real horror comes in episodes like “Angelica’s Nightmare.” Her anxiety over gaining a sibling is so strong that she has a deeply disturbing night terror about the baby’s arrival. It’s bad enough that she’s ignored by her parents in the dream but then her baby brother grows to a monstrous size and eventually eats her. We may or may not have been a bit weary of babies after that. Chucky had his fair share of dreadful dreams and hallucinations, too, like the scary green monster under his bed. For a show about the adventures of babies, “Rugrats” gave us plenty of source material for nightmares of our own.
#4: “The Haunted Mask” “Goosebumps” (1995-98)
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The iconic anthology series “Goosebumps”, based on the equally popular books, was a staple in most people’s childhood, acting as a gateway into the horror genre. In “The Haunted Mask,” we meet Carly Beth who, like SpongeBob, is tired of being the resident scaredy pants, always the victim of cruel pranks. Seeking revenge, she steals a grotesque mask and sets out to instill terror in her tormentors. But, after a little too much tortuous fun, Carly Beth realizes it won’t come off. Putting ourselves in her shoes, or mask, we can’t help but feel the claustrophobia and sheer panic of the idea of this monster face fusing with our skin. This is some serious body horror and it freaked us out more than we like to admit.
#3: “King Ramses’ Curse” “Courage the Cowardly Dog” (1999-2002)
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The entirety of “Courage the Cowardly Dog” was the definition of nightmare fuel, so really, every episode felt like Halloween. From the first episode, “A Night at the Katz Motel”, we realized this wasn’t just any cartoon. And by the time we reached “The Mask”, we were well and truly traumatized. But, in this show full of supernatural threats, one of the standout villains was King Ramses. He just wanted his ancient relic back. But Eustace became money-hungry and held the slab hostage, leading the ghostly Pharaoh to unleash three plagues. Maybe it’s the entity’s oddly calm voice or the visual contrast between animation styles, but King Ramses still gives us the creeps.
#2: “Haunted Train” “Hey Arnold!” (1996-2004)
From “Four-Eyed Jack” to the “Headless Cabbie,” “Hey Arnold!” really knows how to tell a killer ghost story. Oddly enough, the actual Halloween episode isn’t one of them. In the fan-favorite episode “Haunted Train”, Grandpa Phil cures Arnold and Gerald’s boredom with the terrifying tale of Engine 25, a train that went off the tracks and vanished 40 years ago along with the engineer. The haunted caravan makes an annual return, collecting unwitting passengers for a final trip to the “fiery underworld.” Even though Arnold, Gerald, and Helga believe it’s all a hoax, the ghoulish engineer appears at the end, implying the story is true. His ominous song and maniacal cackling still gives us goosebumps. And why isn’t Brainy the least bit terrified? Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. “The Ghost of Suite 613”, “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” (2005-08) This Episode Did Not Have to Be as Frightening as It Was “Terrifying Tales of Recess”, “Recess” (1997-2001) Did We Know What ‘Miscreant’ Meant? No. Did Zombie Finster’s Creepy Voice Burrow Into Our Little Kid Brains? Absolutely. “The Day the World Got Really Screwed Up!”, “The Angry Beavers” (1997-2003) This B-Movie Homage Delivered Some Truly Spine-Chilling Visuals Including Mann Servante, a Face That Plagued Our Nightmares for Years “Night of the Day of the Dead”, “Lizzie McGuire” (2001-04) We Love to See Kate Sanders Get Her Due, but Those Skeletons Were Downright Terrifying “The Tale of the Twisted Claw”, “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” (1990-2000) Lessons Learned: Be Careful What You Wish for & Don’t Take Vulture Claws From Strangers
#1: “Treehouse of Horror V” “The Simpsons” (1989-)
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While we’re able to appreciate the humor as adults, “The Simpsons’” yearly “Treehouse of Horror” episodes often kept us up at night when we were kids. Our parents didn’t want us watching it, which made the experience extra thrilling. The disembodied voice in “Bad Dream House” urging everyone except Marge to kill was unnerving, to say the least. But the fifth installment was the most memorable. “Nightmare Cafeteria” felt particularly morbid, because who wouldn’t shudder at the thought of cannibalistic teachers? But before we even knew about the Stanley Kubrick classic, seeing Homer’s descent into absolute madness in the spoof of “The Shining” had us ducking under blankets. Marge did warn us at the beginning…we should’ve listened. What Halloween episode still haunts you? Share the scares in the comments below.
