My Retro Halloween Top 10

My top 10 favorite Halloween specials/ movies
On
September 20, 2010
I know it is a tad bit early to start the Halloween talk, but I cant help myself. Halloween is without a doubt my favorite time of year. As a kid, I would get so excited for all the Halloween specials and movies that would be on TV to commemorate the holiday. I decided to write about my top 10 favorite retro specials and movies. Bear in mind, this is my first article that I have done for Retro Junk, so be kind. (The list is in no particular order).


10. The Lost Boys



I know that this is not an actual Halloween movie per se, but I think it can still count. I included it because this is a classic movie. This movie is the epitome of what a movie about vampires should be. It is sad to think about what the vampire genre has degraded into(Twilight...I'm lookin in your direction). Plus, it gave us the Frog brothers and great lines such as "One thing about living in Santa Carla I never could stomach, all the damn vampires."


9. Mark Summers Mystery Magic Special



This was a special that Nickelodeon aired starting in 1986 and they aired it every year for a few years after around Halloween. I have not seen this in a very long time (unlike the others on the list). Mark Summers (host of the then popular Double Dare) and some kids somehow end up in a sort of haunted mansion with some magicians. I remember the one magician was sword fighting a masked man and it ended up being himself, which I thought was an awesome trick back then...lol. I just remember enjoying watching this special everytime it came on.


8. Home Improvement Halloween Specials



This list makes me think of a time when many of the sitcoms back then did cool Halloween themed episodes. Home Improvement was one of the sitcoms that I remember whose Halloween episodes that I enjoyed watching, because they went all out. They werent the best, but they were definitely one of the better sitcoms at doing Halloween.


7. The Simpsons Treehouse of Horror



I am a huge Simpson fana nd I think that it is without a doubt the best show ever. The Simpsons greatness did not dwindle when they would do their Treehouse of Horror episodes every year. I can remember the earlier ones when Marge would come out and warn parents to not let their children watch because it was scary. There were definitely some classic Treehouse episodes and some of my favorites include the very first one that had "The Raven" and "Hungry are the Damned", but the best has to be the Fourth one because it has the classic "The Devil and Homer Simpson" where Homer sells his soul for a donut. The only complaint I have is that I can remeber that the Treehouse would be the season premier and it would be in November, after Halloween.


6. Roseanne Halloween Specials



From few of the better sitcoms at doing Halloween to, in my opinion, the best at it. Without a doubt, Roseanne had the best Halloween episodes. They did Halloween right, so right in fact that they have a dvd just for Roseanne Halloween episodes. From their haunted house to all the pranks they played on each other. Unfortunately as the show went down hill so did their Halloween episodes, but the first few were classic and that is what I will remember.

5. Its The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown



I really dont have to say much about this. Its been a Halloween staple since the sixties. Almost every kid enjoys watching the peanuts gang and seeing Linus be disappointed every year when the great pumpkin doesnt show. Each year you gotta wonder if this is the year. Give Linus credit, he doesnt give up.


4. The Monster Squad



Again, not a Halloween movie, but it still fits the bill. I loved this movie and still do to this day. "Wolfman got nards" and "My name....is Horace" are two of the great lines from this film. I used to get so excited when this movie would come on. A real tribute to the classic Universal Monsters.


3. Ernest Scared Stupid



One of my favorite movies as a kid. I know the Ernest movies are dumb, but for some reason I love this one. I can remember my buddy and I always renting this tape around Halloween. I also remember being afraid of the troll (dont know why) the first time I watched it.


2. Garfield's Halloween Adventure



Every year, around Halloween, I would get so psyched when the Garfield special was coming on. I have always been a big Garfield fan and combining it with Halloween was win win in my book. It was a great story about Garfield and Odie eventually getting stuck on a haunted Island when ghost pirates come back for their treasure left years ago. Always enjoyable to watch, even to this day.


1. The Halloween Tree



In my opinion, The Halloween Tree is the quintessential Halloween movie. It is a great movie that was based on the Ray Bradbury book of the same name. This was without a doubt the movie I looked forward to the most during Halloween. It was usually shown on what was then The Family Channel. Every year I waited for their 13 Nights of Halloween when it would usually be on. I remember being so upset the first year that they didnt show it. It is a great story about four kids that go trick or treating and instead get to learn the origins of Halloween.


So there is my Retro Halloween list, I hope you all enjoyed it. Thanks for taking time to read it. Oh and one more thing.......
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