The 8 Best Halloween Specials & Episodes of All Time
By Distributel
Some of us get ready for Halloween with scary movies and creature features. But if your speed is more TV and jokes, then enjoy this list of laugh-out-loud TV episodes and specials that’ll tickle your funny bone (with some minor scares along the way). Oh, and also Stranger Things, because we’re obsessed like everyone else.
Friends, “The One With the Halloween Party”
Friends may be more famous for their Thanksgiving episodes (moistmaker, anyone?), but this Halloween episode is pretty funny too. Rachel goes as a woman in a nice dress because she spent a lot of money on it, and she’s pregnant, so soon she won’t be able to wear it, while the rest of the friends are a touch more conventional. Except for Phoebe’s sister Ursula’s boyfriend, who shows up as the solar system. The entire solar system.
Parks and Recreation, “Meet N Greet”
The irresponsible April and Andy throw a raging Halloween party but don’t tell new roommate Ben, who spends the whole party passive-aggressively whining about it. Meanwhile, Ron fixes every single thing in the apartment with the help of Anne. Oh, and that creepy guy Orin shows up.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “Fear, Itself”
With Buffy as Little Red Riding Hood, Willow as Jon of Arc, Xander as James Bond, and Oz as God, “Fear, Itself” takes place at a frat house where some bros accidentally summon a demon and scary madness ensues. It’s the best Halloween episode of Buffy—but if you’re a Buffy fan, we assume that you’ll be binging the entire series in the run-up to Halloween, since the whole show is just that good.
Community, “Epidemiology”
Want to see every zombie movie trope and every Halloween party stereotype dismantled in one go? Then you can’t go wrong with the all-college Halloween party in the “Epidemiology” episode of Community.
Brooklyn 99, “Halloween IV”
Every single one of Brooklyn 99’s legendary Halloween heist episodes are funny from beginning to end, but if we had to choose the best, it would be the fourth. Each entry in the series has complicated plans and funny fake-outs, but Gina pretending to lose her teeth in a roller-skating accident only to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes is a delight. Also, Chelsea Peretti is consistently hilarious, and her condescendingly lecturing the squad through missing teeth is one of the best moments of the series.
Stranger Things, “Trick or Treat, Freak”
It’s early in season two so things haven’t boiled to a head yet, but we’re well aware of the danger lurking in the Upside Down as the town prepares for Halloween. Hooper discovers some of the mysterious organic stuff in the fields, Eleven conspires to go trick or treating, and Nancy is struggling with Barb’s death as she heads to a Halloween party. The best part, though, is when the boys gear up in their costumes and find out that no one else is dressed up. Ugh, we’ve been there, guys.
The Simpsons, Treehouse of Horror series
We’re cheating. We admit it. Every year, The Simpsons does a Treehouse of Horror episode, and every year they’re a highlight. From creepy retellings of old Twilight Zone episodes to funny versions of current pop-culture, Treehouse of Horror is worth looking forward to year after year.
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!
What kid besides Charlie Brown would get rocks instead of Halloween candy? Meanwhile, Snoopy fights the Red Baron, and poor Linus spends all night in the pumpkin patch as he awaits the Great Pumpkin, much to the dismay of Sally, who waits with him (and gets no candy as a result).