The weather is turning, and the rain and wind are finally here. For the next few days, even the most summer-forward people in your life will thank the skies above that the rain is washing away the clouds of smoke and giving us some much-needed water on the ground and in the trees. 

You may want to bundle up in Gortex (or like products) and wander out into the rain, and good for you; fresh air is great for kids and adults of all ages, even when the wet stuff hits us in the face. When you head back inside, you might wonder what fun way you can celebrate the season and keep your peeps entertained without taking the family out. 

If you’re one of a growing number of parents that tries to find age-appropriate (or close) content for your kids, you should check out a newer app called VidAngel. It’s a standalone app that runs on your smart tv or streaming device. After you input your different streaming services, you can filter out any content or language that may be inappropriate for your family. It’s a charge of $9.99 per month (in addition to your current subscriptions), but you get the added benefit of watching just about anything regardless of who is in the room and has eyes on the screen. It won’t substitute language you want to be edited out for something more appropriate (like you would hear on an edited and dubbed version on TV) they just mute the sound when something you deem inappropriate is said or visible. They have a one-week free trial to give it a chance before adding to what is likely an already stacked monthly streaming bill. 

They have access to many of the most popular streaming services, such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, Paramount, and Starz. Even if what you want to watch isn’t on one of your subscriptions, you can still rent that movie as long as they have filters built for that movie. 

For this list, I will note which streaming service each movie is available to stream on as well as if it is included in the VidAngel app so you don’t have to worry about the content if you have an old favorite you want to watch with the family but aren’t sure if they can handle it yet. 

Our three-year-old is repeating just about everything he sees and hears these days, so we have to be extremely careful what words or phrases come out of not only our mouths but also what he hears comes from the soundbar. And he has started paying attention to what is on the screen, so anything too scary for little ones has to go. 

We’ll split the list into three categories going from pretty tame all the way to creepy and, beyond that – unsettling. We won’t add any legitimate horror movies to this list since those aren’t for children, but you know what your kids can handle better than anyone else, so take these suggestions with a grain of salt and use your best judgment. 

Spooky 

Coco (Disney+)

Halloweentown (Disney+)

Casper (Peacock and VidAngel) 

Spiderwick Chronicles (HBO)

Monsters INC (Disney+)

Paranorman (Roku)

Frankenweenie (Disney+)

Addams Family 2019 (Prime and VidAngel)

Muppets Haunted Mansion (Disney+)

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (HBO)

Hocus Pocus (Disney+)

Stardust (HBO)

Creepy

Addams Family 1991 (Paramount and VidAngel)

Beetlejuice (HBO)

Edward Scissorhands (Disney+)

Corpse Bride (HBO)

Coraline (Roku)

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Disney+)

House With A Clock In Its Walls (Hulu and VidAngel)

The Sixth Sense (Peacock)

Warm Bodies (Prime and VidAngel)

Nightbooks (Netflix and VidAngel)

Zombieland (Peacock and VidAngel)

Ghostbusters 1984 (Hulu and VidAngel)

Ghostbusters Afterlife (Starz and VidAngel)

Return to Oz (Disney+)

Van Helsing (Peacock and VidAngel)

Unsettling 

Interview With The Vampire (Tubi)

Sweeny Todd (HBO)

Crimson Peak (Netflix and VidAngel)

Poltergeist (HBO)

IT (HBO)

A Quiet Place (Paramount and VidAngel) 

Antlers (HBO)

The Babysitter (Netflix)

Let the Right One In (Prime and VidAngel)

The Lost Boys (Paramount)

An American Werewolf In London (Prime and VidAngel)

If you aren’t sure what to pick or nothing on this list jumps out, most streaming services have a “Halloween” category in their app, so you can look at movies specific to the season if you wish. 

VidAngel doesn’t have a partnership with HBO, Disney, Hulu, or Peacock, so those movies won’t be free even if you have credentials for those services. Most films on this list are not linked with a streaming service on VidAngel, so even if they have filters available for the movie you want, you may have to pay to rent it, but $3.99 to keep the whole family entertained for two hours isn’t much these days.

It’s up to you if you want to show the family a true horror movie, but in my experience, any of those movies give nightmares to someone, so go in assuming even the bravest kids might still get scared out of good dreams that night. Most, if not all, movies on this list deal with the spirit world and/or death in some manner, so if that’s a subject matter you have not reached with your family yet, be ready for some tough questions or, at the very least some very creative answers to defer that conversation for another time.

Whether the weather keeps you indoors or not, have fun watching something spooky to celebrate the season and the late arrival of fall (only a month late!). 

Happy fall and happy Halloween!