Sunday, October 12, 2014

The Best Halloween Themed Classic TV Episodes of All Time

It wouldn’t be Halloween without TV traditions like "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown,” but there are plenty of great Halloween-themed episodes of classic television shows as well. Check out these Halloween-inspired retro TV episodes.

Bewitched - "Trick or Treat" (1965)

This classic series about a typical suburban witch boasted a Halloween episode almost every year during its eight season run. The 1965 episode “Trick or Treat,” kicked things off when ad man Darrin Stephens (Dick York) ordered his witchy wife Samantha (Elizabeth Montgomery) to skip her annual witches Halloween ceremony. His furious mother-in- law Endora (Agnes Moorehead) zapped a spell on him, which gradually turned him into a werewolf. Child actress Maureen McCormick (Marcia on The Brady Bunch) made a cameo as a young Endora. But this witchy show cooked up several more Halloween episodes, including the classic 1967 episode "A Safe and Sane Halloween.”



The Brady Bunch - "Fright Night" (1972)

 This episode originally aired in October 1972 and although Halloween wasn't mentioned in the theme, it was definitely a spooky episode. The Brady kids take to playing scary pranks on each other, but when their parents (Robert Reed and Florence Henderson) tell them to stop it, they decide to team up and scare the heck out of Alice (Ann B. Davis), the family housekeeper. The prank backfires and a disaster occurs, at least by Brady standards.



Happy Days - "Haunted" (1974)

This '70s show about the '50s featured several Halloween episodes, but this episode from the second season reigns as a classic. Richie Cunningham (Ron Howard) is nervous about going to his buddy Ralph's Halloween party, which is being held at the old Simpson house, allegedly home of the headless ghost old lady Simpson.



Little House on the Prairie - "The Monster of Walnut Grove" (1976)

When Laura and Mary Ingalls (Melissa Gilbert and Melissa Sue Anderson) go out to pull Halloween prank at the local mercantile, Laura "thinks" she sees mercantile owner Mr. Olsen behead his wife. But was her mind playing tricks on her?


M*A*S*H - "Trick or Treatment" (1982)

The members of the 4077th are going to a Halloween party at Rosie's, but are interrupted when casualties are brought in. They then take turns telling ghost stories. Comedian Andrew Dice Clay makes a brief cameo in this episode.



Roseanne -"Boo!" (1989) 

This sitcom series was known for its annual Halloween episodes and there are several good ones to choose from. In "Boo,” the Conner family gets ready for their favorite holiday of the year, complete with costumes, pranks and a scary "tunnel of terror." 



Simpsons - "Treehouse of Horror V" (1994)

Like Roseanne, the animated FOX series The Simpsons is known for their annual Halloween episodes, dubbed "Treehouse of Horror.”  Since 1990, The Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror" series has developed a major cult following. Each Halloween episode features several different segments, some of them spoofing old horror flicks. 1994's selections were the best, featuring shorts called "The Shinning", "Time and Punishment" and "Nightmare Cafeteria.” Nineteen different "Treehouse of Horror" episodes have aired since 1990.

My So Called Life - "Halloween" (1994)

On this underrated ABC series (which later developed a cult following on MTV),  the students of Liberty High are spooked by the 1963 death of a former student. Angela Chase (Clare Danes) finds herself transported back into the 1960s.



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