11 Family-Friendly Supernatural Shows To Watch Before Halloween
Supernatural fun for the whole family
By Terri Kue -
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With Halloween just a few days away, we are all gearing up for a nice night watching spooky shows that may or may not keep us awake. However, parents with young kids may find themselves in a pickle. It can be difficult to find shows about the supernatural that is family-friendly.
We understand the struggle. That’s why we have put together a list of 11 supernatural shows about otherworldly beings that you and your kids can watch together. Some of these shows are heartwarming for the very little ones, and we also have shows that actually creeped us out for the bigger children wanting a bit of a scare.
LEGO® Star Wars Terrifying Tales
This year, two of the biggest franchises have come together to create LEGO® Star Wars Terrifying Tales. In this Lego-fied version of Star Wars, Darth Vader’s new castle has turned into Castle Vader, a Sith-inspired luxury theme resort.
Poe and BB-8 crashland and decide to go to Castle Vader to ask for some help, only to be met by Graballa. Graballa then captivates his audience with three Sith-inspired stories full of fighting, skeletons, the undead, and robots.
Great for fans of Lego and Star Wars, this film has enough suspense to make anyone’s Halloween night.
This film is 44 minutes long and can be streamed on Disney+.
Lupin the 3rd Part 6
Lupin the 3rd is a well-loved franchise that stemmed from a manga series and evolved into an anime. It is an action-packed comedy thriller that is just the right mix of unnerving and funny.
Lupin III is a master thief; quite frankly, he can steal anything. But in this latest installation, he is now in the United Kingdom and may have met his match: Sherlock Holmes. With a treasure to steal and a mission to try to clear his name, Lupin III must avoid getting caught by Holmes so he can live to steal another day.
Unlike its book form, the animated version is family-friendly. There are some darker themes, so we suggest this series for children aged eight and above.
Catch this series on Animax Asia from 17 October 2021. It airs every Sunday at 10:30 pm. Repeat episodes can be caught on Mondays at 9 pm.
A Tale of Dark and Grimm
Who said that fairytales were all rainbows and unicorns? Definitely not the Grimm brothers. This show dives into their retelling of the common fairytale stories through the eyes of Hansel and Gretel. Born to a royal family, these young twins are now on a search for new parents who will love them. Along the way, they meet challenges they never thought they would, such as wolves who want to eat them, and a baker, who also wants to eat them.
This series lacks gore and the ‘gruesome’ scenes have been made kid-friendly.
You can catch a Tale of Dark and Grimm on Netflix.
Scaredy Cats
On Willa Ward’s 12th birthday, she never expected that she would be given an amulet that would open her and her friends’ world to witchcraft and talking animals. However, there are two kinds of witches in this world: good and evil witches.
As it would happen, two of the latter are after the amulet. Willa Ward and her friends have to escape from them, and a part of their plan includes turning into cats.
This show is thrilling and humorous, while the visual effects are convincing and precise.
You can catch Scaredy Cats on Netflix.
Coco
Miguel is an aspiring musician. The problem? His family has a ban on music. While strumming a guitar, he is accidentally transported to the land of the dead where he meets his great-great-grandfather, who is actually the reason behind the ban. With his help, Miguel must get out of the land of the dead and convince his family that music isn’t all that bad.
While this movie is less of a Halloween-themed animation and more of a Day of the Dead one, the supernatural elements in this show make it suitable for this spooky season.
You can catch it on Disney+.
Spooky Kitaro 6
After 20 years into the 21st century, many have forgotten about yo-kai. However, when unexplainable things start happening to adults, Mana, a 13-year-old girl, writes to the Yo-Kai post to get some answers. What she didn’t expect was to meet a yo-kai boy whose aim is to unite humans and yo-kai together.
This series touches on supernatural beings in Japanese folklore. This show’s angle is a cliché that never gets old; you can co-exist and be friends with others despite your differences (yes, in this case, even if the other party isn’t human).
Full of action-packed scenes and sufficiently scary yo-kais, this show is a great addition to any family’s October to-watch list.
It premiers on Animax Asia at 8:30 pm on 22 October 2021 and airs every weekday at 6:30 pm afterwards.
Sharkdog’s Fintastic Halloween
The Sharkdog series is about Sharkdog, a shark that acts like a puppy, and his adventures with his owner. In this special Halloween episode, Sharkdog and his owner, along with his owner’s two best friends, are deep into a story-telling session before they go trick-or-treating.
In the story, Sharkdog and his companions must solve the mystery of the Fearsome Fog, a green mist that is stealing anything Halloween-related. Whether it’s candy or pumpkins, the green fog will not stop. Can Sharkdog and his friends stop whatever is behind the fog before Halloween is cancelled?
This episode hits right at the heart of Halloween. It’s filled with adventure, fun, and Sharkdog is a loveable character that children and adults alike will love.
You can watch it here for free.
Nightbooks
Nightbooks is an interesting rendition of the story of Scheherazade. If you don’t know the story, Scheherazade is a character in a Middle Eastern folktale who told 1,000 stories every night to a king in order for him to spare her life.
Similarly, Alex is a scary story fan who has been captured by a witch to tell her scary stories every night in exchange for his life. Should he fail, he will be turned into a figurine on the shelves of the home. Alex and his newfound friend must try to escape from the grasps of the witch in order to go back to their parents and their normal lives.
This show very much falls under horror and thriller, a perfect launching point for children wanting to get into real horror shows.
We recommend this show for children ages 10 and above due to its realistic visual effects.
You can catch it on Netflix.
Corpse Bride
This can’t be a Halloween show recommendation without Corpse Bride. For the uninitiated, Corpse Bride revolves around Victor and his accidental marriage to Emily, a corpse. The story is filled with Victor’s attempts to get back to Victoria (his human wife-to-be), but many obstacles pop up along the way. Will Victor be able to leave the land of the dead to be with who he loves?
This show focuses heavily on the supernatural and death, while also teaching those that watch it that whatever you do will somehow come back to you.
Corpse Bride’s animation style fits the spooky season, and it’s not too scary that children will be put off by it. We recommend it for children ages five and up.
You can watch it on Netflix.
A Letter to Momo
A Letter to Momo is an anime surrounding a young girl who recently lost her father. When she moves back to her mother’s hometown, she meets three goblins who appear scarier than they actually are. The goblins help her to overcome her father’s passing and are beside her as she adjusts to her new life.
This show is definitely on the heart-warming side, but it’s full of supernatural elements and scary-looking goblins that make it perfect for Halloween.
You can watch it on Apple TV and Google Play.
City of Ghosts
City of Ghosts is a little different from the other recommendations. It is a very slow-paced, uniquely animated series created in a documentary style. The show is centred around a group of children who go around looking for ghosts so that they can record their stories.
The show makes heavy topics such as discrimination easily digestible for children of all ages.
Each ghost has a different backstory, and all six episodes hit the heart.
You can find it on Netflix.