Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
Halloween may be primetime for horror flicks, but sometimes, it can be nice to indulge in a little escapism with your favorite television characters for a special holiday-themed episode. Whether a departure from the drama for some scary shenanigans or full-on crazy costumed comedy, these episodes see characters engage in some familiar activities and don looks that put even the spookiest folks to shame.
From terrifying tricks to telling treats, these episodes range in subject matter from forcing characters to face their biggest fears to finding the most ridiculous thing they can wear to pick up the love of their life. TV may change, but holiday-themed episodes are forever – and Halloween boasts some of the best out there. Here are our favorite Halloween-themed TV installments for your timely streaming enjoyment.
"Tricks and Treats", 'Freaks and Geeks'
There are a lot of things that were wonderful about the unjustly short-lived Freaks and Geeks, and the comedy’s Halloween-themed episode is only one of those things. When Lindsay Weir finds herself torn between staying the goody two-shoes she’s always been and leaning fully into a “freak” lifestyle, she spends her night at home handing out candy – until temptation gets the better of her. Meanwhile, after a series of progressively humiliating events, her younger brother Sam and his friends realize they might be too old to trick-or-treat (and Mrs. Weir realizes her kids might be growing up quicker than she ever anticipated).
"Halloween", 'The Office'
The Office did Halloween (and other holidays) a lot, but there are few episodes as funny as this season two installment. When Michael is tasked with letting someone in the office go due to budget cuts, he waits till the absolute last minute (and puts everyone through the ringer stress-wise) before he bites the bullet with his decision. Full of hilarious costumes and an A+ Star Wars reference, “Halloween” is a perfectly compact little holiday episode.
"Slutty Pumpkin", 'How I Met Your Mother'
This Season 1 episode sees Ted spend his night waiting for the eponymous Slutty Pumpkin, the “dream girl” he met years ago at the same party and proceeded to lose the number of afterwards. The rest of the gang, dressed up in their Halloween best, get into their usual hijinxes, but nothing is as entertaining as the lovesick Ted waiting on the one who got away in 2001.
"Greg Pikitis", 'Parks and Recreation'
In this Season 2 episode, Leslie spends her Halloween trying to catch archnemesis prankster Greg Pikitis and Ann spends hers trying to plan the perfect Halloween party, which is inevitably disrupted by personal drama and boring guests. Both our respective leading ladies are saved by different characters and Parks and Recreation perfectly pulls off a multi-layered Halloween episode here, once again proving why it remains one of the best comedies in recent memory.
"Halloween", 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'
There were four Halloween-themed episodes over the course of Buffy‘s run, but perhaps none were as ridiculous as “Halloween”. This fateful Season 2 installment sees the gang turned upside down when a curious spell turns them into a real version of whatever costume they’re wearing that evening. Funny, frightening, and more than a little insightful to our characters’ true selves, “Halloween” is as entertaining as it is intelligent.
"Epidemiology", 'Community'
Can you imagine a better combination than B-horror movie tropes and the best of ABBA? This episode of Community employs a hilarious rift on the zombie genre when Dean Pelton inadvertently orders a zombie-creating virus with the cheap military food reserves he buys for his Halloween party and the gang goes through all the classic movie motions we’re used to seeing. That’s not all, either – there are also the uproarious side-plots and punchlines that ensure “Epidemiology” knocks it out of the park.
"Chuck vs. the Aisle of Terror", 'Chuck'
Perhaps the most absurd episode included on this list, “Chuck vs. the Aisle of Terror” sees an evil scientist (played by master of our nightmares Robert Englund) try to sell a fear toxin to the highest bidder in the hallowed halls of the Buy More. Our favorite ditzy Buy More employees Lester and Jeff have just finished creating a makeshift fun house in the store known as the “Aisle of Terror”, a house of horrors that evidently scares no one except this mad scientist, who finds himself completely terrified by the images of a baby in a snail costume, interspecies relations, man feet, and more.
"Halloween", 'Modern Family'
Modern Family does a helluva Halloween episode every year, but this Emmy-nominated episode dives into a lot more than meets the eye in a short amount of time. “Halloween” chronicles the Dunphys’ stressful creation of a haunted house in their home as all members of the extended family reckon with personal fears and anxieties ranging from marriage troubles to issues with speaking English.
"Keaton", 'New Girl'
Like much of what New Girl has done over the course of its run, “Keaton” goes full-crazy and never flinches or shies away from all its quirks in the process. It’s hard to imagine anything funnier that Schmidt believing he’d been carrying on an email correspondence with Michael Keaton all these years (and that Nick has been the one maintaining this myth), and its inevitable unraveling at the Halloween party provides some moments of total hilarity and cringeworthy comedy that’s hard to look away from.
"The One with the Halloween Party", 'Friends'
This Season 8 episode sees Monica and Chandler try to host a Halloween party with less-than-ideal results, including a bright pink bunny costume for Chandler and a ridiculous Spud-nik costume courtesy of our ever-neurotic Ross. As the evening unfolds and the jokes keep coming, Phoebe runs into her twin sister Ursula, who she discovers has been telling some pretty big lies to her fiancé, and Rachel, trying to be good with kids, turns to handing out money to trick-or-treaters after she runs out of candy.
