The 25 best Halloween TV episodes of the 21st century

The Halloween TV episode has been around for decades, ever since the days of “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” in 1966. It’s heartening to see that, even in today’s streaming times, some series are still embracing the seasonal tradition. Over the past several years of the new(ish) century, we’ve seen some impressive additions to this spooky canon, so below is our list of the 25 greatest Halloween episodes of the 21st century. These include the establishment of a new holiday tradition on shows like and , freaky costumes that most of us could only dream about (or browse online), and a spot-on sitcom homage to the “Great Pumpkin” itself.

More often than not, horror movie sequels pale in comparison to the original, and that also applies to Modern Family’s Halloween episodes: Latter-season spins on the holiday just can’t compete with the first. In season two’s “,” it’s established that Claire (Julie Bowen) takes the holiday very seriously, and it’s not long until she’s playing drill sergeant to the entire Dunphy clan, who are all under her roof to make it the scariest trick-or-treat destination on the block. The tightly constructed story sends plates spinning for almost every character, and they all gloriously come crashing down in the makeshift haunted house. But the episode really belongs to Sofia Vergara: Though it starts as cringe-y commentary on Gloria’s broken English, she gets the last laugh, and it’s a phenomenal showcase for the ace comedic timing of the show’s most valuable player. [Cameron Scheetz]

The unfortunately titled “Slutty Pumpkin” establishes the parameters that would carry HIMYM over several seasons, using “It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” as a template. Ted (Josh Radnor) is Linus, of course, doggedly returning every year to the same party as a hanging chad in the hopes that the titular pumpkin will return, with Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) trying to get him to go to a Victoria’s Secret party instead. There’s even a fakeout near the end that the pumpkin might actually be there, and Robin (Cobie Smulders) coming out with a blanket in the middle of the night to help Ted wait (just to underline all the parallels, the a cappella group at the party performs “Linus & Lucy”). HIMYM used many inspired plot devices to elevate it from the standard sitcom, and “Slutty Pumpkin” was one of its very first successful attempts. (T, in the form of Katie Holmes, in season seven.) [Gwen Ihnat]

In this season-four episode, which was filmed in the same location as another iconic horror series (the Murder House from season one of ), a frat-hosted Halloween party goes awry when the boys of the house accidentally awaken a malevolent fear demon. Naively painting an unknown symbol on the floor comes back to bite them, as the evil force now in the home brings all of the horrifying holiday decorations to life. The Scooby gang isn’t just frightened by the reanimated corpses, spells gone haywire, and killer skeletons; their own insecurities become just as fearsome as they wander the ever-moving halls separated from one another. “” makes clever use of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s famous quote, and with a surprising twist on the demon du jour, the episode shows us that sometimes things are only as scary as we make them out to be. [Gabrielle Sanchez]

Happy Endings set the bar high for Halloween episodes with its season-two effort, “.” Sure, Brad (Damon Wayans Jr.) and Jane (Eliza Coupe) are out in the suburbs getting pummeled by the local kids; Alex (Elisha Cuthbert), sporting a husky voice due to an illness, manages to win a drag contest; and everyone thinks Dave (Zachary Knighton)’s take on Austin Powers is actually Elton John. But Max (Adam Pally) and Penny (Casey Wilson) handily win the most surreal/hilarious costume effort: A mom (Penny) carrying a giant baby in a BabyBjörn (Max). It’s hard to pinpoint what’s most disturbing about it: The tiny baby arms that Max keeps pummeling everyone with? The fact that the joint costume makes individual flirting difficult? The lack of bathroom privacy? It’s all of the above, resulting in “Spooky Endings”’ status as an unforgettable holiday outing (much as you may try to exorcise Max’s giant baby head from your Halloween memories). [Gwen Ihnat]

Like the broader show, ’ “Treehouse Of Horror” episodes offer diminishing returns, especially as the pop culture references trend away from horror, going as far afield as a parody. , is a wickedly good time, not least of which because the spoofs are actually on target. The Hitchcock homage of “Dial ‘M’ For Murder Or Press ‘#’ To Return To Main Menu” is a black-and-white delight, and one of the most ambitious segments “Treehouse Of Horror” has ever produced. The riffs on , , andmake “Don’t Have A Cow, Mankind” another solid offering, while sendup “There’s No Business Like Moe Business” joins the canon of Simpsons musical moments. But “XX” is worth watching for “Dial ‘M’ For Murder…” alone. It also might be the only time we see so many of the the Universal monsters gathered onscreen for a while. [Danette Chavez]

There are few things scarier in an office setting than the threat of being laid off or fired, which is what makes the plot of The Office’s second season episode “” such an inspired choice for the holiday. Jan (Melora Hardin) has tasked Michael (Steve Carell) with cutting someone from the staff, and there is no prospect more frightening for the insecure people pleaser. The ominous threat hangs over the entire workday as Michael, aided by Sith lord Dwight (Rainn Wilson), tries and fails to lay off various employees, who are mostly also in costume: Stanley (Leslie David Baker) just laughs off Dwight’s weak “you’re fired” attempt, while savvy vampire Creed (Creed Batton) throws out background player Devon (Devon Abner) as a replacement. Devon’s hobo costume just makes Michael’s eventual decision all the more painful, but not to worry, in true Office fashion, there’s an (eventual) happy ending: Dwight hires Devon back in the series finale. [Gwen Ihnat]

, Jess (Zooey Deschanel) decides to host a Halloween party. The loft gets a Halloween makeover, complete with cobwebs covering the hallways, orange fairy lights, and spooky banners. We also get Jess’ incredible costume—the very punny, Joey Ramone-a Quimby. However, as the episode title suggests, the highlight of the episode is when we learn that Schmidt (Max Greenfield) has had a decades-long penpalship with Michael Keaton. Of course, it isn’t the real Keaton, but Schmidt’s mom and Nick (Jake Johnson) pretending to be the famous actor. Instead of coming clean about the secret, Jess decides to steal a Batman costume from a trick-or-treater and impersonate the Caped Crusader himself. Jess gets an A for effort but her impersonation is hilariously disastrous. This episode’s strength lies in Jess’ quirky Halloween antics of course, but, as in 90% of New Girl episodes, Nick and Schmidt’s friendship—which is always genuinely wholesome in the most unexpected ways. [Shanicka Anderson]

This one is notable for how it both meets and defies expectations around a simple setup for a Halloween-themed sitcom episode. “” uses an annual Halloween party at BoJack’s, 25 years running and largely against his will, to show how Mr. Peanutbutter (Paul F. Tompkins) has (or hasn’t) changed throughout the years. The episode unfolds as a compilation of various parties, with Mr. Peanutbutter arriving with a different girlfriend or wife each time, but a fight always breaking out between the two of them. Elsewhere, Princess Carolyn (Amy Sedaris) works the door, Diane (Alison Brie) tries to leave, and BoJack (Will Arnett) wanders around in varying degrees of sobriety. The time changes are bluntly lampshaded through the characters’ costumes, like one girlfriend’s Blossom getup, but also when they announce to each other, oh so naturally, what year it is. It’s a clever way to dress up what could have been a much more traditional half-hour of TV. [Laura Adamczyk]

In its second season, Community found the perfect balance of relatable character-based storylines and well-crafted genre homages (“mischaracterized by the ignorant as parody,” to quote Abed in a later episode), and—despite being heightened and unbelievable—“” is one of the best examples of this. When the Dean (Jim Rash) gets a deal on old army rations and serves them at Greendale’s Halloween party, everyone in the school gets violently ill and develops symptoms that seem strangely similar to some kind of zombie virus. That’s absurd, certainly, but the episodes gets some good laughs out of never outright dismissing that possibility while also making time for Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) and Chang (Ken Jeong) to bond over the fact that nobody respects them, setting up a surprisingly humanizing arc for Chang when he realizes he might be the father of the baby Shirley has later in the season. [Sam Barsanti]

Much like Larry David himself, Curb Your Enthusiasm does its own thing. So, unlike a lot of other sitcoms, this Halloween episode from Curb isn’t centered around a party or any clever costuming. Most of “” isn’t about Halloween at all, instead focusing on Cheryl (Cheryl Hines)’s birthday and Larry catching flack from a fellow Jewish man for whistling a song by Wagner, the notoriously anti-semitic composer. Later, when Larry denies two teenagers candy—they’re both costume-less and, he decides, too old for trick-or-treating—the petulant girls TP his house. But wouldn’t you know it, the man on the street is one of the girls’ fathers and couldn’t care less about punishing his daughter. It wouldn’t be an episode of Curb without Larry suffering, however briefly, for sticking to his own personal rules for living in a society. [Laura Adamczyk]

Bob’s Burgers is known for its holiday episodes, both because it insists on doing as many as it can every year and because they tend to be very good. They usually offer some kind of insight into a specific member of the Belcher family that fits the seasonal setting, allowing the episodes to rise beyond the “wacky family having a wacky holiday” sitcom trope. “” in particular is a very sweet takedown of the tough-girl façade that Louise (Kristen Schaal) puts on, with the family and their friends all coming together to finally—finally—orchestrate a haunted house that actually scares her. It just requires a complex conspiracy involving a purposefully bad haunted house, a fake evil cult, and Teddy (Larry Murphy) cutting the brake lines on the car… though he didn’t really need to do that. Also, [Sam Barsanti]

It wouldn’t fit the tone of It’s Always Sunny to go with campy spooks for . Instead, Charlie Day and Rob McElhenney present the most hilariously disturbing idea for fans in season six: the possibility of Dennis (Glenn Howerton) going far enough in his perversion that he’d have sex with his sister, Dee (Kaitlin Olson). The gang’s done plenty of terrible things over several seasons, but nothing could ever be as disgusting as that—not even Frank (Danny DeVito) and Artemis (Artemis Pebdani) getting it on in a dumpster outside of a Wendy’s. (Thankfully, we find out that nobody actually had sex with Dee, she was just messing with them.) This episode has everything fans could want: drunken chaos, a whodunit, and plenty of moments that are uniquely horrifying to the It’s Always Sunny universe—including Mac (McElhenney) frenching Margaret McPoyle (Thesy Surface). [Tatiana Tenreyro]

Gloria Calderón Kellett and Mike Royce’s was just as heartwarming and topical as its predecessor, but “One Halloween At A Time” leaned into the sweeter side of the show. The episode is packed with costume changes and more permanent makeovers, as the Alvarez family, led by Penelope (Justina Machado), prepare to celebrate with their extended family members Dr. Berkowitz (Stephen Tobolowsky), Schneider (Todd Grinnell), and Avery (India de Beaufort). Elena (Isabella Gomez) and her partner Syd (Sheridan Pierce) offer up the only real social commentary with their couples costume: Greta Thunberg and a melting iceberg. Schneider spends much of the episode trying to find the perfect costume, but by the end, he has a whole new role: expectant father. “One Halloween At A Time” captures the sunny appeal of ODAAT, while also offering plenty of visual treats. [Danette Chavez]

Season five’s emotional “Halloween Surprise” pulled out a last-second trick with Ben (Adam Scott) and Leslie (Amy Poehler)’s engagement, but season four’s “” is all treat, which is why it claims Parks And Recreation’s spot on our list. The A-plot sees Leslie enlist the services of Entertainment 720 to court local small business owners for her campaign, and what could be scarier than coming face-to-face with the citizens of Pawnee? Meanwhile, the rest of the gang attends Andy (Chris Pratt) and April (Aubrey Plaza)’s Halloween party, a classic Parks recipe for success that brings the cast together in a social setting and lets them cut loose. Between Andy and Ben’s brotherly brawl, Ron (Nick Offerman) in Mr. Fix-It mode, and Jerry (Jim O’Heir)’s Mr. Potatohead costume (which gives us a killer silent gag), it’s a real goodie bag of an episode. Plus, (Eric Isenhower) is there, lurking in the background, and nobody better embodies the spirit of the holiday. [Cameron Scheetz]​​

in Angel’s fifth season has all the makings of perfect spooky time viewing: an array of ghouls and monsters, mysterious murders, and a raging office party, all with a soundtrack of ’80s disco and ’90s rave. One of the series’ highlights, the episode primarily follows beloved emerald empathy demon Lorne, played by the late Andy Hallett. As Lorne channels his effortless charm throughout the episode, even the more uptight characters in the ensemble cast let loose and get a little goofy during the night’s events. “Life Of The Party,” while never truly frightening, balances Joss Whedon’s typical zingy one-liners with chest-tightening tension. As Lorne tries to host a Halloween party for the ages, one truly terrifying monster appears: the combination of suppressed conflict and sleep deprivation. [Gabrielle Sanchez]

You’d think that Gravity Falls’ endless summer setting would make a Halloween episode an impossibility; Alex Hirsch et al. create a holiday loophole with “.” The spooky Oregon town loves Halloween so much, it celebrates it twice a year, with jack-o’-lanterns carved into watermelons instead of pumpkins for the summer version. Gravity Falls was really a show about tween twins Dipper (Jason Ritter) and Mabel (Kristen Schaal) saying goodbye to their childhood, and “Summerween” was no exception, as Dipper wants to ditch trick or treating to go to a cool teen party with Wendy (Linda Cardellini), while Mabel wouldn’t dream of missing out on the candy-hunting fun. But Dipper’s cynicism unfortunately draws the ire of the Summerween Trickster (Jeff Bennett), a creepy, arachnid-like scarecrow that’s actually made of the most noxious Halloween candy leftovers. Poignant observations about growing up, an unsettling villain, and hilarious commentary about an extremely relatable aspect of the holiday? Sounds like yet another perfect Gravity Falls episode to us. [Gwen Ihnat]

It’s always gratifying when bullies get their comeuppance, so “Night Of The Day Of The Dead” is a great revenge episode—in tame Disney fashion, of course. Mean girl Kate (Ashlie Brillault) is hesitant to let Miranda (Lalaine) have a Day Of The Dead display at the school’s “Fright Night.” (She also tricks Lizzie into cleaning up the janitor’s closet with the false promise of letting her be “dungeon mistress”.) Lizzie (Hilary Duff), Gordo (Adam Lamberg), and Miranda enact their payback by tricking Kate into thinking the spirits of the dead are haunting her. The elaborate setup even involves Miranda’s parents acting as skeletal bride and groom dolls come to life. On the surface, it might look like any spooky Disney Channel Halloween episode, but having a Mexican character get the last laugh after her classmate refuses to respect her culture is an impactful touch. [Tatiana Tenreyro]

In a sense, the entire second season of Stranger Things—released in October 2017, and which concerns itself largely with the corruption moving among some not-so-great pumpkins—could be considered the show’s “Halloween installment.” But the series dispenses with the holiday proper early on, producing, in the process, one of those nostalgically iconic images the Duffer Brothers are so damn good at crafting: Mike (Finn Wolfhard), Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo), and a still quietly traumatized Will (Noah Schnapp) decked out in their lovingly crafted Ghostbusters uniforms as they travel door to door. “” has plenty of great little touches— gives good Dracula as poor, doomed Bob Newby—but its deeper appeal taps into Stranger Things’ ongoing obsession with the ends of things, as the four boys participate in what only some of them have figured out is the last moments of the innocent, trick-or-treating portions of their lives. [William Hughes]

“” is really only half of a Halloween episode: Although the effects of Liz (Tina Fey)’s carp po’boy were indeed horrific, the A-plot is part of a larger, non-seasonal arc about a new cast member joining TGS With Tracy Jordan. The actual Halloween aspect of the episode ties in as well, given that it’s Jenna (Jane Krakowski)’s attempts to butter up the writers in order to secure her place on the show that eventually lead to Frank (Judah Friedlander), Lutz (John Lutz), and Toofer (Keith Powell) actually dancing with real living women at a costume party on the TGS soundstage. The key here is to tap into Jenna’s power over “gay Halloween,” the mysterious force that calls all the slutty nurses and sexy devils on the island of Manhattan into homosexual haunts on Halloween night. The result is the best All Hallows’ Eve of all their lives—even Tracy (Tracy Morgan)’s, once the death of a foul-mouth ventriloquist’s dummy frees him from the dreaded “rule of three.” [Katie Rife]

Even Kelso could pick up on the theme of That ’70s Show’s second Halloween episode. In fact, it’s Ashton Kutcher himself who states the thesis of “Too Old To Trick Or Treat, Too Young To Die” when he wonders out loud, “What if we were in an Alfred Hitchcock movie?” Hitchcock is an odd choice for a sitcom set in the ’70s, as the Master Of Suspense’s best years were already far behind him by that point. In fact, exchange student Fez (Wilmer Valderrama) is the only one who’s current in his references, dressing up for the holiday as Frank N. Furter from . But what the show does with the concept is so inspired that even a nitpicker might be inclined to let it go, dividing the episode into three clever, silly storylines, pulling in references to Hitchcock classics like The Birds, North By Northwest, , and Vertigo. Kutcher once again proves to be the MVP of the episode by playing the Janet Leigh role in a gender-swapped parody of Psycho. [Katie Rife]

In many ways, there’s no reason for Sam (Jared Padalecki) and Dean (Jensen Ackles) Winchester to treat Halloween as any change from the norm—as Sam reminds his sibling, when you spend your life fighting monsters, witches, and demons, “Every day for us is Halloween.” But this episode not only takes place during the holiday, it provides the reason for the season: After several unusual murders draw the brothers’ attention to a small town, they learn a witch is attempting to summon Samhain, or the original demon whose yearly presence birthed the traditions we now associate with Halloween. (As usual, this series never lets the actual historical record of the Gaelic tradition that morphed into the holiday get in the way of some fun monster-derived revisionism.) In the middle of a larger arc involving angels, Lucifer (Mark Pellegrino), and the struggle for Sam’s soul, this case of the week episode manages to pay tribute to its typical ghouls and goblins in a seasonally appropriate manner. Hail Samhain! [Alex McLevy]

The primary plot motivation of involves family patriarch Dre (Anthony Anderson) trying to keep his family’s cultural identity intact in their upper-class Sherman Oaks neighborhood. Season two’s “” is the perfect opportunity for these two sides to clash once again, as every year the Johnson kids have to stand against their tougher, neighborhood-invading cousins for some “roughhousing,” and usually get pummeled. But this year the Johnsons—adorably dressed as the Obamas, especially Jack (Miles Brown) as family pet Bo—defeat the cousins, thanks to extensive months-long training. They also discover that the apple does not fall far from the tree, as Michael Strahan shows up in a wonderful guest part as Dre’s own bullying cousin, June Bug. Meanwhile, Bow is in charge of trick-or-treat candy distribution that just gets more sinister the later the evening gets, making for many hilarious moments from Tracee Ellis Ross. Naturally, the episode ends with an appreciation for all kinds of family in classic Black-ish fashion. [Gwen Ihnat]

There’s technically plenty of ostensible “story” to this episode of American Horror Story, but that’s not what makes it fun. No, the Harmon family and their troubles are largely incidental to the appeal of “)”; the good stuff is with Jessica Lange’s Constance and Evan Peters’ Tate, the latter being the troubled boy romancing daughter Violet (Taissa Farmiga)—and whose bleak backstory is finally revealed in this episode. With trick-or-treaters being scared away by a certain burned-face man, Tate and Violet are followed back to the Murder House by some vengeful teenagers—or rather, they used to be, before they were horrifically killed in a Columbine-style school shooting. Combine the revelations about Tate’s involvement in the tragedy with Constance’s subplot involving her own dead daughter and a reveal of another child, and you’ve got the dark, flirting-with-poor-taste churn of nightmarish ideas and imagery that makes the show worth watching. [Alex McLevy]

Given the Halloween episode’s long history in sitcoms, few recent shows have been as primed to add to the canon as WandaVision. The dramedy uses sitcom elements to explore Wanda Maximoff’s (Elizabeth Olsen) isolating struggle with grief, and “!” blends the comedy and emotions while having fun with the superhero nature of it all. Wanda and Vision (Paul Bettany) get decked out in their costumes as a nostalgic tribute to the comics. The episode speeds the plot along with Pietro (Evan Peters) nudging Wanda to reveal how she put the spell on Westview. Vision’s curiosity leads him out of the dome around town, straight into the clutches of Hayward (Josh Stamberg), who orders his disintegration just before Wanda saves him. We wouldn’t expect anything less from the Scarlet Witch than such a memorable Halloween episode. [Saloni Gajjar]

Brooklyn Nine-Nine has delivered multiple bangers with its Halloween heist episodes, but season five’s “” is head and shoulders above the rest. The plot of Jake (Andy Samberg), Amy (Melissa Fumero), and Holt (Andre Braugher) competing for the “amazing human/genius” cummerbund might feel familiar, but the episode ends with a sentimental touch: Jake’s proposal to Amy. Along the way, “HalloVeen” involves plenty of fun twists without being convoluted, as sitcom holiday episodes sometimes get. Bill (Winston Story)returns, this time to play fake Gina, and Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio) betrays his BFF Jake to team up with Rosa (Stephanie Beatriz) and Terry (Terry Crews). Crucially, “HalloVeen” gifts the world with Holt’s epic dialogue about his pet corgi: “That’s not Cheddar, that’s just some common bitch.” It’s a GIF that keeps on giving. [Saloni Gajjar]