Halloween was a special time of year on Disney Channel in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The network came up with clever names like "Hauntober Fest" or "Monstober" for their block of spooky programming. Even though it wasn't the most ghastly stuff out there, it was just right for a lot of elementary and middle school kids.
There are 13 Halloween DCOMs in total (a fitting number), some more memorable than others. Let's see which one takes the honorable distinction of most scary, and then cue the movie marathon on Disney+.
The Swap (2016)
The Swap, based on a book by Megan Shull, is Disney Channel's final Halloween movie to date, premiering on October 7, 2016. The DCOM features Peyton List of Jessie and Jacob Bertrand of Cobra Kai.
Overall, the movie can barely be considered a Halloween film, but it has been marketed as such. The movie initially aired as part of the Monstober Halloween block, and it does have the elements of body-switching and spells. The main characters must swap back before it's too late. This one isn't the best, and it has some dated and unrealistic gender stereotypes.
Invisible Sister (2015)
This one is based on My Invisible Sister by Beatrice Colin and Sara Pinto. Because the movie was directed by Paul Hoen (a longtime DCOM director), it retains some of the magic of earlier originals. Rowan Blanchard plays lead girl Cleo, a teenager who constantly feels like she's in her sister Molly's shadow.
When Cleo accidentally makes her popular sister invisible, she must stand in for Molly's important school activities. Cleo gets a taste of being noticed at school, just in time for Molly to become visible again. It's kind of cute, but this movie is not scary. The Halloween decorations at Cleo's house and school are a sight to behold.
Girl vs. Monster (2012)
This Luke Benward and Olivia Holt movie is not one of Disney's finest for Halloween. Holt is the main character, Skylar, a teen who loves to sing. She finds out that her parents are monster hunters when she accidentally releases a creature.
Pretty much everyone in the 2012 film becomes demon-possessed, and there's a lot of pop singing and some lackluster special effects. Small children might be scared, but that's about it.
Halloweentown High (2004)
Halloweentown High marks Kimberly J. Brown's last appearance as Marnie Cromwell (unless there is a reboot). Instead of Marnie going to Halloweentown, Halloweentown comes to her. Now that she is in high school, the more seasoned witch is hosting some foreign exchange students undercover from Halloweentown.
This 2004 movie is not nearly as frightening as the first two movies in the franchise, but fans still love it.
Under Wraps (1997)
In the very first DCOM, three kids stumble upon a goofy mummy in the basement of a man who fakes his own death. They cutely call the mummy "Harold" and shepherd him around town as they learn that he must be returned to his sarcophagus by midnight on Halloween.
The only scary part of this movie is the opening scene, which includes a fake horror movie that Marshall and Gilbert watch in the theater. After this parody with the garbage disposal and the knife, the action of the DCOM is harmless.
Twitches (2005)
Twitches (2005) was based on a popular book series of the day by H.B. Gilmour and Randi Reisfeld. Alex and Camryn are twin witches, also known as Artemis and Apolla of Coventry. They receive their powers, find each other, and meet their biological mother on their 21st birthday.
If one can excuse the weak CGI, the movie has a frighteningly perfect aura. Tia and Tamera Mowry of Sister, Sister bring the magic only as twin witches can, and they prepare to defeat The Darkness in rhythm with Aly & AJ's classic, "Into the Rush." Even though The Darkness is just their biological uncle, he's a bewildering force.
Twitches Too (2007)
Twitches Too picks up where the first movie left off. Camryn and Alex are having trouble getting along as they adjust to being around each other all the time. The sisters are called back to the magical land of Coventry because The Darkness returns, and the uncle is ready to come back in human form.
The CGI is slightly better with the castle here, and there are some moments in the isolation of the fortress that would have scared some kids back in 2007. It's sweet to see the twins with both of their biological parents when their father is brought back to power (they thought he was dead).
Return To Halloweentown (2006)
In 2006, Sara Paxton took over the role of Marnie for Return to Halloweentown, the final Halloweentown movie to date. As one could assume, Marnie is now in college in Halloweentown. She is a student at Witch U, a school dominated by some evil witches.
There are some nice moments, but Debbie Reynolds is barely in the movie, and its darker tone doesn't match up with the earlier films. Despite the evil witches, the scariness of the movie is not overwhelming.
The Scream Team (2002)
The Scream Team (2002) had a tough act to follow since it premiered a year after Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge. The movie starred a young Kat Dennings, and it has one of the grooviest musical DCOM intros ever (big Scooby-Doo vibes). Dennings plays Claire Carlyle, and Mark Rendall plays her brother, Ian.
After Ian and Claire's grandfather passes away in the New England town of Steeple Falls, the siblings learn the fabricated legend of Zachariah Kull, a spirit who is out for revenge. The fiery film is full of friendly, delinquent ghosts tasked with handling a purgatory-like state as souls cross over into the afterlife. This movie is a lot for Disney, but it's a good choice for a haunting family film.
Halloweentown II (2001)
Some say that this is the finest Halloweentown movie of the franchise. Marnie is even more excited about being a witch, but Aggie still has to caution her eager granddaughter.
Everything goes wrong when Marnie foolishly gives an age-old spellbook to her date--and the date is Kalabar's son! It's a time-traveling, portal-opening adventure that will definitely give the viewer a few chills, but not too many.
Mom's Got A Date With A Vampire (2000)
Charles Shaugnessy from The Nanny and Caroline Rhea from Sabrina the Teenage Witch were the perfect pair for this DCOM. Not to be confused with Jonathan Lipnicki and The Littlest Vampire, this film is pretty self-explanatory. When a brother and sister are grounded but still want to go out for the night, they set up their divorced mom on a date with a random man from the Internet.
The kids' plan backfires when the date, Dmitri, turns out to be a vampire. Charles Shaugnessy makes a convincing vampire, and this was a good scare for young kids in 2000. Robert Carradine (Lizzie McGuire's dad) adds some comedic relief as Van Helsing, the vampire hunter.
Halloweentown (1998)
Halloweentown is everything to millennials. The film was truly scary to some of the kids who grew up with it, or at least the ending was. The movie does a beautiful job of painting typically scary creatures as kind and fully-dimensional beings.
It's easy to remember the rapid transformation Kalabar casts over the town, making everything gray and dreary. The spookiness factor is just right, and the story is one of the best.
Don't Look Under The Bed (1999)
Don't Look Under the Bed is the scariest DCOM of all time, not just in the Halloween category! The main character is named after Frances Bacon. When someone wreaks havoc on the whole town and frames Frances, it can all be traced to the Boogeyman, for which the movie is an origin story. Earlier when Frances's little brother, Darwin, was diagnosed with leukemia, she had encouraged him to stop believing in his imaginary friend, Larry Houdini (Ty Hodges of Even Stevens).
As Larry makes a gruesome transformation, Frances learns that imaginary friends turn into Boogeymen when children stop believing in them. This is as close to a horror movie as Disney Channel would get, and it is their highest-rated Halloween movie on IMDb at 6.9.