Top 9 Halloween Movies for School-Aged Kids

Tim Burton combines wholesome comedy and creepy horror with this tale of a mild-mannered Victorian gentleman, Victor, who accidentally marries a mysterious corpse bride instead of his intended, Victoria. Victor soon discovers that the Land of the Dead holds more fun than frights and begins to fall in love with his innocent bride. Meanwhile, Victoria has been drawn into a scam of a marriage and may not escape with her life.

In a world where each holiday has its own town, Jack Skellington embarks on a search for something more than the dreariness that Halloween Town offers. Inspired by his discovery of Christmas Town, Jack tries to bring a little Christmas spirit back home. Some of the characters may be scary to very young children. Rated PG for some scary images.

A unique animated movie in a realm all it's own, Coraline is the perfect Halloween haunt movie for those who like a scare. While the animation is brilliant and the story one-of-a-kind, both may be frightening, horrifying even, to young children. For older kids, though, the movie is a creepy cautionary tale about the perils of things that are too good to be true. (PG)

Based on the story by popular author R.L. Stine, The Haunting Hour: Don't Think About It tells the spooky story of a girl who takes scaring people a little too far. When she finds a book that is capable of real magic, her courage in the face of a truly scary situation is put to the test. The movie is rated PG, for scary content and thematic elements. Stine's scary collections of short stories are generally aimed at kids about 9-12 years old, and the movie seems to target that age group as well.

This collection includes the following full-length feature films: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Great movies for Halloween time, but the fourth and fifth movies did get a PG-13 rating.

Eddie Murphy stars in this spooky, CGI effect-packed Disney film, based on the famous Disney World attraction. He plays Jerry, a workaholic real estate agent who interrupts his family's vacation to check out a remote mansion that's for sale. But soon he and his family are trapped in the haunted house and are screaming for their lives. Rated PG.

In this spooky suspense film, an American family moves into a creepy manor house located within a wooded area. Before long they start to see some odd things, and the new tenants learn that 30 years ago, a teenage girl, who bears an uncanny resemblance to their daughter Jan, disappeared nearby. Soon, the supernatural presence starts contacting both sisters. Very Scary! Definitely watch this one first to decide if kids should watch. Rated PG.

A freak show/carnival arrives in a small Illinois town, lead by the evil Mr. Dark. The town's citizens discover, to their surprise and delight, that Mr. Dark has the ability to grant wishes. However, the price of having a wish fulfilled is high: becoming a permanent member of Mr. Dark's traveling freak show. Rated PG.

Goosebumps DVDs are based on the novels from R.L. Stine's horror series for 9-12 year-olds. The book series is a scholastic series, and each DVD has one or more episodes based on the Goosebumps stories. These stories are aimed at kids, but the gross looking monsters could be scary, even for some older kids. If they are fans of the books, though, kids will probably like the movies.