In honor of Halloween, this week and next week will focus on Top 10 Halloween/Haunted Episodes. I decided to break it down from pre-1995 and 1995-present. So this week is the Top 10 from before 1995!
Close Calls:
The Andy Griffith Show "The Haunted House"
Bewitched "The Safe and Sane Halloween"
I Dream of Jeannie "My Master the Ghostbreaker"
This episode is not haunted by any means but is incredibly sweet and one of the first really great Cliff-centric episodes of the series. It's completely charming but also eye opening to see that character let his guard down and show his insecurities.
9. Laverne & Shirley "Haunted House" (March 22, 1977)
Perhaps the most standard "haunted house" episode on this list, it's a fun opportunity to get Laverne, Shirley, Lenny and Squiggy in a room together. Sure it's not super scary, but the characters are scared and it is funny.
8. The Brady Bunch "Fright Night" (October 27, 1972)
This episode is not specifically tied to Halloween but it did air in late October. The Brady kids trying to spook each other is a fun "escalating scares" episode. It's about as scary as The Brady Bunch might get aside from the outfits in most every episode.
7. The Jeffersons "Now You See Me, Now You Don't" (October 21/28, 1979)
A genuinely suspenseful two part episode, there are some great costumes and moments even if some are a little hammy (it is The Jeffersons after all). But the episode really does do a good job of building fear and suspense while still continuing to be funny.
Both black and white Halloween episodes of Bewitched did a tremendous job of exploring prejudice themes. The second one is a little goofier but does have a truly fantastic scene between Samantha and Endora where Samantha accuses her mother of being the stereotype they work so hard to fight against.
5. Roseanne "Boo!" (October 31, 1989)
Roseanne was well known for its Halloween episodes and the love of Halloween from the Conner family. The first one they did is probably the best "escalating scares" episode out there with Roseanne and Dan trying to outdo each other in a very festive episode.
4. Cheers "Bar Wars V: Final Judgment" (October 31, 1991)
I loved the Bar Wars episodes of Cheers and the final one, clearly set to Halloween, is probably the strongest one of them all. The stakes had been raised so high from years of competitions and this was a very satisfying payoff.
3. The Dick Van Dyke Show "The Ghost of A. Chantz" (September 30, 1964)
This episode genuinely gave me the creeps when I was younger. The Petries going to a seemingly haunted cabin with Buddy and Sally goes between creepy moments and hilarious moments with such ease and the action never stops in a very fun episode.
2. Bewitched "The Witches Are Out" (October 29, 1964)
The first of six Halloween episodes of Bewitched is the best one. It is a perfect example of how much early Bewitched episodes strived to be about much more than witchcraft. It's an allegory to prejudice at a time where that was rampant. Watching it today will still be a relevant lesson and it's a very sharp look through a fantasy lens.
The quintessential Halloween episode as far as I'm concerned. It is always #1 for me when I talk about Halloween episodes. It has such a throwback feel to how Halloween must have been in the 1950s (or at least how I hoped it was). It's got a little bit of suspense but mostly it just leaves you yearning for a Halloween season of a time gone by.
Tomorrow: A One Season Wonder look at Tabitha!
Next Tuesday: Top 10 Halloween/Haunted Episodes (1995-Present)
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