As Halloween is coming around the corner, students are juggling multiple responsibilities after school like homework, clubs, or chores. Their limited free time explains why students hardly have time to get in the Halloween spirit, since there are so many movies to choose from. Thankfully, several students at J. Sterling Morton West High School have expressed their favorite Halloween movies so you can get into its spooky culture before the holiday.

Senior Hector Tapia, expressed family-oriented Halloween movies like Hocus Pocus and The Addams Family (1991). When asked why, he explained, “I feel like the laugh, you know the jokes, and the pranks that are in these movies are kind of nice,” Tapia said, “like it brings the family together.”

Junior Abigail Loera, dives into the spooky culture of Halloween. During the interview, Loera listed, “I would say classics like Scream… if you want to get really spooked where it’s hard for you to sleep, the Conjuring is also scary.” When Loera was asked why those movies are her favorite, she replied, “I don’t know. It’s just like, it gets you in that spirit of Halloween. So it’s like, spooky, you’re getting spooked.”

Senior Maya Garcia listed off her top 3 Halloween movies which were A Nightmare on Elm Street, Carrie (1976), and Halloween (1978). She mentioned, “It’s just that a lot of them are based on fall… ” Garcia said, “So like Scream is based in autumn. I believe A Nightmare on Elm Street is in the fall and Carrie is during spring… it has a lot of spooky elements, which I think I draw back to.”

Senior Fabian Batista willingly listed his Halloween movies, all of which – including Predator, Alien, and The Thing – have a specific sci-fi element to them. During the interview, he elaborated,  “I grew up with [a lot of] movies that were sci-fi… it always got me into the horror aspects. The gore, the suspense, and the special effects are just good.”

Halloween is more than trick or treating and dressing down for one day, it is a thrilling experience when you give in supsensful, haunting, and eerie culture. If any of these movies appeal to you, go give these movies a watch during your free time.