It’s time for a new round of Halloween parties, and we need some TV episodes to share with our friends. These are some of the best Halloween episodes of TV shows from the past few decades. Pull out your DVDs and create a line-up for your Halloween weekend, or search for these episodes in your TV rerun listing. They’re all worth watching again.
10 Modern Family S02E07 (2010)
This show has been funny from the start, and their Season 2 Halloween episode was fantastic. I wish my mother had been into Halloween as much as this mom.
9 The Big Bang Theory, Season 1: S0106
Four Flash’s and the Doppler effect made episode 06 a funny episode, as are most of the BBT shows.
8 Boy Meets World: And Then There was Shaun
A clever take on Agatha Christie’s “And then there were none…” This was a very funny, nicely written episode.
7 Dick van Dyke : Ghost of a Chanz (Episode 96)
Laura, Rob, Sally and Buddy go up to a cabin for the weekend, and find it’s haunted. Quirky and genuinely funny, a memorable episode.
6 Growing Pains S06
Season 6 of Growing Pains had a brilliant 1-hour Halloween episode. The family is stuck at home in a rainy storm telling ghost stories. The spooky version of their opening theme is timeless!
5 Friends S08E6
The season 8 Friends Halloween party is worth a second viewing.
4 NewsRadio S03E33 (1996)
This was one of the funniest shows on TV, and very under-appreciated. Phil Hartman, Andy Dick and Dave Foley were comic geniuses during this period.
3 Supernatural S04E07 It’s the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester.
2 Supernatural S04E05 Monster Movie
This was actually 2 episodes before the real Halloween episode that year, but it fits as an even better Halloween tribute. Filmed in black and white, it spoofs some of the best Universal Monster flicks of the 40s and 50s.
1 Newhart S06E07 : Take me to your Louden!
The Halloween 1987 Newhart show, starring Bob Newhart, featured a take on H.G. Wells’ “The War of the Worlds.” In his small Vermont Town, Michael decides to run the old 1938 broadcast, but the sleepy little town actually falls for it. The results are extremely hilarious. The town finally decides that Bob Newhart is the alien infiltrator. Bob tries to convince the townsfolk it’s just a radio gag. One of my favorite sequences, with everyone barricaded and hiding in the Inn, the shutters start to bang…
Mayor: “So how do you explain all these noises, then, Bob?”
Bob: “Oh, I don’t know… the wind?”
Mayor: “Boy, you’ve got an answer for everything.”
The big payoff comes when Larry, Darryl & Darryl appear at the end. You have to see it to appreciate the humor. I’ve never been able to find clips of this online, but check it out on DVD. It’s the best Halloween episode from TV’s past.
See also: 10 Best Comedy Movies for Halloween
Top 40 Songs for Halloween Parties