Best Short Films for Spooky Season! 💀👻🎃

Time to update your Spooktober Watchlist!

Welcome back to Long Story Short!  I hope you’ve been enjoying the early days of autumn, and now that it’s October, Spooky Season has officially begun!  As the seasons change and our playlists shift from BRAT to Evermore, I always think it’s fun to have a horror movie marathon in preparation for Halloween.  I have a whole list of scary movies I’m planning to watch for the first time this month, and I’m sure I’ll go back to old favorites like The Nightmare Before Christmas (Selick, 1993) and Hocus Pocus (Ortega, 1993).  However, today I will be focusing on spooky short films that I think should be on your watchlists this October.  There are so many great horror/spooky short films out there, and there are many more that I still want to check out, but these are the ten that gave me the creepy crawlies in a matter of minutes.  These films are under 30 minutes (some are even under 10) and should be readily available on YouTube or streaming.  Read on if you dare as I share my 10 favorite short films for Spooky Season!

The Skeleton Dance (Disney, 1929)

I talked about this one during my Favorite First-Time Watches of June list, but allow me to sing its praises once again here.  When I think of Spooky Season, The Skeleton Dance is exactly what comes to mind with its haunting atmosphere, creepy nocturnal animals, and of course, its quartet of dancing skeletons.  Within its opening seconds, the film sets the tone with a powerful lighting strike and a cooing owl overlooking a desolate graveyard, where the dead rise from their graves to throw a late-night party.  The black-and-white animation is staggeringly impressive both in its creation of atmosphere and its comedic timing.  Whenever these skeletons seem to have peaked, they pull out another trick.  I was honestly sad when it ended.  The Skeleton Dance proves that even when summer is over, the party never dies.  Since it’s one of Disney’s most innovative and historically important films, The Skeleton Dance is readily available and well-preserved on Disney+, but you can also find it on YouTube.  It’s a rollicking good time that you won’t want to miss.  I might go ahead and watch it several more times this month just to lift my spirits!

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Melendez, 1966)

This one’s a given.  Most of you have probably already seen it many times, but I couldn’t make a Halloween shorts list without this classic.  The Peanuts crew always have a special for every holiday, and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown is one of their best.  There are so many iconic bits in this thing: The opening sequence, Linus waiting for the Great Pumpkin with Sally, Snoopy’s Red Baron side quest, and most tragically, Charlie Brown getting rocks while all the other kids get candy while trick-or-treating.  The melancholic undercurrent is part of what makes these specials so timeless.  Beyond the memorable story beats, the animation is beautiful with a wonderful autumnal color palette.  The blood-red sky during the opening sequence and the shadowy images of the Red Baron sequence effectively capture the seasonal mood.  It would be tough to find a more sincere Halloween special than this one. 

The Old Mill (Jackson & Heid, 1937)

One of Disney’s finest pieces of animation, The Old Mill is a perfect short to put on during a chilly autumn night.  What begins as a peaceful, light-hearted jaunt through the countryside quickly becomes something much scarier once day turns to night.  As the storm worsens, the animals within the titular mill are powerless to stop their habitat from crumbling.  Breaking new technological ground with its use of the multi-plane camera, The Old Mill masterfully creates a chilling ambience, chock full of bats, spiders, owls, lightning, and strong gusts of wind.  In only nine minutes, the film takes viewers on an emotional roller-coaster and is sure to delight (and possibly frighten) people of all ages.  In my personal opinion, it’s the best in the Silly Symphonies catalog.  You can watch it on Disney+ or YouTube!

Zone (Ito, 1995)

Halloween is a great time to check out the many great films from Takashi Ito, whose experimental directorial style always brings an unsettling aura to his work.  In my opinion, his best and scariest film is his 1995 project Zone.  As with all of Ito's films, Zone is a more abstract piece focusing more on mood and emotion than storytelling or concrete meaning.  Still, it is quite possibly the least inscrutable film from Ito as there are tangible expressions of frustration, anxiety, and entrapment.  The ticking clock, snakelike train, and eerie picture frames come together to create a startling, visceral experience.  Zone is also a visual marvel with incredible stop-motion animation.  It’s one of many experimental shorts that had me wondering how such images were even created.  If you enjoy this one, you should also check out Ito’s Ghost (1984), a unique depiction of supernatural activity that will suit the Halloween spirit.

TRIGGER WARNING: Flashing Lights

Vincent (Burton, 1982)

After you’ve checked out Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (Burton, 2024), keep the Tim Burton party going with one of his earliest projects.  Vincent is a beautifully animated, black-and-white, stop-motion short about a seven-year-old boy with a deep inclination for the dark and twisted.  Brilliantly narrated by Vincent Price, Burton has created a wonderfully haunted and darkly funny short with gorgeous chiaroscuro lighting and fantastic animation.  This gothic style would become typical of his later work, so it’s wonderful to see him exploring it so early in his directorial career.  It wouldn’t feel like the Halloween season without a plethora of stop-motion classics, and I would recommend that you add Vincent to that list.  Maybe read some Edgar Allan Poe afterward, too!

The Last Time I Saw Richard (Verso, 2013)

If you’re looking for some queer-themed horror, The Last Time I Saw Richard is the movie for you.  One of the more obscure films on this list, this Australian short is set in a teen mental health clinic where mischievous Jonah (Toby Wallace) is forced to share a room with mysterious newcomer Richard (Cody Fern).  Though their relationship is adversarial at first, they eventually form a deep bond as they battle their intertwined demons together.  The horror elements are well-executed, but the real highlight is Toby Wallace’s performance in the lead role.  Wallace (whom you may recognize from Babyteeth (Murphy, 2019) or The Society) brings such vulnerability to his performance as his arrogant facade in the early stages starts to crumble through his connection with Richard.  Though I admire it as a short film, I wish I could see it as a feature-length project to learn more about these characters and explore the themes a bit deeper.

TRIGGER WARNING: Self-harm

Babes in the Woods (Gillett, 1932)

Another Silly Symphony.  I’m sorry for being repetitive, but early Disney has so many great spooky movies!  Babes in the Woods is Disney’s take on “Hansel and Gretel” and one of their first films made with Technicolor.  While it may not be as innovative as The Skeleton Dance or The Old Mill, it is possibly the most frightening with the witch serving as a truly menacing antagonist.  Her cottage of horrors contains countless children, trapped in cages and forcibly transformed into bats, cats, and spiders.  Even before her arrival, the film creates a deeply sinister tone with the trees and animals configuring into threatening shapes, and the loud gusts of wind signaling a sense of unease.  It’s certainly one of the creepiest Disney products I’ve seen, and you can watch it right now on Disney+.

The Big Shave (Scorsese, 1967)

Why not spend Halloween with one of cinema’s greatest?  The Big Shave is one of Martin Scorsese’s first projects, and it’s surprising that he never did any horror afterward because he’s clearly got an eye for it.  A seemingly mundane task turns shockingly violent and bloody in this incredibly unnerving short film.  From what I can gather, the film is commenting on the Vietnam War and American society at large during that time.  It’s certainly a film worth analyzing, but I also think there’s value in not overthinking it and just letting your visceral reaction come through.  The Big Shave has the seal of approval from the Criterion Collection, but you can also watch it on YouTube or Max!

Skin & Bone (Powers, 2022)

Skin & Bone is the most recent film on this list, but it still deserves a spot amongst the more established classics.  It stars Amanda Seyfried as a secluded farm owner who hires a lonesome drifter with a troubled past played by Thomas Sadoski.  I don’t wanna say much else because a large part of the film’s appeal is in its mystery.  All you need to know is that this is a very well-crafted short film with strong performances from both lead actors.  It evokes an incredibly ominous atmosphere and contains some very shocking imagery.  Plus, Amanda Seyfried blesses us with her wonderful singing voice, so if you want to get in the Halloween spirit but still miss the days of Kalokari summer, Skin & Bone is a nice middle ground.

Junior (Ducournau, 2011)

This is the most disgusting film on the list.  Junior is the debut of French director Julia Ducournau, and if you’ve seen Raw (2016) and Titane (2021), you know she has a twisted directorial vision.  This short tells the coming-of-age story of Justine (played by frequent Ducournau collaborator Garance Marillier in her first-ever role), who undergoes a bizarre transformation after contracting a stomach virus.  As she often does, Ducournau tells a very human story in the most horrific fashion possible, as Justine’s puberty is depicted as an utterly traumatizing experience.  Even in its extremity, I imagine a lot of people will relate to Justine’s journey.  If your stomach is easily turned, I’d recommend skipping this one, but for fans of body horror, this will surely be a hit.  Also, I’d like to point out that Garance Marillier’s character in all three of Ducournau’s movies is named Justine, so the theory that she’s playing the same person over and over again is very much alive!

Thank you for reading, and I hope you check out all of these films during your Spooktober Marathon!  Let me know if you have any more horror movies or shorts that I should watch during this time of year to get in the spirit.  I hope everyone is getting their costumes ready for the big day in a few weeks.  Until then, here’s a vintage Marcopulos photo from a past Halloween.  Stay spooky my friends!