Child-appropriate Halloween movies can be much harder to find than R and PG-13 scary movies, but they’re out there. We rounded up the top-searched scary movies for kids to stream this Halloween.
Think you might know which scary movie for families was most popular in your state this year? Make a quick guess and then check below to see if you got it right.
Interesting Findings on Halloween Movies for Kids
Part of the 1998 classic HalloweenTown was filmed in St. Helens, Oregon, and every year the town relives its stardom with a month-long festival called Spirit of Halloweentown. No wonder Oregon searches for this movie more than any other state! Fun fact: Parts of the Twilight series were also filmed in St. Helens.
The movie Coco was the top-searched movie in California. With Coco being based on the sacred Mexican holiday Día de Muertos, perhaps the many Californians of Mexican ancestry appreciated the chance to see their heritage represented on screen.
People in Wyoming love the adorable hauntings of Casper the friendly ghost—maybe because he shares the name of the second-largest city in their state.
People in New York searched for the 1984 classic Ghostbusters more than any other state did. The movie also takes place in New York City.
Your State’s Top-Searched Scary Movie for Kids
Alabama Beetlejuice
Alaska FrankenWeenie
Arizona The Nightmare before Christmas
Arkansas Scooby-Doo
California Coco
Colorado Beetlejuice
Connecticut Ghostbusters
Delaware Monster House
District of Columbia Hocus Pocus
Florida The Haunted Mansion
Georgia ET
Hawaii Hotel Transylvania
Idaho Coco
Illinois Coco
Indiana The Nightmare before Christmas
Iowa Scooby-Doo
Kansas Ghostbusters
Kentucky The Nightmare before Christmas
Louisiana The Haunted Mansion
Maine Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Maryland ET
Massachusetts ET
Michigan Ghostbusters
Minnesota Ghostbusters
Mississippi Scooby-Doo
Missouri The Nightmare before Christmas
Montana Scooby-Doo
Nebraska Coco
Nevada Frankenweenie
New Hampshire Beetlejuice
New Jersey Ghostbusters
New Mexico Coraline
New York Ghostbusters
North Carolina Scooby-Doo
North Dakota Ghostbusters
Ohio Coco
Oklahoma Coco
Oregon HalloweenTown
Pennsylvania Ghostbusters
Rhode Island The Haunted Mansion
South Carolina ET
South Dakota Monster House
Tennessee Scooby-Doo
Texas Hotel Transylvania
Utah The Nightmare before Christmas
Vermont Ghostbusters
Virginia Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Washington Coco
West Virginia Hocus Pocus
Wisconsin Ghostbusters
Wyoming Casper
Methodology
We tracked Google search data from the past year on children’s Halloween movies rated PG or below and selected the top 18. We then ran the search volume of these 18 movies in every state and reported only the movie with the highest volume.
One difference from last year: our first report ranked kid-friendly spooky movies that were available only on streaming services. Our second report considers any Halloween movie for kids that’s available to buy, rent, stream, or watch on live TV.
- US Census Bureau: Table QT-P10 Hispanic or Latino by Type: 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2018.