To all things there is a season, and right now, it’s a great time to watch horror movies. But not just any horror movies (Santa’s Slay, for example, is definitely not right for October.) You need to pick carefully. Here are 15 films that are set on or around Halloween, to get you into the pumpkin-carving spirit…

Halloween (1978)

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way, for starters. Often cited as the film that sparked the 80s slasher trend (even though it’s far from being the first movie of its kind) the first Halloween movie stars Jamie Lee Curtis as an innocent teenager who finds herself being targeted by a masked maniac with a knife. Most of the film feels a little dated now, especially if you’ve seen Scream or The Cabin In The Woods, both of which make fun of many of the tropes established here, but that opening sequence is still brilliant. If you’re only going to watch one horror movie this Halloween, you might as well make it this one.

Halloween III: Season Of The Witch (1982)

All of the Halloween movies are set at Halloween, but listing them all here would be pretty tedious. The third one deserves a mention, though, because it isn’t about Michael Myers killing babysitters. Instead, it’s about the mysterious Silver Shamrock company, which appears to be manufacturing evil masks. At the time, it didn’t go down well with audiences expecting a slasher, but it’s acquired a cult following since. If nothing else, the Silver Shamrock jingle will stay with you – and totally get stuck in your head every Halloween for the rest of your life.

Hocus Pocus (1993)

Adults probably won’t be creeped out by this Disney comedy about a group of kids who accidentally bring some long-dead evil witches back to life, but as kids we found some scenes terrifying. Now we just love it because it’s so much fun – watching the witches adjust to modern life is entertaining, particularly when they repeatedly fail to understand Halloween costumes, and the kids (including a very young Thora Birch) are endearing rather than annoying.