Get un-spooked: Halloween movies that won't give you nightmares, Where to watch them

Halloween may be more than two months away, but if department stores can fill their aisles with spooky decor as early as August 1, then it isn’t too early to start watching spooky movies to get you in the mood.

Some people celebrate Christmas starting in November, others start dusting off their fake skeletons and gravestones in July.

But what’s a wimpy Halloween-lover to do? You can only re-watch “Halloweentown” or “The Nightmare Before Christmas” so many times.

If you love the Halloween season, but are more of a “Hocus Pocus” person, rather than an “Insidious” person, here are some Halloween-appropriate movies that won’t give you nightmares.

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Where to stream 'Death Becomes Her' (1992)

“Death Becomes Her” is a fantastical tale of two frenemies, Meryl Streep and Goldie Hawn, who discover an elixir for eternal youth. This dark comedy is loaded with satire and is an early example of special effects that now add to the hilarity of Hawn and Streep fighting to the death over a man, Bruce Willis, and a magic potion. And if you’re here for the aesthetics, the costuming and styling of the movie is quite whimsical.

You can stream “Death Becomes Her” on Freevee, Peacock TV, Prime Video, Apple TV, Redbox or Vudu.

How to watch 'The Stepford Wives' (2004)

Arguably the predecessor to 2022’s “Don’t Worry Darling” and a remake of a 1975 film with the same title, "The Stepford Wives" is a thriller comedy starring huge names like Matthew Broderick, Nicole Kidman, Bette Midler, Glenn Close and Christopher Walken. This movie is about a white picket-fenced neighborhood that seems all-too-perfect, with perfect housewives who perfectly attend to their husband’s every need whilst wearing perfectly-pressed swing skirts, even to exercise class. But what’s under the surface?

You can find out what’s up with the wives in Stepford with Paramount Plus, SHOWTIME, Showtime Anytime, Sling TV, Spectrum TV, Prime Video, Apple TV or Vudu.

How to Watch Disney’s 2003 ‘The Haunted Mansion’ movie before you see the new one

Starring Eddie Murphy as a workaholic realtor and Marsha Thompson as his wife, this Disney movie became an instant classic for Disney lovers everywhere, as it was inspired by the parks’ wildly popular “Haunted Mansion” rides. In the movie, the Evers family (Murphy’s family) get trapped in a haunted mansion riddled with ghosts, ghouls and a creepy butler. “The Haunted Mansion” is available to stream exclusively on Disney Plus.

The film was recently remade with a rockstar cast, starring Rosario Dawson, Lakeith Stanfield, Owen Wilson, Tiffany Haddish, Danny DeVito, Jared Leto and Jamie Lee Curtis. It’s not available to stream yet, because it just released in theaters on July 28.

Where to watch ‘We Have a Ghost’ (2023)

This Netflix original, starring "Stranger Things’" David Harbour, with a cameo from Jennifer Coolidge as a TV medium, is about a family who moves into a house that – you guessed it – has a ghost living in it. Although Netflix labels it a “laugh out loud” comedy, it’s more sentimental than funny, although there are some laughs to be had.

You can watch “We Have a Ghost” exclusively on Netflix.

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Feeling witchy? Here’s where you can stream ‘Practical Magic’ (1998)

This witchy story about sisterhood and what it feels like to be an outsider features Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock, playing sisters who are generational witches. Trouble brews when Kidman calls Bullock for help late one night. One dead body and a round of midnight margaritas later, the two have to do their best to evade an arrest and keep their magic an open secret rather than a known fact – without the help of their witchy aunts who raised them.

You can stream “Practical Magic” on Hulu, Prime Video, Apple TV, Redbox or Vudu.

Where to stream ‘The Addams Family’ (1991)

A cult classic, “The Addams Family” has been entertaining lovers of all things delightfully macabre since before the most famous movie iteration of the story released in 1991. Followed by a sequel in 1993, “The Addams Family Values,” and a cartoon remake in 2019, it has inspired countless pieces of media, including a Tim Burton-directed spin-off show, “Wednesday,” which took Netflix by storm in 2022.

If you haven’t learned about “The Addams Family” by cultural osmosis, it’s about a strange family where the term “weird” is relative and describes most of their relatives, like Uncle Fester, who is the main focus of the 1991 film’s plot.

You can stream “The Addams Family'' for free on Paramount+ or Pluto, or you can rent or purchase the movie with Google Play, iTunes, Amazon Instant Video or Vudu.

How to watch ‘The School for Good and Evil’ (2022)

This 2022 fantasy is a Netflix original featuring big names like Kerry Washington, Charlize Theron, Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Yeoh, Cate Blanchett and Broadway legend Patti LuPone. Starring young actresses Sofia Wylie and Sophia Anne Caruso, it explores themes of friendship and good versus evil with a certain whimsy reminiscent of the “Harry Potter” movies.

Best friends Sophie and Agatha have grown up as outcasts in a small, small-minded village, until one day they find themselves in a battle of good and evil at an enchanted academy made for heroes and villains.

You can stream “The School for Good and Evil” exclusively on Netflix.

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‘Bewitched,’ bothered and bewildered: Where to stream the 2005 movie starring Will Ferrell and Nicole Kidman

This 2005 take on the classic 1960s sitcom of the same name stars Nicole Kidman, Will Ferrell, Shirley MacLaine, Michael Caine and Kristin Chenoweth. Nothing about this movie is spooky, but it is witchy. When narcissistic actor Jack Wyatt (Ferrell) casts normal-girl Isabel Bigelow (Kidman) for a remake of the popular sitcom, he has no clue how perfect she is for the role. With just a twitch of her nose, Isabel steals the show, sending Jack into a fit of hilarious rage.

Lianna Norman covers trending news in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at lnorman@pbpost.com. You can follow her reporting on social media @LiannaNorman on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Halloween movies that won't give you nightmares and where to watch them