There are seven people in our house. Which means there are approximately seven opinions about what constitutes a good Halloween movie—and whether we need to watch The Nightmare Before Christmas again.
Spoiler alert: YES. YES, WE DO. 🎃
I love Halloween. The costumes, the spooky stories, the decorations, and an excuse to embrace everything weird for a whole month. But as a mom of five, I’ve learned that what one person calls Halloween fun might be another person’s nightmare. And sometimes that nightmare is exactly what my husband wants to watch on TV. 🤣
The Gegg Family Halloween Movie Marathon
Hocus Pocus Is Nonnegotiable
We watch both Hocus Pocus movies every year—well, Hocus Pocus 2 every year since it came out! The Sanderson sisters are permanent members of our October traditions.
The Nightmare Before Christmas: FIFTEEN TIMES
We probably watch The Nightmare Before Christmas fifteen times in October alone. And not as background noise. We all sit down and watch the entire thing. The kids. Ty. Me. Every single time. Jack Skellington is practically the sixth Gegg child.
For YEARS, we’ve said Tim Burton needs to give us one of these movies for every holiday. Easter Town! Thanksgiving Town! Fourth of July Town! We would watch every single one. (Movie-nerd note: Henry Selick directed The Nightmare Before Christmas, based on Burton’s story and characters.)
The Kids’ Other Favorites
Our kids also love Spookley the Square Pumpkin, Disney’s Z-O-M-B-I-E-S franchise, and the Sing Halloween feature. And I can’t wait to introduce them to the Halloweentown franchise eventually!
Ty Wants Blood. Lots of It.
My husband’s ideal Halloween marathon involves Leatherface, the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies, Rob Zombie’s Halloween films, and the Firefly trilogy: House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects, and 3 from Hell. The more blood, the better. 🤦♀️ These are, needless to say, adults-only picks—not the little kids’ lineup.
Me? Give Me Demons and Ghosts.
I like genuinely terrifying movies, but I don’t need buckets of gore. Give me The Conjuring series, The Nun, Annabelle, Poltergeist, and even Wrong Turn. Haunted houses, possessed dolls, things moving when nobody’s touching them—that’s my kind of scary. You know. The relaxing stuff. 🤣
Somehow, with all these different preferences, we still wind up together in Halloween Town.
Halloween Doesn’t Look the Same for Every Child
That got me thinking. If seven people in one house can have such different ideas of Halloween fun, imagine how differently kids experience the holiday itself.
For some children, Halloween is pure excitement. For others, the costumes, barking dogs, flashing lights, crowded sidewalks, and strangers answering doors can be overwhelming.
I recently received a helpful Halloween guide from Jen Wirt, founder and CEO of Coral Care, a pediatric therapy provider. Emma McKissick, PR Coordinator at Pitch Public Relations, shared Jen’s expert-written resource with In My Mom Era. Emma and Coral Care are also working with us on a separate holiday gift guide feature for November.
Jen’s guide, Trick-or-Treating With Autism, Speech Delays, or Sensory Needs: A Prep Guide and Free Social Story, has practical suggestions worth sharing:
- Practice ahead of time. Play trick-or-treat at your own door, look at photos of decorations, and walk your planned route in daylight.
- Make room for different communication styles. A wave, sign, AAC device, card, or simply holding out a treat bag can work. Speaking at the door isn’t required.
- Keep it manageable. Go early, skip noisy or startling houses, bring comfort items, and agree on a signal that means it’s time to go home.
- Celebrate another way if that works better. Hand out candy, visit a daytime event, or have a candy hunt at home. One house—or no houses—is perfectly fine.
- Prepare with a social story. Coral Care’s customizable I Am Going Trick-or-Treating story explains the night step by step, including how a child can ask to stop.
What I love most is the idea that going home when your child is ready isn’t a failed Halloween. It’s a successful plan that respected your child.
Want a little help preparing for Halloween? Coral Care offers a free Halloween social story printable that families can use to walk children through what to expect on trick-or-treat night. Just visit Coral Care’s download page and enter your email address to sign up for their blog and receive the printable.
Source and credit: Halloween preparation advice summarized and adapted from an expert-written guide by Jen Wirt, founder and CEO of Coral Care, provided to In My Mom Era by Emma McKissick of Pitch Public Relations. This section is not a direct interview or a verbatim reproduction of the guide.
A Little Halloween Adventure in St. Louis
You know we Geggs love a good reason to get out of the house, too. And the Missouri History Museum has a spooky event coming up!
Ghost Stories and Guitars — Thursday, October 29
From 5–8 p.m. on October 29, 2026, the Missouri History Museum at 5700 Lindell Boulevard, St. Louis, is hosting Ghost Stories and Guitars, with live music by Sandy Beaches, haunted St. Louis stories around a courtyard bonfire, free tarot readings, and costumes encouraged.
The museum’s announcement lists ghost stories at 6 p.m. and during concert intermission, free tarot readings from 6–8 p.m., and Sandy Beaches performing from 6:30–7:15 p.m. and 7:30–8 p.m. Food and drinks will be available for purchase during part of the evening.
Check the Missouri History Museum for event details and updates before heading out. If you’re bringing kids who are sensitive to loud sounds or spooky stories, choose the activities that work for them.
Make Halloween Yours
Halloween doesn’t have to mean the most elaborate costume, the longest trick-or-treating route, or the scariest haunted house. Maybe it’s a neighborhood adventure. Maybe it’s handing out candy. Maybe it’s a cozy night on the couch.
Or maybe, like us, it’s watching The Nightmare Before Christmas for the fifteenth time while Ty plots his next horror marathon and I wait for a demon to crawl out of the television.
Whatever your version looks like, I hope you make memories.
And if Tim Burton ever gives us Thanksgiving Town, somebody PLEASE tell me. The Geggs will be ready. 🖤🎃
Warmly,
Kelly I’M ME
In My Mom Era
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