Halloween Movies Are What's Pop'n

You can't have a proper Halloween without one of two things: a Halloween movie, or a bag of treats. While one will surely lead to extra (painful) trips to the dentist if consumed in large quantities, the other is only bad for you if you get queasy at the site of too much onscreen blood.

With the exception of one classic work for which I must give props to CBS Television and Charles M. Schulz for bringing to the screen, the movies on this list are not for the squeamish and will make some people (especially the under-11 set) burst into fits of fright and probably not want to sleep in his or her own bed for the night.

4.) House of 1,000 Corpses. Is Rob Zombie an auteur? Of course he his. His music is just as damaged as some of his movies. "House" was a boost to Zombie's fledgling directing career. What makes this movie special is that it's absurd, horrifically desperate in places and reminds you of that Texas Chainsaw Massacre exploitation vibe. 

3.) An American Werewolf in London. There's a cheese factor that this 80's movie has developed over the years, but make no mistake this is one of the scariest werewolf movies ever made. It still stands as one of the best (non-CGI) man-to-wolf-transformation scenes ever shot. Plus, you can't beat that soundtrack of all tunes having to do with "moon".

I think I was around 10 years old when my uncle took me to see this movie. I stayed through some of the bloodiest scenes, but by the time it came to the scene with the deer in the woods, I was out of there.

2.) Return of The Living Dead. I had to put a zombie movie on here. This was the first zombie movie that really made me think: Could Z-Day ever happen? The premise is plausible enough. Plus, the zombies in this movie run and tackle their prey. That's pretty scary. Plus, the "More brains..." scene is priceless.

1.) It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Wednesday OCT 31, at 8pm on ABC). Technically, this isn't a movie, it's a TV special. There are a handful of Charlie Brown holiday specials, but only two really count. This one and the Christmas one. This isn't scary at all, but it's required viewing for any family Halloween party.