10 Classic TV Halloween Episodes From The '60s And '70s, Ranked

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When spooky season is in full effect, we all want something suitably seasonal to watch. Some of us seek out a horror movie that will really give us nightmares. Others are looking for treats, rather than tricks, so they may opt for the best Hallmark Channel Halloween movies of all time. Yet, some spooky fans are simply in search of the classics. If you prefer spending the Halloween season streaming classic movies, then perhaps some Halloween episodes of classic TV shows should be your next marathon. 

TV from the '60s and '70s really has a way of really bringing on the nostalgia — whether you were actually watching these shows back then or not. So, enjoying Halloween episodes from this time period can be a particularly festive and fun way to spend the fall. Luckily, you don't need to come up with your Halloween '60s and '70s TV marathon schedule all on your own. We've ranked 10 classic Halloween episodes from that era, ending with our must-watch picks, and we've got all the info about how to watch them too. For more information on how we decided our ranking, stay tuned until the end. In the meantime, kick back, relax, and take a trick-or-treating trip down memory lane.

The original "Star Trek" series ran from 1966 through 1969 and only featured one holiday special. Season 2, Episode 7, "Catspaw," originally aired on October 27, 1967. Captain Kirk, played by William Shatner, and the gang arrive on a spooky island with a haunted castle and tons of monsters. 6.2 out of 10 on IMDb lands it low on our list. Yet, while the episode's cheesiness may have earned it a relatively low rating, it's also why many people love this particular installment; it's a bit funnier than scary. Stream on Paramount+.

For folks who simply love Halloween, a seasonal trip on "The Love Boat" is definitely worth taking. Season 2, Episode 7 premiered on October 28, 1978. Entitled "Ship of Ghouls," the episode follows a Halloween cruise, featuring The Amazing Alonzo, played by legendary actor Vincent Price, as the magical on-deck entertainment. With an IMDb score of 7 out of 10, this episode just might inspire you to seek out a Halloween cruise for next year — or simply to watch more of "The Love Boat," which you can do right now on Paramount+.

Season 2, Episode 7 of "Starsky & Hutch" first aired on Oct 30, 1976, otherwise known as Halloween Eve. Like many other spooky specials from the '70s, it's chock full of camp and corniness. Still, this particular episode of the iconic show does deal with a slightly scarier storyline than some of the others on this list. The episode follows Starsky and Hutch as they investigate murders that are very vampire-like. The episode is fittingly entitled "The Vampire," and it currently has 7.3 out of 10 on IMDb. You can stream it on Apple TV.

Unlike most of the best Halloween-y TV episodes out there, "The Lucy Show's" spookiest installment didn't air around the holiday itself, instead premiering on January 25, 1965. In the episode, Lucy, played by Lucille Ball, and Vivian (Vivian Vance), are completely terrified by a horror movie. In her dreams that night, Lucy is visited by classic Halloween characters, from Dracula to a werewolf. Season 3, Episode 18, aptly entitled "Lucy and the Monsters," currently has a 7.3 out of 10  on IMDb and can be watched on YouTube.

What's Halloween without The Addams Family? The famously frightening fam is spooky all year long. So, it's only to be expected that they're particularly festive around Halloween. Episode 7 of "The Addams Family's" debut season proves exactly that, fittingly named "Halloween with the Addams Family." It originally aired on October 30, 1964 and showed the world what it would be like to visit the Addams Family's haunted home on Halloween night. The episode currently has a 7.8 out of 10 score on IMDb, and you can stream it on YouTube or Amazon Prime Video.

"Happy Days" was typically more happy than haunted. But Season 2, Episode 6 of the hit sitcom managed to be both. Just two days ahead of Halloween 1974, "Haunted" aired for the first time. The episode follows Ron Howard's Richie Cunningham as his skepticism of rumors about a nearby house being haunted are challenged. In addition to a handful of scares, the episode also delivers plenty of laughs, as expected from "Happy Days." With an impressive 8.2 out of 10 on IMDb, the episode is currently streamable on Paramount+.

For many people, "The Muppet Christmas Carol" has become a holiday classic worth returning to every year. If this sounds like you, then why not spend Halloween with the Muppets too? "Alice Cooper," the seventh episode of Season 3 of "The Muppet Show," first hit screens on Oct 28, 1978. Cooper himself joined the Muppets for some seriously silly and spooky sketches, and he also performed some of his hit songs, including the aptly titled "Welcome to My Nightmare." The episode has plenty of fans, with a current IMDb score of 8.4 out of 10. Catch it on Disney+ or Apple TV. 

Halloween is obviously one of the best holidays for witches. For their neighbors, however, it's probably not a favorite. "Bewitched" Season 4, Episode 8 tests this theory. In the 1967 installment, little Tabitha Stephens, played by Erin Murphy, does what any magical toddler might do; she brings three characters from one of her books to life. The spooky characters then proceed to terrorize the neighborhood until Tabitha's act of magic is discovered and dealt with accordingly. The episode presently has an 8.6 out of 10 on IMDb, and it can be watched on Amazon Prime Video.

Fans of "The Brady Bunch" know that the famous series was anything but scary. But that doesn't mean the Bradys didn't celebrate spooky season. Season 4, Episode 8, entitled "Fright Night," aired on October 27, 1972. In it, the Brady kids find themselves in a spooky prank war that gets a bit out of hand. The children start pranking their housekeeper Alice (Ann B. Davis), eventually resulting in a broken decoration and a very Brady life lesson. The episode currently has an 8.10 out of 10 on IMDb and is available on Paramount+.

"It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" wasn't a Halloween episode of a classic TV series. Instead, it's a Halloween special that aired in 1966. Still, its popularity and staying power allowed it to become a classic all on its own. The beloved spooky special, which follows the various Peanuts characters on Halloween night, currently has an 8.1 out of 10 on IMDb, which on its own wouldn't put it in the No. 1 slot. But the fan-favorite installment has earned itself a time slot on TV every year since and has made it a classic across generations. Stream it on Apple TV.

All of these classic TV series are someone's favorite, and by the same token, when the idea of an old Halloween special comes up, different episodes come to mind for everyone. So, rather than choosing based on personal favorites, we used the IMDb score to rank them from worst to best. We made an exception for "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," since it's in a league of its own based on sheer popularity across the board. In the one case that a tie-breaker was necessary, we went with the IMDb rating for the series to dictate the ranking. And that's how we curated the perfect list of vintage Halloween specials.