The Best Bewitched Halloween Episodes, Ranked

Starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell, the 2005 film "Bewitched" endures as one of the most iconic, beloved, and original — nah, we're kidding. Just thought we'd get an early Halloween trick in real quick. Of course, when most people think of "Bewitched," they think of the classic '60s sitcom starring Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens, a witch who marries into a mortal human household. Given its inherently supernatural premise, it's hardly a surprise that the show was happy to indulge in multiple Halloween-themed stories over the course of its eight-season run on ABC. In fact, we recently featured one such tale on our countdown of 10 classic '60s and '70s Halloween special episodes. 

That being said, seeing as how "Bewitched" had a grand total of five Halloween episodes just on its own, we figured they could use a list of their own. So, with another All Hallows' Eve just days away, we took a look at popular reviews online to determine which of them stands out as the very best overall. And, since the show is currently streaming on both Disney Plus and Hulu, not to mention for free on Tubi, feel free to use this as a quick guide if you plan on getting a little retro with your spooky-season viewing this year. Without any further ado, here's how all five Halloween-themed episodes of "Bewitched" stack up. 

It's not exactly a secret that "Bewitched" suffered creatively during the final few years of its run on ABC. Therefore, it should come as little shock that the hit show's fifth and final Halloween episode is the least-fondly remembered by fans. Originally airing on October 30, 1969 as part of "Bewitched" Season 6, "To Trick-Or-Treat or Not to Trick-Or-Treat" opens on Samantha's mother and fellow '60s TV fashion icon Endora (played by Agnes Moorehead), objecting to her daughter's participation in a UNICEF trick-or-treating fundraiser on the grounds that Halloween perpetuates negative stereotypes about witches. However, the real conflict of the episode is between Endora and Samantha's husband, Darrin (played at this point in the show by Dick Sargent), whom she ultimately blames.

As an act of revenge, Endora transforms Darrin into a stereotypical witch. Over on IMDb, "To Trick-Or-Treat or Not to Trick-Or-Treat" currently holds a weighted average rating of 6.9/10, with 7/10 being the most common score among individual users. To be fair, that's actually not too bad as far as latter-day "Bewitched" goes. Still, it is also the only Halloween episode to have an average rating below 8/10. In his retrospective, "The Bewitched History Book" (via Facebook), author and critic David L. Pierce gave the episode a lukewarm review, noting that while it has its moments, it is otherwise highly derivative of earlier "Bewitched" Halloween stories. Speaking of which...

Funnily enough, the very first "Bewitched" Halloween episode also falls on the lower end of this list. First airing on October 29, 1964 as part of Season 1, "The Witches Are Out" follows Samantha and her fellow witches as they rally to change public perception of their kind after taking offense to how they're depicted in Halloween decorations. Hey, that sounds a bit familiar! Evidently, though, the team behind "Bewitched" executed this idea a lot better in 1964 than they did in 1969. On IMDb, "The Witches Are Out" holds a weighted average rating of 8.3/10, with about 85% of users giving it a 7/10 or above.  

Furthermore, 30% of those reviews gave it a perfect 10/10. Meanwhile, in "The Bewitched History Book" (via Facebook), David L. Pierce praised the episode for its clever allegorical tackling of racism and stereotyping, which he argues got the message across in a way that didn't compromise the show's otherwise lighthearted tone. Pierce also made it a point to single out the performance of Marion Lorne, who made her debut as Samantha's Aunt Clara in this episode.

"Twitch or Treat" is the third of the five "Bewitched" Halloween episodes to air, originally making its ABC debut on October 27, 1966 as part of Season 3. It seems only fitting, then, that the episode would also come in at No. 3 on this countdown. "Twitch or Treat" once again puts Endora at odds with Darrin (who's portrayed by his original actor, Dick York, this time around). In this installment, Endora conjures a house out of thin air, where she plans to host a big Halloween party. Darrin objects to this, to which Endora proposes a compromise, by which we mean she unilaterally decides to have her party at Darrin and Samantha's house instead. Any further conflict between Darrin and his mother-in-law will have to wait, however, as Endora is also locked in a feud with Uncle Arthur (the legendary Paul Lynde), who crashes the event. 

Darrin, meanwhile, did get to meet guest star Willie Mays, so he has that going for him, at least. "Twitch or Treat" currently holds a weighted average user rating of 8.5/10 on IMDb. Nearly 40% of all users who reviewed the episode gave it a 10/10 rating, while nearly 86% gave it at least a 7/10. In 2020, 25 Years Later's Kacie Lillejord wrote a glowing retrospective of the episode, describing it as, "A Halloween party everyone wants to attend." Author David L. Pierce similarly praised it in "The Bewitched History Book" (via Facebook), though he also criticized it on the grounds that Endora throwing a Halloween party in the first place directly contradicts her characterization in the rest of the series.

The placement of the top two Halloween episodes of "Bewitched" really could have gone either way, since both of them are almost universally beloved by fans of the '60s sitcom. After careful consideration, however, we've decided to give the No. 2 spot to the classic Season 4 adventure "A Safe and Sane Halloween," which originally aired on October 26, 1967. "A Safe and Sane Halloween" puts the spotlight squarely on Samantha and Darrin's young daughter, Tabitha Stephens (played by Erin Murphy, who is now in her 60s in real life). After Samantha reads her a Halloween-themed bedtime story, Tabitha — who is magically inclined herself — uses her powers to bring the book's spooky trio of characters into the real world. They then accompany Tabitha and her mother trick-or-treating.

Samantha initially believes they're just three normal kids in costumes, then has to figure out a way to send them home after she learns the truth. On IMDb, "A Safe and Sane Halloween" has a weighted average user rating of 8.6/10. It also holds an unweighted average rating of 8.3/10. Much like "Twitch or Treat," about 40% of users gave it a 10/10 rating, while more than 85%  gave it at least a 7/10. In "The Bewitched History Book" (via Facebook), critic David L. Pierce praised the installment's visual effects and Murphy's adorable performance as Tabitha. He also noted that while the episode does miss Endora, her absence is at least consistent with her established attitude towards Halloween.

Topping our list of the best "Bewitched" Halloween episodes is "Trick or Treat," which originally aired on October 28, 1965 as part of Season 2. And if you can believe it, this list is ending the exact same way it began: With a Darrin versus Endora storyline. In fact, "Trick or Treat" is quite literally just a better version of Season 6's "To Trick-Or-Treat or Not to Trick-Or-Treat." In this installment, Samantha decides to put her own complicated feelings about Halloween aside in order to support her husband. However, Endora isn't about to stand by when the holiday's depiction of witches once again rears its ugly head. So, she casts a spell to turn Darrin into a werewolf, forcing him to scramble in order to keep up appearances during his and Samantha's Halloween party. 

"Trick or Treat" currently holds a weighted average user score of 8.6/10 on IMDb, just like "A Safe and Sane Halloween." That said, it also has an unweighted average user score of 8.5/10, putting it just ahead of that episode. More than 40% of users who reviewed this spooky installment gave it a rating of 10/10, while more than 35% gave it either an 8 or a 9. As David L. Pierce enthused in "The Bewitched History Book" (via Facebook), "It's very Halloween throughout and the opening scene is rather spooky. I also really like Endora's pop out when she drops the witch face." Magically entertaining; that's "Bewitched."