Entertainment

'13 Days Of Halloween' Is The Perfect Celebration

by Mary Grace Garis

Whether you’re a child at heart, a weird kid ‘till the end, or just a Halloween fanatic who may or may not be good at adulting, you’re probably in love with Freeform’s 13 Nights Of Halloween. It’s such a special time of the year when you can relive happy the spookiest flicks of your childhood with the undead, en masse. In fact there are so many reasons to celebrate the once-a-year spooktakular of 13 Nights of Halloween... which I will elaborate here for the tragically uninformed.

Because it’s more than a beautiful curated collection of films to give you thrills and chills. It’s a part of Old School Halloween that we can still hold onto in our old age, when you get so easily trapped in a bar with way too many ladies dressed as Sexy Donald Trumps. It really captures the purity of the holiday that you can’t otherwise get these days, because, you know, you’re not in second grade any more.

If you can dare to tear yourself from the television screen (or if you’re enough of an adult to watch it on the Freeform app), scroll down to see all the most delightful things about 13 Nights of Halloween.

1. The Excitement When The Schedule Hits The Newsfeed

Someone always posts it to your wall, and you start clearing events on your Google calendar for two weeks in October. I mean, do you really need to go to your college roommate's wedding?

2. The Respect Dedicated To The Best Holiday Of The Year

Some friends get all excited about Freeform's Yuletide equivalent, but there's so much more you can do with Halloween. I mean, who really wants to sit through 25 days of A Christmas Carol and about a thousand knock-offs? OK, I kind of do, I'm just saying spooky > sentimental forever.

3. The Back-To-Back Addams Family Movies

Thank heavens Freeform is always wise enough to place Addams Family and Addams Family Values right after each other, so you're never shortchanged on Wednesday Addams snark.

4. The Plethora Of Tim Burtons Films

Which makes you feel like you're back in 7th grade, trying to purchase Invader Zim arm warmers at Hot Topic.

5. Plus The Gratification That The Nightmare Before Christmas Is, In Fact, A Halloween Movie

It kicks off the 13 Days Of Halloween line-up so you never have to be worried about "watching it too early" again.

6. The Vintage Wonkiness Of Some Of Your Faves

You know there's going to be some weird-ass non-CGI special effects from like 30 years ago, and it will be delightful.

7. The Unconventional Picks That Don't Quite Fit Into Halloween Exactly But You're Glad They're There

I don't know if Goonies is a true Halloween film through and through, but how can you say no to that face?

8. The Amped Up Weekends That Book Your Entire Day With Spookiness And Wacky Hijinks

Which is good if you were, you know, working a job during the weekdays and need to overcompensate.

9. Multiple Showings Of All The Halloween Standards

Just in case you ever miss one because of the aforementioned work.

10. The Feelings Of Nostalgia And Innocence When You Indulge In The Monster-Filled Films Of Your Childhood

It's almost as good as trick-or-treating, and far less creepy than if you tried to attempt trick-or-treating at 26.

11. Not Feeling Deprived During This Season

You've gotten your fill of Pumpkin Spice Lattes after three, but there's never enough Halloween movies. Freeform does its best, though.

12. Bette Midler

The undisputed Queen of Halloween.

13. No, Really, The Fact That Hocus Pocus Totally Owns 13 Nights of Halloween

The holiday closes out with a double showing. Those bad witches have staying power.

If one or all of these reasons aren't enough to convince you, then clearly you're not getting into the spirit of the holiday, and you need this marathon for more reasons than one, my friend.

Images: Walt Disney Pictures; Giphy (13)