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A good rule of thumb for movies and TV specials seems to be: if it was traumatizing to watch as a child, it makes for great Halloween viewing. Jim Henson’s The Witches is a prime example. (See also: The Worst Witch, Witch’s Night Out, and Lady in White.)

The Witches - Front Cover

There’s a lot of movies about witches, but this one is one of my favorites even if it’s not explicitly a Halloween witch movie like, say, Hocus Pocus. I love Jim Henson’s creatures, especially these darker, sinister characters that are the stuff of nightmares. The beginning of this movie has an awesome Storyteller feel to it, where Grandma tells Luke a fairy tale about a little girl being trapped in a painting by a witch.

The Witches - Back Cover

This movie came out in 1990; I was nine years old. I almost crapped my pants the first time I saw Angelica Huston remove her face to reveal the gnarled, disgusting, hairy monster beneath. It’s one of those movie moments that little kids either find hilarious or terrifying. And then I thought, hey look, a Skeksis! I wasn’t scared so much after that.

The Witches - DVD

Now, the most important thing you should know about real witches is this – now listen very carefully! Real witches dress in ordinary clothes, and look very much like ordinary women. They live in ordinary houses, and they work in ordinary jobs. For all you know, a witch might be living next door to you.

You may remove your shoes! You may remove your wigs!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1ddxJECccA

Spooky Screencaps

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

The Witches (1990)

What is 31 DVDs of Halloween?

As a spe­cial fea­ture for the Hal­loween Count­down, I’m show­cas­ing 31 Hal­loween DVDs from my per­sonal col­lec­tion. I have a lot of Halloween-related and hor­ror DVDs in gen­eral, but for this year’s count­down I’m only going to focus on my absolute favorites–the ones I con­sider 100% essen­tial for my enjoy­ment of the holiday.