Horror and Halloween movies at Hamden Library

It's that time of year again!  Autumn is officially here, and Halloween is right around the corner.  If you can't get out to one of the many Halloween events sponsored in the state and region-- including the "Graveyard Shift Ghost Tours" of the Mark Twain House-- check out some horror or Halloween-themed movies.

No, really.  Come in and check them out from us!  We have over 130 movies to choose from, in a variety of genres.  Slasher or suspense, vampire, werewolf, or family, it's likely we have a movie for your Halloween pleasure.


There is, of course, the movie named for the holiday, Halloween.  Directed by John Carpenter and staring Jamie Lee Curtis and Donald Pleasence, this is a good one to watch if you like slasher movies.  Sure, the series shows every year on AMC, but if you don't get the channel or you don't want to sit through commercials, come in and see if Halloween's available.  We have it on DVD and VHS.

Also available is Wes Craven's series (1996-2011), Scream.  Part horror movie, part send-up of that genre, the Scream series uses a lot of familiar faces, including Drew Barrymore and Heroes' Hayden Panettiere, to great effect.

If Hayden's haircut in Scream 4 is more familiar than her face, your Halloween movie of choice might be Alfred Hitchcock's suspenseful-- and much less bloody-- The Birds.  As with all his movies, The Birds is a classic and can be found in our Classics and Hidden Gems section, along with sci-fi classics like The Incredible Shrinking Man  and classic monster movies like Nosferatu and The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari.

Classic stories more your thing than classic movies?  We have the 1999 version of Sleepy Hollow.

If you like your vampires newer than Nosferatu but meaner than Twilight, try The Lost Boys (available only on VHS), the original Fright Night, or the Buffy the Vampire Slayer series.  If you prefer werewolves, check out Red Riding Hood.  Giant lizards?  Gojira (Godzilla, in English) may be your best choice.

As I said, the list goes on.

Don't think it's only scary movies that we have available!  Along with family classic, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, we have Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and The Corpse Bride as well as special Halloween episodes of favorite childrens' series.

Don't see your favorite Halloween movie on our shelves?  Just talk to us about requesting it, and you might see it next year!