List of Halloween television specials
The TV channel Freeform (formerly ABC Family) annually presents their special "13 Nights of Halloween" with specialized Halloween episodes of regularly scheduled programs, as well as specified Halloween specials and movies to play for the 13 nights leading up to October 31.
In the UK, Halloween has to compete with Bonfire Night hence is not as big as an occasion as in the United States. British Halloween-themed television programmes are few and far between.
The Canterville Ghost, based on the novel The Canterville Ghost, is a 1986 made-for-television film starring John Gielgud and Alyssa Milano.
In 1993, Hanna-Barbera produced a made-for-television animated adaptation of Ray Bradbury's classic novel of the same name. Featuring narration by the author himself, the movie explains some of the history of the holiday as experienced via an across-time adventure with a group of trick-or-treating kids. The hand-painted backgrounds, haunting music of John Debney, and Bradbury's narration elevate this to much more than a children's Halloween special.
The Midnight Hour (also known as In the Midnight Hour) is a 1985 comedy/horror television movie which aired on ABC on Friday, November 1, 1985 at 9:00-11:00 PM EST and stars Shari Belafonte-Harper, LeVar Burton, Peter DeLuise, and Dedee Pfeiffer.
This 1979 television anthology Halloween special was hosted by Vincent Price. It featured the stories "The Ghost Belonged To Me," "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," and "The House With a Clock In Its Walls."
Starting in Season 36 (2007), when Drew Carey began hosting the show, each season of the popular US game show has featured a full Halloween episode, with the host, announcer, models, set, and Showcases decorated for this holiday.
The Season 36 and 37 episodes featured models in costume during all One Bids and prize presentations (in 2008, models presented cars as police officers and carhops), and monster-themed Showcases. Drew Carey has appeared with fake fangs (2007) and a hatchet (2008), and Rich Fields appeared as Zorro in 2008.
The Season 38 episode featured contestants and the show's host, announcer, and models in costume (traditionally prohibited), and debuted the annual Halloween theme, with the show's game props being the theme. The entire set was decorated for the holiday, with many of the set's changes in 2009 playing key roles. A "haunting" arrangement of the show's theme was played during the introductions, Carey introduced by his costume, and Halloween-themed decorations around the set, including appropriate colors replacing the show's usual colors. The new Showcase podiums were covered with tombstones featuring a door that opened to unveil the price (without the prize description screen), with different fonts used for both Grocery Game price cards and the Showcase video screen. Also, the traditional buzzer and losing horns (except in Plinko) were replaced with screams.
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