There is a chill in the night that causes the hairs on the back of your neck to stand. You look over your shoulder, left and right. You can’t help but to feel watched. There is this terrible, sinking deep feeling in your stomach that you can not shake. As you turn on the television it hits you. BOOM. Nostalgia.
Each year as Halloween approaches, so many remakes and modernized versions of spooky season classics hit the screen, but there is nothing that can beat the original horror the after school Disney Channel specials left you with in early childhood.
With one foot in the grave, having already lost programming in France and Spain, it is easy to forget the impact of series specials and Disney Channel Original Movies (DCOMs). But from Zombie Aliens taking over a music shop in LA to teenage witches, who would want to overlook these eerie tales.
Extroverted wanna-be popstar Austin Moon and introverted straight A student songwriter Ally Dawson could not be more opposite. Forming an unlikely friendship, the two are able to use their talents to skyrocket Austin’s talent into the limelight. Alongside Trish and Dez, the group is able to navigate typical teen drama and the pressures of the public eye. Disney Channel’s “Austin & Ally” ran from 2011-2016, and continues to catch the attention of viewers.
Throughout the series run, viewers could observe as zombie aliens, known as ‘Zaliens’ brought fear into the friendgroups’ lives. In season one, episode four, “Zaliens & Cloud Watchers”, Austin takes Ally to a horror movie convention in hopes to get to know each other better. Only showing each other how opposite they are from one another, the group deals with the fear these brain sucking zombies bring to their lives. Season two of the show opens with the episode “Costumes & Courage.” where Austin’s new record label owner Jimmy Starr invites him to perform at a company Halloween party alongside Taylor Swift. Learning that a ghost haunts the house where the party is taking place, Dez and Trish unveil the real terror behind the Brownstone mansion.
In season three episode fifteen, the infamous Zaliens terrorize the screen once more in “Eggs & Extraterrestrials.” This time while attending a convention, Dez and Trish find themselves captured by real Zaliens who plan to invade Earth and must do everything in their power to stop them. Season three also provides an extra spook in episode twenty “Horror Stories & Halloween Scares.” Trapped in Sonic Boom the four friends tell themselves scary stories to help pass the time, though they soon realize these tales may not be fiction.
For Disney fans who may not know Austin or Ally too well, season four episode fifteen “Scary Spirits & Spooky Stories” finds the friend group running into “Jessie” characters during a central park story telling competition. What’s more haunting than an unfinished BLT?
“Jessie”
A small town teen who leaves behind Texas for hopes of making it big in the city, Jessie takes a job for the Ross Family as their nanny. Balancing four dynamic siblings and a pet water monitor, Jessie navigates her new life in New York.
Season two, episode one “The Whining” is a spine-chilling play on Stephen King’s “The Shining.” Warned to not trick-or-treat on the infamous thirteenth floor of their apartment building, the Ross kids decide to brave the level for the extra candy. There, a bloodthirsty maniac begins to chase them, or so they think.
Season three, episode one, “Ghost Bummers” has another haunting tale to tell. When neighbor Mrs. Chesterfield throws a party and doesn’t invite the Rosses, Jessie and the kids decide to throw a party of their own. The festivities take a turn when ghosts begin to appear and possess everyone but Jessie, Zuri and Ravi, the three must defeat the ghosts and save the building.
Twenty-two episodes later, the Ross family runs into frightening trouble again as they prepare for a Halloween Festival in “The Runaway Bride of Frankenstein”.
Ghost stories are not always scary, that is until one by one everyone appears to go missing. In “The Ghostest With The Mostest”, the haunting story of Abigail is just that.
“The Suite Life of Zack & Cody”
For those who want a real fright, “The Ghost of Suite 613” is one of the scariest Disney Channel Halloween episodes to this day! “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody” follows identical twin brothers Zack and Cody as their mother lands a job singing at the five-star Tipton Hotel in Boston. Now living in the hotel, the boys get up to some serious mischief. In season one episode thirteen, the mischief gets more intense as the boys investigate the ghost that lives in Suite 613. Zack, excited to see the ghost, pushes Cody to come with him. Upon entering the apartment, they learn the terrifying tale of Irene and are afraid to feel her wrath, so they scramble out of the apartment. As the hauntings continue, the boys must face their fears and return to retrieve Cody’s blanket.
“Girl vs. Monster”
One of the most iconic spooky season Disney DCOMS, Olivia Holt haunts the screen as Skylar Lewis, a teenager who learns she is a fifth generation monster hunter on Halloween. After accidentally releasing monsters from a secret containment chamber, Skylar, alongside her friends Henry and Sadie, must recapture the ghouls and save her parents, all while trying to attend the Halloween party of the year.
“Descendants”
Who’s the baddest of them all? Definitely the villains in one of Disney’s top DCOM series, “Descendants.” The perfect halloween watch, this three movie installment follows the troubled kids of the infamous Disney villains as they are sent across the border into Auradon to attend high school. Offering a chance of redemption, future king Ben takes the villain’s children under his wing to try to convince them that there is no harm in doing good. Mal, the daughter of Maleficent has other plans, to use the Fairy Godmother’s magic wand to release all of the villains back into Auradon. Released on Disney Channel in 2015, this addicting musical movie is the perfect way to celebrate the Halloween season while remembering this childhood classic!
Each of these terrifying tales are the perfect way to scare away your nostalgia this Halloween! Happy haunting, I mean watching!
