Shopping for a home can be an overwhelming experience. More than four million homes were sold in 2023 alone; the number of houses for sale has tripled in recent years. The journey from a getting a pre-approval from a mortgage lender to actually buying a house can be a long and exhausting one, with some house hunters seeing dozens of houses over the course of years without a successful purchase.

Some of this may have to do with the warped expectations real estate reality TV can instill in us. But sometimes a real estate listing makes a home seem ideal, but when you show up to an open house all you see are red flags. The truth is, real estate listings are sales pitches designed to get you interested in a property, and are sometimes deliberately misleading, if not outright deceptive. If you can spot a listing that’s not based on reality right away, you can save yourself a lot of trouble. Here are severak red flags the house listing you’re looking at is based more on fiction than reality.

Specific phrasing

When reading a real estate listing, it’s easy to get caught up in the charming this and the cozy that and ignore anything that smacks of jargon. But there are some obvious red flags that tell you that you’re looking at what’s known as a “lying listing,” a term used in the real estate world to describe a listing that has very little connection to the reality of a house:

• Acronyms. Sometimes real estate agents will include “cover your ass” language in a listing designed to act as a disclaimer people outside the industry won’t notice. These are commonly acronyms like BATVAI (buyer’s agent to verify all information) and IDRBNG (information deemed reliable but not guaranteed). If there are complaints about the listings’ accuracy at any point, the agent can point to those acronyms as evidence that they were upfront about the fiction in the listing.

• Misleading language. Real estate listings often hide undesirable qualities in a house behind deceptive language. If you see phrases like “cozy” (translation: tiny), “well-maintained” (translation: old and not updated), or “custom” (translation: You’ll be ripping out the current owner’s bizarre design choices for years), be suspicious about the whole listing. An honest agent would simply state that the house is small, or needs work.

Tax guesswork

You can never rely on the property tax information in a real estate listing, period. This is because it’s almost always based on outdated information, and can be manipulated in various ways to make it seem like your monthly payment will be lower. Sometimes this is just an honest mistake, of course. But if the current owners enjoy lower property taxes for some reason (maybe they have a tax exemption because they’re senior citizens, for example) that won’t necessarily apply to you, an unscrupulous listing agent could offer up the lower number and then claim ignorance when your taxes are a lot higher than expected.

If the listing stresses super-low taxes, it’s a red flag. You should always double-check property taxes with the county records, which are public information. While you’re there, also check when the property was last appraised by the tax office—if it’s been a long time, look into whether the property taxes are about to shoot up dramatically, a fact the listing may have forgotten to include.

Weird photos

One clue that the real estate listing isn’t representative of reality can be found in the photos used. Photos can never really convey what it’s like to physically be in a space, of course, but they should be reasonably accurate in how they depict the property. A few ways you can tell that they’re not:

• Odd angles. If every photo of the place is either so stretched by a “fisheye” lens they look like they used some kind of funhouse mirror filter or are taken at extreme angles that look like stills from an experimental art film, they’re trying to make a small space seem bigger or trying to subtly crop something out, like power lines or a really messed up floor situation.

• Overly manipulated. It’s 2024, we’re used to filters, virtual staging, and other small manipulations in the photos we see. But if the photos look cartoonish and there’s no clear disclaimer regarding virtual staging, you’re probably looking at a best-case renovation scenario that doesn’t accurately represent the current state of the property.

• Low quality. Do the photos look like they were taken with a camera phone circa 2007? It might just be incompetence, but it might also be an attempt to blur some unappealing details. Whatever the reason, if the photos are small and out of focus, be wary.

Outlier square footage

Finally, pay attention to the square footage in a real estate listing. Honest mistakes in terms of defining “living space” or dealing with un-permitted additions can happen, of course, but sometimes real estate agents will knowingly fudge the square footage in order to make a home and its price more appealing.

It can be difficult to spot inflated square footage from a listing, but there are some clues you can keep an eye out for:

• Not like the others. Look at other homes nearby, especially if they’re rowhouses or part of a development where the homes are very similar to each other. If the listed house has a dramatically different square footage than the others, ask yourself where the heck they managed to squeeze it in.

• Tiny rooms. Do some quick back-of-the-envelope math: The average size of a bedroom is about 132 square feet, kitchen average about 150-175 square feet, living rooms average about 216 square feet, and bathrooms range from 40 square feet to more than 200 square feet (for a lavish en suite). Add up the rooms in the listing and see if the number you get is anywhere close to the listed square footage. Your calculation won’t be accurate, but it should make sense—if not, ask yourself where all the extra square footage is? Better yet—ask the listing agent.

Terrifier 3 is topping the box office, bringing its grisly delights to audiences that couldn’t be bothered to see another goddamn Joker movie. The third movie in the low-budget, high-profit series allegedly had people fleeing the theaters—something I’m too cheap to ever do, but I suppose one can’t be faulted for not wanting to throw up in a room full of people trying to eat their popcorn.

At least since the 1960s, horror filmmakers have gone to great lengths to delight and/or nauseate audiences: From the more sedately grotesque pleasures of Hammer horror, to the works of Italian filmmakers like Argento and Bava, to the anything-goes slashers of the 1980s, and straight into the torture-porn era, there’s been more than enough of an audience for movies that impress with their ability to make us squirm. Sometimes the over-the-top splatter-fests are made with a sense of impish glee, and sometimes they’re meant to leave us uncomfortably wondering why we didn’t have our dank, drippy basements finished. At best, these movies are jolts of adrenaline that remind us that we’re alive even as they have us entirely freaked out at the prospect of a violent death.

There are endless torture movies, zombie movies, gialli, etc. that might fit here, so I’ve tried to limit it to some of the best examples of each particular sub-genre.

Tokyo Gore Police (2008)

(Here’s the trailer, which is age-restricted and only available on YouTube.)

They’re not kidding with this title—and isn’t it refreshing when a movie tells you what it’s about before the opening credits? Director and special effects artist Yoshihiro Nishimura leads this story of a future Japan in which surgically and genetically altered “Engineers” are hunted by a special division of the Tokyo Police Force, one that plays judge, jury, and executioner to the Engineers—and any criminals that get in their way. Among them is Ruka (Eihi Shiina), who’s got an extra big chip on her shoulder following the assassination death of her cop dad. That’s mostly it for plot, but the execution is entirely unhinged, with disturbingly altered humans killing and being killed in increasingly grotesque and bloody ways. Limbs are replaced with swords and chainsaws; there’s a woman with an alligator (with a vagina inside) where her legs should be; an erect penis becomes a cannon; a sex worker is part chair and gets paid to pee on clients. You wanted body horror? Here you go.

Where to stream: Tubi, Crunchyroll

Evil Dead Rise (2023)

You could probably slide any of the Evil Dead movies in here, but the most recent is also among the very best of the series, and does the gloppy legacy of early Sam Raimi proud. Set mong a family in a high-rise apartment building beset by demonically possessed Deadites, the film opens with a scalp being ripped from a woman’s head, and gets more impressively gory from there. Much of what goes on here is cringe-inducing even on the page: A possessed teenager slowly eats a wine glass, hoping to kill the bugs she imagines are living inside of her; a woman and a child nearly drown in an elevator full of blood, until the weight of all the liquid sends them plummeting; and, very memorably, a cheese-grater used in ways it was not intended.

Where to stream: Max, Netflix, digital rental

Ichi the Killer (2001)

Director Takashi Miike directs a lot of movies for younger audiences these days, but that’s not where he built his reputation: The brutal Audition probably remains his most famous horror film, at least in the west, but Ichi the Killer took his penchant for nastiness even further. In the process, it became a near-poster child for “Asia Extreme,” a sub-genre of extremely intense horror and action movies. Opening with a room covered in blood and intestines (the remains of a yakuza boss), the movie finds the very disturbed Ichi (Nao Omori) being hunted by a yakuza enforcer (Tadanobu Asano) out for revenge. The violence is nearly cartoonish, but the prodigious amounts of blood and entrails have a visceral impact. One of the most disturbing elements here is Ichi’s tendency to become aroused in the presence of brutality, so be warned that there’s a fair bit of distasteful sexual violence here.

Where to stream: Peacock, The Criterion Channel, Tubi

Hostel (2005)

James Wan’s Saw and Eli Roth’s Hostel were the two pillars that supported the entire “torture porn” sub-genre, one that saw increasing numbers of characters tied up in filthy basements for extended periods of time. It all got boring rather quickly, but that’s not the fault of either of the genre’s progenitors and, of the two, Hostel goes just a bit further. It also gets credit for taking its time: the movie introduces its ill-fated trio of young travelers in Easter Europe (this movie can’t have been good for Slovakian tourism) and very gradually builds toward an impressively icky climax: We get decapitations, drills in places that ought not be drilled, and (ulp) sliced achilles tendons. Roth goes a step further than most of these movies in building our interest in these characters, making their various torments that much more uncomfortable.

Where to stream: Starz, digital rental

Hellraiser (1987)

It’s a movie about a man (Frank, played by Sean Chapman) who was ripped apart by these kind of kinky sexy hell priests, and now wants his girlfriend (Clare Higgins) to bring him fresh supplies of flesh and blood so that he can gradually rebuild his human body. That’s all impressively gory, but the bit that always makes me cover my eyes is when Frank’s brother, Larry, snags his hand on a nail while moving some furniture. If you’ve seen the movie, you know exactly what I’m talking about: It hurts because it’s so relatable.

Where to stream: Shudder, Tubi, AMC+, Prime Video

A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

Almost certainly not the grisliest of Wes Craven’s films, Nightmare gets extra credit for one of the most impressive fountains of blood this side of The Shining. Poor, simple Glen (Johnny Depp), sucked into his own bed for no greater crime than having been a teenager and falling asleep. The resulting explosion of bloody splatter is one of cinema’s most memorable.

Where to stream: Max, digital rental

Martyrs (2008)

Cresting the wave of the New French Extremity era, when French horror filmmakers were shocking and scandalizing audiences with some absolutely batshit nastiness (that’s a compliment). Martyrs is one of the most extreme of the extreme, with a young woman who’d been imprisoned and tortured returning to wreak brutal revenge on those she blames, only to draw another woman into her violent quest. AND THEN we meet up with the death cult that’s looking to uncover the secrets of the afterlife by inflicting the most brutal tortures imaginable. Come for the revenge, stay for the extended skin-flaying.

Where to stream: Tubi

Maniac (1980)

This cult classic comes from porno director William Lustig, while boasting some early and very impressive effects work from the great Tom Savini (who also plays a victim). Joe Spinell plays Frank Zito, who murders and then scalps women throughout New York City. The scalpings are a highlight(?), as is the death of Savini’s character, who takes a memorably messy shotgun blast to the face. The kinda cool/kinda wacky conclusion involving a character being ripped apart by (maybe) mannequins involves more great work from Savini.

Where to stream: Shudder, Tubi, digital rental

Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

One of the original found-footage horror films is also one of the most effective, a gruesome testament to the power of suggestion so visceral, it tricked the authorities into thinking the filmmakers had committed a real murder. After a crew goes missing while filming a documentary about indigenous cannibal tribes in the Amazon rainforest, the anthropologist sent to find them uncovers only their thoroughly gruesome footage. Some have seen it as a smart commentary on the horrors of the modern world; others think it’s mostly just gross (if effectively so). Bear in mind that some actual animals were killed in the filming, so if your taste for gore doesn’t extend beyond cool effects work, this might be one to avoid.

Where to stream: Peacock

The Butcher (2007)

You may enjoy gruesome torture horror movies (no judgments), but have you ever wanted to be in one? This South Korean film, from director Kim Jin-won is straightforward in its plot—a snuff film producer in a pig mask tortures victims to death—but less so in its execution. Those on the receiving end of the various torments are wearing head cameras, so everything happens through their, and by extension your, point of view. Which is a little rough.

Where to stream: Kanopy, Fandango at Home

Thanatomorphose (2012)

Laura (Kayden Rose) is a depressed and introverted young woman with an abusive boyfriend, but wait,it gets worse. She wakes up in the middle of the night to find a strange spot on her groin. And then one of her fingernails falls off—did I mention this is body horror? Laura begins literally decomposing, following the various stages of decay of a human body while very much alive and conscious. It’s extremely visceral, but the movie has bigger ambitions than just grossing us out; Rose’s impressive lead performance makes clear that we’re watching a movie about psychological trauma via an extremely grisly body horror metaphor.

Where to stream: Tubi

The Human Centipede 2 (Full Sequence) (2011)

Writer/director Tom Six’s first Human Centipede movie, about a German surgeon who joins unwitting tourists together by sewing one’s mouth to another’s butthole, was a weird shock novelty that didn’t make a lot of money but still earned a brief spot in the zeitgeist for anyone with the stomach to talk about it. As is the way of such things, the sequel (about a copycat seamster) had to up the ante in order to justify its existence—and, when you’re starting from a premise of people who poop into other people’s mouths, that’s an ask. This one goes full meta, with a man obsessed with the first film determined to make his own 12-person centipede, to include actress Ashlynn Yennie from the earlier movie. Consensus is generally that this is the best (grossest) of the trilogy.

 Where to stream: AMC+, digital rental

Nekromantik (1987)

What’s a little necrophilia when two of the people involved really love each other? West German director Jörg Buttgereit’s film is almost pure shock value, involving endlessly gross (though inventive) scenes of splatter and sex with corpses. It starts off with a threesome between a man, his girlfriend, and a corpse he found on the street, before becoming more overtly murderous. It’s wild subject matter, but the gory imagery is filmed in the style of soft-core porn—which makes it all even more impressively icky.

Where to stream: Shudder, AMC+

Raw (2016)

A vegetarian veterinary student develops a taste for meat. A lot of meat. All the time. Much of it human. Human cannibalism is disturbing, but hardly unheard-of. Raw takes it several graphic steps further, leaving even the most jaded audiences feeling queasy, though it’s also a coming-of-age story. Its director, Julia Ducournau, who went on to win the Palm D’Or at Cannes for Titane, seems destined to make Fucked-Up Films classics.

Where to stream: digital rental via AppleTV

Opera (1987)

Director Dario Argento had already made a career out of shocking audiences when Opera came out, but went as far here as he ever had, and arguably ever would. A cat-and-mouse game largely set in the title’s opera house during the production of an avant-garde MacBeth (shades of Phantom of the Opera), the movie finds Betty (Cristina Marsillach) being pursued by a mysterious man from her past, and one who’s determined to inflict the maximum psychological torture on Betty before he gets what he wants. It’s tautly constructed throughout, while also including some of the most grisly imagery in the master’s oeuvre; the most memorable image here is of Betty, razor blades taped under her eyelids to prevent her from blinking, being forced to watch a murder.

Where to stream: Shudder, Tubi

Inside (2007)

Another classic of New French Extremity (well, it was new in 2007), Inside scandalized audiences but did surprisingly well with the critics, who couldn’t help but be impressed by the movie’s visceral charms and lead performances from Béatrice Dalle and Alysson Paradis. On the verge of giving birth, Sarah is visited by a mysterious woman who’d been stalking her, and who soon makes clear that she’s there for the baby. And she has scissors handy to make sure she gets it. As it happens, La Femme (as she’s referred to) has a good reason for claiming Sarah’s child—at least in her own mind. Stick around for the absolutely wild final act.

Where to stream: Tubi, digital rental

Dead Alive (1992)

Peter Jackson’s early zombie fest (also known as Braindead) is, quite simply, a bloody funhouse ride of a movie. Lionel loves his rather difficult mother Vera, even after she’s bitten by a hybrid rat-monkey creature and slowly transforms into an undead creature infecting people all over South Wellington. It’s all a goofy good time, if your idea of a good time involves endless buckets of blood and viscera being tossed at the screen with complete abandon.

Where to stream: digital rental

The Beyond (1981)

Often, over-the-top gore becomes cartoonish, making it all easier to stomach. Lucio Fulci, on the other hand, goes, well, beyond but never winks at the audience, the result being this stomach-churning work of art following a woman who inherits a hotel in rural Louisiana, which comes with an undisclosed gateway to hell. Blindness is a theme here, and characters lose their sight in any number of ways: sometimes with acid, sometimes they’re gouged out and, on one occasion, a head is so viciously impaled by a nail that the eye just goes flying right out. Dogs eat flesh and so do tarantulas, and zombies are shot and killed endlessly. It’s a grisly triumph for giallo master Fulci.

Where to stream: Peacock, Tubi, digital rental

Day of the Dead (1985)

When George Romero and effects master Tom Savini join forces, there’s no stopping them. The third of Romero’s zombie films, Day of the Dead is both an underrated classic—packing as much plot and biting social commentary as ever—and also some of the gnarliest zombie-on-human action you’ll find this side of hell.

Where to stream: Shudder, Peacock, The Criterion Channel, Tubi, digital rental

Street Trash (1987)

A cult film that feels like it’s maybe meant to be social commentary, but is mostly just a face-melting good time, Street Trash comes from James Cameron protegé J. Michael Muro, and involves a Brooklyn bodega that starts selling some expired booze found in the basement. Not good! Anyone who drinks the outdated hooch melts away in increasingly graphic ways (the “melt film” was a small, but venerable, ’80s horror subgenre). Come for the dissolving humans, stay for the games involving dismembered genitals that make up several scenes throughout the movie.

Where to stream: Tubi, AMC+

WASHINGTON, Oct. 18, 2024 — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced today an investment of more than $46 million in projects aimed to tackle food and nutrition insecurity in underserved communities, as well as support healthy diets by providing access to fruits and vegetables for eligible families.

HARRISBURG, Pa., Oct. 18, 2024 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced during a visit to Pennsylvania that USDA is partnering with farmers and small business owners to expand access to clean energy, create jobs and help lower their energy bills through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) and the Empowering Rural America (New ERA) program.

If you’re looking for a Halloween movie to watch with your children, but you don’t want to traumatize them with Texas Chainsaw Massacre, here are the best scary-but-not-too–scary flicks you can stream right now. These aren’t toothless pablum; I tried to find movies with enough real horror to be interesting, just not so much that it scars anyone for life. Like everything with children, it depends on your individual kid’s taste and sensibilities.

Coraline (2009)

Based on the children’s book by Neil Gaiman, Coraline leaves kids with a timeless message: Be careful what you wish for. The titular protagonist’s discovery of a strange door in her new family’s new home leads to an eerie mirror world that at first seems better-than-real, but ultimately proves terrifying. It’s not super scary, but it might be too much for kids under 10 (especially those creepy button-eyes).

Where to stream: Roku, Tubi, Apple TV+

The Witches (1990)

There’s a newer, more over-the-top version of The Witches available on Max, but I much prefer the 1990 adaptation. You can’t do much better than the combination of Roald Dahl’s story, Jim Henson’s puppetry, Nicolas Roeg’s direction, and Anjelica Huston’s villainous performance. The Witches strikes a perfect kid-friendly horror tone: It was made for children, but it doesn’t condescend to them or try to sugarcoat horror. Might be too disturbing for children younger than 10, though.

Where to stream: Criterion Channel

Goosebumps (2015)

“Ermahgerd, Gersberms!” This meta take on the insanely popular Goosebumps series of tween horror novels sees the young hero accidentally unleashing all the villains from author R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books into the real world. Kids who read Stine’s books will love seeing representations of the books’ ghouls and monsters, although the movie relies more on slapstick humor and action than the quieter, spookier books. Either way, Goosebumps is a better movie than you’d have any reason to suspect.

Where to stream: Prime

The Corpse Bride (2015)

This tale of a marriage between a living man and a dead woman is all about atmosphere—the goth-o-meter is turned up to 11. It’s very Tim Burton, and Burton’s contagious affection for all things spooky renders even the most gruesome ghoul lovable. In spite of all the skeletons, The Corpse Bride is a story about love and family, and the scariest characters are ultimately the living.

Where to stream: Max

Ghostbusters (1984)

You can’t beat this iconic 1980s comedy/horror flick for Halloween viewing. Watching Ghostbusters is an annual October tradition at our house, and we don’t want to know about any sequels or reboots. The PG-13 rating is well-deserved for some legit frightening parts—the special effects that bring the spooky librarian and hell-dogs to life are still scary—and some fairly adult situations and racy humor.

Where to stream: Starz

The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (1949)

The relevant half of this two-in-one feature is the comic re-telling of Washington Irving’s Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The Adventure of Ichabod and Mr. Toad follows a lanky, superstitious schoolmaster in colonial America as he’s gradually scared out of his wits by a “headless horseman” who may or may not be his romantic rival, Brom. The sequence of Ichabod being chased by the horseman is a classic of horror filmmaking, and the film’s conclusion squares things up in an “everything is fine” way that should reassure the little ones. Plus, Mr. Toad is a great non-scary palate cleanser.

Where to stream: Disney+

Hocus Pocus (1993)

Kids will love this playful take on Halloween haunting, and adults will love watching stars Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Kathy Najimy chew the scenery playing three sister witches. Hocus Pocus provides just enough thrills to be fun, but there’s nothing overly scary, and the script’s infrequent double entendres are likely to fly over young one’s heads.

Where to stream: Disney+

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Director Tim Burton is the master of creepy-but-not-too-creepy movies, and this stop-motion ode to the joy of the dark and macabre is his best work. If you’re raising a little goth-in-training, you’re contractually obligated to show them The Nightmare Before Christmas, a delightfully spooky musical in which the holidays of Halloween and Christmas square off.

Where to stream: Disney+

Frankenstein (1931)

If you have a kid with the patience to deal with the slower pace of movies from the early days of talkies, Frankenstein will reward that patience with a deeply relatable central character and some mildly chilling moments. Even though it was made nearly 100 years ago, kids still see themselves in The Monster, because he’s like a child himself—a child who is made of corpses and murders people.

Where to stream: Peacock, Criterion Channel

Coco (2017)

There are a lot of Skeletons in Coco, but it’s not a scary movie. This Day of the Dead story takes viewers (and its main character) across the border from the world of the living to the Land of the Dead, where stylish, sugar-skull skeletons populate a parallel world to our own. Instead of horrifying and tragic, in Coco, death is portrayed as something we should accept without fear, a message adults could probably use as well. Fair warning: since this is a Pixar movie, it will make you cry.

Where to stream: Hulu, Disney+, Fubo

The golden age of television holiday “specials” is behind us—when you can watch The Paul Lynde Halloween Special or Halloween with the New Adams Family whenever you like instead of at a specific hour in October, the special is drained of its specialness. But there are still some modern one-off, spooky-themed programs you can watch with your kids to celebrate Halloween. For this post, I defined “special” as something that is not feature-film length, but can be a single episode of an existing TV show, and I defined “new” as “within the last decade.” I’ve collected the best modern specials to watch with your children below.

Muppets Haunted Mansion

The Muppets have been hit-or-miss for decades, but this Halloween special is a definite hit. It grafts that classic Muppet formula—puppet production numbers, lovable characters, and unexpected celebrity appearances—to a Halloween plot featuring Gonzo and Pepe the Prawn spending the night in the mansion form Disney’s Haunted Mansion ride. Yes, Muppet Haunted Mansion is a corporate synergistic leveraging of two Disney IPs designed to capture a programming demographic, but there’s still a little magic left.

Where to stream: Disney+

The Spooky Tale of Captain Underpants Hack-a-ween

Everyone (except the most uptight librarians) loves Captain Underpants! The Spooky Tale of Captain Underpants Hack-a-ween is a more-laughs-than-chills special in which Mr. Krupp and Melvin manage to make Halloween illegal. So the Captain and his pals create their own holiday: Hack-a-ween. The absurdist, a-bit-crude humor of the book series translates perfectly to the breezy Halloween one-off format.

Where to stream: Netflix

SpongeBob Squarepants: The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom 

In its many seasons on TV, SpongeBob has presented a ton of Halloween tales, but this one is my favorite. A full stop-motion episode with nods to the Rankin-Bass (the people that brought us Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Mad Monster Party) The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom will amuse both adults and children.

Where to stream: Paramount+

Mickey’s Spooky Stories

If you have little ones, Mickey’s Spooky Stories is geared to ’em. It’s a collection of gentle Halloween-themed animated shorts that are just a little spooky and lacking in anything too scary. Seeing Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, et. al rendered in computer animation might be a little jarring if you’re an adult, as are the implications of a “Ghost Goofy” character, but your kid won’t even notice either.

Where to stream: Disney +

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

Apparently the annual Treehouse of Horror episode isn’t enough Halloween for The Simpsons, so they released a Halloween short this year too. In “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” Sideshow Bob teams up with “the most infamous villains of Disney+” to share the true meaning of the Halloween and to do a little singing and cross-promotion. I am including this three minute “special” mainly because one of the villains is the hunter who shot Bambi’s mother, and that’s a terrific joke. This one is obviously for older kids.

Where to stream: Disney+

Escape the Undertaker

Like professional wrestling itself, Escape the Undertaker is the dumbest and most awesome thing ever. Young wrestling fans will legitimately love seeing their WWE favorites like New Day and The Undertaker (“Taker” to his friends) in a new medium, and parents with an eye for the ridiculous will shake their head at how shoddy but strangely sincere it all is. Plus, Escape the Undertaker‘s “choose your own adventure” interactive gimmick is novel enough to keep anyone’s interest.

Where to stream: Netflix

Werewolf by Night

Werewolf by Night is a unique and awesome homage to classic Universal horror movies and Marvel comics for older-than-13-kids. Plot-wise, Werewolf by Night features a gang of monster hunters traveling to a spooky country house to (what else) hunt monsters. The joy is in the way the hoary story is presented—this special is 54 minutes of janky, old-school effects, lush black-and-white cinematography, and old timey monsters made by people who clearly know and love the source material.

Where to stream: Netflix

House of Svengoolie Cartoon Boo-Nanza

Let’s get obscure, wanna? Svengoolie, the last of the old-time horror hosts, and his Sven Squad are presenting a collection of Warner Brothers’ best scare-themed cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and more, every Saturday night in October—you cannot go wrong with old Bugs Bunny cartoons. Svengoolie’s nationwide home is MeTV, which you probably don’t know you can probably watch right now. Here’s a guide to finding a MeTV outlet near you.

Where to watch: MeTV

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

I said I was going to limit this list to the best specials from the last decade, but I included It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown because it has been nicely restored so it looks and sounds modern, and because Apple TV+ is streaming it for free on Oct. 19 and Oct. 20, a nice throwback to the “special” part of the holiday special. Apple TV+ will also show A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving for free on Nov. 23 and Nov. 24 and A Charlie Brown Christmas for free on Dec. 14 and Dec. 15.

Where to stream: Apple TV+