As much as I love watching scary movies for Halloween, there is just something about TV Specials that I love when it comes to Spooky Season especially when they involve some of my favorite DC characters. While this might not include Special TV events, we are still taking a look at some episodes from DC’s vast array of animated series that are either Halloween oriented or fit the themes. Some of these episodes take place on October 31st, some deal with werewolves and others with ghosts. Regardless, these are DC cartoons you can watch and get into the feeling of All Hallows Eve’.
The Batman – Grundy’s Night
Legend says every lunar eclipse that takes place on Halloween, a monster rises from the dead in Gotham’s swamp to seek out revenge on descendants of Gotham’s founding fathers. Although skeptical, Batman receives word of a break in’s taking place in luxury homes around Gotham City. When he investigates this strange occurrence, he comes face to face with the undead monster Solomon Grundy. Now Batman has to face off against this unstoppable monster and save the residents it has been terrorizing in his city. Full of gripping fight sequences, an origin story for Grundy and a twist ending, this episode is full of exciting thrills.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold – Trials of the Demon!
This episode starts out on Halloween, with Batman and Jay Garrick facing off against Scarecrow. After successfully defeating them the episode takes a turn for a different story. Picking up in 19th Century London with Sherlock Holmes and Watson as they investigate strange cases of people becoming paralyzed. Many blame Jason Blood as they believe him to be from hell, but are quickly introduced to the demon inside him. To assist him on solving the case, Blood reaches out to Batman by transporting him to the 19th Century. Jason Blood will form into the demon Etrigan and together he and Batman will work together to find who is terrorizing London’s citizens.
Justice League – A Knight of Shadows
Another episode involving Jason Blood and his hellish counterpart Etrigan, with a story exploring the events that caused Jason Blood to meld with the Demon. However, this story takes place in modern day with the Sorceress Morgan Le Fay and her son as they continue their crusade of world conquest. As she searches the globe for a stone that will grant her ultimate power, Etrigan must join forces with Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash and Martian Manhunter to find the stone before Le Fay does. The team split up to find clues that might uncover the location of the stone, facing off against the undead and massive creature. This episode is a fun two part episode to enjoy during Spooky Season.
Young Justice – Secrets
One of the darker episodes to come out of Young Justice (until season three). This entry once again takes place on October 31st as Conner, Megan and Wally attend a Halloween party and foil a young man’s attempt to scare everyone in the school. Meanwhile, Artemis and Zatanna decide to make plans of their own by going out on patrol. They run into a pale man named Harm as he wreaks havoc on the city, the girls attempt to stop him but are unable to even phase him. Shortly after they discover this white covered young girl who only whispers the word “secret” they follow her to reveal who she is, who Harm is and what made them the way they are.
Justice League Action – Trick or Threat
Although these episodes come out to be about eleven minutes each, they still manage to tell some exciting stories. Narrated by Cain the Caretaker, he tells a story about The House of Mystery and four young trick or treaters dressed as Batman, Wonder Woman, John Constantine and Zatanna. The four children explore inside the House of Mystery to discover things are not as they seem, and they are not who they might think they are. With Klarion the Witch Boy as the main antagonist of this story, the youth must fight their way through a haunted house filled with classic monsters like Frankenstein, the Wolfman and the Mummy.
Batman The Animated Series – Moon of the Wolf
To be fair, we could probably make an individual list exploring the various episodes from this series that could qualify for this entry. Batman begins investigating possible sightings of a werewolf in Gotham. While working out with his friend Anthony ‘Tony’ Romulus, Bruce slowly begins to piece together a theory that Tony might be the werewolf. When Batman gets caught in a trap, it is revealed Dr. Achilles Milo is the one who changed Tony into a werewolf and now holds an antidote as leverage against him. What is Halloween without a werewolf or two? Which is why this episode is one of our picks for this list.
Batman Beyond – Revenant
Similar to Batman The Animated Series, there are a number of episodes from Batman Beyond we could have used for this list. For a list of examples, just take a look at our list 10 Scariest Moments from Batman Beyond. While this isn’t exactly one of the scariest episodes, it comes along as an entertaining teen horror show. As strange things begin to happen around Hamilton Hill High School, many of the students begin to speculate there might be a ghost in their school. One night a group of girls start playing with an Ouija board at school, summoning the ghost and putting their lives in danger. A fun episode that has a bit of an interesting twist ending, exploring the origin of this so called “ghost”.
Justice League Unlimited – Wake the Dead
Not entirely a creepy or scary episode, but one that involves resurrection rituals and an unstoppable mindless zombie. After three teenagers preform a ceremony with the intention of cursing those that have done them wrong, they end up bringing Solomon Grundy back from the dead. Although you may question how they could resurrect Grundy since he is already dead, if you go back to Justice League season two the episode The Terror Beyond, will give you an answer to Grundy’s demise. However, this time the monster is without words or sense of purpose. He is stronger than he was before and seems to be causing destruction for no cause or conclusion. Once again while this might not be a scary episode, it definitely has all the means to be a fun Halloween episode from Justice League Unlimited.
Teen Titans – Fear Itself
This entry comes off as every teenager’s worst fear. After the Titans defeat Control Freak at their local video store, Beast Boy picks up what is considered as the “scariest movie of all time” and takes it home for them to watch. The team sit down and endure the movie Wicked Scary and all agree it is the scariest thing they have ever seen. However, after the movie ends they begin to experience strange things happening around Titans Tower and it is revealed the creature from the movie has come to life and is haunting them throughout the tower. As they try to find the source of the monster, they begin being picked apart one by one before they can uncover where the creature came from.
Superman The Animated Series – Unity
You might not think any episode from Superman The Animated Series could work for a list like this but don’t you worry, we found one. As Kara (Supergirl) leaves her home in Smallville to spend some time in Metropolis with her cousin Clark, she returns home to find everything isn’t as it seems. Johnathan and Martha Kent take her to an event taking place, but when she enters the tent she finds a massive alien creature and residents of Smallville with cords attached from their bodies to the alien. Now Supergirl and Superman must figure out how to stop this terrifying alien invader as it continues to infect more and more people. An entry that seems to take pages out of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.
That is our list for some of the best DC cartoons to watch this Halloween, majority of these episodes can be found on the DC Universe subscription service. Have you seen these shows? What did you think about these episodes? Were there any episodes your remember watching as a kid that scared you?
Also Read: 10 Essential Songs for Your Halloween Playlist
