With Halloween less than two weeks away, many traditions are creeping out of the shadows. It is time for costumes, candy and scary movies—more specifically, movies you can catch on ABC Family’s “13 Nights of Halloween.”
The programming special airs every year from October 19 until Halloween night, beginning in 1998. This was right after “The Family Channel” became “FOX Family,” and a couple years after the station began their “25 Days of Christmas” special. 13 Nights began mainly due to the success of 25 Days, which still brings in huge amounts of viewers, with previews of the programming beginning long before Thanksgiving.
This year, like most others, ABC Family is making minor changes. A huge one is the lack of how much Harry Potter viewers will be able to catch this fall. Normally, the special programming features a “Harry Potter Weekend,” playing multiple Harry Potter films from Friday to Sunday. This year there won’t be an entire weekend dedicated to the boy from under the stairs, but viewers will be able to catch the sixth film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, at least once.
This year, program blocks will feature a day entirely dedicated to the works of Tim Burton, including The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands. Check out Burton’s day on Sunday, October 21.
On October 23, fans of Pretty Little Liars can either catch up on the show or get their fix (the show is currently in between seasons) as 13 Nights of Halloween will feature a PLL marathon, ending in a never-before-seen PLL Halloween special. Last year, the show’s Halloween special, “The First Secret,” was the most viewed part of the 13 Nights, until the airing of Hocus Pocus, which will return as a part of this year’s programming.
On October 30, the day before last of the programming, ABC Family will air Poltergeist, along with its two sequels. October 30 is also the 30th anniversary of the airing of the horror film.
The 14th year of 13 Nights will feature the premiere of two films to the network: 2006’s animated film Monster House and 2010’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, featuring Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel (She’s Out of My League).
This year’s programming will also include The Haunted Mansion, Monsters Inc. and Scooby Doo and Scooby Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed.
Tomorrow 13 Nights will begin with an airing of The Addams Family, followed by Addams Family Values.

By Taylor Zimmerman