Halloween 2026: 31 teen costume ideas, 10 Disney+ family films and sitcom episodes to rewatch
From a bedsheet ghost to a Taylor Swift look, from Cruella to Muppets Haunted Mansion, three magazine guides sketch an easy Halloween night: what to wear, then what to stream.
By
Josh Whitaker
In brief
- Teen Vogue’s teen costume list focuses on solo looks, with separate ideas for couples and groups.
- Yahoo’s Disney+ picks favour mild menace over real scares, from Cruella to Muppets Haunted Mansion.
- Vogue UK gathers Halloween episodes from series such as Friends, The Office and New Girl.
- The Simpsons alone supplies 36 “Treehouse of Horror” episodes for a rewatch.
A bedsheet with two eye holes still counts as a Halloween costume, and it sits on the same shortlist as a Wednesday Addams look and a Taylor Swift tribute. That mix of effort levels runs through three seasonal guides: a costume roundup for teenagers, a Disney+ watchlist built for families, and a collection of holiday episodes from familiar series. Together they cover what to wear and what to put on the screen once the trick-or-treating is over.
Costumes for teens, from pop stars to a single sheet
According to Teen Vogue, the list is built mostly around outfits one person can wear alone, while couples and friend groups are pointed toward the magazine’s separate suggestions. The editors also read the trend lines: they recall plenty of The Summer I Turned Pretty and Wicked costumes last year, and say they expect more Heated Rivalry and Off Campus looks this time around. That is a forecast from the magazine, not a count.
Film and screen characters make up a large share of the ideas. The picks include Carrie, Rumi from Kpop Demon Hunters, Mia Thermopolis from The Princess Diaries, Wednesday Addams, Lydia from Beetlejuice and Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Music offers another route. The magazine suggests channelling Olivia Rodrigo, Adéla, Aaliyah or Taylor Swift in her The Life of a Showgirl era, each tied to a recognizable outfit or hair colour.
For anyone short on time, the guide keeps a handful of near-instant options:
- a ghost made from a sheet;
- a Minion, alone or as part of a group;
- a cowgirl in jeans and a white tank top;
- the famous Vermeer painting, recreated with a headband and pearl earrings.
Disney+ films with just enough fright
Yahoo has ranked ten Halloween films on Disney+ for households with younger viewers. Its premise is candid: the streamer is not really known for horror, but several titles carry a measured dose of menace that suits children. The selection includes:
- Cruella, starring Emma Stone;
- Edward Scissorhands, Tim Burton’s film with Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder;
- Frankenweenie, Burton’s feature-length remake of a short he made in 1984;
- Halloweentown;
- Haunted Mansion, the 2023 version with Rosario Dawson and Owen Wilson;
- Hocus Pocus and its sequel, Hocus Pocus 2;
- Muppets Haunted Mansion, in which Gonzo tries to last a night in a creepy manor to mark a hundred years since his idol, The Great MacGuffin, vanished.
Other Disney+ titles are covered in our report on Marvel’s Zodiac spy series, headed to Disney+ in 2028.
Halloween episodes worth a rewatch
Vogue UK has rounded up Halloween instalments from Friends, The Office, Modern Family, New Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Buffy, Gilmore Girls, BoJack Horseman, Curb Your Enthusiasm and South Park. A few plots stand out:
- Friends: Monica and Chandler throw a Halloween party, and Phoebe brings along Ursula and her fiancé, Eric.
- The Office: Michael has to fire an employee during Dunder Mifflin’s Halloween party.
- How I Met Your Mother: Ted waits all night for the “Slutty Pumpkin”, a woman whose number he lost back in 2001.
- Are You Afraid of the Dark?: one episode features Gilbert Gottfried alongside a young Ryan Gosling.
The Simpsons gets its own mention. Vogue UK counts 36 “Treehouse of Horror” episodes and advises viewers to work through all of them to settle on a favourite.
Photo: Gustavo Fring / Pexels
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