5 best horror franchises to marathon this Halloween season

Halloween is just around the corner, and one of the best ways to celebrate it is with a good old-fashioned horror movie marathon. But with decades of slashing, screaming, and supernatural chaos, picking the right franchise can be scarier than the movies themselves. Are slasher films better than the ones with a hundred jump scares? Which supernatural entities are the spookiest and the best fit for Halloween?

Whether you’re into psychological terror, blood-soaked mayhem, or that slow-building dread that makes you check behind the shower curtain, we have rounded up the five best horror franchises to binge on this Halloween season. Grab your snacks, dim the lights, and prepare to question every creak in your house. Here are five horror franchises you should definitely watch this Halloween.

The Conjuring franchise

We are starting strong with one of the most iconic horror franchises in recent years, the Conjuring franchise. If you’re looking for a Halloween marathon that perfectly balances jump scares, creepy folklore, and spine-tingling atmosphere, The Conjuring Universe is the gold standard. Starting with James Wan’s 2013 masterpiece, the franchise built an entire supernatural ecosystem around real-life paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Each film is steeped in haunting realism, mixing slow-building dread with moments that’ll have you clutching your blanket like it is a lifeline.

The franchise is not just scary, but builds up on connections across timelines and characters, creating a cinematic puzzle that's both terrifying and satisfying to put together. The Conjuring franchise offers the kind of supernatural marathon that turns a cozy October Halloween night into a full-blown séance. Maybe keep the lights on, you know, for safety. The franchise has four main films, and then five spinoffs on major characters that are just as good. The Conjuring franchise includes:

The Conjuring (2013)
Annabelle (2014)
The Conjuring 2 (2016)
Annabelle: Creation (2017)
The Nun (2018)
Annabelle Comes Home (2019)
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It (2021)
The Nun II (2023)
The Conjuring: Last Rites (2025)

The Final Destination franchise

Switching gears, we have The Final Destination, a franchise that thrills on the concept of fate and human fear, minus all the supernatural entities and haunted buildings. It kicked off in 2000 with a simple but genius premise: What if death had a design? What if death follows you, chasing you with receipts? Each movie follows a group of people who narrowly escape a fatal accident, but that starts a weird chain of events where people die horrific deaths.

Perfect for Halloween? Absolutely. These films deliver creative kills, nerve-wracking suspense, and a strange philosophical question about destiny that’ll make you side-eye every random object in your house. It’s the kind of horror that keeps you jumping even after the credits roll, and maybe makes you rethink your next road trip or rollercoaster ride. The franchise currently has six films.

Final Destination (2000)
Final Destination 2 (2003)
Final Destination 3 (2006)
The Final Destination (2009)
Final Destination 5 (2011)
Final Destination 6 (2025)

Scream franchise

If your go-to pick is a slasher, then there's another perfect choice for you. The Scream franchise is the ultimate love letter to horror, and the perfect pick for Halloween. Launched in 1996 by Wes Craven, it reinvented the slasher genre with a mix of sharp wit, brutal kills, and meta humor that poked fun at every horror cliché imaginable. At the heart of it all is Sidney Prescott, the final girl to end all final girls, who spends decades outsmarting a rotating cast of Ghostface killers.

Over the years, the franchise has reinvented itself with new plots, new characters, but the same old atmosphere of dread and horror. If you're looking for a film this Halloween that has less ghosts and more real-life human action, then this may just be your best pick.

The series consists of six films, with a seventh under development as well. The Scream franchise includes,

Scream (1996)
Scream 2 (1997)
Scream 3 (2000)
Scream 4 (2011)
Scream (2022)
Scream VI (2023)

The Evil Dead franchise

The Evil Dead franchise has been one of the most enduring and endearing horror franchises, blending relentless scares, over-the-top gore, and characters who find themselves in places they shouldn't. The franchise started off with Sam Raimi's 1981 original and has now grown into a cultural touchstone. The central evil in the franchise is the Necronomicon, a book that unleashes demonic entities.

The franchise leans on gore, jump scares, and folk horror, all the right elements for a spooky fest that will teach you a lesson about not touching what's not yours. The series currently has six projects, one of which is a TV show. The franchise currently includes:

The Evil Dead (1981)
Evil Dead II (1987)
Army of Darkness (1992)
Evil Dead (2013)
Ash vs Evil Dead (TV series, 2015–2018)
Evil Dead Rise (2023)

Scary Movie franchise

The Scary Movie franchise is basically Halloween in parody form, a laugh-out-loud, meta take on every horror cliché you’ve ever rolled your eyes at. Starting in 2000, these films poke fun at slasher movies, supernatural thrillers, and teen screamers, often blending absurd comedy with gross-out moments and ridiculous plot twists. While not scary in the traditional sense, the franchise has become a staple for anyone who loves horror but also enjoys a good, silly laugh.

What makes it perfect for Halloween is that it’s a palate cleanser between heavier horror marathons. It riffs on everything from Scream to Final Destination, giving viewers a chance to exhale while still celebrating the season. Costumes, over-the-top characters, and references to classic horror icons make it a fun watch with friends, especially if you want to mix humor into your scary movie night. Currently, there are five films in the franchise, with a sixth one on its way.

Scary Movie (2000)
Scary Movie 2 (2001)
Scary Movie 3 (2003)
Scary Movie 4 (2006)
Scary Movie 5 (2013)
Scary Movie Reboot (2026)

No matter your scare style, supernatural chills, brutal slashers, or horror-comedy laughs, these franchises have you covered. So grab your popcorn, dim the lights, and let the Halloween marathon begin. Just don’t blame us if you sleep with the lights on afterward!