Top 10 Best Nickelodeon Halloween Specials

With the days of candy-collecting long behind them, Ned, Moze, and Cookie are put in charge of organizing the Halloween party at James K. Polk Middle School. They create a Haunted Hallway attraction… that ends up working too well when Principal Pal is supposedly scared to death. Fortunately, it all turns out to be a prank pulled by the Principal to scare the kids. After that, the party goes off without a hitch –showing what happens when you pitch in to spread a little Halloween spirit at your school, and that you’re never too old to enjoy the fun. Along with that, it also features a clever tie-in to the next episode, featuring the cast as monsters in a creepy, ghoulish middle school.

In the series’ epilogue TV movie, the Rockmore family’s cross-country road trip ends up turning into a nightmare –and not just because they bring Kel along. Kenan finds himself haunted by a Headless Knight that wants his head. Nobody else believes in the legend, but when the car breaks down and the boys go for help, they end up spending the night in the Headless Knight’s castle… and he is on the hunt. While not set during Halloween, it still features a blood-curdling, fun story straight out of a horror film that really captures the feeling of the season –made even better with Kenan and Kel’s comedy.

Doug wants to be brave like his hero, Race Canyon, for Halloween, yet he’s too afraid to go on a terrifying new amusement park attraction. However, Roger bullies him and Skeeter into sneaking onto the ride after hours, only for the three to get trapped inside with a ghoulish maniac watching them. While Roger plans to prank the two “chickens”, Doug and Skeeter team up with the maniac for a little good old-fashioned revenge. Being brave doesn’t mean proving you’re not scared, being brave means being able to conquer your fears despite being afraid –and it’s safe to say that Doug showed his bravery tonight. Plus, who doesn’t love an episode with a spooky twist ending?

Being an entire Nicktoon about fighting ghosts, how could they NOT have a Halloween special? Danny clashes with the school bully, Dash, over who can make the scarier haunted house room. Unfortunately, Danny’s desire to win causes him to accidentally unleash one of the most frightening ghosts of all – the Fright Knight, the spirit of Halloween. With his horrific storm and his Soul Shredder, he aims to plunge the world into an endless nightmare unless Danny can end his reign of terror. While he manages to seal the Knight away, Danny ultimately loses the contest and faces consequences that are even scarier than ghosts. It serves him right for messing with ghostly artifacts, but it did lead to an epic Halloween brawl.

After tampering with his dad’s gadget on Halloween, Dib accidentally ends up creating a Nightmare Realm filled with some of the most horrifying monsters you’ll ever see –including chilling versions of those in Dib’s life. They hope to escape to the real world through Dib’s gigantic head and, ironically, probably the only one who can save him is Zim… that’s even scarier. Thankfully, the monsters don’t follow-through with their takeover plan –because the only thing scarier than them is a horde of unconscious ‘candy zombie’ trick-or-treaters. This is easily the creepiest episode on this list thanks to the nightmare-inducing visuals and unnerving ambiance of the Nightmare Realm –yet it blends perfectly with “Invader Zim”’s absurd humor and already bizarre nature.

In a spine-chilling alternate universe, the boys are monsters getting ready to perform at a big Halloween party –if only Gustavo can successfully turn them into a normal boy band. That’s easier said than done, however, as the night only gets crazier from there – zombie Logan keeps losing his limbs, Franken-Carlos is out of control, a gorgeous vampire slayer is hunting James, and Kendall tries to hide his werewolf side from Jo. This was a devilishly creative episode with a kooky setting and tributes to some of our favorite horror films and TV shows galore –all while maintaining the same zany, Big Time humor we know and love.

When they’re told they can’t help out at the boarding house’s Halloween party, Arnold and Gerald decide to play a trick of their own. They set up a fake radio news report to scare the boarders into thinking aliens have landed, but the broadcast gets leaked to the public and soon the whole city is in a panic about the “invasion”. It gets especially bad for Helga and the rest of the kids when they dress up as aliens and end up being hunted by the townsfolk. Not only is this a spectacular tribute to the infamous Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds” broadcast, but it also shows what happens when a simple prank goes horribly awry.

For a special Halloween broadcast, Carly, Sam, and Freddie decide to host “iCarly” inside an allegedly haunted apartment on the 13th floor. However, the plan quickly turns south when the web show turns into “The Blair Witch Project” with the gang being spooked by a supposed ghost. Meanwhile, Spencer has troubles of his own when he forgets to stock up on Halloween candy and faces the wrath of livid trick-or-treaters. While Spencer’s story ends hilariously, the “iCarly” trio is relieved to know that all the supernatural activities were just coincidences –and the apartment isn’t really haunted at all. Overall a funny and creepy episode with two very important lessons – don’t trespass where you don’t belong, and NEVER forget the candy on Halloween night.

Thanks to their lame costumes, Timmy and his friends are having the worst Halloween ever. However, Timmy decides to spice things up by wishing everyone’s costumes were real and scary. This, unfortunately, backfires because not only do Cosmo and Wanda lose their magic, but also the rich kids turn into a giant pumpkin doomsday device bent on blowing up the Earth. Fortunately, in the end, Timmy is able to wish everything back to normal and ends up having the best Halloween ever. It’s perfectly fine to want to make things scary for the occasion, but it’s probably for the best that everything is fake and safe.

Before we unveil our number one pick, here are a few spine-chilling honorable mentions.

“Haunted House”
“Zoey 101” (2005-08)

“Tricked!”
“The Loud House” (2016-)

“Nightmare in Retroville”
“The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius” (2002-06)

“Sugar Frosted Frights”
“Rocko’s Modern Life” (1992-96)

“CatDogula”
“CatDog” (1998-2005)

Poor SpongeBob is terrified of Halloween because every year, everyone scares him out of his pants. This year, however, Patrick decides to help him turn the tables with an amateur Flying Dutchman costume. The plan ultimately backfires and SpongeBob is made a laughing stock… until the REAL Flying Dutchman arrives –finally having his fill of everyone dressing like him. He plans to steal everyone’s souls… until SpongeBob “ScaredyPants” manages to scare him and everyone else away without even trying. This was a fun and spooky treat as the very first holiday-themed special of this iconic Nicktoon with a harsh lesson about teasing people on Halloween. (Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom) While the holiday still terrifies him, SpongeBob will eventually learn how fun it can be in “The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom”.