Greetings spooky pals! Home For The Horrordays is just around the corner, which means it’s also time for all things creepy, kooky and altogether spooky. (Or however that goes…) That includes the return of Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween!

Last year we ran a full breakdown of their programming block and how it’s changed over the past few years. We’ll refer you back to that post if you’d like to read up on how it all got started. The short version is that Hocus Pocus has grown exponentially in popularity in the past decade, and the good folks at Disney and Freeform has been more than happy to build an entire month-long TV block dedicated to shoving it down your throats.

Anyway, we’re back to add this year’s lineup to the chart and compare this year’s block with years past!

Here’s the official 2022 schedule for reference. And here’s our updated chart:

THE HOCUS POCUS-SHAPED ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

It’s no secret that there’s a new Hocus Pocus sequel premiering on Disney+ this week. With that in mind, one has to wonder how much of this year’s 31 Nights block will be dedicated to advertising it.

The original Hocus Pocus has seen a precipitous drop in its presence on the schedule, from 30 showings at its peak in 2019 to a mere 10 showings this year. This is likely due both to the wide array of features on offer this year, as well as a desire to not oversaturate the market with all things Hocus Pocus. Freeform is showing remarkable restraint in only airing the original three times in the first week alone.

One also has to wonder how long before Hocus Pocus 2 appears in the 31 Nights rotation. Five years? Never? Both seem equally plausible.

THE CREEPY AND THE KOOKY

The Addams Family (1991) and its sequel, Addams Family Values, were once staples of the 31 Nights rotation. This year, they’re nowhere to be found!

Licensing probably has something to do with this, as we not only now have two animated Addams films from Sony, but an entire new Netflix series from Tim Burton competing for cultural space. It’s a shame to see the Sonnenfeld films disappear, but from a business standpoint it makes sense. It’s probably a smart move to give those films a year or two off. I’m sure they’ll return.

And speaking of Tim Burton, Beetlejuice reappears on this year’s schedule. In 2020, the film aired twelve times, then disappeared completely in 2021. This year we’re getting only four showings, so I don’t know that I’d call his return triumphant.

Still, Burton is hands down the most well represented filmmaker in the 31 Nights lineup. This year, Burton’s films make up 14% of the total schedule (eight films out of the month’s 57 timeslots). This is up from 5% in 2021, though the record so far is 2020, when Burton’s films accounted for nearly one-fifth of the entire schedule!

NEW ARRIVALS TO THE ROTATION:
– A Quiet Place
– Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1992)
– Get Out
– Halloween (2018)
– Happy Death Day
– Happy Death Day 2 U

GONE FROM THE SCHEDULE (RIP):
– The Addams Family (1991)
– Addams Family Values
– Casper (1995)
– The Goonies
– Matilda
– Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

RANDOM OBSERVATIONS:

No doubt the addition of more adult horror films is an attempt to lure in older viewers, or maybe simply catering to the changing tastes of current ones. Halloween (2018) seems like a pretty big get, what with Halloween Ends coming out soon and all. Either way, it’s nice to see Freeform branching out into actual horror movies.

For reasons known only to God and the programming director at Freeform, HalloweenTown II will see twice as many showings as the original this year. Last year saw the original get four showings, and none for the sequel. Is there a reason for this? Who’s to say?

Not seen since 2018, Maleficent roars back to the schedule with five showings, while the sequel Maleficent: Mistress of Evil gets a single showing on October 8th.

For the first time ever, Ghostbusters (2016) will get more showings than the two originals. If I were a betting man, I’d say next year will see the premiere of Ghostbusters Afterlife and I’m gonna guess with a grand total of four showings. It’s just as likely that the two original Ghostbusters films will go the way of The Addams Family, leaving the spooky rotation to make room for more modern tastes.

Finally, with the loss of Addams Family, Willy Wonka and Toy Story of Terror, only three films have appeared every year since 2018: Hocus Pocus, Nightmare Before Christmas, and Monsters, Inc. The first two probably aren’t going anywhere, but the way things are going, Monsters might not be long for this schedule…

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What do you think of 31 Nights of Halloween? Any trends you find curious? Let us know in the comments!