Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween has become as much a seasonal staple as pumpkin spice lattes and Spirit Halloween pop-ups. Every October, the network rolls out its TV schedule of spooky and family-friendly classic Halloween must-watches like everyone’s favorite Hocus Pocus, Beetlejuice, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, mixed with modern entries like Hotel Transylvania and Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. This year is no different, but one title on the list has me scratching my head.
The full schedule was revealed on Freeform’s official X (formerly Twitter) account, where they promised “all the scares, all month long” with a graphic listing every film. The usual suspects are there, like some of Tim Burton’s best movies, some creepy comedies, and Disney-approved frights. But as you can see in the list posted below, nestled among the witches, ghosts, and monsters is 1996’s Matilda. Yes, the Danny DeVito-directed Roald Dahl page-to-screen adaptation about a brilliant little girl with telekinetic powers made the cut.
