Family GuyHalloween episodes are always a great excuse to watch the Griffins and company get up to a little more spooky and supernatural hijinks than they’re usually allowed. WhileThe Simpsonsis renowned for its “Treehouse of Horror” Halloweenepisodes,Family Guyhas always been a little more inconsistent when it comes to celebrating All Hallows' Eve. Seth MacFarlane’s immensely popular animated sitcom has rarely failed to have a Christmas-themed episode, but in 23 seasons, there have only been a handful of Halloween episodes.
Family Guydoes tend to play fast and loose with continuity and reality, so normal episodes have some of the wild and unexpected plots that most audiences would expect only from a Halloween episode. However, any timeFamily Guydoes do a Halloween episode, the creators tend to make a point of putting the holiday front and center or parody a movie or story associated with the holiday.The bestFamily GuyHalloween episodes are inextricable from the holidaybut still contain theclassicFamily Guyhumorfans have come to expect, and they’re all available on Hulu.
7Quagmire’s Quagmire (Season 12, Episode 3)
Quagmire Meets His Relationship Match
In “Quagmire’s Quagmire”, from season 12, Halloween takes a backseat to the A-plot which sees Quagmire meeting a new love interest, Sonya, who shares his sexual predilections and seems like the woman Quagmire has been searching for all series long. However, it turns out that Sonya is willing to go further than Quagmire ever was, and soon he feels the situation is getting out of hand. In the meantime, Lois is preparing everyone for Halloween and, while searching for Stewie’s costume, finds his old teddy bear.
Family Guy: Every Time Brian & Stewie Time Traveled
Family Guy often sends Brian and Stewie on time travel adventures together and they’re usually when the show is at its best.
Halloween is only a small part of this episode, though it is one of the handful of times that it’s mentioned in the show. While the B-plot of Stewie trying to balance his relationship with his teddy bears is very funny, the main plot is less so, and at times a bitdark even byFamily Guystandards. Though Sonya is eventually presented as the true villain, the lead-up sees some unseemly jokes made about sexual assault and violence that don’t land at all.
6Happy Holo-ween (Season 21, Episode 6)
Peter Creates A Different, And Better, Version Of Himself
“Happy Holo-ween” finds the Griffin family attending a Halloween carnival when Peter stumbles across a “Hallway of Holograms” where he meets the eccentric creator of the holograms. Peter, of course, steals the holographic machine and creates a version of himself to complete menial tasks. What he doesn’t count on, however, is his family appreciating the hologram more than him. When he threatens to disconnect it, the hologram imprisons Peter, and it’s up to the rest of the Griffins to stop it.
The Halloween illustrations at the beginning of the episode are some of the bestFamily Guyhas to offer, with plenty of color and detail to match the mood of the season.
The Halloween illustrations at the beginning of the episode are some of the bestFamily Guyhas to offer, with plenty of color and detail to match the mood of the season. After the story leaves the carnival, though, it gets noticeably less Halloweeny. There have been several doppelgänger episodes ofFamily Guy, though usually, they revolve around Stewie, so it’s a nice change of pace to have Peter at the center of a science fiction escapade.
5Must Love Dogs (Season 20, Episode 3)
Quagmire Finds Love On Halloween Night
“Must Love Dogs” begins on Halloween night with Stewie and Brian trick-or-treating together and Quagmire serving up candy to the neighbors. While Stewie gets a huge haul of candy, Quagmire gets a woman’s number and, in order to impress the dog-lover, enlists Brian as his “real non-talking” dog. Stewie discovers that after he gets home, his candy supply has been raided, and sets a trap for the would-be thief. After catching Chris, Stewie learns it was Peter all along who was behind the candy theft.
Brian confirms his full name is “Brian the Dog” in this episode.
Stewie’s B-plot is the only one of “Must Love Dogs” that focuses exclusively on Halloween, and it’s the much funnier one, with Quagmire’s story filled with jokes about sick dogs. There is a surprising lack of cutaways in this episode, but it still remains light on its feet and funny throughout. Chris, Peter, and Stewie don’t often have episodes together, so it’s always a pleasure when there is one that puts them all in the same room.
4And Then There Were Fewer (Season 9, Episode 1)
A Family Guy Retelling Of Agatha Christie’s Famous Novel
The hour-long premiere episode ofFamily Guyseason 9, “And Then There Were Fewer,” is not technically a Halloween episode but a parody of thefamous Agatha Christie mystery novel,And Then There Were Noneand the cult classic 1985Cluefilm, and for its gothic style and structure, it’s close enough. In the episode, James Woods invites the main characters from Quahog to his mansion on the ocean, where he plans to host everyone and apologize for his past behavior. However, when he’s found dead, the night turns into a thrilling mystery to find out who’s behind the murders.
Though it may not be about Halloween specifically, the old dark mansion, trap doors, and legitimately interesting mystery make this a spooky and laugh-out-loud episode and some of the bestFamily Guyhas to offer.
“And There Were Fewer” is not just an excellent parody of Christie’s novel, but also one of the funnierFamily Guyepisodes with the extended runtime allowing for a more coherent story and jokes to breathe a bit. Though it may not be about Halloween specifically, the old dark mansion, trap doors, and legitimately interesting mystery make this a spooky and laugh-out-loud episode and some of the bestFamily Guyhas to offer.
3Peternormal Activity (Season 14, Episode 4)
Peter And The Gang Try To Write A Scary Movie
Peter, Joe, Cleveland, and Quagmire have had plenty of hair-brained schemes over the years, so the one in “Peternormal Activity” seems modest in comparison. The quartet decides they should write a horror movie and decide to go to an abandoned asylum to get some ideas. There, they accidentally run into a man with a hook hand and inadvertently kill him. After they learn he was just a helpful veteran, they decide to bury him so no one will ever know.
Again, this episode is not officially a Halloween episode, but it’s adjacent to the holiday with its many cutaways to horror movie ideasthe fellas pitch to one another. The journey through the asylum is a fun diversion and the B-plot, which finds Stewie growing annoyed with Brian’s new love of wearing glasses, is excellent. Every character has a moment to shine in this one, and the asylum storyline stays dark and foreboding until the end of the episode.
2Petergeist (Season 4, Episode 26)
Poltergeist Family Guy-Style
“Petergeist” is aFamily Guyclassic and is indicative of the reference and parody-heavy direction the show would go in afterFamilyGuyreturned for season 4. The episode is a parody ofPoltergeist, the famous haunted house film from 1982, andFamily Guymanages to cover all the important bits of the movie while adding its own spin to it. The episode sees Peter accidentally unearthing an ancient burial ground, causing the Griffin home to be the center of a paranormal invasion.
The episode does an excellent job recreating famous scenes from the movie while highlighting their absurdity but also paying loving homage to them. Though it’s a bit dated, with Carrot Top figuring heavily into the plot, it’s a satisfying kind of time capsule that plants the show squarely in the mid-2000s.It has the right balance of funny and scandalous jokesand there’s real care taken into the storytelling.
1Halloween On Spooner Street (Season 9, Episode 4)
Stewie Loses His Candy, And Chris And Meg Go To A Party
The firstFamily GuyHalloween special, and the best one, “Halloween on Spooner Street"sees all three plots involved with the holidayin one way or another. Stewie and Brian go trick-or-treating together and Stewie gets his candy stolen by some older kids; Chris and Meg are finally able to get into the “popular” kids' party, dressing as characters cooler than they are; and Joe and Peter spend the night pranking Quagmire in increasingly dangerous ways.
The episode has the “never-ending” feeling of Halloween night where so much can happen.
Each plot has something to do with Halloween and the characters spend almost the entire episode dressed up in costumes. The episode has the “never-ending” feeling of Halloween night where so much can happen. The stories are hilarious, absurd, shocking, and occasionally triumphant. It’s the most well-rounded Halloween episode and a type of holiday-themedFamily Guyfare that should happen more often in the series.
Family Guy
Cast
Family Guy is an animated series following the eccentric Griffin family. Led by bumbling patriarch Peter and long-suffering Lois, the family includes the sadistic baby Stewie, unpopular teenager Meg, dim-witted Chris, and Brian, their talking dog. The show explores their outlandish adventures in the fictional town of Quahog.
