Hauntingly Hilarious: iconic Halloween sitcom episodes

If you prefer to sleep at night instead of worrying that a ghost is about to possess you, then these spooktacular Halloween sitcom episodes are right up your alley. I will gain the courage to watch The Conjuring one day…

Modern Family – Season Two, Episode Six

Claire Dunphy’s (Julie Bowen) obsession with Halloween reminds me of how department stores set up their Christmas displays in August.

The episode begins with the Halloween fanatic trying to prank her son Luke (Noah Gould) by pretending to chop off her hand whilst cooking. She also comically reprimands her daughter Alex (Ariel Winter) for spending more time on her homework than on her Halloween costume. A perfectly normal outburst from your mother when you have just told her that you could not care less for Halloween as you have three exams tomorrow, no?

The standout comedic performance of the episode belongs to Ferguson 

This love for Halloween appears to run in the Dunphy/Pritchett family as Claire’s brother, Mitchell (Jesse Tyler Ferguson) arrives at his prestigious law firm workplace dressed in a Spiderman outfit. To his horror, no one else apart from two men, who are mocked by colleagues, are in costume.

The standout comedic performance of the episode belongs to Ferguson, which resulted in his Emmy nomination. His panicked gestures and highly expressive face hilariously emphasised his embarrassment.

Mitchell gets stuck in a bathroom cubicle trying to change, drops his office clothes in the toilet, and is then seen by everyone in the car park when he sets his car alarm off as he hurriedly tries to escape in his Spiderman costume. What a disaster…

This amusing episode concludes with Claire, who is dressed like a ghoulish corpse bride, strictly instructing her family on how to terrify trick or treaters, giving them each a task. After many failed attempts, and a meltdown from Claire, the family comes together and succeeds in delivering Claire’s vision of traumatising little children.

This beloved episode is nothing short of bizarre

Brooklyn 99 – Season One, Episode Six

This beloved episode is nothing short of bizarre, with Halloween costumes ranging from nuns to bananas to Hilary Clinton and Kim Jong Un. Pretty far from your standard prisoner or angel.

The focus of the episode is the elaborate heist planned by Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg), who aims to steal Captain Holt’s (Andre Braugher) medal from his safe before midnight. He dresses as a janitor, even sets fire to a bin and enlists the help of his colleagues to aid him in his plan, which results in Holt surrendering his pride to Peralta.

Meanwhile, Amy (Melissa Fumero), a Halloween Scrooge, begrudgingly wears a skeleton costume with Charles (Joe Lo Truglio), who is dressed as a chef. The pair patrol the streets undercover searching for underage drinkers and drug consumers, later attending a Halloween rave.

Overall, the comedic timing of the cast and their perfect balance of physical comedy and situational humour makes this Halloween episode one of my favourites. However, I do not think that I will be adopting Charles’ phrase ‘stume’ when referring to my costume.

Derry Girls –Season Three, Episode Six

The previous two episodes mentioned were set in America, but for this one I am turning a little closer to home…sort of. Northern Ireland!

Picture this, a group of four Irish teenage girls and one Englishman, all desperate to get tickets to Derry’s most prestigious Halloween concert, where Fatboy Slim will perform. The group get into an altercation over tickets, causing Michelle (Jamie-Lee O’Donnell) to invent a sob story on TV about James (Dylan Llewellyn) which miraculously leads to a VIP concert experience. However, when they spot the same man they fought with at the concert, another fight ensues and they are thrown out as James is evidently not ill.

Sitcoms can provide some much-needed light heartedness

The funniest part of this episode was when the nun from the Catholic school put up posters about renting nun outfits for Halloween; not exactly the most devout of actions. Furthermore, this comedic element was heightened when Orla’s mother, Sarah (Kathy Kiera Clarke) is seen wearing a nun costume, which gets her out of her engagement since her fiancé believes she has now married God.

Despite this episode’s amusing quality, it ends miserably. The group rushes to hospital after being informed that Clare’s dad has had an aneurysm, which kills him. A camera shot from above shows how the angel wings of the group’s costumes all rest on each other’s shoulders whilst they hug each other in support. This poignant moment is followed by the funeral, where the friends link arms. Ultimately, this twist not only emphasizes real life horror, but also highlights the importance of both family and friendship.

There are many other episodes I could have mentioned from series like The Office, Parks and Recreation, and The Simpsons, which proves that sitcoms can provide some much-needed light heartedness during this period of demons, ghosts and ghouls.