There are two kinds of spooky Halloween movies: the kind with goofy ghosts and special effects you can laugh along with and the kind that make you genuinely afraid enough that afterward you brush your teeth without looking in the mirror. What? There could be some creepy apparition standing behind you.
Start with the scary stuff on Friday, Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. at the Arcata Theatre Lounge, when the Stanley Kubrick/Stephen King classic The Shining (1980) takes you back to the haunted Overlook Hotel ($5). Nothing scares like Jack Nicholson as a blocked writer descending into murderous madness, terrifying his wife (Shelly Duvall) while his son (Danny Lloyd) Big Wheels around empty (and not-so-empty) hallways. Bonus points if you can find a friend who's never seen it and watch him or her jump and cringe for the first time.
Congratulations for surviving the all-lady reboot destroying your childhood (RIP, fragile fanboys) — you now get to come back to the Arcata Theatre Lounge for the original Ghostbusters (1984) on Sunday, Oct. 22 at 6 p.m. ($5). Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ernie Hudson suit up to battle the paranormal and local bureaucracy in New York City. Sigourney Weaver and Rick Moranis are hilarious as possessed residents of a fancy apartment building/portal to another dimension. See? You're singing the song in your head already. Sorry about that.