Every Halloween Episode Of South Park Ranked Worst To Best

"South Park" has been going against the grain and offending the general masses for over 20 years. Starting life as a student film conceived by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the show has ballooned into a juggernaut. And while it has become one of Comedy Central's flagship shows, the constantly offbeat series has gained fans and detractors alike. From high concept satire to juvenile humor, the series has covered almost every topic — no matter how taboo. 

The show is no stranger to yearly holiday-related specials, lampooning both Christmas, Easter, and Halloween. The latter is most relevant here, as "South Park" has had many Halloween and horror-centered episodes of varying quality. From parodies and horror-tinted episodes to episodes set on Halloween itself, the series has a diverse catalog. But not every animated series can knock it out of the park all of the time. With that in mind, let's rank the "South Park" Halloween episodes worst to best.

Despite their streak of going after nearly everyone known to man, some celebrities have lent their voices to "South Park." Korn comes to the town of South Park to a warm reception, with Priest Maxi being their only detractor. Also, the boys are preparing for a special Halloween prank — scaring the fifth graders with the dead body of Kyle's grandmother. The two parties cross paths when it appears South Park is under siege by a gang of pirate ghosts, and the boys team up with the band in a "Scooby-Doo" style adventure that tributes various Hanna-Barbera tropes.

The episode is a definite step up from the previous, with the biggest improvement being no usage of "spooky vision." Korn is definitely the major highlight, with the actual band providing their voices for their paper cutout counterparts. The episode also contains a lot of what makes "South Park" great, with its evolving irreverent humor on display. However, the episode definitely suffers from its age, especially if you aren't aware of Korn's discography. A definite improvement, but still nowhere near the heights of future specials.

"Sons A Witches" is one of three "South Park" Halloween episodes where the focus isn't the boys, but Stan's father, Randy Marsh. In recent years, Randy has become a focal point of the series, especially with the ongoing Tegridy Farms storyline. Sadly, of the three Randy-centered Halloween episodes, this is by far the weakest one. Randy and his friends are celebrating Halloween with various vices until a random amongst them busts out a spellbook. This turns him into a witch, who then begins menacing South Park and puts a damper on their festivities. At the same time, Cartman looks to use the witch situation to rid himself of his girlfriend, Heidi. It's definitely an episode with a lot going on, which is a recurring theme in many modern "South Park" episodes.

The concept of a "witch hunt" is used to subtly poke up at the still-growing allegations within the entertainment industry. But the episode doesn't do much with the idea, going for a more subtle approach, which is its biggest flaw. If there was ever a time to use high concept shenanigans to comment on a hot topic, this was it. The episode contains some solid laughs and visuals, but it doesn't go all the way — an unfortunate rarity for the show.

A new trend has come to South Park in the form of e-scooters, a free public transport run via an app. The boys, as well as every other kid in town, decide to use them to quadruple their Halloween hauls. This leaves Kenny, the only kid without a smartphone, as the odd man out as everyone makes their Halloween plans. Meanwhile, Mr. Mackey seems to be the only one perturbed by the rising number of e-scooters in town. He tries to destroy them, but it seems that they have a mind of their own, which makes conventional destruction impossible. With the number of trick-or-treaters projected to be immense, the town prepares itself for imminent destruction!

The major highlight comes when South Park is under siege from trick-or-treaters, which causes untold anarchy. "The Scoots" is a unique episode as it focuses on the characters of Kenny and Mr. Mackey, who are both downtrodden over the state of recent trends and how they're affecting their everyday lives. This episode opts not to focus on any political or social issue, instead choosing to tell a single focused narrative.

"Dead Celebrities" was relevant when it came out in 2009, and thanks to its dark subject matter, it definitely still is. There will never be a time when a celebrity unexpectedly passing away doesn't elicit a massive public response. Ike, Kyle's adopted little brother, is seeing apparitions of dead celebrities, with the most vocal specter being the ghost of Billy Mays. The boys take interest in Ike's plight, even bringing various pop-cultural ghost experts to help. This results in parodies of both the television series "Ghost Hunters" and Tobe Hooper's classic 1980s horror film "Poltergeist." Eventually, they discover that all the celebrity ghosts are stuck in purgatory, illustrated as a frustratingly delayed commercial airline. Now, they must help the ghost of Michael Jackson come to terms with his passing and finally move on.

This Halloween episode is jam-packed with several great gags, from Michael Jackson possessing Ike's body to the various dead celebrities. Additionally, it has a delightful running gag about a product Cartman buys called "Chipotlaway" to clean blood stains out of his underwear. Pushing absurdity to its most logical conclusion has always been the main strength of "South Park," and this episode definitely personifies that. Unsurprisingly, it deserves to stand head and shoulders among the best spooky "South Park" episodes.

Of the Randy-focused Halloween specials, "A Nightmare on FaceTime" is by far the best of the three. Randy has invested in the business venture of a lifetime — to him at least — in the form of a rundown Blockbuster Video. The family is not pleased with Randy's investment, especially Stan after his dad forces him to work on Halloween. With their group Avengers cosplay in jeopardy, Stan is forced to trick or treat from a tablet carried by his friends. Meanwhile, Randy begins to go crazy, much like Jack Torrance in "The Shining," only with Blockbuster in place of the Overlook Hotel.

The parody is completely on point in this episode as the creators replicate various elements from the Stanley Kubrick classic. It also uses ghosts to make a hilarious commentary on how video stores died due to online streaming services. As stated earlier, one can make the argument that Randy has become one of the show's main focal points, and this episode uses him to his fullest comedic potential as he remains ignorant and bullheaded despite the situation. In the end, it mixes the simplicity of the early seasons with the sharper wit of newer ones to great comedic effect.