The 10 Best SpongeBob SquarePants Halloween Episodes Ranked Worst-Best

The SpongeBob SquarePants Halloween episodes always provide a bevy of creepy frights alongside the goofy humor of the underwater series. Like the winter and Christmas-themed SpongeBob SquarePants episodes, the Halloween ones offer something different from the usual Bikini Bottom hijinks. A sunny, beach-themed, and generally optimistic series, Halloween episodes of SpongeBob see the same zany and classic characters involved in more unnerving and sinister plotlines.

SpongeBob SquarePants has been airing episodes on Nickelodeon since 1999, and from there, the animated franchise has grown to include three feature-length films, as one of the network’s biggest properties. Though it’s primarily intended for children, there’s a lot that teens and adults can get from SpongeBob, particularly from its dark, surreal comedy. SpongeBob SquarePants often has scary episodes with strange characters and frighteningly realistic animation, so it tracks that Halloween episodes would fit nicely into its mold.

15 “SpongeBob Meets The Strangler” (S3, E60a)

A Serial Killer Comes For SpongeBob

While not a SpongeBob SquarePants episode that takes place at Halloween, the season 3 episode, “SpongeBob Meets the Strangler,” is definitely one to watch whenever looking for a scary, spooky time in Bikini Bottom. This episode sees SpongeBob witness a man littering, and he decides something needs to be done about it. SpongeBob calls the police and has the man arrested. There is one problem — this is the Tattletale Strangler, a villain who kills anyone who tells on him to the police.

When the Strangler escapes from jail, he sets out to kill SpongeBob. This is an interesting episode because SpongeBob is scared to death and is going to die, but the joke is that he has no idea what the Strangler looks like and ends up asking the killer to be his bodyguard. After this, even a mass-murdering serial killer has trouble keeping his sanity when around SpongeBob for any length of time. The episode has plenty of spooky moments, while SpongeBob is mostly oblivious to them all.

14 “Fear Of A Krabby Patty” (S4, E61a)

SpongeBob Begins To Hallucinate Horrors

“Fear of a Krabby Patty” is an episode with a lot of scary imagery and spooky moments, but all of it really takes place in SpongeBob SquarePants’ exhausted mind. This is a fourth season episode, and the Krusty Krab decides to remain open 24 hours a day. The problem is that the only employees are SpongeBob and Squidward, so neither of them gets any time off and has to work there non-stop. This was Plankton’s plan, with his overall goal to steal the Krabby Patty formula. However, the real story is SpongeBob’s hallucinations.

After 43 days of working nonstop, SpongeBob finally breaks down and starts to see things, including Mr. Krabs as a giant floating Krabby Patty that wants to eat him. He then starts to see everyone as killer Krabby Patties and has a panic attack. The entire idea of an overworked and exhausted SpongeBob seeing danger everywhere he looks was a scary moment, and the visuals made this an episode to remember for those who prefer their SpongeBob SquarePants to be frightening.

13 “BlackJack” (S5, E93c)

SpongeBob’s Cousin Gets Out Of Jail & Challenges Him

Some of the scariest SpongeBob SquarePants episodes, both those at Halloween and those that are just frightening on their own, happen when SpongeBob imagines spooky moments. In “BlackJack,” what SpongeBob imagines happening ends up scarier than anything that happens to him in the episode in real life. In this episode, SpongeBob’s cousin BlackJack gets out of prison and calls his cousin to threaten him. He asks SpongeBob to come to his parents and wrestle him for their safety.

The rest of the episode mostly shows SpongeBob scared to death as he visits his grandmother and tries to figure out a way to save his parents from his evil cousin. He imagines every horrific way that his cousin could kill him and his family, and his imagination really starts to run wild. There is comedy, such as when he asks his uncle for help, only to be misunderstood with a Karate Kid-styled montage. When he finally confronts his cousin, the danger is much smaller than viewers were led to believe.

12 “Toy Store Of Doom” (S6, E120b)

SpongeBob & Patrick Are Locked In A Spooky Toy Store

While not a Halloween episode, “Toy Store of Doom” is a horror-centric SpongeBob SquarePants episode. This season 6 episode sees a new toy store opening in Bikini Bottom called Toy Barrel. This excites SpongeBob and Patrick, who accidentally get locked in the store after it closes. What should be a joyous occasion for the two (they wanted new toys when the episode began) turns into horror when they realize the toys might be more dangerous than they believed.

This all happens when the lights go out, and the friends imagine all the toys are hideous creatures that come to life after close and want to kill them. As the terror-filled killer toys begin to attack, SpongeBob and Patrick take on soldier costumes and prepare to fight back. The entire episode plays with the fear of the unknown, the questions of what comes out in the dark, and the idea that even playful toys can turn deadly. By the end, they realize the error of their ways, but the road there is scary.

11 “Séance Shméance” (S9, E187b)

SpongeBob Conjures Up Some Troublesome Ghosts

Unlike many Halloween and spooky SpongeBob SquarePants episodes, “Séance Shméance” is one that brings the actual supernatural to the cartoon series. In this ninth-season episode, SpongeBob wants to figure out a long-lost sandwich recipe and decides he will try to summon the holy Sandwich Spirits. Using a book called “The Sacred Text,” SpongeBob summons ghosts and ends up with more problems than he had ever expected.

When a customer wants a sandwich from an old restaurant, SpongeBob summons up the old dead owner, Rusty, and asks him how to make it. However, this one ghost causes several others to show up, and suddenly, the Krusty Krab is haunted by ghosts who want to eat all the food there. It is always fun to see ghosts in SpongeBob SquarePants, with The Flying Dutchman a great example, but this is a case where the infestation was one that caused plenty of spooky problems for the Krusty Krab crew.

10 “Don’t Look Now” (S9 E187a)

SpongeBob And Patrick Scare Themselves With A Movie

In season 9, episode 187a, “Don’t Look Now” SpongeBob and Patrick decide they want to go see a scary movie called Fisherman 4: Attack of the Hook. Despite Squidward telling them they can’t handle it, the two friends go and promptly get so scared they are unable to go to sleep later that night. Taking advantage of the situation, Squidward dons a Fisherman outfit and proceeds to terrify his neighbors. This Halloween episode is much more funny than scary, particularly after Pat and SpongeBob decide to fight back against the “Fisherman” and end up putting Squidward in a coma.

The episode does an excellent job of portraying the feeling of watching a scary movie that was just a bit too effective. Patrick and SpongeBob’s walk back home after the film and their inability to sleep has happened to many people who went to see a horror film before they were ready. Halloween is the best time to watch scary films and “Don’t Look Now” gives Patrick and SpongeBob a dose of one of the most fun traditions of the season.

9 “The Curse Of Bikini Bottom” (S7, E133a)

The Flying Dutchman Curses SpongeBob And Patrick

The Flying Dutchman had not had a major appearance in SpongeBob SquarePants in season 6, so his starring role in the season 7 Halloween episode, “The Curse of Bikini Bottom”, is a welcome one. In this episode, SpongeBob and Patrick accidentally shave off the Dutchman’s beard, and in retaliation, he turns them into glowing green ghosts with ghostly tails (“We’re mermaids!” Patrick exclaims) until it grows back.

The “ghostified” friends travel around Bikini Bottom trying to scare others and failing miserably. When they get tired of haunting, they attempt to go and live their normal lives only to realize they can’t interact with the physical world. SpongeBob can’t pick up a spatula, and Patrick can’t eat a Krabby Patty, much to everyone’s disgust. It’s slightly unnerving and claustrophobic how much of the world they are now barred from. The Dutchman’s girlfriend being a Kaiju monster, SpongeBob and Patrick as ghosts, and the opening sequence set in a cemetery all set the tone for a Halloween tale.

8 “I Was A Teenage Gary” (S1, 13b)

SpongeBob’s Transformation Into A Snail Is Frightening

The second half of the first SpongeBob SquarePants Halloween episode, “I Was a Teenage Gary”, sees SpongeBob trying to take care of his sick snail. Given a “snail serum” by a vet who is too squeamish to administer it himself, SpongeBob asks for Squidward’s help. The squid ends up sticking the sponge with a needle and so begins SpongeBob’s transformation into a snail. His eyes popping out and his back lengthening to that of a large snail, are creepy on their own, but it’s his discomfort that truly makes it unsettling.

Watching SpongeBob meow like Gary is funny, but when Squidward flees from him, only for the snail/sponge hybrid to pop out suddenly, the whole ordeal begins to feel like a home invasion. This episode is like a classic Halloween werewolf story, except with a sponge and a snail. “I Was a Teenage Gary” ends with Squidward and SpongeBob now snails, and this unresolved finale feels like a Halloween campfire story that ends on a sour note.

7 “Shanghaied” (S2, 33a)

Squidward Is Sent Through A Terrifying Portal

“Shanghaied”, along with episode 33b “Gary Takes a Bath”, is often ranked among the best SpongeBob SquarePants episodes. In “Shanghaied”, Squidward, Patrick, and SpongeBob climb aboard the Flying Dutchman’s ship, only to be compelled into serving on board his boat, as members of his ghostly crew. Squidward refuses and is promptly tossed into the “Fly of Despair,” a zipper that leads to another dimension and could have been called a “Portal to Hell” in a show targeted for older audiences.

Euphemism or not, Squidward’s fall through the everlasting pit filled with creepy creatures and animation is panic-inducing. Completely taking place at night on board a haunted pirate ship, “Shanghaied” has the look of Halloween and the Dutchman’s plans to scare unsuspecting citizens is what many trick-or-treaters love to do on October 31st. The episode ends on an unusually ghastly note as the Dutchman turns the trio into fruits and prepares to eat them.

6 “Ghoul Fools” (S8, E162)

An Extra Long Halloween Episode With A Large Cast Including Sandy And Lord Poltergeist

“Ghoul Fools” is a two-part episode that introduces a new fearsome pirate ghost, Lord Poltergeist, voiced by Chris Elliott, though he isn’t as fearsome as his former captain, the Flying Dutchman, who comes in at the end of the episode to save the day for once rather than make things worse. Patrick and SpongeBob find a haunted houseboat and discover Lord Poltergeist living there with his ghostly crew. When Mr. Krabs learns of this, he plots to steal the ghosts’ booty, setting off a chain of frightening and funny incidents.

Sandy also appears, a rarity in SpongeBob SquarePants Halloween episodes, and “Ghoul Fools'” runtime allows for every character to get a chance to have a funny line or sequence. T here’s a catchy, Halloween-themed musical number early in the episode that sticks in the viewers’ ears long after the episode ends.

5 “Krabby Patty Creature Feature” (S11, E222a)

Cronenberg Meets SpongeBob In This Halloween Monster Horror

In the season 11 episode, “Krabby Patty Creature Feature”, Mr. Krabs introduces SpongeBob to a new Krabby Patty recipe created by Sandy that he hopes will boost sales. While customers seem to like the new “Secret Patty”, the new recipe also turns them into Krabby Pattys, mutant fish hybrid zombies who infect other citizens by force-feeding them pieces of their own patties. It’s as gross as it sounds, but it never stops being funny how Patrick continues to eat the Secret Patties even after their true nature is revealed.

Plankton gets involved when it turns out his “chum” is the antidote, turning everyone back to normal. It’s David Cronenberg meets SpongeBob, and the horrifying animations are as scary as anything that has been on the show. Zombies are a staple Halloween monster and this episode brings back numerous characters, including Bubble Bass and Perch Perkins in the way that the best Halloween episodes do.

4 “Squidferatu” (S13, E278a)

Nosferatu Makes For A Frightening Host

Nosferatu made a memorable appearance in an early episode of SpongeBob SquarePants and then became somewhat of a recurring character. “Squidferatu” is the character’s biggest role in the show. In the episode, Squidward reveals he’s been receiving Nosferatu’s mislabeled mail for a year and finally decides to return it all, with SpongeBob tagging along. The vampire invites the pair to spend the night and the two are treated to a frightening evening as Nosferatu climbs through walls and coffins to scare them.

Of course, it turns out that Nosferatu’s motives are completely innocent, but the jerky movements of the live-action character combined with his creepy friend Slappy make for an unnerving pair. The episode is also animated with a brown and black color making it feel like a Halloween haunted house. The episode features a ghastly dinner of body parts, reminiscent of the Halloween party game involving wearing a blindfold and pretending that grapes and baby carrots are eyeballs and fingers.

3 “Graveyard Shift” (S2, E16a)

Squidward And SpongeBob Spend A Terrifying And Comic Night At The Krusty Krab

In “Graveyard Shift”, the relatable fear of being the last one in an empty office, restaurant, or home is made all too real in what’s supposed to be a kids’ show. After realizing he could make more money by staying open late, Mr. Krabs declares The Krusty Krab a 24-hour restaurant and has Squidward and SpongeBob work the first shift. Annoyed with SpongeBob’s joy, Squidward makes up a story about the “Hash-Slinging Slasher”, a mythical, evil fry cook. A story fit for a spooky Halloween night.

As the evening goes on, many of the story details Squidward made up begin happening, scaring both employees. Every joke is funny and Squidward’s growing terror at his own story is hilarious as well as frightening. At the end of the episode, it’s revealed who has been flipping the lights all episode: Nosferatu. For young viewers unfamiliar with the iconic German vampire Nosferatu, the reveal is almost a jumpscare with how unexpected and scary he looks. With a slasher villain, a vampire, and a haunted “house” (restaurant), this episode combines classic Halloween tales.

2 “The Legend Of Boo-Kini Bottom” (S11, E220)

A Stop-Motion Horror Thrill Ride With The Flying Dutchman

“The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom” is the first stop-motion SpongeBob story since the second movie, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, and only one of two SpongeBob SquarePants episodes that are animated in stop-motion, the other being season 8, episode 23, “It’s a SpongeBob Christmas!”. In “The Legend of Boo-Kini Bottom”, it’s Halloween night and SpongeBob is afraid of everything. To allay his fears, Patrick convinces SpongeBob that “scary” things are in fact “funny,” making SpongeBob immune to scares.

This attracts the attention of the Flying Dutchman, who puts SpongeBob and Patrick through a terrifying haunted thrill ride that ends with SpongeBob’s friends having their souls captured and SpongeBob saving the day. The animation in the episode is fantastic and, even in the 3D world, SpongeBob manages to convey many of the iconic and super-detailed art-style close-ups and push-ins that the series is known for. It’s a combo of SpongeBob, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, and Halloween itself with every character in a wonderfully designed costume, and the mixture works brilliantly.

1 “Scaredy Pants” (S1, E13a)

SpongeBob SquarePants Gets A Frightening Haircut

“Scaredy Pants” is the pinnacle of SpongeBob SquarePants Halloween episodes. In the episode, SpongeBob is embarrassed because he is easily frightened and on Halloween, all of Bikini Bottom knows it. He and Patrick make a ghost costume for SpongeBob in the hopes that it will be enough to scare other people for once. To make the costume look more rounded and less box-like, Patrick does some “careful” shaving of SpongeBob’s head and covers him with a sheet.

Everyone in town, including the Flying Dutchman in his debut, laughs at SpongeBob’s homemade costume until it’s ripped off. It turns out, Patrick shaved off SpongeBob’s head except for his now exposed brain and eyes. It’s a hilarious and shocking twist that combines the best parts of SpongeBob SquarePants: detailed and grotesque animation, an unexpected story development, and a very funny example of SpongeBob’s naivety. Halloween is supposed to be fun, but it’s unexpected real scares like the one in this episode that is why people love it so much, and this episode expresses that sentiment better than any.