TOS 2x01: Catspaw

(1967) The “Original” Star Trek Halloween episode, this gem includes all the classics: a black cat, a haunted castle, witches, and skeletons.

🧛‍♂️⚫⚫⚫⚫ Horror Level: 1/5. Not likely to frighten a modern-day audience, this is more of just a fun story with the usual Halloween elements.

TNG 4x17: Night Terrors

(1991) With the ship adrift in space, the crew of the Enterprise begin to suffer from hallucinations, paranoia, and frayed nerves. Troi suffers from unexplained nightmares that feature an unsettling refrain: “Eyes in the dark. One moon circles.”

😱😱😱⚫⚫ Horror Level: 3/5. Some of the hallucinations are a bit scary (the morgue comes to mind), but this is more of a psychologically unsettling and eerie episode.

TNG 7x14: Sub Rosa

(1994) After attending her grandmother's funeral, Beverly Crusher is caught up with a mysterious entity that inhabits her grandmother's home.

This is a literal ghost story, perfect for a Halloween viewing. It is, however, considered to be a pretty bad episode in the grand scheme of things. Some of the antics are more laughable than spooky, and the ghost seems to be more interested in, well... making love than it is in haunting anyone. Still, it's definitely Halloween material.

👻👻⚫⚫⚫ Horror Level: 2/5. If you're over the age of 13, you probably aren't going to be scared by reincarnated-Grandma. Otherwise, it's just a spooky ghost story in a spooky old house in a spooky old town.

TNG 7x19: Genesis

(1994) When a medical treatment goes wrong, Picard and Data return to the ship to find that the crew have de-evolved into disturbing beasts and creatures of all sorts.

Now, the science is quite dubious on this one, but it's definitely meant to be a scary episode, great to watch when you're curled up on the couch in the dark.

👹👹👹👹⚫ Horror Level: 4/5. This is meant to be a scary episode, with low lighting, monster-like makeup, and a jump-scare!

DS9 5x24: Empok Nor

(1997) Chief O'Brien and his engineering crew must explore the abandoned Empok Nor station for essential parts needed at Deep Space Nine, but they are being hunted by ruthless Cardassian soldiers.

👹👹👹👹⚫ Horror Level: 4/5. This is another purposefully-scary episode with dark corridors, chilling silences, and one jump-scare!

VOY 2x23: The Thaw

(1996) Harry Kim is trapped when he tries to rescue hostages being held by a malevolent AI that has become the manifestation of fear, itself.

🤡🤡⚫⚫⚫ Horror Level: 2/5... maybe more if you have coulrophobia. A greyscale clown as the personification of fear? A circus-like setting with bright colors and fancy costumes and song and dance, that is somehow in itself unsettling? This episode takes on a different view of fear: instead of hiding in shadows and the unknown, fear himself is well-lit and center stage.

VOY 4x25: One

(1998) Seven of Nine must face her fears of isolation when the rest of the crew is forced to go into suspended animation, leaving her to maintain the ship on her own.

😱😱😱⚫⚫ Horror Level: 3/5. Seven's fears really start to manifest themselves as frightening imagery in the second half of this story.

VOY 6x25: The Haunting of Deck Twelve

(2000) When Voyager must shut down main power, Neelix keeps the Borg children occupied with a classic ghost story about a mysterious alien entity onboard the ship.

👻👻⚫⚫⚫ Horror Level: 2/5. This episode is told in the style of a ghost-story around a campfire. It contains some scary elements meant for a bit of fright, but everyone has a happy ending.

ENT 3x05: Impulse

(2003) Archer and his crew find a Vulcan cruiser, powerless and adrift. There are no signs of life but, when they investigate further, they find that the crew have succumbed to a terrifying fate.

🧟‍♂️🧟‍♂️🧟‍♂️🧟‍♂️⚫ Horror Level: 4/5. This is, at its core, a zombie episode. If you like some good ol' undead action, you'll enjoy this one.

DIS 1x03: Context is for Kings

(2017) Convict Michael Burnham finds herself on the USS Discovery which is shrouded in mystery. Eventually, she joins an away team to investigate an accident on their sister ship, where they find a bloody graveyard in darkened corridors with some sort of vicious creature running amok.

After the two-episode prologue to Star Trek: Discovery, this is the opening story to the series, and it is very much meant to be dark, mysterious, frightening, and disturbing.

💀💀💀💀💀 Horror Level: 5/5. This episode contains elements of both frightening monsters and disturbing gore. It is absolutely meant to be a horror-style story.

PIC 2x07: Monsters

(2022) Tallinn tries to help Picard as he recalls a frightening memory from his childhood involving monsters in the catacombs beneath his family's château.

As a rule, I don't recommend watching episodes of Picard individually, as they aren't meant to be consumed that way. Each ten-episode season is a full story, meant to be watched in order. So, if you haven't watched the series yet, maybe don't add this one to your Halloween watch list. If you've already seen the show, then this episode might be a good one to go back to for a spooky treat.

👻👻⚫⚫⚫ Horror Level: 2/5. This is a bit of a distorted childhood memory, remembered to be more frightening than it may actually have been. Still, its interpretations of the events are a bit unsettling.

SNW 1x09: All Those Who Wander

(2022) When investigating a grounded Starfleet ship, a rescue party finds no survivors. Stranded on a barren planet, they find the cause: a ravenous monster-like enemy.

💀💀💀💀💀 Horror Level: 5/5. A dark and broken ship, bloody bulkheads, terrifying creatures, gruesome deaths, and some jump-scares... this is essentially the movie “Alien”, but the Star Trek version.