Every Halloween Episode of Bob's Burgers Ranked

Holiday episodes are a hallmark of classic sitcom television. Bob’s Burgers has absolutely nailed the genre – the kids love Halloween, Bob loves Thanksgiving, and Linda loves Christmas, so the franchise has more than enough IP to plumb for its thirteen seasons. With hilarious and creative costumes, absurd antics, and a big dose of family bonds, the Halloween episodes of Bob’s Burgers never disappoint. This is the definitive ranking of all Halloween episodes in anticipation of the newest Halloween episode coming out soon!

Note: Bob’s Burgers didn’t release holiday episodes until season 3, so that’s the earliest episode on this list. All images via imdb.com

**14. The Twinnening (Season 16 Episode 3)**

Teddy finds himself in a sticky situation when the owner of the new antique shop next door warns him not to let in the owner’s evil twin. The 2025 Halloween Episode has been a pretty big bummer from a Halloween perspective. First of all, this is the FOURTH episode with an -ening ending (The Bleakening, The Hauntening, The Pumpkinening). It’s just inconsistent enough that it comes across as hacky and lazy (they’re also reusing Mission Impossible puns). It also has almost no Halloween-specific content (despite marketing from Fox to the contrary). Despite all that, it’s a good episode with great pacing and creepy atmosphere. It’s just too bad it’s as Halloween-flavored as your average La Croix.

13. Pig Trouble in Little Tina (Season 10 Episode 4)

After she gets the ugliest fetal pig to dissect in science class, Tina is haunted by the ghost of the pig after she disses it for her friends. Gene and Louise help her get rid of her nightmares in time for the haunted hayride with her friends. Honestly the first part of this episode is what loses it – it has the longest lead up to the actual Halloween content. Also, the fetal pig really creeps me out, and not in a cool Halloween way. Generally I skip the episode every time (although I do love every time Billy Eichner reprises his role as disaffected librarian Mr. Ambrose).

12. Escape from Which Island? (Season 14 Episode 6)

This episode isn’t an official Halloween episode, as season 14 didn’t technically have one. However, it was released in November and has an appropriately terrifying atmosphere for the season. It’s my list and I’ll do whatever I want!!! Mr. Fischoeder brings Bob as a private chef for some kind of rich dude Bacchanalia on a private island. Things quickly go awry when Calvin and his rich friends do too many drugs and start hunting each other in a storm. For such a family-friendly show, the atmosphere is genuinely scary. The animators do a great job building atmosphere with weather and foliage. Despite the lack of Halloween, the creepy atmosphere and the name (a clear reference to Escape to Witch Mountain) make it a spooky season sleeper.

11. For Whom the Doll Tolls (Season 15 Episode 4)

for whom the doll toes bob's burgers halloween screen grab

Honestly, if this episode has more actual Halloween, it would be in the top 5. Sadly, it is sans either candy or costumes, and therefore must languish towards the end of this list. When the kids stumble upon a doll shop, Louise decides to write a murder mystery and act it out using the dolls. Some don’t appreciate the saccharine note the show has taken, but I really like it when it’s done well, like in this episode. I also love that the whole thing is rainy and cloudy, with the silly asides that used to be more common in earlier seasons.

10. The Wolf of Wharf Street (Season 8 Episode 3)

This episode has amazing costumes (the Cher-iff? come on) and atmospheric animation, but the pacing and execution of the plots are just a bit off. Rumors of a wolf on the loose lead Linda to accompany the kids trick-or-treating, while Bob takes too many pain pills and thinks Teddy is a werewolf. The subplot was executed much better than the main plot, and they tie into each other really, really well. Unfortunately, the main plot moves at a weird pace. Amateur filmmaker Randy makes an appearance and gets some great one-liners in.

9. Heartbreak Hotel-oween (Season 11 Episode 4)

The kids are sidetracked from a candy revenge mission when they meet a weird old woman at a boutique hotel down the street. They join her ghostly revenge mission instead, which Tina quickly unravels in this Agatha Christie-esque episode. The main plot is incredible, but the side plot where Bob gives blood is very difficult to glean comedy from, and kind of tanks the whole episode. I don’t find it super funny that they leave someone afraid of needles and blood in a blood donation truck by themselves, but incompetent folks abound in the Bob’s universe.

8. Apple Gore-chard (But Not Gory!) (Season 13 Episode 16)

The fourth-graders take an annual field trip to an apple orchard, which has been creepily paganized by the owners. Meanwhile, Tina and Gene anxiously wait for Louise to return to school for the costume contest, as their elaborate Twister costumes are falling apart. This episode has tons of spooky atmosphere and great one-liners, but for a show that really nails the costumes, Louise’s was a big disappointment! Louise would TOTALLY be the Tornado, not Helen Hunt. I think after The Hauntening the animators started really pushing the envelope of the levels of spook possible, and Apple Gore-chard did a great job playing with creepy paganism.

7. Fort Night (Season 4 Episode 2)

This episode has great writing and a good premise, but is low on the actual Halloween atmosphere. The kids and their friends spend Halloween trapped in their cardboard fort, terrorized by Louise’s stalker, Millie. Not only does this episode introduce us to one of the best side characters in the franchise, it also has a hilarious subplot as Bob and Linda try to finish the kid’s dragon costume in time. I’m always a little sad at the end when the kids don’t get to go trick-or-treating! RIP to Candy Randy’s elaborate candy map. It’s my favorite blog.

6. Full Bars (Season 3 Episode 2)

The first Bob’s Burgers Halloween episode may not be first in this ranking, but it’s a great watch. When the kids strike out in town, they decide to head to fancy King’s Head Island for more lucrative candy gathering. There, they discover the advantage of trick-or-treating in a rich neighborhood: full size candy bars. Add in a side plot with Teddy at his most paranoid at his Halloween party, and it’s a great watch. Though not quite as punny as later episodes, the kid’s costumes deserve a nod (especially since they didn’t put Gene in blackface for his Queen Latifah costume).

5. Tina and the Real Ghost (Season 5 Episode 2)

It could do with more costumes and candy, but this episode plays with the phase of pre-teen-dom where you grow out of Halloween. As a girl on the cusp, Tina and her comrades are rife for the type of ridiculous drama that makes for excellent episodes. When an amateur ghost hunter exterminator discovers a ghost in the Belcher’s basement, the family traps it in a shoebox. Soon, the kids discover the ghost is a 13-year-old boy, and he becomes Tina’s boyfriend. It’s an absurd episode that nails the way preteens try so hard to impress one another. Add in a cemetery and a dash of Tina empowerment, and it’s a great episode. Also, the ghost’s name is JEFF! Can you imagine?

4. Nightmare on Ocean Avenue Street (Season 9 Episode 4)

I can’t imagine that kids would be allowed to trick or treat alone in this day and age, but honestly the lack of adults is what makes this episode awesome. It features some of the best costumes in the series – Nun of Your Business, Paul Rudd in I Love You Man, and the classic – Dragon with a Girl Tattoo. The Belcher kids and their friends are having a great time at the Ocean Avenue Candy Crawl until a mysterious group starts stealing their bags of candy. The quest to get their candy back leads them all the way to the end of the wharf. I love the episodes that stick to the best part of Halloween: how far kids will go to get their free candy.

3. The Pumpkinening (Season 12 Episode 3)

bob's burgers halloween the pumpkinening

1980s Linda is one of the best conventions on Bob’s Burgers! Linda and Gayle are haunted by a terrible Halloween pumpkin secret resurfaced. I always have complicated feelings about just how far Linda will go to protect Gayle – but honestly, Linda’s relationship to her sister and parents are some of the most realistic parts of the show. Megan Mullally’s voice acting as Gayle is always exceptionally strong, and I forgive them for waiting 12 whole seasons to add her to the Halloween episodes because this one is just so, so good. The sub plot – where the kids watch in agony as Bob hands out good candy to littler kids – adds that candy-centric atmosphere the show deals in well.

2. Teen-a Witch (Season 7 Episode 3)

This episode is peek Tina, and as a former preteen girl myself, the introduction to witchcraft is deeply relatable. Sick of losing the annual Wagstaff Halloween costume contest, Tina discovers witchcraft and goes full-on goth in order to win. The added edge to the normally timid Tina is amazing to watch, and the original song in the episode has a delightfully metal edge (they actually re-used it in a later episode about a classic rock radio DJ). The subplot, Bob’s Jack O’Lantern keeps getting stolen, adds a nice edge of levity. Plus, the costumes in the school costume parade are impeccable. (Tina deserved to win as Liberace, though).

1. The Hauntening (Season 6 Episode 3)

Absolutely the best Halloween episode, bar none. Most Bob’s Burgers fans consider this the best episode ever (I personally think it’s Bad Tina, but I digress). It’s spooky, it’s funny, and it tells an amazingly thorough story for a 22 minute episode. When Louise complains that she can’t be scared anymore, Bob and Linda are determined to make a haunted house that can actually scare her. The pacing of this episode is immaculate and will keep you on your toes the whole time. I won’t give away the twist ending, but it’s absolutely perfect (even without costumes). Best of all, the original song in the episode is a Boyz 4 Now jam.

Similar Posts:

Ranking Every Halloween Episode of Bob’s Burgers (so far)