Halloween is always an event on Saturday Night Live. The iconic sketch comedy series never shies away from spooky sketches, bringing all sorts of hilarity into the Halloween season. From Madeline Khan belting out “I Feel Pretty” dressed as the Bride of Frankenstein to Bill Hader’s campy Vincent Price to the ubiquitous David S. Pumpkins, there’s no shortage of delightful Halloween sketches, characters, and pop-ins.
Here are some of our favorite SNL sketches to marathon on All Hallow’s Eve.
What Up With That: Oscar Isaac, Emily Ratajkowski and Nicholas Braun
The triumphant return of Kenan’s Thompson’s musical smorgasbord “What’s Up With That?” was a welcome reunion in last week’s episode. Host Jason Sudeikis returned as b-boy dancer Vance, along with Fred Armisen’s Guiseppe on the saxophone. But the star of this bit is, as always, Kenan’s Diondre Cole, who can’t help but burst into song in every interview. A Halloween-themed WUWT is honestly everything you could want. Enjoy humming that theme song for the rest of the year!
NPR’s Delicious Dish: Gordon Hoover’s Halloween Scary Town
Molly Shannon and Ana Gasteyer’s NPR cooking show “Delicious Dish” gets some Halloween flavor thanks to Dana Carvey’s Gordon Hoover, who is terrorized evey year by neighborhood bullies.
Spooky Song
Chance the Rapper stars in this sketch where he plays one of many ghosts singing about how they died. Chance’s ghost however, is hesitant to sing about his deeply embarrassing death, which involves masturbation, lightning, and a metal pole.
The Exorcist 2 (ft. Richard Pryor)
Richard Pryor plays a priest trying to save Laraine Newman from possession, but quickly gets fed up with her demonic antics.
Weekend Update: Stefon on Halloween’s Hottest Tips
Bill Hader’s Stefon was a Weekend Update MVP, whose hysterical recommendations would often cause Hader to break into tears of laughter. Here, he’s got Halloween recs involving Hobocops, human piñatas, and Sidney Applebaum the Jewish Dracula.
Vincent Price’s Halloween Special II with John F. Kennedy (Jon Hamm)
Hader’s Vincent Price is always a delight, and this time he’s joined by Jon Hamm’s JFK, Kristen Wiig’s Judy Garland, and as always, Fred Armisen’s horny Liberace.
Matt Foley: A Scary Story on Halloween
The legendary Chris Farley stole every sketch he was in, but it’s his performance as motivational speaker Matt Foley that is truly iconic. After all, is there anything scarier than LIVING IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER?!
Wes Anderson Horror Trailer
Ed Norton rolls out his best Owen Wilson impression for this spoof of Wes Anderson films. The spot-on art direction and deadpan delivery perfectly capture a home invasion horror film through the eyes of Anderson himself.
The Merryville Brothers: Haunted Castle
When a ride malfunctions at an amusement park, three animatronic barbershop singers (Bruno Mars, Tom Hanks, Taran Killam, Bill Hader) known as the Merryville Brothers come to life and attack the patrons (Jay Pharoah, Vanessa Bayer). Tom Hanks, always an SNL MVP, has a blast in this recurring bit.
Googie Rene’s Partially Damaged Halloween Costume Discount Basement
Combine Kenan Thompson with a goofy name some failing business and watch the man work. Nobody is better at breathing life into weird one-off bits with full commitment.
Happy Halloween!
(image: screencap/SNL)
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