If you ask Claire Dunphy, Halloween is way, way better than Christmas—that’s how much she loves it! Since it’s the spooky season again, why not find out if Claire is right or not, and relive fond memories from Modern Family’s Halloween episodes?
Although the show has 11 seasons in total, it only has seven Halloween episodes. While some are truly gems in their own right, others shine less bright. So if you need a guide on which order to rewatch these episodes in, I got you!
Without further ado, here are all the Modern Family Halloween episodes ranked from worst to best!
7It’s the Great Pumpkin, Phil Dunphy | Season 9, Episode 5
This Modern Family episode is everyone’s least favorite Halloween episode, mainly because the kids have outgrown any love they had for the holiday. Most characters have storylines unrelated to the theme, including the Pritchetts, who have to put up with Mitch, Cam, and Lilly staying over.
Despite her best efforts, Claire is unable to get anyone (even her colleagues!) to participate in her usual horror house affair. Phil, on the other hand, is preoccupied with carving a giant pumpkin, trojan-style—lending the episode its name.
Other than Claire’s bomb Wonder Woman outfit, the episode was quite lackluster.
6Halloween 3: AwesomeLand | Season 6, Episode 6
There’s nothing necessarily bad with this episode to make it one of the lower-ranking ones, but it’s just missing the usual oomph.
Claire initially cannot put on her Halloween setup because of work, and Phil, who takes over, converts it into the bright and cheerful “AwesomeLand.” However, when Claire finds out that there’s a contest going on for the neighborhood’s scariest house, she turns Phil’s AwesomeLand into something wholly gory.
Shout-out here to Lily’s adorable Where’s Wally outfit and good luck to Cam, who could never spot her.
5Good Grief | Season 10, Episode 5
As the title suggests, this is quite a bittersweet Halloween episode, as it comes after DeDe’s death. Each family member is trying to get through this grieving period in their own way, but we still do have a fantastic line-up of costumes.
Mitch and Claire argue about their respective relationships with their mother, while their partners traverse across town to get them their childhood ice cream. Haley, Alex, and Luke realize there’s no ready-to-go response for a tragedy.
The episode is lifted up to lighter spirits when Lily tries to scare Gloria by pretending to be DeDe’s ghost.
4Open House of Horrors | Season 4, Episode 6
Open House of Horrors sits comfortably in the middle of the list as a wholesome Halloween episode. After being told by the neighborhood board that her horror house is just too scary, Claire decides to take it easy this year.
This, of course, does not apply to Phil. Throughout the episode, Phil experiences spooky incidents in his open house, and by the end, finds out that it was orchestrated by Claire and the kids.
The Pritchett-Tucker household throws an extravagant Halloween party. There are fun dynamics between Gloria, who’s pregnant, Cameron, who’s lost some weight, and Lily, who believes her mom is a princess.
3Halloween 4: The Revenge of Rod Skyhook | Season 8, Episode 5
This episode has too many different subplots going about, but you’ll be surprised by how they all come together in the end, making it one big, brilliant Halloween episode.
The Dunphys help Luke host his first Halloween party, competing against a classmate who’s supposedly holding a much cooler party. Meanwhile, Cam and family (in a Batman ensemble) try to solve a neighborhood mystery. Lastly, we have Jay trying to take on his old nemesis.
This episode will get a lot of laughs out of you—it’s best to rewatch it to understand what I mean!
2The Last Halloween | Season 11, Episode 5
The first runner-up is Modern Family Ep S11 E5. This episode was beyond memorable because it would be the show’s last Halloween episode. The cherry on top was that after years of witnessing Claire’s Halloween enthusiasm, we have Phil trying to one-up her with different attempts of scaring her.
(Of course, it’s Phil who jumps up terrified each time one of his kids pranks him by telling him they’re pregnant.)
The episode also featured Gloria being “horrified” by the fact that she’s put in the same age bracket as Jay, as Mitch and Cam trying to live their glory days at the WeHo Halloween Carnival.
1Halloween | Season 2, Episode 6
S2 Ep 6 is the best Modern Family Halloween episode, not only because it’s the first and sets the precedent for the rest, but also because it depicts Claire’s unbound love for the holiday.
It’s amazing to see Claire going fully overboard for Halloween and forcing everyone to reluctantly participate. Plus, the other subplots (like Mitchell wearing a Spider-Man costume to work, Phil overcompensating because he thinks Claire is bored of their marriage) are simply delightful!
Season 1 never had a Halloween episode, so this is our very first window into how the entire family celebrates the holiday. Can’t miss appreciating how Hailey kept coming out with “sexy” versions of different Halloween costumes during this episode, either.
About Modern Family
Modern Family is a mockumentary-style sitcom that aired on ABC from 2009 to 2020. The show is created by Christopher Lloyd and Sam Levitan.
The show focuses on the Pritchett-Dunphy-Tucker clan and the hilarious situations they find themselves in, mainly due to their unusual family.
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