Halloween 2K26 - Boy Meets World Halloween Episodes
Halloween 🎃Every holiday season, I get nostalgic for '90s television. I blame the marketing gurus who spent years filling October with themed episodes, Halloween specials, and holiday programming blocks because they clearly got their hooks into me. Even now, it doesn't really feel like Halloween until I've spent a few evenings revisiting some old sitcoms.
One of the shows I tackled was Boy Meets World.
I rarely watched Boy Meets World growing up, so it's a show I don't have much history with. That actually makes it perfect for this sort of viewing because I'm not approaching these episodes with twenty or thirty years of nostalgia attached to them.
My recaps are pretty simple. I provide a spoiler-free synopsis, discuss how well the episode utilizes the Halloween theme, and then give it two grades: one for the strength of the Halloween atmosphere and another for how likely I am to watch it again.
I hope you enjoy these holiday special posts and that they help get you into the Halloween spirit just a little bit.
Season One, Episode Six: “Boys II Mensa”
Original Air Date: October 29, 1993
Synopsis
Cory cheats on an IQ test and suddenly finds himself labeled as one of the smartest kids in school. Rather than immediately coming clean, he decides to run with it until a Mensa representative arrives at his house to test him personally, forcing Cory to finally admit the truth to his parents and Mr. Feeny.
Halloween Thoughts
Instead of getting a big Halloween story, the season mostly serves as set dressing and shows up in smaller moments, such as Cory's little sister going costume shopping which disappoints me.
There are decorations and little reminders of Halloween scattered throughout the episode to make it feel somewhat seasonal, even if the main story could have taken place at any other point in the year.
As a regular episode of Boy Meets World, it's quite good. As a Halloween episode, it's just okay.
Halloween Theme: C
Rewatchability: B
Season Two, Episode Six: “Who’s Afraid of Cory Wolf?”
Original Air Date: October 28, 1994
Synopsis
After being attacked by a strange animal, Cory becomes convinced that he may be turning into a werewolf. A visit to a fortune teller only makes things worse when she seemingly confirms his suspicions and gives him three prophecies, including one suggesting that he will kill a girl who deeply loves him.
Halloween Thoughts
Now this is more like it. Unlike the previous season, “Who’s Afraid of Cory Wolf?” actually embraces the supernatural side of Halloween and builds the entire story around Cory's fear that he's becoming a werewolf.
There's a fortune teller, a mysterious animal attack, prophecies, Halloween night, and plenty of supernatural paranoia. It has exactly the sort of goofy horror setup that works well for a TGIF sitcom.
I also like that the episode doesn't immediately wink at the audience and tell us nothing strange is happening. Cory genuinely believes something may be wrong with him, and the episode has fun exploring that.
Obviously, we're still watching Boy Meets World, so things never become particularly scary, but that's fine. I'm looking for Halloween atmosphere, not nightmares.
This is much closer to what I was hoping for when I started working my way through the show's Halloween episodes.
Halloween Theme: A
Rewatchability: B
Season Four, Episode Six: “Janitor Dad”
Original Air Date: October 25, 1996
Synopsis
After Shawn's parents reunite, his father, Chet, attempts to prove that he's serious about supporting his family by finding steady work. Unfortunately for Shawn, the job Chet lands is as the janitor at his school, leaving Shawn embarrassed by having his father around his classmates every day.
Halloween Thoughts
Despite airing during the Halloween time-frame, this story has basically nothing to do with Halloween. There is nothing here that makes this feel like a holiday episode.
It's a pretty good episode of Boy Meets World. It just isn't much of a Halloween episode.
This is one of those situations where the air date makes you expect something seasonal that the episode itself really doesn't deliver. If you're working your way through Boy Meets World, absolutely watch it. If you're building a Halloween marathon, you aren't missing anything by skipping it.
Halloween Theme: F
Rewatchability: B
Season Five, Episode Five: “The Witches of Pennbrook”
Original Air Date: October 31, 1997
Synopsis
Jack begins dating a beautiful young woman named Millie, much to Eric's frustration. Things become considerably stranger when Eric discovers that Millie may actually be a witch and that she and her friends have plans involving Jack.
Meanwhile, Cory attempts to help Topanga overcome her fear of flying during a trip to Pittsburgh.
Halloween Thoughts
This episode aired on Halloween night, and unlike last season, the writers decided to actually take advantage of it.
Jack's new girlfriend isn't just spooky. She's an actual witch.
We get witchcraft, chanting, supernatural weirdness, a Halloween party, and plenty of decorations. Eric gradually becoming convinced that something sinister is happening gives the episode the sort of ridiculous horror-movie energy that works really well for Boy Meets World.
The episode also features one of those wonderfully strange TGIF crossover moments that could only have happened in the '90s: Melissa Joan Hart briefly appears as Sabrina Spellman from Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Also, Candace Cameron Bure, DJ from Full House, shows up as a different character.
That's the kind of thing I miss about old network television. Nobody needed a cinematic universe or fifteen hours of setup. Sabrina just showed up on another sitcom because ABC felt like doing something goofy for Halloween.
The Cory and Topanga subplot doesn't have much to do with Halloween, which keeps the episode from being quite as focused as it could have been, but the main story more than makes up for it. This is easily one of the show's strongest actual Halloween episodes.
Halloween Theme: A
Rewatchability: B
Season Five, Episode Seventeen: “And Then There Was Shawn”
Original Air Date: February 27, 1998
Synopsis
After Cory and Topanga's breakup causes an argument during class, Cory, Shawn, Topanga, Angela, and Kenny end up in detention. Then the group discovers that they're locked inside the school with no apparent way out and then people start disappearing.
Halloween Thoughts
When I looked up Boy Meets World Halloween episodes, this was by far the most recommended episode. It's funny, though, because it's not actually a Halloween episode.It didn't even air in October.
What it is, however, is an elaborate homage to the slasher movies of the era, particularly Scream, which had come out a little over a year earlier.
I was stunned by just how goofy the episode gets and how many pop-culture references are thrown into the mix. There are even several South Park jokes, which firmly plants this episode in the late '90s.
Jennifer Love Hewitt also makes a guest appearance, which is a great bit of casting considering her place in '90s horror thanks to I Know What You Did Last Summer.
The whole thing feels less like a normal episode of Boy Meets World and more like the writers were given twenty-two minutes to make a ridiculous slasher parody using the regular cast.
In my opinion, it didn't quite live up to the enormous amount of hype surrounding it. Maybe my expectations were simply too high after seeing it recommended on almost every Halloween episode list I came across.
Still, it was a worthwhile watch and certainly fits into an October marathon better than several episodes that actually aired around Halloween.
Halloween Theme: C
Rewatchability: C
Final Ranking
- “Who’s Afraid of Cory Wolf?” – Season Two
- “The Witches of Pennbrook” – Season Five
- “Boys II Mensa” – Season One
- “And Then There Was Shawn” – Season Five
- “Janitor Dad” – Season Four
Looking back at these episodes, Boy Meets World had a surprisingly inconsistent relationship with Halloween.
Some years, Halloween was little more than a few decorations hanging around the set. Other years, Cory thought he was turning into a werewolf and Eric was trying to convince everyone that his roommate's girlfriend was an actual witch.
Then there's “And Then There Was Shawn,” which might be the show's most famous “Halloween episode” despite airing in February and having absolutely nothing to do with Halloween. That's '90s television for you.
For me, “Who’s Afraid of Cory Wolf?” is probably the best choice if you're specifically looking for a Halloween episode. It actually takes place around the holiday, embraces classic monster-movie imagery, and still feels like a regular episode of Boy Meets World.
“The Witches of Pennbrook” isn't far behind, especially if you have some nostalgia for the weird interconnected world of ABC's TGIF lineup.
Overall, I wouldn't put Boy Meets World in the same Halloween league as Roseanne or Home Improvement, but there are definitely a couple of episodes worth adding to an October rotation.