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If there’s any show that nails the spirit of Halloween, it’sModern Family. The sitcom gave us amazing storylines surrounding the holiday, while also introducing us to some fun costume ideas. In the eleven seasons of the show, seven episodes included the spooky theme of Halloween in it. The Dunphy family is usually at the center of planning the celebrations due to Claire’s obsession with the holiday.
Julie Bowen’s Claire goes all out with her passion, often crossing the limits with how scary and gory Halloween can be. It is one day when Claire, who is usually the one shutting down Phil’s bizarre ideas, gets to do something fun and crazy. The seven Halloween episodes are ranked here from the worst to the best.
7Good Grief
Modern Family– Season 10, Episode 5
Good Griefis not by any means a bad episode in any sense inModern Family. It is just the least hilarious Halloween episode on the list because of the death in the family. The episode saw some epic costumes from the Dunphy-Pritchett-Tucker family. However, the mood changes when the family gets the unexpected news of DeDe.
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DeDe was the ex-wife of Jay and the mother to Claire and Mitchell. She shared a somewhat of a love-hate relationship with Claire but the news still upsetted them all. Amidst all the sadness, Cam as Meghan Markle and Claire in the Spider costume are sure to evoke some laughter.
Each of the characters deals with the loss in their own way. Claire and Mitch go trick or treat while Phil and Cam eat ice cream while remembering DeDe.Jay is frustrated over a stolen sandwich, made from the bread that DeDe used to make. Gloria is afraid of DeDe’s doll. The three Dunphy kids also have their own problems. The episode couldn’t carry the complete spirit of Halloween for this reason.
6It’s The Great Pumpkin, Phil Dunphy
Modern Family– Season 9, Episode 5
The fifth Halloween episode worked in terms of a normalModern Familyepisode but not so much as a Halloween episode. Even if you take the holiday element out of the storyline, it would’ve still worked. Phil and Claire find out that no one seems to share their enthusiasm for the holidays anymore.
Their kids are busy in their own ways: Haley is trying to crack an audition for a job on a cruise ship, Alex has a date with Ben, and Luke is fooling around with two girls. Phil wants to bring on a tradition from Cam’s childhood as he scoops out the inside of a pumpkin to use to sail across the river. However, the kids are not at all interested.
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Cam and Mitch have been living with Jay and Gloria since the Pritchett patriarch took over the renovation of their kitchen. Tensions are running high as Cam gets on Gloria’s nerves and Jay’s work leaves Mitch & Cam frustrated. Alex, Luke, and Haley also come to their senses after things go wrong for them.
They realize that they need Phil and Claire’s ridiculousness in their lives and go on to cheer them as they sail in a pumpkin.Ty BurrellandJulie Bowenare once again the best at their performances.
5Halloween 4: The Revenge Of Rod Skyhook
Modern Family– Season 8, Episode 5
The name of this episode is a play on the filmHalloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. The episode is centered around Luke, who is not the cute little mini-Phil from the first seasons anymore. For that obvious reason, the eighth-season Halloween episode is ranked lower on this list.
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Luke hosts his Halloween party and Phil & Claire find out that no one is going to show up. They go out of their way to help him. Phil dresses up as a beaver for Luke’s party while Claire, with the help of Haley, is convincing people to leave another more popular party. Luke’s party eventually turns out to be a success.
Meanwhile, Mitch & Cam pursue a boy who Cam alleges threw an egg at him. However, it turns out that it wasn’t the boy who threw the egg at him. It was Claire playing a prank on Mitchell, but missed him and hit Cam. Nevertheless, Cam is happy that Mitch stood up for him.
4Open House of Horrors
Modern Family– Season 4, Episode 5
Claire’s violent Halloween costume in the previous year gave one of the trick-or-treater’s dad a mild heart attack. The Dunphy family is shunned from the Halloween celebrations by their neighbors. Claire has made some kid-friendly plans but no one seems to approach her. However, the thing that bugs her the most is how Phil is dismissive of her scary pranks.
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Phil holds an open house on the night and Claire has the idea to scare him to prove that she could be super scary. In the end, Claire executes a great plan with the kids to scare the hell out of Phil. In other storylines, Mitch and Cam struggle with Lily’s questions about her mother.
Jay gets insecure about his charm with the ladies, while Gloria worries about losing her temper all the time during the pregnancy. It is a running gag throughout the series that Claire takes things too far when it comes to this holiday and this episode perfectly sums it up.
3Halloween 3: AwesomeLand
Modern Family– Season 6, Episode 6
The sixth season episode is the usual tug-of-war between Phil’s goofy Halloween vs Claire’s super-scary Halloween. Claire has to work this year, which puts Phil in charge of the decorations. He chooses not to stick to Claire’s gory idea of the holiday and plans a more fun celebration, calling his decorated house ‘AwesomeLand’.
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However, when Claire learns that there is going to be a contest (and when her neighbor mockingly calls her a ‘soccer mom’), she decides to take over. Claire strips down AwesomeLand much to Phil’s disappointment and decorates an insane asylum. She is forced to change her plans after her neighbor Amber gets offended by the decoration.
Elsewhere, Mitch struggles at work as he is on a losing streak and Lily feels neglected as Cam is always at football practice. Mitch is able to prove that Cam manages to care for Lily despite his job. It sorts out the issue between Cam and Lily, while Mitch is happy that he finally won a case. The episode is your usual Halloween day chaos, with the focus on Claire’s unhealthy obsession.
2The Last Halloween
Modern Family– Season 11, Episode 5
The Last Halloweenperfectly wrapped upModern Family‘s celebration of the holiday. The highlight of the episode was Phil’s elaborate plan to finally scare Claire. Throughout the episode, he plays his usual frightened self in front of Claire to keep the plan hidden. In the episode’s twist, Phil reveals that Ida Mae, the creepy old lady they had been seeing in an empty house for months, was actually part of his creation.
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However,Claire got the last laugh, as she was thrilled at the prospect of one-upping him the next Halloween. In the other storylines, Gloria is disheartened that people have started identifying her as Jay’s wife. She used to correct people who mistook her for Jay’s daughter. She finds it to be a sign of her old age and only becomes happy at the end of the episode when she wins a ‘Drag Queen’ contest.
Luke and Alex both get dumped by their respective partners during Halloween dinner. Mitch and Cam deal with Lily going to her first Halloween party. Lily gets ditched by a boy, making her upset and leaving Mitch & Cam helpless. Jay and Manny search for a rare candy bar Jay bought for Joe, which Manny mistakenly gave away. They ultimately bond over how much they miss each other.
1Halloween
Modern Family– Season 2, Episode 6
In thisSeason 2episode, fans learn Claire’s love for this particular holiday for the first time. Up until this point in the sitcom, it is Claire who shuts down Phil’s crazy ideas. However, fans get to see a different version of Claire, someone passionate about Halloween. She is determined to make the kids scared with the most disturbing decorations with the help of her big family.
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However, each characters have their own struggles that keep them distracted from the holiday. Phil does not want to end up like his neighbor, who just got left by his wife. Cam hates the holiday due to his childhood trauma. Mitch’s day is ruined when he becomes the odd guy who comes to the office in a Halloween costume.
Jay and Gloria are fighting over him and Manny making fun of her accent. They bring their problems to Claire’s Halloween party and eventually disappoint her with their disinterest. Like all episodes, things get sorted out and the family comes together to scare the hell out of the kids. This is an episode that truly captures the spirit of Halloween.
Hashim Asraff
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3018
Hashim Asraff is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,800 articles published on celebrity culture, comic book movies, and major TV franchises. With a background in Sociology and a keen interest in pop culture, Hashim brings a unique lens to breaking news stories, character deep-dives, film rankings, and fan-driven perspectives.His coverage often includes the MCU, DCU, hit network shows, and celebrity profiles, giving readers a rich blend of entertainment and analysis. A longtime fan of crime and investigative series, Hashim has watched thousands of episodes of NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, Blue Bloods, and The RookieA passionate storyteller and wordsmith, Hashim has also worked as a ghostwriter and managed multiple social media handles. He brought his writing expertise to FandomWire to also pursue his lifelong love for cinema and television.
