Kimberly J. Brown Reveals Who Her Halloweentown Character Should Have Ended Up with — and It's Not Who You Think (Exclusive)

Halloween is a special time for Kimberly J. Brown. 

The actress, 39, is well known for playing the teenage witch Marnie in Disney Channel’s Halloweentown films, and to this day, the holiday holds a special place in her heart.

“The Halloween season has always been truly one of my favorites ever since I was a kid,” Brown tells PEOPLE exclusively while promoting her latest partnership with STEM. “So it's very appropriate that I would still be here all these years later, enjoying celebrating the season.” 

This season will be extra special as she and her husband Daniel Kountz, who met on the set of Halloweentown II: Kalabar's Revenge, celebrate their first Halloween as a married couple. And they’re going all out, including with subtle nods to their Halloweentown past. 

While Brown is keeping the real-life pests away with STEM products, she notes that she does love a good “spooky, creepy crawler” when it comes to decor. “Our décor now is a mix of my DIY stuff and [things] fans have given us over the years,” she says, adding that she has a few props from the films throughout her home.

“I have the Halloweentown book, one of the ones that was from the original movie. I have Kalabar's bat too, his assistant from the first one that pops up out of his coffin there. I like bringing out some of those personal mementos around the season. It's an eclectic mix now," she adds.

When it comes to their Halloween plans this year, Brown notes that she and Kountz will likely keep things low-key, spending time with her younger family members.

“I usually like to give out candy or spend it with the kids,” she notes. “I have nephews, and my best friend's little girl is 8 and loves the holiday, so I'll probably actually end up taking her trick-or-treating. I've truly loved the holidays since I was a kid, so I love living it through the kids' eyes and getting to feed that part of my childhood.” 

In addition to living Halloween through their eyes, she adds that she loves reliving her Halloweentown past through their eyes as they get introduced to the movie.

"[My best friend's daughter] Julia dances around on a broom in the living room and runs around and says, ‘Look, I'm Kim.’ It’s so cool getting to experience it now through all their eyes, and I'm just so honored that people are still enjoying the movie so much after all these years.” 

While Brown has previously expressed her interest in reprising her role as Marnie in a future Halloweentown movie, she does have particular thoughts on who her character should have ended up with in the movies (and no, it’s not her husband’s character!).

“I liked her relationship with Cody, honestly,” she says of Finn Wittrock’s role in Halloweentown High. “Luke, I think, will always be a BFF to her. I think they're bonded in that way, [but] I don't know if she could have ever turned it romantic,” she adds of Marnie’s love interest in the first film. 

As for her husband’s villainous character, Kal, in the second film?

“Come on, Marnie would not even dip the toe into the dark side!” Brown quips. “She'd be like, ‘No,’ So I could see her going with a human, like her mom did and connecting with that realness and somebody to ground her in a different way.”