Here come spooky shows and monstrous movies, building up to Halloween's month-ending fright night.
TV will take us back to tube terrors of 50 years ago, then catch us up to fresh flat-screen zombie scares. We'll get eerie comedies and creepy cartoons. Original fear flicks premiere, as 90-year-old chillers stir new shivers.
SPOOKY TUBE
Thriller (Oct. 22-24, Decades) -- Binge on Boris Karloff's spookfest anthology (1960-62, NBC), in terrorific black-and-white, with Leslie Nielsen, Cloris Leachman, Mary Tyler Moore, Mort Sahl, William Shatner, many more.
The Walking Dead (Oct. 23 at 8 p.m., AMC) -- Season 7 premiere of the zombie smash is followed at 9-10:30 by a live edition of Talking Dead chat. Catch up to previous episodes with Oct. 16's first season and first half of second season (6 a.m.-midnight), followed by weekday marathons 5 p.m.-1 a.m.
Your Pretty Face Is Going to Hell (Oct. 23 at 10:30 p.m., Cartoon) -- Season 3 begins for warped live-action comedy of a recently deceased schlub trying to climb Hades' corporate ladder.
The Simpsons (Oct. 24 and 28 at 5 p.m.- 11 p.m., Oct. 25 and 27 at 7 p.m.-11 p.m., FXX) -- Annual "Treehouse of Horror" tales run through the week, with all 25 seasonal specials airing in order Oct. 31 from 10:30 a.m. Edition XXVII aireds Oct. 16 on Fox.
The Living and the Dead (Oct. 27 at 8 p.m., BBC America) -- Six-episode British series, about supernatural oddities at a Victorian family estate, puts all episodes online the night of its cable premiere.
Stan Against Evil (Oct. 31 at 10 p.m., IFC) -- Preview episode: John C. McGinley of "Scrubs" stars in this horror comedy as a deposed New England sheriff helping his replacement (Janet Varney of "You're the Worst") fight unleashed demons. Series debuts Nov. 2 at 9 p.m.
FAMILY FRIGHTS
R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour (October weekdays 5-6 p.m., Discovery Family) -- Channel's monthlong "Frightober" stunt culminates with Oct. 29-31 marathon of Halloween episodes, movies.
The Lodge (Oct. 17-28, Disney) -- Musical mystery outdoor drama shot in Northern Ireland (based on Disney Channel Israel series North Star) centers on a motherless teen whose dad moves them to a country retreat.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (Oct. 19 at 7 p.m., ABC) -- Peanuts holiday special, first aired in 1966. Followed at 7:30 by 2013's "Toy Story of Terror!"
13 Nights of Halloween (Oct. 19-31, Freeform; freeform.com) -- The 18th annual festival features the TV premiere of R.L. Stine's Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls (Oct. 19 at 6 p.m.), four Halloweentown films (Oct. 25-28), many runs of big-screen titles from Tim Burton and The Addams Family.
ROCKY! BRAD! JANET!
The Rocky Horror Picture Show 1975 (Oct. 31 at 11 p.m., IFC) Tim Curry stars in the warped cult musical of midnight-show renown, with Barry Bostwick and Susan Sarandon.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show, 2016 (Oct. 20 at 8 p.m., Fox/5) Premiere: With Laverne Cox of Orange Is the New Black, Victoria Justice, Adam Lambert, and '70s star Curry (now narrating).
ORIGINAL FILMS
Shadows of the Dead (Oct. 22 at 8 p.m., Syfy) Creepy creature hunts down teens one by one.
Amish Witches: The True Story of Holmes County (Oct. 29 at 7 p.m., Lifetime) Movie crew in Ohio's Amish country is beset by inexplicable events.
The Night Before Halloween (Oct. 29 at 8 p.m., Syfy) -- Bailee Madison and Anthony Lemke star in tale of Halloween prank gone wrong.
FEARSOME FLICKS
B-Movie Marathons (October weekend mornings, IFC; ifc.com) Vintage titles include Blood of the Vampire, Earth vs. the Spider, and Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster.
Fearfest (AMC, now through Oct. 31; amc.com) The 20th annual event offers daily/nightly stackups of franchises like The Omen (Oct. 17, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m.), The Amityville Horror (Oct. 18, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.), Alien (Oct. 19, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.), The Exorcist (Oct. 20, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.), and of course, Halloween (Oct. 29-31).
"Monster of the Month: Frankenstein" (TCM, October Sunday nights) Still to come: Peter Cushing's British '50s flicks (through Oct. 23); and Hollywood comedies from Mel Brooks/Abbott & Costello (Oct. 30).
"Star of the Month: Christopher Lee" (TCM, October Monday nights) Eerie English actor's work includes The House that Dripped Blood (Oct. 17), six Dracula flicks (Oct. 24), and Hammer studio faves (Oct. 31) such as The Devil's Bride.
Terror Classics (TCM, October Friday nights) Mad scientist films (Oct. 21) include The Body Snatcher; Universal Studios classics (Oct. 28) introduce Dracula, Invisible Man, Wolf Man.
REAL-LIFE HAUNTS
A Haunting (Oct. 21 at 8 p.m., TLC) Season return of paranormal favorite is followed at 9 by new series Kindred Spirits, in which ghost hunters help families haunted at home.
Ghost Brothers: Ghostin' Edition (Oct. 26 at 7-10 p.m., Destination America) Ghoul-hunting crew gets enhanced episodes, social media extras.
Paranormal Lockdown: The Black Monk House (Oct. 31 at 8-10 p.m., Destination America) Hosts are confined 100 hours in famed Yorkshire poltergeist site.
STEPHEN KING
Miniseries (October Fridays 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Pop) Oct. 21 has The Tommyknockers, Oct. 28 is The Langoliers.
Movie marathons Check online/listings for King-tale titles Oct. 24 on AMC, Oct. 30 on IFC.
SOME SCARY STREAMING OPTIONS
Hulu
The Amityville Horror, 1979/2005; Carrie, 1976; The Blair Witch Project; Carnival of Souls; Kwaidan
Netflix
Season 3 of British anthology Black Mirror starts Oct. 21; also American Horror Story, seasons 1-5; The Human Centipede; Children of the Corn; Re-Animator
Amazon
American Horror Story, seasons 1-5; Rosemary's Baby, 1968; Night of the Living Dead, 1968/1990
Crackle
Underworld; The Thing, 1982; Army of Darkness; Blood+ series
By DIANE WERTS/NEWSDAY
