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“America is the final girl, and I hope she survives.”

Salem Horror Fest‘s eighth annual event kicked off last night at Salem’s Peabody Essex Museum, and festival manager Leslie Adams‘ brief opening statement — which concluded with the above quote — assured attendees that the event remains steadfast in its mission to cultivate a safe, inclusive, and fun community for genre fans.

This year’s festival is the first under the new leadership of Horror Arts Collective — formed by legacy staff members in the wake of founder Kay Lynch stepping down last year — but the team upholds the ethos instilled by Lynch, who cheered on her successors from the front row like a proud mom.

The new guard also upheld the tradition of kicking off with a memorable opening night headlined by a horror icon, with Hellraiser‘s Ashley Laurence serving as this year’s guest of honor. Media personality...

Salem Horror Fest has announced the initial wave of programming for its 8th annual event, running April 30-May 4 in nine venues across Salem, Massachusetts.

Over 60 Official Selections — shorts, interludes (15-60 minutes), and feature length — will screen, in addition to repertory screenings, live podcasts, and other special events.

The annual opening night celebration at the Peabody Essex Museum will feature a Q&a with horror icon Ashley Laurence moderated by Rue Morgue‘s Andrea Subissati; a screening of Hellbound: Hellraiser II; keynote speaker Professor Tananarive Due, author of The Reformatory and executive producer of Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror; announcement of jury prizes; and a screening of the winning short.

Special Events

Local Mass Hysteria – A collection of shorts from New England filmmakers (April 30) Opening night with Ashley Laurence, Tananarive Due, and a screening of Hellbound: Hellraiser II (May 1) Book signing and panel with five horror authors including Tananarive...

From venue changes and the pandemic to political backlash and the threat of litigation, Salem Horror Fest founder and director Kay Lynch has never been one to back down. The festival’s seventh annual event, which kicked off last night at Salem’s Peabody Essex Museum, was further proof of her resilience.

After its original headliner, Hocus Pocus star Kathy Najimy, canceled with less than 48 hours notice, the festival’s entire opening night ceremony was restructured. On lieu of the original $50 ticket charge, the program was made free (with the option to make a donation), costing the festival an untold amount of money.

But the show must go on — and it did so in spectacular fashion with horror icon Linnea Quigley sitting down for a live interview, while the Hocus Pocus screening was replaced by The People’s Joker, previously scheduled to be the festival’s closing film.

Kay Lynch

Following...

Named by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the “best genre festivals in the world,” Salem Horror Fest returns to the Peabody Essex Museum on Thursday, April 25, 2024.

We’ve learned this week that Salem Horror Fest 2024 kicks off with a special opening night ceremony at the Peabody Essex Museum featuring Kathy Najimy in a moderated discussion with Andrea Subissati, editor of Rue Morgue Magazine.

The program opens with a keynote speech from Alexandra West, author of the new book Gore-Geous: Personal Essays on Beauty and Horror, followed by remarks from Suzanne Romero-Desrocher (George A. Romero Foundation), legendary scream queen Linnea Quigley, festival director Kay Lynch, and drag performances by Miz Diamond.

The evening will conclude with a screening of Hocus Pocus.

The Salem Horror Fest team notes, “VIP includes priority seating, meet and greet, signed item and professional photo. Additional autographs are available for $60 each.”

Grab your tickets now and stay...

Salem, Massachusetts brews up more Halloween activities than you can shake a broom at each October, so it was logical for Salem Horror Fest to take place during the spookiest month of the year. For its sixth installment, however, the festivities have moved to the spring, making it much easier to attend without throngs of tourists.

If last night’s opening night ceremony — headlined by a screening of Candyman with Tony Todd in attendance — is any indication, horror lovers will show up any time of the year. Held at the Peabody Essex Museum, the event kicked off with poignagnt opening remarks by festival director Kay Lynch. She briefly outlined the evolution of Salem Horror, which was born out of her desire for catharsis after the 2016 election.

With folk horror being a common theme among some of this year’s programming, Kier-La Janisse was enlisted to deliver a keynote address. Much like how her essential documentary,...

Following the exciting announcement that Tony Todd will be a guest of honor at this year's Salem Horror Fest, the full lineup for the anticipated festival has now been revealed, including the new documentary Satan Wants You and retrospective screenings of Fright Night: Part II, The Fog (1980), The Blood on Satan's Claw, and more!

Exclusively announced on Fangoria, you can check out the full lineup of films and events for this year's Salem Horror Fest on their official website, and we also have the official press release with additional details:

Press Release: Salem Ma - March 13, 2023 - Named by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the “best genre festivals in the world,” Salem Horror Fest has announced the full lineup for their sixth annual presentation, which kicks off on Thursday, April 20, and runs through Sunday, April 30.

The official program begins with a featured showcase of Satan Wants You, a new documentary...

We are so excited for the return of Salem Horror Fest this April and they have announced that Tony Todd will be honored during the event, which will include a keynote speech from Kier-La Janisse, a screening of Candyman, and a Qa hosted by Andrea Subissati!

"Named by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the “best genre festivals in the world,” Salem Horror Fest has announced the kickoff to their sixth edition with an opening night program to be held at the Peabody Essex Museum on Thursday, April 20, 2023.

The event will honor Hollywood legend Tony Todd for his groundbreaking performance originating the iconic role of Candyman from the 1992 film, subsequent sequels in addition to his towering filmography of more than 250 credits including Night of the Living Dead, The Crow, Final Destination with recurring roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, The Flash, 24, Stargate Sg-1, Scream: The TV Series.

Named by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the “best genre festivals in the world,” Salem Horror Fest is back in 2023, and the fest has announced this week that their sixth edition will be kicking off at the Peabody Essex Museum on Thursday, April 20, 2023.

The event will honor Hollywood legend Tony Todd for his groundbreaking performance originating the iconic role of Candyman from the 1992 film, plus that film’s subsequent sequels in addition to his towering filmography of more than 250 credits including Night of the Living Dead, The Crow, and Final Destination with recurring roles in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, The Flash, 24, Stargate Sg-1, Scream: The TV Series, and more.

Additionally, author and film critic Kier-La Janisse will provide a keynote speech about the role of folklore in our history and culture followed by a special screening of the original Candyman and Q&a with Tony Todd...

We are Very excited for the return of Salem Horror Fest this October and they already have some major announcement to share. The annual "Romero Lives" celebration will be moving from Pittsburgh to Salem, with a month-long series of screenings and events planned to celebrate the life and work of George A. Romero! And the first wave of films has been officially announced! Here's the official press release:

Salem Horror Fest has announced first wave of programs for their fifth annual return to the Halloween capital of the world this October.

Romero Lives, the annual retrospective celebrating the life and legacy of George A. Romero, will relocate from Pittsburgh to Salem for a curated month-long series dedicated to the Master of Horror in partnership with The George A. Romero Foundation. Events to include a screening of the newly restored ‘lost’ Romero film, The Amusement Park and the 100th episode of...

In addition to celebrating the horror genre's past and present every October, the Salem Horror Fest also celebrates the diverse voices of the genre all year long with special events and experiences. This year is no exception, as Salem Horror Fest has announced the first Women with Guts conference, which will take place this May and showcase talented women from the horror genre, including Dr. Rebekah McKendry, Chelsea Stardust, Ashlee Blackwell, Andrea Subissati, Sady Doyle, Alison Lang, and Alexandra West.

The Women with Guts horror conference will take place from Friday, May 8th to Sunday, May 10th at the Salem Waterfront Hotel. More guests and the full event schedule will be announced soon, and we'll be sure to keep Daily Dead readers updated on future details. In the meantime, we have the roster of announced guests below, and for more information, be sure to visit Salem Horror Fest's official website:

https://www.

Coming into the Royal Ontario Museum’s It’s Alive exhibit, a showcase of classic horror and sci-fi art from the Kirk Hammett collection, one might expect to see a gamut of horror posters and props, but attendees are treated to so much more. For fans of all things strange, spooky, and odd, or those interested in the evolution of marketing in film, the exhibit displays posters from the 20th century that chronicle the history of the horror and sci-fi genres.

The posters mostly come from a time when the only way to advertise a film was print, so studios had to do everything they could to wow an audience with them. But this exhibit is about so much more than the eye-catching posters meant to put backsides into theater seats; it’s about the history of horror, the evolution and creation of some of the most famous monsters, of representation of women in horror,...

Combining great programming and special guests, in one of the best places to celebrate Halloween, Salem Horror Fest was one of my favorite events of 2018 and I'm very excited for horror fans to experience what they have planned for this year. Their "Fear of Invasion" film series has been announced, featuring classic remakes like The Thing and The Blog, along with modern favorites like The Strangers and Under the Skin.

Details on the full lineup are below and you can learn more at: https://www.salemhorror.com/

"Salem Ma - Salem Horror Fest returns this October with a series of programs and double features that will explore our nation’s fear of invasion.

“They’ve meddled in our elections. They’re storming our borders. We’re in constant fear of some outside force taking over, we often forget our own role in wiping out an entire population of indigenous people.

Welcome to Let’s All Scare Bryan to Death, my new column based on the idea that there are a lot of horror movies in the world, and I haven’t seen a lot of them. I’m going to work on changing that with the help of people who love horror and are smarter than me (re: everyone) by getting them to introduce me to a movie I’ve never seen before. That’s literally the only criteria. We’ll talk about the movie and see what kind of fun stuff we can pull out of it.

For my first installment, I decided to jump right into the deep end with Andrea Subissati, who you may know as the Executive Editor at Rue Morgue Magazine, one half of the Faculty of Horror podcast, and simply one of the most intelligent voices in horror today. Her selection for this most...

One of the most exciting genre events in recent years, the Salem Horror Fest celebrated another successful gathering of horror lovers last year, and Daily Dead was thrilled to be a media sponsor of the 10-day event. This year's Salem Horror Fest looks to be the most memorable one yet, with The Faculty of Horror podcast returning for their third annual live show.

Taking place on Saturday, October 5th at CinemaSalem, The Faculty of Horror live show will feature co-hosts Alexandra West and Andrea Subissati discussing Jonathan Glazer's Under the Skin (following a double feature of John Carpenter's The Thing and Under the Skin). That same day, West will present a new lecture on social media in horror films. To learn more about the live show, visit Salem Horror Fest's official website, and be sure to visit The Faculty of Horror online.

Salem Horror Fest 2019 will begin on Thursday,...

Ceremony awards £40,000 post-production to both best film and best director.

Manchester horror event Grimmfest has given out the awards for its 2018 event, with Issa López’s Tigers Are Not Afraid taking four prizes including best feature.

The film is a dark fairy tale about a gang of five children trying to survive the horrific violence of the cartels and the ghosts created every day by a drug war.

As well as best feature, it also picked up best screenplay for writer-director López, best actor for Juan Ramón López and the audience award, voted for by Grimmfest attendees.

It also received...

To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Grimmfest, the Manchester based genre festival is pleased to announce the first Grimmfest Awards, a new scheme to celebrate the very best genre titles selected for the annual festival and the creative teams behind them.

Said festival director and founder of Grimmfest, Simeon Halligan:

We are launching the awards, to promote and celebrate ground-breaking new talent in Genre filmmaking. For the past decade, we have showcased the work of filmmakers from all around the world, keen to discover the next generation of cinematic mavericks and genre masters.

Co-director Rachel Richardson-Jones added:

…as filmmakers ourselves, we have become increasingly aware that festival recognition is not merely an acknowledgement from peers of a job well done, but also a vital means of gaining increased profile and attention for your film. Therefore, as one of the Genre world’s key festivals, we have decided to reward excellence where we see it.

All-female Jury includes actress Joanne Mitchell and sales agent Caroline Couret-Delegue.

Manchester-based genre event Grimmfest has unveiled the first Grimmfest Awards, as part of the 10th anniversary celebrations of the festival.

With the event taking place from October 4-7 this year, a six-person jury will judge in 12 categories including best feature, best director and best scare, with winners announced at the end of the festival.

All six members of the inaugural jury are women; including actress and producer Joanne Mitchell (Attack Of The Adult Babies); sales agent Caroline Couret-Delegue; actress and writer Lauren Ashley Carter (Jug Face); Dread Central journalist...

One of the most exciting genre celebrations in recent years, the Salem Horror Fest kicks off again this October and Daily Dead is proud to be a media sponsor of the 10-day event. In addition to featuring Ryan Turek as a keynote speaker, the festival will also include the return of The Faculty of Horror podcast for a live show. We have more information on the exciting announcement in today's Horror Highlights, which also includes Kickstarter campaign details for the horror comedy short film Frank & Mary, as well as info on author David Moody's new novels in his Hater series.

The Faculty of Horror Podcast Returning to Salem Horror Fest: Press Release: "Salem, Ma - Pop academic podcast, The Faculty of Horror, is set to return to the Witch City for a live show at Salem Horror Fest this October in partnership with Rue Morgue Magazine. Hosts Andrea Subissati...