Sleep well, Mr. Harker.

You'll recall that two weeks ago I gave you the latest low-down on Turner Classic Movies horror programming for 2025. As promised, I'm back with the remainder of their Halloween schedule for the rest of the month!

Compose yourself, please.

I had the audacity to complain that the horror scheduling was slight for the first two weeks of October, but as usual TCM has made me look completely foolish as the last two weeks of October are absolutely jammed with spooky movies.

In all of its gaudy glory, here is what you can find on TCM from October 17th onward! First we'll take a look at the 17th to the 27th.

There are some very interesting blocks in here. There's a double feature of Tod Browning movies, Mark of the Vampire and The Devil Doll on October 17th and then a French horror double feature, which includes The Hypnotic Eye and Eyes Without a Face on the 18th. The 18th rounds out with yet another must-see double feature of Universal's Frankenstein followed by Hammer's remake The Curse of Frankenstein.

Early in the morning on the 19th (set your PVR!) there's screenings of Val Lewton's The Curse of the Cat People and Isle of the Dead, followed by the documentary Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows. The night of the 19th rounds out with a Hitchcock combo of Vertigo and The Birds.

I lamented the lack of Hammer in the schedule in the last post, but they are represented quite well this month. Starting at 6 AM ET on the 20th is a Hammer block that runs for 12+ hours, beginning with the 1959 remake of The Mummy and culminating with 1961's Scream of Fear. All of these movies are standouts, but if you want to see what I think is the most batshit crazy of the Hammer filmography, check out The Devil's Bride at 2:45 PM ET. I'm not sure why they listed it under that title, but it's also know as The Devil Rides Out, a Christopher Lee versus Satan flick that doesn't disappoint.

On the 21st there's a great Karloff/Lugosi block kicking off with The Black Cat (the best to feature the two actors, IMO) at 8:00 PM ET and closing off with The Invisible Ray at 12:30 AM ET on the 22nd.

That's not all for the 22nd, where we're treated to a giant monster block beginning at 7:30 AM ET with a Toho triple feature, including Ebirah, Horror of the Deep, The War of the Gargantuas, and Destroy All Monsters! and culminating later in the afternoon with Gojira at 4:45 PM ET.

The next few days feature a spread of horror thrillers, mostly from the 60s. Standouts include, Rosemary's Baby, Dead Ringer, and Psycho. I'd be remiss not to bring up Scanners and Carnival of Souls are in there, as well.

We're in the endgame now...

Kicking off  the morning of October 28th is a Lon Chaney block, comprised of his two most famous performances, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera. Sandwiched in between the two silent films is a documentary about the man himself, Lon Chaney: A Thousand Faces.

For the rest of the 28th and 30th (I guess they decided to take the 29th off?) there's a smattering of films that don't really appear to have any theme, like Mark of the Vampire, The Swarm, Two on a Guillotine, etc. 

There's a Dracula/Frankenstein Hammer double feature on the 30th starting at 1 PM ET, which is followed by an RKO Jacques Tourneur block featuring The Leopard Man, I Walked with a Zombie, Cat People, and Curse of the Demon. Inexplicably, Nightmare is sandwiched in the middle of it.

And that brings us to the big day itself, Halloween!

Things start off in the earliest of hours with a small pre-code horror block that includes Mystery of the Wax Museum and Frederic March in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (the creepiest version, if you ask me). This is followed by a Vincent Price double feature, House of Wax and The Bat.

Throughout the afternoon and into the evening it's the Universal monsters who have the spotlight, starting with The Invisible Man at 1 PM ET and running right up until primetime with Bride of Frankenstein.

I think it's kinda weird, but right in the primetime slot on Halloween, TCM is playing two neo-noir thrillers, In Cold Blood and Who Killed Teddy Bear. I think it's a buzzkill, honestly. If they closed off their horror films for the year with Bride of Frankenstein, I think I could understand, but right after Who Killed Teddy Bear they continue with some more horror heavy-hitters.

For the late night crowd (Halloween is on a Friday this year, after all) there's a cult classic block, starting with Night of the Living Dead at 12:30 AM ET and ending with Vampyr at 7 AM ET.

And there you have it! That's Turner Classic's Halloween/horror programming for the rest of the month. I think it's a nice mix this year. As expected, Hammer and Universal are majorly represented, but I think there are lots of interesting films thrown into the mix, as well. I for one am looking forward to the Toho kaiju movies, that Jacque Tourneur block, and I think falling asleep to Night of the Living Dead on Halloween night might just be the perfect way to round out the season.

Let me know if you'll be catching any of TCM's horror flicks this year! Do you still have cable or a PVR? Or do you think broadcast TV is totally dead and I should just shut up? I'm interested to hear your thoughts.

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Darling, the only ghoul in the house is you!

If for no other reason than keeping the custom alive, I figured a good way to kick off October 1st is with my annual breakdown of the spooky happenings on Turner Classic Movies!

I know most folks don't read these posts and couldn't care less, but I still like to hold onto the belief that there's something special about traditional, broadcast TV and I think it's pretty cool that during the month of October, TCM breaks out the bats and cobwebs.

As of writing this, I can only see the schedule up to October 13th. I should be able to see a little further into the month, but TCM.com has been down a lot lately and I currently can't bring up the site. Anyway, here's what we have to look forward to so far. Get ready for my expert spreadsheet skills!

I hate to say it, but there isn't that much to report about in the first half of the month. It opens tomorrow night with a "of the Damned" marathon, which is pretty cool. After that there's a random smattering, which does include Poltergeist.

On the 4th and 5th, there are some horror science fiction flicks including The Brain That Wouldn't Die. Soylent Green might be a stretch, but I'm counting it on account of "kinda cannibalism". There's a nice little Hitchcock double-feature to round out the 5th, too, featuring Rear Window and Spellbound.

It's a bit of a dog's breakfast after that, but there are some heavy-hitters like The Haunting, Cat People, and House on Haunted Hill. The 13th also notably has Haxan, which although it's a silent film from the 20s hold's up and is creepy AF.

The lack of Universal and Hammer flicks is a little surprising, but hopefully TCM is just holding their fire for later in the month.

That's all there is to report so far! Hopefully I'll remember to post another update before October 13th with the rest of the month's offerings, so you can tune in or set up your PVR... you know, supposing you still have a cable package!

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Look! It's moving. It's alive. It's alive...

I've made this spiel in the past and I don't want to beat a dead horse, so I'll keep this brief.

/me stands on his soapbox

During the month of October, Turner Classic Movies airs a bevy of amazing horror films! Check your local listings!

And yes, yet again I have tabulated a handy spreadsheet with all of the films on the schedule.

I still try my best to use broadcast TV and, honestly, some of the movies that TCM plays this time of year are hard to find even on DVD or Blu-ray, let alone on streaming. Heck, there are some films I don't even bother trying to buy, because I just sort of rely TCM to play them for me every Halloween.

So dust off your DVRs if you have 'em or just make sure you tune in! Here are all the films I deemed spooky from TCM's October 2024 schedule - all times in Eastern (with all the colourful Excel flair from prior years!):

I'll take a moment to highlight some of the programming blocks I think you should look out for.

Unfortunately, since I'm posting this a few days late, it looks like a Bela Lugosi block aired on October 2nd. I'm willing to bet, however, that most of those films get a second airing later in the month.

There's a short back-to-back Roger Corman block with Little Shop of Horrors and A Bucket of Blood airing early on October 6th, starting at 7AM.

There's an English horror block airing in the wee hours of October 18th that looks really interesting, which includes The Wicker Man, The Lair of the White Worm, The Reptile, and The Plague of the Zombies. It starts at 12:45AM!

I'm mystified by this block, which has some more contemporary stuff, but only airs once starting at 12:45AM on October 25th. You'd think these flicks would air during primetime, but you'll either have to be a night owl or set these for record: Demon Seed, They Live, The Hidden, and The Shout.

On the 27th, there's a short Val Lewton block starting at 7AM, with Cat People, I Walked with a Zombie, and then a documentary on the man himself, Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows.

There's another solid English horror block with some Amicus and Hammer films starting at 8:15AM on Devil's Night, October 30th, which features From Beyond the Grave, Dracula A.D. 1972, Frankenstein Created Woman, The Mummy, Horror of Dracula, and The Curse of Frankenstein.

This is followed up closely with a serial killer block, starting at 9:00PM on October 30th with Psycho, Peeping Tom, Blue Velvet, and The Strangler.

Then on Halloween, you can enjoy lots of classic Universal horrors, like The Bat, The Wolf Man, The Black Cat, Dracula, Frankenstein, and Bride of Frankenstein beginning at 12:30PM.

There you have it! If you're into old black and white scares, TCM has your back this Halloween. I always suggest you check out the Hammer and English horror films they feature every year. They are excellent and I find those in particular are difficult to get on physical media for a decent price.

So, instead of staring at Netflix for an hour trying to pick something to watch, pop the popcorn and let your TV take the wheel for a change! I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!

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Come closer, please! I've something to tell you.

Although the last entry didn't light the world on fire, I'm here to belabour you with more of the TCM horror schedule for the month of October!

It's really a shame that I haven't updated the TCM schedule since then, but honestly late September and early October were a complete blur around here and the latest TCM offerings didn't exactly blow my mind.

There were sporadic showings that were pretty good, but almost anything worth a damn was aired in the wee hours of the morning or sometime before noon. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind setting my PVR to record. There is something, however, to sitting down to the TV in the evening and being able to catch at least one horror flick.

Things are picking up, though!

Tomorrow morning there's an interesting block of Lon Chaney, Sr. films. These are silent era, so really only for the hardcore, but if you want to see the "Man of a Thousand Faces" at work, you can catch The Unholy Three, The Unknown, and West of Zanzibar. These aren't all technically "horror" films, but they can be creepy enough and seeing the work Lon Chaney did with practical make-up effects in the 20s is really something.

October 25th has some pretty heavy hitters, including a Dr. Phibes block, and then on the 27th TCM is featuring James Whales' Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein back-to-back, followed by Hammer's Horror of Dracula.

October 28th has a really great set of movies, like Chaney's Phantom of the Opera (1925), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) and Val Lewton's Cat People (1944), but these flicks have that unfortunate late-night/early AM time slot again.

Then on Devil's Night, October 30th, we have pretty much a straight shot of horror hits for two days. Some highlights include The Devil Rides Out aka The Devils' Bride (a personal Hammer favourite of mine), Suspiria, Creature from the Black Lagoon, a Universal horror block (re-airing Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein again), and the grand finale at 11:45 ET, October 31st, the Mario Bava classic, Black Sabbath!

So, you might have to rely on your PVR for the next week or more, but on October 30th and Halloween you can feel free to cue up TCM on your TV and just let it ride!

I know that classic horror isn't for everyone and that a lot of folks settle in for the Universal monster movies and don't really go far afield, but I'd urge you to try some different movies out on this list. There are some real gems in here and you might find your new favourite old film.

Whether you actually took the time to read this or not, I hope you're having a great October and Halloween season! As always, the time is creeping up on us and before long it'll be all red and green twinkle lights, so just try and get the most out of these spooky days!

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Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!

One thing I look forward to every fall is the Turner Classic Movies October schedule.

Once upon a time, if you wanted to watch any sort of monster movie you likely had to turn to late-night television to get your fix. With the advent of video, more options became available, but for the vast majority of horror and sci-fi films, you still had to keep your eyes on your local TV guide.

Those days are most certainly gone. With streaming and so many rare and forgotten films getting Blu-ray releases you can pretty much find anything you want to watch, when you want to watch it.

There's still something about watching an old horror film on broadcast TV that is so appealing for me, though. It's the nostalgia talking, I know. I have lots of black-and-white monster movies on DVD, but I kinda prefer letting TCM do the programming for me!

Also, there are still lots of films that you would think would easily be available on streaming or video that just aren't that accessible, unless you're willing to shell out the big bucks or have a region-free player at your disposal.

And so, every year around mid-September I start frequenting the TCM website to see what offerings they'll have available during October and, let me tell you, they rarely disappoint!

In the years past there have been very definite themes. One year, it was all kaiju films from Japan. For a few years TCM was exhausting the Hammer horror archive, much to my delight. And there have been many, many years that I can recall classic Universal was the focus.

The last few years it's seemed like a smorgasbord of all these films. I've also noticed that they've started including more (ahem) "contemporary" works from the 70s and the 80s.

It's hard to tell what the theme - if any - will be this year, but as of today I was able to view the first few days of TCM's October schedule and I thought it would be fun to share some of the upcoming horror films you can check out on Turner Classics, provided you still have a cable TV package!

Let's consult my handy-dandy spreadsheet. /me adjusts his glasses...

Stylish, I know!

As an aside, let's start with the purple section at the top. Although the focus of this post is the October horror films that TCM is known to offer, I couldn't help but draw your attention to a block of giant bug movies coming up on September 15th! TCM posted a blog about the special theme night, which mentions six films and includes Mothra, but I couldn't find it on either the US or Canadian schedules. That aside, the are some fun sci-fi monster films coming mid-month that you may enjoy!

The October proper schedule shows a veritable dog's breakfast of options and I can't say that I'm upset about it!

We've got a pair of giant kaiju films, some classic Universal, a Hitchcock, a few sci-fi monster flicks carrying over from September, a Hammer Frankenstein, and even some Tony Scott!

At first glance, it doesn't look like there's a cohesive theme here, but honestly there still could be down the line. It may come in the form of nightly blocks dedicated to different production companies, actors, or time periods. We shall have to wait and see!

And I know that unless you're in the Pacific or Central time zones these airings would have to be firmly programmed into your PVR, but there will very likely be more prime time slots dedicated to the horror genre as we get closer to Halloween.

If you're looking for one more little adventure to try during the spooky season, you might find something fun on your TV guide! I find it more and more difficult to find anything in the horror genre freely playing on broadcast TV, but TCM will certainly hold the line this October, if you want to give it a shot!

You can even relive those nights long past of waiting up until the late night monster movie played on TV, while you hid under a blanket and thought up your escape plan back to your bedroom once the movie was over!

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