Salem Horror Fest partners with the Peabody Essex Museum to bring you the ultimate kickoff to the Halloween season! Featuring PEM special exhibition It's Alive!: Classic Horror and Sci-Fi Art from the Kirk Hammett Collection, come haunt our inaugural Horror Fest with this night of live music, and interactive programming as part of the PEM/PM evening party series.

After-hours screening of Night of the Living Dead honoring Duane Jones with the inaugural Salem Horror Award begins at 9pm. 

America: The year is 1968. The Cold War is approaching détente, the Civil Rights Movement is winding down, Vietnam continues to escalate… And then come the zombies, creeping in through the cracks in American life. Taking shelter in an abandoned farm house, seven strangers must navigate their differences before the walls give way to a ravenous zombie horde.

Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead) will accept the first-ever Salem Horror Award on behalf of Duane Jones for his cultural contribution to the cinema as one of the first positive representations of a person of color on the big screen.

Ken Foree, star of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead and frequent collaborator with Rob Zombie (Halloween, The Devil's Rejects, and Lords of Salem) will appear at Ames Hall prior to the M Lamar concert.

Ken Foree’s role as Peter Washington in “Dawn of the Dead” initiated a long and iconic career in the horror genre. His line “When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth” has become an anthem in the horror genre for decades. Mr. Foree was named Number 4 in Empire Magazine’s Greatest Heroes list for 2014. His work includes the franchises “Halloween”, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and Rob Zombie’s “The Devils Rejects” and “Lords of Salem”. Ken has also appeared in over 50 feature films and episodic television shows and starred as the father of Keenan Thompson in the Nickelodeon series, “The Keenan and Kel Show”. Along with acting, Mr. Foree has been kept busy writing and producing international horror and sci-fi movies. He is executive producer and co-writer of the upcoming feature, “The Totem”, based on the award winning David Morrell novel. Ken was associate producer on the 2009 Serbian horror movie “Zone of the Dead” and is producer and co-writer on the planned 2018 sequel, “Wrath of the Dead”. Ken has also starred, executive produced co-produced and has been associate producer for over a dozen films. He starred and co-produced in this year’s new releases of “The Rift”, “The Midnight Man” and “Blood Brothers”. The trailer for “Blood Brothers” featured Ken and was highlighted in Entertainment Weekly.

From Japan to Europe and throughout the United States, during conventions and film festivals, audiences love the Q &A’s, backstage stories, lectures and interaction with this legendary horror star.

Mr. Foree has proven to be a force in the entertainment industry and a perennial favorite to fans around the world.

This "otherworldly, goth-tinged projection into the distant future of our violent, racially and sexually charged present offers a space of melancholic, alluring, ultimately stirring reflection." - The New York Times

Join us for this very special performance, featuring Queer Soprano M Lamar, who will perform an assemblage of old spirituals, in the "gothic-devil-worshipping-free-black-man-blues-tradition" in recognition of the 156th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Ken Foree, star of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead and frequent collaborator with Rob Zombie (Halloween, The Devil's Rejects, and Lords of Salem) will appear at Count Orlok's Nightmare Gallery.

Ken Foree’s role as Peter Washington in “Dawn of the Dead” initiated a long and iconic career in the horror genre. His line “When there is no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth” has become an anthem in the horror genre for decades. Mr. Foree was named Number 4 in Empire Magazine’s Greatest Heroes list for 2014. His work includes the franchises “Halloween”, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and Rob Zombie’s “The Devils Rejects” and “Lords of Salem”. Ken has also appeared in over 50 feature films and episodic television shows and starred as the father of Keenan Thompson in the Nickelodeon series, “The Keenan and Kel Show”. Along with acting, Mr. Foree has been kept busy writing and producing international horror and sci-fi movies. He is executive producer and co-writer of the upcoming feature, “The Totem”, based on the award winning David Morrell novel. Ken was associate producer on the 2009 Serbian horror movie “Zone of the Dead” and is producer and co-writer on the planned 2018 sequel, “Wrath of the Dead”. Ken has also starred, executive produced co-produced and has been associate producer for over a dozen films. He starred and co-produced in this year’s new releases of “The Rift”, “The Midnight Man” and “Blood Brothers”. The trailer for “Blood Brothers” featured Ken and was highlighted in Entertainment Weekly.

From Japan to Europe and throughout the United States, during conventions and film festivals, audiences love the Q &A’s, backstage stories, lectures and interaction with this legendary horror star.

Mr. Foree has proven to be a force in the entertainment industry and a perennial favorite to fans around the world.

The escalation of the Cuban Missile Crisis collides with the premiere of a new atomic-age monster picture, MANT. This comedic homage to legendary producer William Castle celebrates the joy of horror cinema and theatrical gimmicks in one of Joe Dante's (Gremlins, The Burbs) most underrated films. 

Panel discussion to follow.

The last days and career of renown gay horror director James Whale (Frankenstein, Bride of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man) are explored in this biographical drama set in the time following the Korean War. 

Panel discussion to follow.

A scientist, skeptic, psychic and lesbian question reality as they explore a large, eerie mansion with a lurid history of death and insanity in this 1963 horror classic. 

This screening is in partnership with The Shirley Jackson Awards and Women Film & TV New England. Music performance by New York's Victorian goth-punk band The Long Losts. Panel discussion to follow.

Wicked Shorts celebrates independent filmmakers with a timely showcase of terrifying horror shorts. Submitted films will be curated and considered for the first annual Orlok Award, named in honor of Count Orlok's Nightmare Gallery's 10th anniversary.

Scrypt To Screen Contest

The Film Empire’s Scrypt to Screen Horror Contest will offer a winning writer-director the chance to shoot a horror short under the mentorship of the lineup in Los Angeles.

The screenplay will be co-directed by Adam Robitel (Insidious: Chapter 4, Netflix’s The Taking of Deborah Logan) and further developed alongside screenwriter Jeff Howard (Oculus, Ouija: Origin of Evil). Mentors include cinematographer David A. Armstrong (Saw franchise) and cinematographer Pedro Luque (Don’t Breathe) to guide the cinematography, editor Jason Ballantine (It 2017), composer Charles Bernstein (A Nightmare on Elm Street), and composer Chris Bacon (Bates Motel). 

Slavery is a zombie in Jordan Peele’s directorial debut, Get Out, which falls somewhere between Alfred Hitchcock and Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. Chris is preparing to meet his girlfriend Rose’s Caucasian family for the first time. What could go wrong?

This screening is part of a double feature with People Under the Stairs. Musical performances by Bulla Fey and Monsters On The Horizon.

Gentrification and racism are among the topics of socioeconomics tackled by this 1991 Wes Craven offering. On his 13th birthday, young Fool attempts to burglarize the house of his family’s evil landlords, before making a horrifying discovery in a tongue-in-cheek tale set in a post-Reaganomic, urban apocalypse.

This screening is part of a double feature with Get Out. Musical performances by Bulla Fey and Monsters On The Horizon.

Lar Park Lincoln (Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, House II) will appear at Count Orlok's Nightmare Gallery with Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th VII-X). 

Jason Voorhees has been imprisoned at the bottom of Crystal Lake for years, until a troubled, and telekinetic teenager unwittingly sets him loose upon the camp, once more. This installment of the franchise steps away from the classic elements of gore, and takes a more supernatural turn.

This screening is part of the Women With Guts celebration honoring women in horror in partnership with Rue Morgue magazine featuring guest appearances with Lar Park Lincoln and Kane Hodder (Jason Voorhees). 

Lar Park Lincoln (Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, House II) will appear at Count Orlok's Nightmare Gallery with Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th VII-X). 

Tackling all things horror with a slash of analysis and research, horror journalists and occasional academics Andrea Subissati and Alexandra West are your hosts for brain plumping discussions on all things that go bump in the night.

Produced independently in Toronto, Ontario The Faculty of Horror is your best source for classic and contemporary horror film discussions that will haunt the libraries of your mind!

Do you like Huey Lewis and the News? You never know if it’ll be the last thing you hear. Grab your Walkman and unsettle yourself for this cult-classic interpretation of Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho. Patrick Bateman is an Alpha Male, CEO/psycho, whose murderous, misogynistic fantasies begin bleeding into his reality, in this dark-comedy directed by Mary Harron.

What you are about to see is true. Who’s to say, really? First released while America was struggling with the realities of an oil embargo, the impeachment of a president, and what seemed like endless war, the Texas Chain Saw Massacre is a direct response to the horrors of its time.

A supermarket becomes a petri dish in this film inspired by the Stephen King novella of the same name. A group of strangers are forced to confront the unknown as a unit, as a mysterious mist rolls in around them.  Are they human enough to survive? Or are they too human for their own good?

In a world where the media is flooded with subliminal messages constantly making demands of humanity to conform, obey, consume, and reproduce, it would seem the only thing left to do is throw on some shades, and see the true horror that is our ruling class. John Carpenter’s 1988 commentary on the state of American democracy, society, and consumerism.

This 1985 camp classic explores the homoerotic horrors of high school when the man of Jesse's dreams Freddy Krueger, claims his body as a portal into the world of flesh.

Al Pacino stars in this controversial crime thriller from 1980. When human remains begin washing up in the Hudson River, the NYPD sends an undercover officer to investigate a string of murders in the Meatpacking District, in which gay men are targeted specifically.

The Horror Show, hosted by Sean and Joe, are two childhood friends that discuss the horror movies you love as well as the ones you love to hate each and every week. The Horror Show’s goal is to “make horror a threat again” by weaving their specific brand of comedy and personal anecdotes into their weekly reviews and discussions about movies across the genre.

Whether it’s watching every Tobe Hooper movie ever made or trying to make sense of movies like Rumpelstiltskin and Poultrygeist, The Horror Show gives every movie a fair shot at being picked on. “The Horror Show captures the essence of horror talk in a way that few mediums can, offering levity and hilarity every week as they run through genre history.” – Shane Seymour. FANGORIA, Issue 347

Somewhat of a departure from the slasher genre and Halloween franchise canon, though nonetheless produced by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. Season of the Witch delves into the supernatural as terror takes root in the themes of commercialism, media manipulation, and the superstitions and traditions of All Hallows Eve.

Director David Cronenberg serves up this chilling and surreal gauge at media consumption. James Woods stars as Max Renn, President of a Canadian UHF television station known for its outrageous programming. After coming across a disturbing broadcast from far away, Renn is inspired to deliver high levels of violence to his viewers in ways previously unimagined.

Part vampire movie, part coming-of-age film, Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In is a refreshing visit to an otherwise well trod genre. A young teen, frequently the target of schoolyard bullies, makes a new friend in a mysterious neighbor who has just moved in next door, in what Roger Ebert called “the best modern vampire movie.”

This screening is part of a double feature with Fright Night. Musical performance by Salem Wolves. 

Charley Brewster enjoys the rather simple life of a 17-year-old horror fan. He watches the movies, and really digs the late-nite horror show, “Fright Night.” But things start to get a little strange when two guys move in next door. They spend a lot of time alone together, and seem to be quite… close with each other. 

This screening is part of a double feature with Let the Right One In. Musical performance by Salem Wolves.