Blumhouse VP Ryan Turek will give the opening night keynote address at the Peabody Essex Museum following the Salem Haunted Happenings Parade. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the cult classic Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, Turek will also host a Q&A with Cassandra Peterson live-onstage before a screening of the film!

Horror icon and legend Cassandra Peterson will host a 30th anniversary screening of her film Elvira, Mistress of the Dark at the opening night reception of Salem Horror Fest following the Salem Haunted Happenings Parade. With opening remarks from keynote speaker Ryan Turek (Blumhouse Productions VP), the evening program will also feature a panel discussion diving into the history and legacy of the world's most famous horror host! A pre-screening VIP reception will be offered for a very select few to meet and talk with Cassandra Peterson before the festivities begin.

A group of well-meaning teens comes face to face with a hunger-dumb Tarman and a horde of acid rain zombies after a toxic gas leak reanimates the dead at a medical supply warehouse. This punk rock, horror-comedy spinoff of The Night of the Living Dead features the first instance of brain-eating zombies.

Justice wields a mop in this landmark of DIY punk production from the shameless world of Troma. While fleeing a group of bullies, 98-pound weakling, Melvin Ferd, stumbles into a vat of toxic waste. This transforms him into the Toxic Crusader— a monstrous superhero who is hellbent on vanquishing the feckless and corrupt evildoers of Tromaville. 

Ready to burn those candy calories? Salem Horror Fest will offer a series of horror workouts to exorcise those demons. Join Alejandro for a one hour aerobic class and meet scream queen Linnea Quigley in your best zombie attire. All ages and fitness levels are welcome!

The women of FunDead Publications perform a selection of horror tales from their collection of scary stories as featured in One Night In Salem, Entombed In Verse, Shadows In Salem, O Horrid Night, and Night In New Orleans. This reading preludes a screening of the New England premiere of Scary Stories: A Documentary. 

Over the course of its three volume run, Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories introduced children to gothic tales of terror with notoriously ghastly illustrations making them the most banned books of our time.

Two childhood friends get together to dissect, mutilate, dismember & butcher all of your favorite and NOT so favorite horror movies. The Horror Show is part of the Bloody-Disgusting Podcast Network.

“This valley is just one long smorgasbord.’

“Every February 14th, Harry comes back to town, his pickaxe stained with blood, waiting in the shadows of the Hanniger Mine, just for someone to kill, should they not heed his warning.”

Dark secrets behind the lost 1939 STD propaganda film, Sex Madness, are revealed throughout an audio commentary track from The Film Dick podcast hosted by Jimmy Morris (Patton Oswalt).

CinemaSpection is a film discussion podcast independently produced in Salem, MA and hosted by movie nerd duo Tim and Corinne Luz. We examine, critique, analyze, mock, or otherwise appreciate movies. From classics and cult films to the newest blockbusters, we might not like them, but we saw them and have something to say.

George C. Romero, son of legendary director George A. Romero, will join Salem Horror Fest for a special one hour conversation with Daily Dead editor Jonathan James. Romero will speak about his twenty years of experience in the film industry, life with his father, and continuing the Living Dead legacy as he gears up for production on The Night of the Living Dead prequel Rise of the Living Dead.

“Civility must be rewarded, captain. If it isn't rewarded, there's no use for it. There's just no use for it at all.”

“If you look at the whole life of the planet, we, you know, man has only been around for a few blinks of an eye. So, if the infection wipes us all out... that is a return to normality.”

Fans flock to a festival celebrating the most iconic horror movies, only to discover that the charismatic showman behind the event has a diabolical agenda. As festival attendees start dying off, three teenagers - more schooled in horror-film cliches than practical knowledge about neutralizing psycho killers - must band together and battle through various madmen and monstrosities to survive.

“We've just begun to learn about the water and its secrets, just as we've only touched on outer space.”

“I admire its purity. A survivor... unclouded by conscience, remorse, or delusions of morality.”

Salem invites you to explore the historic and haunted downtown district for a special evening of pumpkin displays, activities, and entertainment.

Ice Nine Kills will debut their new record 'The Silver Scream,' jam-packed with post-hardcore songs inspired by your favorite horror movies! Go behind the music as the band reveals stories and anecdotes about recording in the studio, paying homage to their killer idols, and the ideas that led to the new concept album. Preview the entire record and be the first to see the world premiere of their new music video!

“Bad luck isn't brought by broken mirrors, but by broken minds.”

"During the 1980s, over 70% of American adults believed in the existence of abusive Satanic Cults. Another 30% rationalized the lack of evidence due to government cover ups."

Filmmakers from the upcoming horror-comedy Mass Hysteria will speak about the making of their new film currently in production from First-Name Films. Mass Hysteria highlights Salem's unique position as a vibrant, modern community steeped in history. Set over the course of Halloween Eve, the films centers around a group of historical re-enactors who are falsely accused of witchcraft. 

Over the course of its three volume run, Alvin Schwartz’s Scary Stories introduced children to gothic tales of terror with notoriously ghastly illustrations making them the most banned books of our time. This documentary follows the author’s son, Peter Schwartz, in an exploration of the collection’s legacy, folklore, and many controversies with interviews from iconic children’s authors R.L. Stine, Debbie Dadey, Bruce Coville, and Q.L. Pearce.

When it was released in 1987, The Monster Squad was deemed a failure by critics and was, according to the box office, a film no one cared about. But over the last three decades, word of mouth has turned this sleeping hit into a cultural phenomenon.

The 1990s film industry worked parallel to the mainstream media to perpetuate the archetype of the unhinged killer woman through various genres and to varying degrees of subversion.

“You may continue your career for ten years. Ten years of perfect, unchanged beauty. But at the end of that time, before people start to become suspicious, you have to disappear from public view forever.”

“Call them witches, burn them, torture them, until every woman is afraid. Afraid of herself... afraid of men... and all for what? Fear of losing their hard-on.”

Using an array of contemporary and classic horror films, this presentation will explore how the horror genre has become a space where the beautiful and the grotesque comingle to create meaningful and unique cultural narratives of resistance.

“Poor little hysterical witch! In the middle ages you were in conflict with the church. Now it is with the law.”

This lecture will explore a variety of the genre’s depictions of hell, and how those cinematic depictions correspond with contemporary belief systems of sin, punishment and justice.

“Well, you’re young and healthy. You ought to have lots of children!”

Set in the 1957, an unmarried, pregnant conwoman seeks refuge in a southern convent where she is forced to atone for her sins. Protected within the confines of what first appears to be an ideal environment to raise her child, Mother Superior’s house of God descends into terror as the nuns inflict psychological warfare and brutal violence upon their unholy captives.

Ben Wickey will host a screening of two of his own animated shorts – "The House of Seven Gables" based on Nathaniel Hawthorne's famous novel, and "The Homecoming" based on a short story by Ray Bradbury. He will also host a Q&A after.