It’s officially October, meaning there’s a crisp chill in the air, the leaves are beginning to change, and we can celebrate Spooky Season (OK, well, we celebrate year-round — but we can focus on it more).
In 1997, cable TV station AMC debuted a week-long horror marathon, MonsterFest, which eventually morphed into FearFest in 2008, and now runs for an entire month. Freakish festivities kick off on Thursday, October 1, with a day full of Halloween franchise flicks. Graciously, AMC has a Halloween Hangover day of horror-filled-fun on Sunday, November 1 for folks like me who get a little sad when Halloween ends.
For 2026, AMC’s FearFest features a diverse roster, ranging from slasher series greats like Halloween, Friday the 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Final Destination to cult classics like Thir13en Ghosts, House of Wax, and Ghost Ship. You’ll find some fun marathons, some of which are based around franchises, while others are thematic, like creature features (Tremors, Lake Placid) or “Fear the ’80s” (Christine, The Lost Boys).
Check out the full AMC FearFest 2026 schedule below, and mark your calendars!
For more terrifying TV, peruse the Freeform 31 Nights of Halloween schedule.
Here’s how you can watch AMC without cable
Many folks — myself included — are cord cutters, having ditched cable. If you’re like me and want to watch AMC FearFest without cable, you’ve got several options. You can sign up for a cable replacement streaming service, like Sling TV, Hulu with Live TV, Philo, or YouTube TV.
Sling TV is the best value live television streaming service, while Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV are the best premium cable alternatives.
Thursday, October 1: Halloween Kickoff Marathon
- 11am: Halloween III: Season of the Witch
- 1pm: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
- 3pm: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
- 5pm: Halloween II (1981)
- 7pm: Halloween (1978)
- 9pm: TNA iMPACT!
- 11pm: Tales from the Crypt Marathon
Friday, October 2: Insidious Marathon
- 8pm: Insidious (15th Anniversary)
- 10:30pm: Insidious: Chapter 2
- 1am: Insidious: Chapter 3
Saturday, October 3: Stephen King Marathon
- 6:30am: Graveyard Shift
- 8:30am: Pet Sematary
- 10:30am: Silver Bullet
- 12:30pm: Stephen King’s It Part 1
- 2:45pm: Stephen King’s It Part 2
- 5pm: Christine
- 7pm: It (2017)
- 10pm: Carrie (2013)
- 12:15am: Misery
Sunday, October 4: Slasher Sunday
- 12:15pm: Halloween (2007)
- 2:45pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
- 5pm: Friday the 13th (1980)
- 7pm: Halloween II (1981)
- 9pm: The Terror: Devil In Silver Episode 103
Monday, October 5: Final Destination Marathon
- 8pm: Final Destination (2000)
- 10pm: Final Destination 2
- 12am: The Final Destination (2009)
Tuesday, October 6
- 5:45pm: Thir13een Ghosts
- 7:45pm: Ghost Ship
- 9:45pm: Jeepers Creepers
Wednesday, October 7: Chucky Marathon
- 3pm: Child’s Play 3
- 5pm: Child’s Play 2
- 7pm: Child’s Play (1988)
- 9pm: Bride of Chucky
- 11pm: Seed of Chucky
- 1am: Curse of Chucky
- 3am: Cult of Chucky
Thursday, October 8
- 4:30pm: Stephen King’s It Part 1
- 6:45pm: Stephen King’s It Part 2
- 9pm: TNA iMPACT!
- 11pm: Carrie (2013)
Friday, October 9: Run Michael, Run Marathon
- 1pm: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
- 3pm: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
- 5pm: Halloween II (1981)
- 7pm: Halloween (1978)
- 9pm: Halloween (2007)
- 11:30pm: Halloween II (2009)
Saturday, October 10: Creature Feature
- 11am: Leprechaun
- 1pm: Gremlins
- 3:30pm: The Fly
- 5:30pm: The Thing
- 8pm: Tremors
- 10pm: Lake Placid
- 12am: Cujo
Sunday, October 11: Stephen King Marathon
- 7am: Silver Bullet
- 9am: Children of the Corn
- 11:15am: Misery
- 1:45pm: Christine
- 3:45pm: Carrie
- 6pm: It (2017)
- 9pm: The Terror: Devil In Silver Episode 104
Monday, October 12: Nightmare of Freddy Marathon
- 11am: A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child
- 1pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master
- 3:15pm: Wes Craven’s New Nightmare
- 5:45pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
- 8pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
- 10:15pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
- 12:15am: A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
- 2:15am: Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare
Tuesday, October 13
- 5:30pm: House of Wax
- 8pm: Thir13en Ghosts
- 10pm: Ghost Ship
Wednesday, October 14
- 6pm: Halloween (1978)
- 8pm: Christine
- 10pm: It (2017)
Thursday, October 15
- 4pm: Halloween II (2009)
- 6:30pm: Halloween (2007)
- 9pm: TNA iMPACT!
- 11pm: Ghost Ship
Friday, October 16: Jason vs. Everyone Marathon
- Jason vs. Everyone Marathon:
- 10am: Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
- 12pm: Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
- 2pm: Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
- 4pm: Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
- 6pm: Friday the 13th (1980)
- 8pm: Friday the 13th Part 2
- 10pm: Friday the 13th Part III
Saturday, October 17: Final Destination Double Feature
- 7pm: Final Destination (2000)
- 9pm: Final Destination 2
Sunday, October 18: Freddy vs. Jason Marathon
- 6:15am: Friday the 13th Part III
- 8:15am: Friday the 13th (1980)
- 10:15am: Friday the 13th Part 2
- 12:15pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
- 2:30pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
- 4:30pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
- 6:45pm: Freddy vs Jason
- 9pm: The Terror: Devil in Silver Episode 105
Monday, October 19
- 5pm: From Dusk Till Dawn
- 7pm: Tremors
- 9pm: Jeepers Creepers
Tuesday, October 20
- 6pm: Friday the 13th (2009)
- 8pm: Halloween (2007)
- 10:30pm: Halloween II (2009)
Wednesday, October 21: Insidious Marathon
- 7pm: Insidious
- 9:30pm: Insidious: Chapter 2
- 12am: Insidious: Chapter 3
Thursday, October 22
- 5pm: Tremors
- 7pm: Lake Placid
- 9pm: TNA iMPACT!
- 11pm: Final Destination (2000)
Friday, October 23
- 5:45pm: Carrie
- 8pm: It (2017)
- 11pm: Silver Bullet
Saturday, October 24: Fear the 80s
- 7:30am: The Return of the Living Dead
- 9:30am: Cujo
- 11:30am: The Fly
- 1:30pm: Fright Night
- 4pm: The Lost Boys
- 6pm: Christine
- 8pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
- 10:15pm: Friday the 13th (1980)
- 12:15am: Halloween III: Season of the Witch
Sunday, October 25: Halloween Marathon
- 10:30am: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
- 12:30pm: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
- 2:30pm: Halloween (2007)
- 5pm: Halloween II (1981)
- 7pm: Halloween (1978)
- 9pm: The Terror: Devil In Silver Episode 106
Monday, October 26: Jason vs. Everyone Marathon
- 9am: Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
- 11am: Friday the 13th : A New Beginning
- 1pm: Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood
- 3pm: Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan
- 5pm: Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday
- 7pm: Friday the 13th (2009)
- 9pm: Friday the 13th (1980)
- 11pm: Friday the 13th Part 2
- 1am: Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter
- 3am: Friday the 13th Part III
Tuesday, October 27: A Nightmare of Freddy Marathon
- 4:45pm: Freddy vs. Jason
- 7pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
- 9:15pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge
- 11:15pm: A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
- 1:30am: A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
Wednesday, October 28: Final Destination Marathon
- 6pm: Final Destination (2000)
- 8pm: Final Destination 2
- 10pm: The Final Destination (2009)
Thursday, October 29
- 6pm: It (2017)
- 9pm: TNA iMPACT!
- 11pm: Thir13en Ghosts
Friday, October 30: Halloween on Halloween Marathon
- 4:30am: Halloween (1978)
- 6:30am: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
- 8:30am: Halloween II (2009)
- 11am: Halloween III: Season of the Witch
- 1pm: Halloween (1978)
- 3pm: Halloween II (1981)
- 5pm: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
- 7pm: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
- 9pm: Halloween (1978)
- 11pm: Halloween (2007)
- 1:30am: Halloween II (2009)
- 4am: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
Saturday, October 31: Halloween on Halloween Marathon
- 6am: Halloween II (1981)
- 8am: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
- 10am: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
- 12pm: Halloween II (2009)
- 2:30pm: Halloween III: Season of the Witch
- 4:30pm: Halloween (2007)
- 7pm: Halloween (1978)
- 9pm: Halloween II (1981)
- 11pm: Halloween (1978)
- 1am: Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
- 2am: Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
Sunday, November 1: Halloween Hangover
- 6am: Christine
- 8am: Halloween (1978)
- 10am: The Terminator
- 12:30pm: Predator
- 3pm: Men in Black
- 5pm: Men in Black II
- 7pm: Jurassic World: Dominion
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