October 31 is fast approaching and with it comes the tradition of Halloween, the night for frights and scares.
Whether it is carving out pumpkins, a frightening film fest or a dressing up party, people across Nashville and the United States will be looking to celebrate the festival of All Hallows’ Eve in their own special way. Sadly, events across Tennessee have fallen foul of recent restrictions but that does not mean people will not find ways to enjoy themselves.
The tradition of being frightened and scared on October 31 has become hugely popular and was long before the modern world made horror more accessible. In days gone by, a VHS videotape of Jason Voorhees of Friday the 13th or Michael Myers from Halloween would have to suffice, but in today’s world, fear is big business.
Horror and Halloween have become huge events online with streaming services and games helping reinforce and strengthen the genre. Horror gaming came to life on the fifth generation of consoles, where graphics and sound reached a level where they could be manipulated and developed for fear. Titles such as Silent Hill and Resident Evil broke the mold and they acted as catalysts for huge growth in the industry. Other game providers followed suit and horror can be found everywhere now. There are a range of horror-inspired slots on Foxy Games such as Ghost Glyph and Blood Moon Wilds, which play on the imagery of both Halloween and horror and upcoming titles such as Remothered: Broken Porcelain serve to underline the appeal. Streaming technology has also helped to make horror more accessible, with fans able to tap into a huge collection of films and series that are guaranteed to frighten them this Halloween.
We have selected the absolute best available to you right now, turning October into a month of scares, running right up to the 31st.
The Haunting of Bly Manor
The follow-up to The Haunting of Hill House delivers the sort of scares and jumps you expect from a good horror movie but has time to develop the characters over the course of a whole series. Horror is about tension, about building on the viewer’s fear and making them go away from the screen still spooked by what they saw; Bly Manor does that perfectly. It is a new series, it debuted on October 9, and as such is fresh and new as well as fearsome. It is loosely based on Henry James’s 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw and is a must for fans of the previous series.
Stranger Things
Some might argue that Stranger Things is more science fiction than horror but it takes the two genres and brings them together like never before. The crossover has produced some great cinema in the past, Alien being one such film that merged two styles. This creepy show, which runs to four series, has children disappearing without a trace, as well as scary monsters such as the Demogorgon and the Upside Down that will keep you awake well into the small hours.
Marianne
This French-language show might not be to everyone’s tastes, but if you are a fan of subtitled programs then it will scare you silly. A novelist returns to her hometown to discover that an evil spirit she writes about is real. It was a surprise hit in late 2019 and was criminally canceled after one series, but for eight episodes it will ensure you are well and truly terrified on October 31 and beyond.