This year’s Salem Horror Fest was the second annual event but the first one I had personally attended, and it became pretty clear to me from the moment I arrived in Salem earlier this month that it was going to be a new annual tradition. For starters, Salem is one of the coolest towns in the country, and THE absolute best place for a horror fan to be in October.

Throw the Salem Horror Fest on top that and, well, that’s horror heaven.

Salem Horror Fest 2018 was highlighted by the East Coast premiere of David Gordon Green’s Halloween, two weeks before its official release, as well as a 30th anniversary screening of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, which kicked off with a Q&A session with Elvira herself, Cassandra Peterson. In addition, TONS of horror movies were screened across two weeks, including Return of the Living Dead, Day of the Dead, Suspiria (1977) and The House of the Devil.

So when do we get to do it all again? The team just announced today that Salem Horror Fest 2019 will kick off on Thursday, October 3, running through Sunday, October 13, 2019!

Hotel availability and Airbnb rentals are extremely limited in Salem during October, so we strongly encourage you to book accommodations as soon as you can!