Dayton Daily News

Halloween haunts on TV

Find classic flicks, cartoons and more.

- By Luaine Lee TNS

It’s that dark and stormy time of year again when things actually go bump in the night, ravens start tap, tap, tapping and scary monsters take a 10-month lease under your bed. Of course, TV is armed for the onslaught of Halloween with more choices than you can shake a witch’s broom at.

“The Simpsons” have returned on FoxNow and Hulu with that endless treehouse and its writhing limbs of terror on “Treehouse of Horror XXXII,” this time in five segments. One of the chapters emulates Edward Gorey’s deco animation and details Bart’s evil deeds throughout the year.

Jamie Lee Curtis is back as the indefatiga­ble Laurie Strode in her vendetta against the vicious Michael Myers in the latest incarnatio­n of the “Halloween” legacy, “Halloween Kills,” streaming now on Peacock. This time it’s not only Laurie, but her daughter ( Judy Greer) and granddaugh­ter (Andi Matichak) who are threatened by this unrelentin­g tormentor.

Spookmaste­r Svengoolie will spin “Frankenste­in Meets the Space Monster,” on Oct. 30 via MeTV.

The nostalgia network will also feature Halloween segments from now-classic series like “Leave it to Beaver,” “The Carol Burnett Show” and “M*A*S*H” the entire creepy weekend. And it will serve a gaggle of unnerving Looney Tunes on its morning show, “Toon in with Me.”

Paramount+ casts its spell with its next “Paranormal Activity” film, “Next of Kin,” arriving Oct. 29. This is the haunting tale of a

young woman who seeks info from an Amish community only to realize that something evil may be lurking under their pristine kapps.

Even the Science Channel goes civilian with its search for the “Lost City of the Monkey God,” premiering Oct. 31. Tales of this mystical city have disturbed scientists and explorers for eons. Buried deep in the rain forest of Honduras, the “Lost City” documentar­y follows explorer Steve Elkins and a team of scientists in their quest to unearth this unearthly treasure.

R.L. Stine’s graphic novel is the source of the Disney+ series, “Just Beyond,” complete with eight eerie episodes. Each one dives into a fresh story with new characters who must travel a dark and perilous journey of discovery complicate­d by aliens, ghosts and witches, oh my!

Mira Sorvino and Anna Sophia

Robb co-star in a sci-fi thriller, “The Expecting” arriving on Oct. 29 on Roku. And Joan Crawford gets seriously roused on TCM in the classic “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane,” Sunday at 8 p.m. ET. This is followed by her more “restrained” performanc­e in “Strait-Jacket” at 10:30 p.m.

Of course, TCM has littered the entire month with classic horror flicks including Bela Lugosi’s “Dracula” on Oct. 27 at 9:45 p.m., “Frankenste­in” on Oct. 30 at 8 p.m., “Night of the Living Dead” on Oct. 29 at 10 p.m., Jacques Tourneur’s 1942 classic, “Cat People” at midnight Oct. 31 and the ultimate shocker, “Psycho,” on Oct. 31 at 8 p.m.

AMC figures the ’80s were rife with horror flicks and will celebrate them in a weekend marathon beginning Saturday, including “The Fly,” “Poltergeis­t,” “Pet

 ?? DISNEY+ ?? The Muppets are starring in their first-ever Halloween special, “Muppets Haunted Mansion” streaming on Disney+. With a cast of colorful Muppet characters, (and some cameos) the story finds Gonzo and his pal Pepe the Prawn doomed to spend the night in the haunted mansion.
DISNEY+ The Muppets are starring in their first-ever Halloween special, “Muppets Haunted Mansion” streaming on Disney+. With a cast of colorful Muppet characters, (and some cameos) the story finds Gonzo and his pal Pepe the Prawn doomed to spend the night in the haunted mansion.
 ?? UNIVERSAL PICTURES RYAN GREEN / ?? Jamie Lee Curtis (left) and Judy Greer fight Michael Myers in “Halloween Kills,” directed by David Gordon Green and streaming now on Peacock.
UNIVERSAL PICTURES RYAN GREEN / Jamie Lee Curtis (left) and Judy Greer fight Michael Myers in “Halloween Kills,” directed by David Gordon Green and streaming now on Peacock.
 ?? CONTRIBUTE­D ?? MeTV will feature Halloween segments from classic TV series like this from “The Carol Burnett Show” all Halloween weekend.
CONTRIBUTE­D MeTV will feature Halloween segments from classic TV series like this from “The Carol Burnett Show” all Halloween weekend.
 ?? CONTRIBUTE­D ?? Simone Simon stars in Jacques Tourneur’s classic “Cat People,” airing at midnight on Oct. 31 on TCM.
CONTRIBUTE­D Simone Simon stars in Jacques Tourneur’s classic “Cat People,” airing at midnight on Oct. 31 on TCM.

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