The 2026 Halloween Countdown: 31 days of horror to watch and play

Published Oct 1, 2026, 9:58 AM EDT A full month of spooktacular recommendations to stream in October Let's just say it: BOO! The spooky kind of boo. Halloween season is back, and so is Polygon’s annual Halloween Countdown. Horror hardly needs October’s help in 2026. Obsession, Backrooms, Resident Evil, Camp Miasma, and Shudder's monthly drop mean the year is already overflowing with nightmares. So for our sixth annual countdown, we’ll be chasing cult favorites, forgotten films, strange discoveries, and a strain of horror that gets under your skin. Movies and TV are only part of it this time. Games, books, internet oddities, and anything else capable of delivering a real jolt are on the table. No tricks, all treat. Get your fill of horror with us all month long. Check back daily. (But if want 31 recs right away, check out the 2025 edition.) Oct. 1: The Beyond There’s gross, there’s sick, and then there’s goremaster Lucio Fulci’s horror masterpiece Image: Grindhouse Releasing Image: Grindhouse Releasing Part of Fulci’s unofficial “gates of Hell” trilogy (along with City of the Living Dead and The House of the Cemetery), The Beyond centers on Liza (Katherine MacColl), a down-and-out lady from New York City who moves to New Orleans to renovate and reopen the Seven Doors Hotel. Unfortunately, the hotel is named as such because it sits atop one of the seven gates of Hell. Whoops! Read Article >