Morrow: Halloween programming to haunt us starting Friday

Frightful programming will haunt most cable schedules a full week before Halloween.

AMC, as usual, has the most ambitious — a full week marathon of chilling movies. “FearFest” gets underway on Friday and will continue through Halloween, Oct. 31. More than 50 movies will be featured, including “The Fly,” “Dracula” and “The Shining.”

Three “AMC Celebrates” specials, highlighting particular cinematic contributions to the genre, will focus on the 30th anniversaries of “Alien” and “The Amityville Horror” plus the 35th anniversary of “Young Frankenstein.”

Halloween will spotlight a digitally re-mastered “Night of the Living Dead,” airing at 6 p.m.

Cloris Leachman, Margot Kidder, George Romero, Lance Henrikson and special effects producer Shane Mahan will help host the marathon.

Over on Spike TV, horror is given applause with the annual “Scream Awards,” honoring the best of the genre in TV and films. Honorees include the cast of “Twilight,” Marvel Comics icon Stan Lee, “True Blood” and “Battlestar Galactica.”

“The Scream Awards” gets underway at 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Seeking a more family friendly fright? NBC will air the “Monsters vs. Aliens” spin-off “Monsters vs. Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space.” The animated comedy will feature the voices of Seth Rogan, Reese Witherspoon and Rainn Wilson.

“Mutant Pumpkins” will invade the schedule at 8 p.m. Wednesday.

If you need even more chills, the Travel Channel will have a live seven-hour investigation of the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in Weston, W. Va. The special will air from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. EST on Oct. 31.

Three “ghost adventurers” will lock themselves inside the facility and try to detect if any paranormal activity develops.

Other highlights for the week of Oct. 25 to 31 (all times Eastern; Listings subject to change; Check local listings):

SUNDAY

-- “Dexter” (9 p.m. Showtime). Dexter’s wife begins to suspect she doesn’t know him quite as well as she thinks. Well, duh. She’s unwittingly married a serial killer.

MONDAY

-- “Cake Boss” (10 p.m. TLC). Season two begins with the harried life of a family running a bakery in New Jersey.

-- “No Excuses” (10 p.m. VH1). Master P conducts an intervention for a former gang member in Los Angeles.

WEDNESDAY

-- “Friday Night Lights” (9 p.m. DirecTV’s 101 Channel). A fourth season opens with Coach Taylor trying rebuilding his reputation with a new team.

THURSDAY

-- “The League” (10:30 p.m. FX). A group of male friends get a little too caught up in their fantasy football league in this new sitcom.

FRIDAY

-- “Invitation Only: Brooks & Dunn” (10 p.m. CMT). The country duo is featured in this performance special, taped just a few days after they announced their split.

SATURDAY

-- “Ghost Hunters” (9 a.m. SyFy). A marathon of the ghost-seeking reality series will stretch out all day long.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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