The evil clown, also known as the killer clown, is a subversion of the traditional comic clown character, in which the playful trope is instead depicted in a more disturbing nature through the use of horror elements and dark humor. The modern archetype of the evil clown was popularized by DC Comics character the Joker starting in 1940 and again by Pennywise in Stephen King's It. The character can be seen as playing on the sense of unease felt by sufferers of coulrophobia, the fear of clowns.
Robert Barton Englund is an American actor and director, best known for playing the supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street film series. Classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Englund began his career as a stage actor in regional theatre, and made his film debut in Buster and Billie in 1974. After supporting roles in films in the 1970s such as Stay Hungry, A Star Is Born, and Big Wednesday, Englund had his breakthrough as the resistance fighter Willie in the miniseries V in 1983. Following his performance in the original A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984, he became closely associated with the horror film genre, and is widely-regarded as one of its iconic actors.
Jordan Ladd is an American actress. The daughter of actress Cheryl Ladd and producer David Ladd, she initially worked with her mother in several made-for-television films, before making her big screen debut at 19, in the vampire film Embrace of the Vampire (1994). She subsequently appeared in the drama Nowhere (1997) and the comedy Never Been Kissed (1999). Ladd became known as a scream queen, having appeared in several successful horror films, including Cabin Fever (2002), Club Dread (2004), Death Proof (2007), and Grace (2009). Ladd is also known for work with director David Lynch appearing in his films Darkened Room (2002) and Inland Empire (2006).
Treehouse of Horror is an annual series of special Halloween-themed episodes of the animated sitcom The Simpsons, with 33 anthology episodes between 1990 and 2022. Also known as The Simpsons Halloween Specials, each episode typically consists of three separate, self-contained segments. Each segment involves the Simpson family in some comical horror, science fiction, or supernatural setting; plot elements operate beyond the show's normal continuity, with segments exaggeratedly more morbid and violent than a typical Simpsons episode.
Screamfest Horror Film Festival is a horror film festival founded by film producers Rachel Belofsky and Ross Martin in August 2001. It runs over ten days during the month of October and is hosted at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Los Angeles, California. In 2015, the festival celebrated its fifteenth anniversary and has been credited as being the largest and longest running horror film festival in the United States. The 2016 Screamfest was from October 18 through the 27.
Trick 'r Treat is a 2007 American anthology horror comedy film written and directed by Michael Dougherty and produced by Bryan Singer. The film stars Dylan Baker, Rochelle Aytes, Anna Paquin and Brian Cox. It relates four Halloween horror stories with a common element in them: Sam, a trick-or-treating demon wearing orange footie pajamas with a burlap sack over his head. The character makes an appearance in each of the stories whenever one of the other characters breaks a Halloween tradition.
Patrick Lussier is a Canadian-American filmmaker and editor, known for his numerous collaborations with director Wes Craven and fellow screenwriters Laeta Kalogridis and Todd Farmer, as well as his work in the horror genre.
Kaitlin Janette Doubleday is an American actress. She played a number of supporting film roles in her early career, including in Waiting... (2005) and Accepted (2006). From 2015 to 2016, she starred as Rhonda Lyon in the Fox musical prime time soap opera Empire. In 2017, Doubleday joined the cast of CMT musical drama series Nashville, playing Jessie Caine. In 2019, she appeared as the lead in Christmas at Graceland: Home for the Holidays.
Patrick Melton is an American screenwriter, producer and novelist.
Axelle Carolyn is a Belgian filmmaker and former actress and journalist.
Adam J. Yeend is an Australian actor/producer best known for his roles in Offing David, Liz & Dick and Holding the Man, and producer of the 2014 feature film Lust for Love as well as the horror series Scary Endings. He was born in The Blue Mountains, Australia and resides in Los Angeles.
Channel Zero is an American horror anthology television series created by Nick Antosca, who serves as writer, showrunner, and executive producer. The series was greenlit for two 6-episode, self-contained seasons, which aired in late 2016 and late 2017 on Syfy. The storylines for the series are based on popular creepypastas. On February 9, 2017, Syfy renewed the series for a third and fourth season.
Skypemare is a 2013 American viral horror / thriller short film. It was written and directed by John Fitzpatrick, and stars 'scream queen' Cerina Vincent and Annika Marks. The film premiered at the 2013 Telluride Horror Show and followed multiple film festival screenings including Shriekfest and Screamfest. The short premiered online Halloween 2014 and became a viral YouTube short receiving over 1.5 million views. The same production team made a follow-up film Brentwood Strangler released in 2016.
Brentwood Strangler is a 2015 holiday-themed horror short film. It was written and directed by John Fitzpatrick following the success of his first short Skypemare, and stars 'scream queen' Jordan Ladd and Australian actor Adam J. Yeend in the title role. The film premiered December 2015 at the A Night of Horror Film Festival in Sydney, Australia, and had its U.S. premiere in early 2016 at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival in Los Angeles where it won the jury award for Best Genre Short. The film has received critical acclaim from the independent horror community with multiple online reviews citing Fitzpatrick's writing, and the chemistry between the two leads. The film has screened at multiple festivals and horror conventions around the world including Shriekfest, Horrible Imaginings Film Festival, FilmQuest, and at Phoenix Comicon where it won the audience award for 'Best Horror'. The producing team went on to make the popular online series Scary Endings which is currently in its second season.
Rebekah McKendry is an American film director, producer, film journalist, and academic. She is best known for her work on Tales of Halloween (2015) and All the Creatures Were Stirring (2017).
Into the Dark is an American horror anthology streaming television series produced for Hulu. The first season premiered on October 5, 2018, and consists of twelve feature-length episodes of television films. Into the Dark was renewed for a second season, which premiered on October 4, 2019, and also consists of twelve episodes.
"The Body" is an episode of American horror anthology web television series Into the Dark that aired as the first episode of the show's first season. It originally premiered in the United States on October 5, 2018, on Hulu. The episode was directed by Paul Davis from a script he co-wrote with Paul Fischer, based on the 2013 short film of the same name also written by the duo. It stars Tom Bateman, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Aurora Perrineau, David Hull, Ray Santiago, Harvey Guillén, and Max Adler.
Creepshow is an American horror anthology streaming television series that was released on Shudder in 2019. The series serves as a continuation of the 1982 film of the same name and features seventeen episodes with two horror stories per episode. The series premiered on September 26, 2019.
Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities is a horror anthology streaming television series created by Guillermo del Toro for Netflix. It features eight modern horror stories in the traditions of the Gothic and Grand Guignol genres. Two are co-written by del Toro himself, while the others are written and directed by various filmmakers. It premiered on October 25, 2022, and received generally positive reviews.
