I love the fall. The weather’s tolerable, I can load up on fall staples like pumpkin pie and apple cider, Halloween’s just around the corner, and most importantly…it’s time to watch a shitload of horror movies. ‘Tis the reason for the season! I remember growing up and being able to find a horror movie on most TV channels throughout October, no matter what time of day it was.

Sadly, this is no longer the case. Don’t get me wrong; there’s still some of them airing, but it just doesn’t seem to be the overload of years past. This may be because while we had a horror movie renaissance in the 1970s and 1980s, by the end of the latter decade, horror movies were back in the toilet. There were a few good ones in the 1990s, but not the onslaught of creativity and scarefests we’d seen before. So, as a result, we don’t see as much on TV anymore.

That sucks ass. I’ve got a small collection or horror films on DVD, but it’s not the same. I want to be able to have some random chapter of Friday the 13th or whatever playing in the background at all times! And don’t give me that “it’s inappropriate for children” bullshit. I watched ‘em all growing up (often in their edited-for-TV glory), and I turned out just fine. Halloween may be turning into a commercialized mess like too many other holidays, but damn it, give us our fill our slasher flicks and monster movies! The kids get to trick-or-treat and get candy; we get to hang out and watch evil genies make people cough up mutated entrails.

Fortunately, X-Entertainment and I-Mockery both run massive Halloween celebrations every year, featuring cool stuff like the Halloween Countdown and The Greatest Horror Movie Moments. It’s a far cry from watching little furry carnivores roll into a ball and eat people, but it’s something.