Follow HIFF on Facebook for updates!
BECOME A SPONSOR!
HALLOWEEN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS OCT. 23-24, 2026!
The Halloween International Film Festival returns to the historic and haunted Outer Banks of North Carolina for its 7th incarnation in October 2026, continuing its celebration of the unkillable spirit of independent filmmaking, as well as the strange, the unusual, and all the magic and wonder of the most hallowed of seasons.
The festival features two days and nights packed with independent horror and Halloween-themed shorts and feature films from around the world. In addition to selected film screenings, the festival also showcases Q&A panels with attending filmmakers, nightly meet and greets, photo ops on the Orange Carpet, and more, all once again taking place as part of the town of Manteo’s Halloween Island festivities, during which area restaurants, bars, and hotels transform into Halloween pop-ups for October.
This year’s festival takes place in the indoor theater at Roanoke Island Festival Park, where history comes alive with in-character costumed interpreters and interactive exhibits exploring the earliest English colonists to arrive on these shores and the mystery of The Lost Colony, anchored by the Elizabeth II, a working life-size replica of a 16th Century sailing ship.
Known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, North Carolina’s Outer Banks is recognized as one of the most haunted places in America, with thousands of shipwrecks resting off the coast of these barrier islands. Roanoke Island, where Manteo and Festival Park are located, is the site of the ill fated first English settlement in North America in 1587, and its more than 100 colonists that vanished without explanation, today referred to as The Lost Colony, America’s first unsolved mystery.
Film submissions are now open on FilmFreeway.
The 7th Halloween International Film Festival is happening October 23-24, 2026 at Roanoke Island Festival Park in Manteo, on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, sponsored by the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, Weird Darkness, Let’s Talk Terror, Haunted Pamlico, and Backwoods Haunt, and presented by Halloween Daily News and OBX Entertainment.
Additional details on tickets, selected films, lodging discounts, and more will be revealed soon.
Follow HIFF on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/halloweenfilmfestival
Submit a film: https://filmfreeway.com/HalloweenFilmFestival
RSVP on the official Facebook event page.
Our call for entries officially opened on Friday, March 13, accepting short film and feature film submissions for consideration for the 2026 Halloween International Film Festival exclusively via FilmFreeway. Click here to submit a film.
Early Deadline – March 31
Spring Deadline – May 31
Summer Deadline – July 13
Final Deadline – August 13
ATTEND
GET TICKETS HERE SOON!
See highlights from the 2025 Halloween International Film Festival here.
OFFICIAL HIFF SHIRTS AVAILABLE!
Support the Halloween International Film Festival by owning t-shirts from throughout our history, each featuring that year’s official poster on the front and all of the selected films listed on the back, and we just launched our 2025 t-shirt!
Order HIFF 2016 (inaugural) shirt here.
NEW! Order HIFF 2025 shirt here.
OUR 2026 SPONSORS
FOUR SEA-SONS BEACH COTTAGE VACATION RENTAL
OUTER BANKS HALLOWEEN PARADE
CONTACT US ABOUT SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
SIGN UP FOR EMAIL UPDATES
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Held on North Carolina’s historic and haunted Outer Banks, home of America’s first unsolved mystery, the Lost Colony of Roanoke Island, and the nearby site of the Wright Brothers’ first flight, this destination event features three days of independent genre films from around the world, as well as networking opportunities and extensive media exposure.
Founded in 2016 by Matt and Sue Artz, the Halloween International Film Festival is a Gold-ranked festival on the world’s top film festival submission platform, FilmFreeway.
Previous Official Selections include The Barn (2016 Best Halloween Film and Best Feature Film Award Winner), 3 Dead Trick or Treaters, 10/31, The Haunt (2017 Best Halloween Film Award Winner), Haunters: The Art of the Scare (2018 Best Halloween Film Award Winner), Epic Home Haunts (2019 Breakthrough Filmmaker Award Winner), They Live Inside Us (2020 Best Halloween Film), Mass Hysteria (2020 Best Feature Film), and Haunt Season (2025 Best Feature Film).
Special screenings from previous years include Honeyspider, The Houses October Built 2, Candy Corn, the world premieres of 10/31 Part II and Sharp Candy, and the Paramount original horror film Shell.
Studios who previously participated in special screenings at the festival include Paramount Pictures, Epic Pictures, and RLJ Entertainment.
Follow the Halloween Film Festival official Facebook page HERE!
_______________________________