Halloween International Film Festival

Overview

The Halloween International Film Festival is a destination horror event celebrating independent film and the most hallowed of seasons, returning to the historic and haunted Outer Banks of North Carolina, on October 23-24, 2026, presented by Halloween Daily News. The multi-day festival features independent horror and Halloween-themed films from around the world, as well as networking opportunities and extensive media exposure, all 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. The 2026 event takes place at Roanoke Island Festival Park in Downtown Manteo, NC. Our new host venue includes a 3,150-square-foot theater with 240 seats and a massive projection screen, as well as a spacious lobby. In addition to selected shorts and feature films screened, the festival also showcases Q&A panels with attending filmmakers, nightly meet and greets, photo ops on our Orange Carpet, and more. Hotel discounts and complimentary passes are available for attending filmmakers/cast/crew. 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 is located, is the site of the ill fated first English settlement in North America, and its more than 100 colonists that vanished without explanation in 1590, today referred to as The Lost Colony. All Official Selections will receive publicity on Halloween Daily News, with many festival Q&As and panels to be broadcast to more than 81,000 subscribers on the Halloween Daily News YouTube channel, and will be exposed to a reach of more than a million genre fans through the expanded Halloween Daily News network and social media. Our 2026 Sponsors: The Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, Four Sea Sons Beach Cottage Rental, Gallop Funeral Services, Weird Darkness, Let's Talk Terror, Haunted Hill Farm, Haunted Pamlico Carnival of Darkness, Backwoods Haunt, Lack Hickory Haunts, Halloween Island, Halloween & Costume Association, United Bank, and the Outer Banks Halloween Parade. 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), 'Haunters: The Art of the Scare' (2018 Best Halloween Film), 'Epic Home Haunts' (2019 Breakthrough Filmmaker award winner), 'Mass Hysteria' (2020 Best Feature Film), 'They Live Inside Us' (2020 Best Halloween Film), 'Groupchat' (2025 Best International Film), and 'Haunt Season' (2025 Best Feature Film). Studios who previously participated in special screenings at the festival include Paramount Pictures, Epic Pictures, and RLJ Entertainment. The mission of the Halloween International Film Festival is to promote the artistry of independent films made in the spirit of creativity, support the future of cinema by providing exposure for talented visionary filmmakers, and celebrate a collective passion for Halloween. It is a networking event for industry professionals, and a fan experience unlike any other in the region. The Outer Banks of North Carolina is the site of America’s first mystery, The Lost Colony of Roanoke Island, the true story of the first English colonists to land in the new world only to mysteriously vanish without explanation in 1590. The Outer Banks is also where the Wright Brothers launched mankind toward the stars with the first powered flight in 1903, in what is now the town of Kill Devil Hills.

Last updated Sep 4, 2026

Legitimacy Analysis

Trust Signals

Festival Details

FilmFreeway communityGold festival

• Filmmaker

  Sue and Matt Artz (and their team) are very hospitable folks who are passionate about indie horror. If you’re an indie horror filmmaker, do yourself a favor and submit to them. The Outer Banks is also a BEAUTIFUL backdrop to the whole thing, so go to the beach while you’re at it!

• Filmmaker

  I loved the spooky vibe! Great venue.

• Filmmaker

  Really wonderful festival! Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend in person, but the communication was great, and the constant promotion of our film "Horror Spell" before the event was fantastic. Felt very welcomed from the start!

• Filmmaker

  I had the best time bringing Haunt Season to HIFF. The screenings were wonderful, the Q&As were really fun, and it’s a unique opportunity to gather with other filmmakers and an audience who all revere the very best holiday. Just a great time.

• Filmmaker

  The Halloween International Film Festival was a great experience! They're communication was timely and clear, they're branding anf online presence is rad, and they we're very kind! Highly recommend!

FilmFreeway reviews are filmmaker opinions, not our score. Cross-check red flags before paying fees.

Related Festivals in United States