While these movies are not free — most have an entry fee of $5 or more — these are opportunities to watch spooky movies, or movies that aren’t normally available on the big screen.
Near the bottom, town and library movie showings are listed, with many of them free; age restrictions may apply for these public events.
Movie showings below are included in random order. Check cinema/venue showtimes directly for movies by calendar date. If close-to-home location is most important to you, search movie showtimes on your local cinema’s website, town parks and rec news, and library calendars.
Raleigh Road Outdoor Theatre
On Saturday, October 13, 2018, 5:30pm-until, enjoy a Halloween-themed night with children’s activities and three films for $5-8 per person (price based on age). Raleigh Road Outdoor Theatre — one of a handful of drive-ins still running — is hosting their annual Halloween Spook-fest.
The drive in will open at 5pm. Settle in, and the event will start at 5:30pm. Children will be invited to “trunk or treat” and those who wish to hand out sealed candies/treats should bring them along and set up before 5:30pm. Other activities/games are planned for children and adults.
Participate in the Costume Contests — one for adults and one for children — with prizes awarded for scariest costume, best due/trio, and most creative costume.
Don’t want to wear a costume? How about your car? A Car Costume Contest will judge for “best decorated vehicles” with prizes awarded.
Once the festivities wind down, the movies will begin, with “Trippple Feature” night — three movies for one price. Movies planned are:
- Monster House (PG) @ 7:30 pm
- Venom (PG-13) @ 9:15 pm
- The Predator (2018) (R) @ 11:30 pm
Raleigh Road Outdoor Theatre is located at 3336 Raleigh Road, Henderson NC. The drive-in is open weekends throughout the month, with most nights showing two movies for: $8 per adult (12 & older), $5 per child (ages 3-11), and under 3 free. Visit the Raleigh Road Outdoor Theatre at www.raleighroaddrivein.com.
If you haven’t been to a drive-in for a while, or it’s your first visit, read their special instructions on what to expect and what you might bring with you for comfort.
Retro Film Series at The Carolina Theatre of Durham
Old-school scare films planned at this venue include Death Becomes Her and The Craft (October 19, 2018 @ 7-11pm), John Carpenter’s The Thing and They Live (October 26-27, 2018 @ 7-11pm).
The Carolina Theatre of Durham is located at 309 W Morgan Street, Durham NC. Tickets for double feature nights in the Retro Film Series are $9.50. See Retro Film Series information and “Schedule” link at www.carolinatheatre.org/films/festivals/retro-film-series-20th-anniversary.
Alamo Drafthouse Raleigh
The theatre-restaurant-brews venue has many “October Specialty Screenings” planned. October movies vary widely from The Shining to Rebecca, Tremors, Halloween, and more — with Beetlejuice (7:15pm) and Suspiria (9:30pm) on-screen Halloween night (Wednesday, October 31, 2018).
Visit the Alamo Drafthouse Raleigh website for October movie dates and tickets: drafthouse.com/raleigh. (Be sure to purchase tickets for the appropriate theatre location, as Alamo has many locations.)
Library Movies in October
East Regional Library (Knightdale NC): A family movie night is scheduled for Sunday, October 21, 2018, 2-4pm, showing A Wrinkle in Time (2018, PG-13). East Regional Library is located at 946 Steeple Square Court, Knightdale NC. This event is designed for kids in grades K-5 and their families. In addition to the movie, attendees will be invited to create with Legos. See East Regional Library events here.
Braswell Memorial Library (Rocky Mount NC): Crafts & Movie event with an opportunity to create, and then watch Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation during this children’s program. Scheduled for Saturday, October 20, 2018, 1-3pm, screening will be in the Youth Services Area at Braswell Memorial Library, 727 N Grace Street, Rocky Mount NC. The library is online here.
Also at Braswell: Interactive Movie Night is scheduled for Tuesday, October 30, 2018, 5:30-7:30pm, and the library adult program will be showing Hocus Pocus. This event will be held in the Computer Lab.
Community Movie Showings
Nashville NC Fall Fest and Movie: On Friday, October 26, 2018, starting at 4pm, the fun is happening at the HD Cooley Library, 114 W Church Street, Nashville NC. Enjoy games, trick-or-treating, a pet adoption event, and more. Get your face painted or a glitter tattoo. Once the sun sets, hunker down in the parking lot for a free movie showing: Hocus Pocus. Enjoy a “Movie Under the Stars” outside the library with popcorn and community. See the Town of Nashville’s Parks and Rec calendar.
Monster Movie Marathon: On Saturday, October 27, 2018, 9am-6pm, head to the library for this free event, no registration required, will be held at the Wilson County Public Library’s main library, 249 Nash Street W, Wilson NC. Celebrate Halloween early with the Wilson County Public Library with an all-day movie marathon of classic black-and-white horror films. Attendees may bring a lunch. The library will be serving free popcorn and lemonade to movie watchers. (Movie ratings: unrated due to age.) The library is online at www1.youseemore.com/wilsoncountypl.
Clayton Harvest Festival: Halloween Night: On Wednesday, October 31, 2018, 5-9pm*, festival planners and Clayton Chamber of Commerce have loads of events planned, costumes, trunk-or-treat, hot dogs, contests, midway, plus a free movie showing at Town Square of Hotel Transylvania. Festival events span Halloween and several days following, taking over Clayton NC. See the Clayton Harvest Festival Facebook page for the event details and a number of posts describing the different parts of the festival, and what’s planned for each day. Note: *Time change.
Trunk or Treat with Movie Night: On Friday, October 26, 2018, 5:30-8pm(ish), families may enjoy trunk-or-treating from cars around Knightdale Station Park, 810 N First Avenue, Knightdale NC, and then watch Hotel Transylvania on the outdoor screen starting around 7pm. This is a free event. Children may wear costumes, or not, and a food truck will be at the park offering food for sale. To participate as one of the trunks handing out treats, contact Susie Paschal. There will be a vehicle contest. See www.knightdalenc.gov/trunk-or-treat-movie-night.
Unusual Movie Option
Online movie nights with Raleigh-based A/V Geeks, which shows old 16mm films on themed nights. Movies may be watched from your home computer or device. See their Facebook page for event dates. While many dates are watch-from-where-you-are and are free, the A/V geeks also hold movie nights at area venues and locations are noted on each event.
A/V Geeks doesn’t have a spooky movie night planned this October, they are holding a joint event with the Raleigh Road Outdoor Theatre (at the drive-in) where they will show Schoolhouse Rock on October 25, 2018.
Coming in November/December
Paramount Theatre
The Paramount Theatre, located at 139 S Center Street, Goldsboro NC, not only shows movies, it hosts stage productions year-round. The Paramount will be showing holiday movies during its Paramount Movie Nights in December. Visit their website for details and tickets, or their History page to learn more about this venue.
