If you’re like us, you crave some spook-filled programming during the chilly nights leading up to Halloween. What follows is a list of TV treats — some new and some familiar — airing from today up through fright night.
You can decide whether you want to watch them with the lights on or not.
Saturday
“Resident Evil: The Final Chapter” (8 p.m., Starz): Milla Jovovich’s zombie-fighting heroine takes fans on one last terrifying thrill ride.
“The David S. Pumpkins Halloween Special” (11:30 p.m., NBC): Last year’s “Haunted Elevator” sketch featuring Tom Hanks as mystery man David S. Pumpkins was so popular that it has been turned into an animated special. It features the voice of Hanks, who will also appear on camera at the beginning of the half-hour.
Sunday
“It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” (8 p.m., ABC): Oh, those poor Peanuts kids: Charlie Brown gets nothing but rocks in his trick-or-treat bag and Linus gets stood up again by the Great Pumpkin. Good grief, indeed.
“The Watcher in the Woods” (8 p.m., Lifetime): Anjelica Huston stars as the mysterious owner of an ominous English manor in executive producer Melissa Joan Hart’s remake of the 1980s Disney cult classic.
“Poltergeist” (8 p.m., FXX): It’s baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack. Steve Spielberg’s 1982 ghost story still has the power to give us the creeps.
“The Walking Dead” (9 p.m., AMC): Last week’s Season 8 opener set the table for all-out war. This week in “The Damned,” the battle plan involving the Alexandrians, Kingdommers and Hilltoppers unfolds. As Rick continues to fight, he encounters a familiar face. (We assume that it’s not the bushy-bearded Old Man Rick face).
“Halloween Wars” (9 p.m., Food Network): The culinary competition comes to an end as the final two teams compete in one last showdown.
“The Shining” (9 p.m., Spike): Jack Nicholson is back to haunt your dreams in this classic 1980 adaptation of the Stephen King thriller.
Monday
“The Sixth Sense” (6:30 p.m., Syfy): You and Bruce Willis will see dead people (again) in M. Night Shyamalan’s 1999 horror-thriller.
“American Masters — Edgar Allan Poe: Buried Alive” (9 p.m., PBS): This new documentary vows to tell the “real story” of the notorious author best known for his Gothic horror tales and eerie poem “The Raven.” The film insists that the images of Poe as a drug-addled madman akin to the narrators of his horror stories are mostly fabricated and can be attributed, in large part, to a high-profile obituary filled with falsehoods. Denis O’Hare (“American Horror Story”) stars as Poe, and Kathleen Turner narrates.
“Halloween” (9:30 p.m., AMC): Jamie Lee Curtis does battle with the escaped maniac Michael Myers in this iconic 1978 slasher film. (Also airs at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on AMC).
Tuesday (Halloween)
“Hocus Pocus” marathon (Noon-11 p.m., Freeform): Get your fill of the 1993 comedy horror film starring Bette Midler, Kathy Najimy and Sarah Jessica Parker as a trio of witches.
“Beetlejuice” marathon (Noon, Sundance TV): Tim Burton’s 1988 comedy fantasy featuring Michael Keaton as a devious ghost comes back to haunt us over and over.
“The Haunting” (6:30 p.m., TCM): Released way back in 1963, this film — based on a Shirley Jackson novel — is still considered one of the most frightening psychological ghost stories ever made.
“This Is Us” (9 p.m., NBC): In tonight’s episode, trick-or-treating with the 10-year-olds goes awry for Jack and Rebecca. Also, Randall, Kevin and Kate experience life-changing Halloweens.
“American Horror Story: Cult” (10 p.m., FX): The season continues with Episode 9 — “Drink the Kool-Aid.”
