With Halloween, haunted houses, creepy corn mazes, and horror movie marathons, October is synonymous with spooky season. And when it comes to spooky season movies, that means horror. In fact, there’s even a holiday to commemorate the pastime: Oct. 23 is National Horror Movie Day. And what better way to celebrate than to check out a slate of horror movies filmed in North Carolina?
While horror is my favorite film genre, it’s also the most divisive. In addition to splitting audiences, horror movies are underrepresented at major awards shows because they are widely considered low-brow, rather than cinematic art. A notable exception to this rule? The 1991 blockbuster, “The Silence of the Lambs.” It won all of the “big five” at the 1992 Academy Awards, including “Best Picture.” This win secured the genre’s first—and only—horror film to earn that distinction.
This holiday blends two of my very favorite things: October and horror movies. I’m adding North Carolina, another favorite of mine, to the mix. In honor of National Horror Movie Day, I’ve compiled a list of horror movies filmed in North Carolina that belong in the cinematic canon.
From cult classics and chilling indie flicks to those that’ve spawned mammoth franchises, these 9 morbid movies filmed in NC are perfect to enjoy on National Horror Movie Day.
Cult favorites
1. “Evil Dead II”
The 1987 sequel to the iconic 1981 original, “The Evil Dead,” “Evil Dead II” uniquely blends horror and humor for a delightfully Gonzo effect and helped create a beloved franchise that includes six feature films and a television series.
The film follows protagonist Ash Williams and his girlfriend Linda to a secluded wooded cabin, where Ash finds an audio tape belonging to the previous owner, archaeologist Raymond Knowby. It contains strange, accented readings that unleash a torrent of demons when played. The demons attack and possess Ash and Linda, and the film follows Ash as he defends himself against Linda, her head, and others, including Knowby’s daughter and friend.
Directed by Sam Raimi and primarily filmed in Wadesboro and Lilesville, it features lots of gore, practical and makeup effects, and physical comedy.
2. “Cabin Fever”
Filmed in and around the Mount Airy area, including Danbury and Winston-Salem, renowned horror director Eli Roth’s 2002 debut checks some classic horror trope boxes: fun-loving college kids, super weird small-town folks, and an infectious, flesh-eating disease.
The movie follows a group of college students vacationing in a remote cabin where, one by one, each becomes infected with the disease. In addition to being a lot of gory fun, the film raises questions about morality, contagion, and terror.
A sleeper hit made on a modest $1.5 million budget, Cabin Fever went on to gross more than $30 million and become a cult classic that spawned a franchise, including two sequels and a 2016 remake.
3. “The Crow”
This 1994 atmospheric, supernatural tale centers on a dead man who comes back to life on October 30th, aka Devil’s Night, to avenge his and his fiancée’s murders from one year prior. The Crow was a global hit that was shrouded in tragedy after the lead actor, Brandon Lee, was fatally injured during filming.
Filmed in Wilmington, the gothic movie is set in a rainy, crime-ridden city. It stylistically explores themes of grief, love, and family by examining the effects of the murders, primarily through the teen girl the couple befriended. Side note: the movie also had an incredible soundtrack. Together, all of this helped create a cult classic that spawned five sequels, including a 2024 reimagining.
Independent gems
4. “Honeymoon”
Filmed largely in and around Hendersonville, the 2014 slow-burn “Honeymoon” follows two newlyweds celebrating their nuptials in a remote cabin in the woods. What starts out blissful quickly becomes increasingly weird after Paul, the husband, awakens in the night to find his wife Bea outside, naked and confused.
From there, things get progressively more odd and creepy, with Bea experiencing ever-worsening physical and psychological changes. The chilling, shocking ending may have left audiences divided, but it helped establish first-time director Leigh Janiak as a promising talent.
5. “The Taking of Deborah Logan”
The 2014 found-footage horror film, “The Taking of Deborah Logan,” follows a doctoral student and her film crew as they make a medical documentary about the struggles elderly mother, Deborah Logan, and her caretaker daughter, Sarah, are experiencing due to Deborah’s Alzheimer’s disease. Deborah’s behavior becomes increasingly erratic to the point where she’s hospitalized for her own safety.
The crew suspects something supernatural is at work, and what is uncovered is a shocking mix of murder, possession, immortality, and ritual. Filmed in the Charlotte Metro area, it’s actually scarier than traffic in the Queen City.
Fruitful franchise movies filmed in North Carolina
6. “I Know What You Did Last Summer”
Set and filmed primarily in Southport, the 1997 slasher “I Know What You Did Last Summer” follows four teen friends who accidentally kill a man during a late-night drive and agree to cover it up and keep it a secret. A year later, the teens—each traumatized by the murder—reunite after one of the group members, Julie, receives a letter reading “I know what you did last summer!”
As the group begins working to figure out who’s behind the note, they’re each stalked and murdered. The franchise has four feature films and a television series. Written by Kevin Williamson, who also penned 1996’s “Scream,” the franchise is credited with helping revive the slasher style in the 90s.
7. “The Conjuring”
Based on the experiences of the real-life Roger and Carolyn Perron and their five daughters, who were terrorized by paranormal spirits after moving into a haunted house, 2013’s “The Conjuring,“ was a worldwide phenomenon that grossed more than $320 million globally and spawned a whopping 10-movie franchise made up of four films and six related spinoffs.
Mostly filmed in Wilmington and Currie, the movie follows paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren as they help the Perrons determine what malevolent spirit(s) are threatening the family and what to do. The movie culminates in an emergency exorcism to free matriarch Carolyn Perron from demonic possession and save the family.
8. “The Black Phone”
Upon its release in 2021, the horror film “The Black Phone” was an instant critical and commercial success, taking in more than $161 million globally. The movie centers on teen Finney Blake, who is abducted by a serial killer targeting children known as “the Grabber,” and was filmed in Brunswick, Columbus, and New Hanover counties.
While the community, especially his sister Gwen, races to find him, Finney (who’s being held in a soundproofed basement) begins receiving calls from previous kids murdered by the Grabber from a disconnected black rotary phone on the wall. With the help of the tips given to him by past victims, Finney is able to kill the Grabber and escape to safety.
In 2023, the short spinoff film “Dreamkill” was released as part of the anthology film “V/H/S/85,” while the sequel “Black Phone 2” was released in 2025 to similar commercial success. While fans want it, it’s unclear yet whether “Black Phone 3” will come to fruition.
This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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