Horror fans are about to step inside one of the most ambitious museum exhibitions ever dedicated to the genre.
The Horror Show, opening this September at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, brings together legendary costumes, original props, rare production artwork and immersive experiences spanning more than a century of horror filmmaking.
From Dracula and Halloween to The Exorcist, Alien and The Substance, the exhibition promises an unforgettable journey through the films that continue to terrify audiences around the world.
Opening on 26 September 2026, The Horror Show will occupy the Academy Museum’s Marilyn and Jeffrey Katzenberg Gallery until 25 July 2027, celebrating horror as one of cinema’s most enduring and influential genres.
Six Chambers Explore Every Corner Of Horror Cinema
Designed around six immersive themed chambers, the exhibition explores why audiences continue to embrace fear through film while showcasing hundreds of original artefacts, costumes, props, production materials and interactive displays.
Visitors will begin their experience in a haunting introductory gallery before making their way through a corridor lined with classic horror posters, leading into each of the exhibition’s unique horror worlds.
Gothic Horror
The Gothic chamber explores vampires and classic monster cinema, featuring the Academy Collection’s restored cape worn by Bela Lugosi in Dracula (1931) alongside artefacts from:
- Blade
- Bram Stoker’s Dracula
- Horror of Dracula
- The Hunger
- Sinners
Psychological Horror
A clinical white setting examines horror rooted in the human mind with original production materials from:
- Psycho
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
- The Babadook
- Get Out
- Misery
- The Shining
- The Silence of the Lambs
Science Horror
Visitors enter a laboratory-inspired environment featuring creature effects, prosthetics and original designs from:
- Frankenstein
- Alien
- The Fly
- Creature from the Black Lagoon
- The Thing
- The Substance
Slasher Horror
One of the exhibition’s biggest attractions recreates the killer’s home, complete with fully costumed figures including:
- Freddy Krueger
- Michael Myers
- Ghostface
- Art the Clown
The exhibition will also include additional artefacts from:
- Halloween
- A Nightmare on Elm Street
- Saw
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
- M3GAN
- The Black Phone
- It
Religious Horror
Exploring possession, folklore and belief, this chamber features costumes and objects from:
- The Exorcist
- Rosemary’s Baby
- Suspiria
- Hellraiser
- Midsommar
- Sinners
- Weapons
- Eve’s Bayou
- Tales from the Hood
Historic documents from the Salem witch trials also feature.
Ghost Stories
The supernatural gallery recreates a haunted living room while showcasing artefacts from:
- The Blair Witch Project
- Poltergeist
- The Ring
- The Conjuring
- Talk to Me
- The Monkey
Visitors can also explore the original marketing website created for The Blair Witch Project, alongside displays highlighting Japanese ghost cinema.
Exclusive Film Screenings And Halloween Events
The exhibition is accompanied by an extensive programme of screenings and special events throughout autumn.
Highlights include:
- John Carpenter: Prince of Darkness retrospective
- 2026 Halloween Monster Mash
- US premiere of the restored Horror of Dracula
- Museum After Dark featuring The Craft
- Carrie 50th anniversary screening with Oscar-winning actress Sissy Spacek
Family-Friendly Zombies! Exhibition Also Opens
Running alongside The Horror Show, visitors can also experience Zombies!, an interactive exhibition designed for younger audiences.
Located inside the Warner Bros. Gallery, it explores how filmmakers create zombies for the screen while tracing the mythology behind one of horror’s most recognisable monsters.
Willem Dafoe Celebrates Horror’s Lasting Legacy
Four-time Oscar nominee Willem Dafoe, who served on the exhibition’s advisory team, praised horror cinema’s unique creative freedom.
“Cinema in general engages your sense of wonder, but horror can explode it. It is a popular form, born of modest financial resources and with a strong, lasting independent streak. And it has all the same possibilities for originality, inventiveness, and freedom that it did in its infancy.”
Why Horror Fans Shouldn’t Miss The Horror Show
With legendary costumes, iconic movie props, immersive environments and an outstanding programme of screenings, The Horror Show looks set to become one of the world’s definitive celebrations of horror cinema.
Whether you’re fascinated by classic Universal monsters, psychological thrillers, supernatural nightmares or modern slashers, the Academy Museum‘s latest exhibition promises an unforgettable experience for every horror fan.
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