Holiday Horror Movies: Fright Films for (Almost) Every Occasion

New Year's Day: 'Terror Train' (1980)

Ring in the New Year with this vintage slasher about a group of college kids who hop a party train to celebrate New Year's. However, a prank they committed years before comes back to haunt them when a Groucho Marx-masked killer hunts them down one by one. "Either he's dead, or my watch has stopped!"

See also: Steel Trap, Bloody New Year, The Shining, New Year's Evil, End of Days

President's Day: 'The Tripper' (2007)

A group of hippy-types attending a rave in the middle of a forest fall prey to a right-wing killer dressed as Ronald Reagan whose father was a tree-hugger-hating logger. Presidents were meant to be feared.

See also: President's Day, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies, "The Washingtonians" (Masters of Horror)

Valentine's Day: 'My Bloody Valentine' (1981)

What could be more romantic than watching a love story about a man and his love of killing others? A killer dressed as a miner stalks the residents of a small town when they decide to hold a Valentine's Day dance 20 years after the last dance created a diversion that resulted in the deaths of several local miners. Since then, dances had been banned. It's like Footloose with blood force trauma.

See also: Valentine, My Bloody Valentine 3-D, Hospital Massacre, Lover's Lane, Tales from the Crypt, Broken Hearts

St. Patrick's Day: 'Leprechaun' (1993)

Assuming you're not too busy drinking or pinching people who don't wear green, catch this campy flick about a leprechaun freed from a trap after 10 years only to discover that his precious gold has been taken. He goes about killing anyone who gets in between him and his gold -- including Jennifer Aniston.

See also: Red Clover, Unlucky Charms, , every other film in the Leprechaun franchise

April Fool's Day: 'April Fool's Day' (1986)

Rich girl Buffy's birthday bash on a deserted island on April 1st turns into a bloodbath when a mysterious killer begins bumping the guests off -- until the twist ending, that is. 

See also: April Fool's Day (2008), Killer Party, Slaughter High, April Fools.

Easter: 'Easter Bunny Kill! Kill!' (2006)

A pair of men who abuse a mentally challenged boy get their comeuppance when a killer dressed in a Easter bunny mask enters the picture carrying power tools.

See also: Critters 2, Peter Rottentail, Night of the Lepus, Kottentail, Resurrection, Beaster Day.

Arbor Day: 'The Happening' (2008)

While you're out celebrating the foliage, consider watching this movie about the systematic eradication of man by shrubbery as a reminder that trees should not be trusted.

See also: The Guardian, Trees, The Evil Dead, From Hell It Came, Poltergeist, "Treevenge" (short)

May Day: 'The Wicker Man' (1973)

If you're one of the few who still find themselves dancing around a maypole once a year, you may want to watch some kindred spirits in this film about a pious Christian policeman who investigates the case of a missing girl on an island inhabited by pagans preparing for their May Day festival. 

See also: The Wicker Man (2006), 

Cinco de Mayo: 'Cinco de Mayo' (2013)

In this retro slasher, a Chicano Studies professor turns into a masked killer after being fired, seeking out racists and those who wronged him.

See also: Cronos, We Are What We Are

Memorial Day: 'Deathdream' (1974)

It's only appropriate that a holiday honoring dead soldiers would be celebrated by watching a movie about a dead (or undead) soldier. In this cult film from Bob Clark (Black Christmas), a Vietnam veteran returns home, but he ain't quite right. That is to say, he ain't quite alive. He sits in a chair all day staring blankly into space, then spends his evenings attacking people and ingesting their blood in order to stave off decomposition. In his defense, people can be quite yummy.

See also: Memorial Day, Memorial Valley Massacre, The Revenant, Dead Snow, "Homecoming" (Masters of Horror), I Accuse

4th of July: 'Uncle Sam' (1997)

The body of a psychotic Gulf War vet named Sam is shipped home, only to return to life during the Independence Day festivities, donning an Uncle Sam suit and commencing to slaughter un-American-types: flag burners, draft dodgers, tax evaders and Taylor Swift haters.

See also: I Know What You Did Last Summer, Jaws, Cape Fear

Day of the Dead: 'All Souls Day: Dia de los Muertos' (2005)

Celebrate the Mexican holiday with this film about a group of Americans who get stuck in a Mexican ghost town that becomes overrun by zombies on the Day of the Dead. On the bright side, think of all the stories you'll have about the "running of the corpses."

See also: The Dead One

Veteran's Day: 'Jacob's Ladder'

War is Hell, and in Jacob's Ladder, Vietnam veteran Jacob Singer finds that life after war is no picnic either, as he horrific visions begin to haunt him upon his return home to New York City.

See also: Combat Shock, The Jacket, Ravenous, The Torturer 

Thanksgiving: 'ThanksKilling' (2009)

In this campy holiday-themed horror-comedy, a Native American curse gives rise to a murderous turkey who torments a group of college students heading home for Thanksgiving.

See also: "Thanksgiving" (fake trailer in Grindhouse), Death on Demand, Blood Freak, Seance, Home Sweet Home, Blood Rage

All of the Above: 'Tales From the Grave Volume 2: Happy Holidays' (2005)

This sequel to the ever-popular (?) Tales From the Grave...delivers anthology stories that cover St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's Day, Thanksgiving, Halloween AND Christmas all in one package, just for you lazy bums.