In September of 2026, The Academy Museum unveils The Horror Show, a bold and immersive exhibition that bridges the gap between cinema and experience, honoring horror’s enormous cultural impact and enduring popularity. The Horror Show explores and celebrates the horror cinema genre, highlighting select tropes and themes, all centered around the question: Why do horror films matter so deeply to so many?

Blurring the line between museum presentation and eerie spectacle, The Show takes visitors on a journey through movies, starting with an introductory gallery sound installation, into “The Hallway” — modeled after the common horror trope — that leads to six distinctly themed galleries: Gothic, Psychological, Science, Slasher, Religion, and Ghosts. Each gallery is designed to invite visitors into iconic settings, where they encounter their favorite creatures, monsters and objects.

The exhibition explores representations of identity, sexuality and ability in horror films including: Alien (1979), The Horror of Dracula (1958), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Black Swan (2010), Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), Get Out (2017), Halloween (1978), Ju-on (1998), Midsommar (2019), Misery (1990), Poltergeist (1982), Ringu (1998), The Blair Witch Project (1999), The Exorcist (1973), The Shining (1980), The Silence of the Lambs (1991) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) — while also offering a behind-the-scenes look at the storytelling and production processes of these films.

The Horror Show is organized by Senior Exhibitions Curator Jessica Niebel with Assistant Curator Nicholas Barlow and Curatorial Assistant Alexandra James Salichs.