Ever since the birth of the American sitcom, networks have leveraged holidays for an added ratings boost. That TV tradition remains, except now it’s not just Halloween-themed episodes that come when the leaves turn and the calendar flips to October, but a litany of marathons, events and original movies feeding horror-starved viewers, with more and more networks hoping for ratings candy.

Syfy leads the charge with its 8th annual “31 Days of Halloween Spook-a-Thon” beginning October 1. “It’s incredibly important for us,” said Chris Regina, Syfy and Chiller’s SVP, program strategy. “We should really be the destination for Halloween. Every day is Halloween on Syfy.”

The month-long #31DaysOfHalloween event features 600 hours of bloody programming, including Halloween-themed episodes of Ghost Hunters and Paranormal Witness, a variety of theatricals, and as has become custom, four brand new original films that premiere on four consecutive Sundays, beginning October 4 with Night of the Wild (followed by Ominous, They Found Hell and The Hollow).

“I think those are really the key that we built the whole month around,” said Regina. “We’re always looking for things that have nostalgia touchpoints and great horror and thrills to them,” said Regina.

That’s why Night of the Wild feels like Night of the Comet meets Cujo, Ominous hearkens back to Damien of The Omen and The Hollow has a Jeepers Creepers vibe.

“It’s always a great opportunity for audiences to come back to both Syfy and Chiller and really embrace the content that we have because it’s a mood setter. People are looking for this type of content,” said Regina.

October translates to new and different viewers coming to Syfy, and the network won’t waste the opportunity: it’s an ideal platform to launch marketing campaigns for big mid-season bets The Expanse and Childhood’s End.

While Syfy dresses up for the Halloween season, the month is business as usual for Chiller, which continues to feed on a steady diet of horror titles.

One of the only networks that has shown the Halloween spirit longer than Syfy is ABC Family (morphing into Freeform as we speak), with its 17th annual “13 Nights of Halloween” event bowing October 19th.

The programming bonanza includes a Halloween-themed episode of Stitchers and a healthy dose of Tim Burton (Corpse Bride, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Frankenweenie, Sleepy Hollow, Hocus Pocus and Addams Family).

“Fantasy and Imagination are important elements of ABC Family’s brand and our audience are big fans of movies that have fun with this spooky season. They also love dressing up in costume and sharing their creations with each other,” said Nigel Cox-Hagan, SVP marketing, creative and branding, ABC Family. “13 Days is a platform that allows the brand and fans to celebrate Halloween together.”

The celebration is participatory, as viewers’ Halloween costumes and cosplay will be featured in the packaging and promotion for “13 Days,” while the network will also be live-tweeting throughout the #13NightsOfHalloween @ABCF13Nights. It’s also a great ramp up for ABC Family/Freeform’s biggest event of the year, “25 Days of Christmas.”

The scares keep on comin’ beyond the three biggest cable boogeymen.

A&E Network’s Enfield Haunting, a three-part horror miniseries, debuts Friday, Oct. 9.

The classic 60s monster sitcom The Munsters launched on COZI TV this past weekend, and now airs regularly from 5 to 6 p.m., concluding with a 12-hour Halloween marathon on October 31 from noon to midnight.

“We are proud to celebrate the month of Halloween by bringing some of TV’s favorite monsters back to COZI TV with the launch of The Munsters,” said Meredith McGinn, SVP, COZI TV and LX.TV Productions. “We are beyond excited to unveil some fun stunts around The Munsters launch in the coming weeks that we hope will entertain and engage our viewers like never before.”

America’s leading true-crime network, Investigation Discovery, is premiering four new series and launching new seasons for three of their originals. Hell House (Oct. 10, 9/8c), Killer Confessions (Oct. 13, 10/9c), True Nightmares (Oct. 14, 10/9c) and Do Not Disturb: Hotel Horrors (Oct. 21, 9/8c) make their ID debut, with Fatal Vows (Oct.10, 10/9c), Surviving Evil (Oct. 15, 9/8c) and Evil Twins (Oct. 15, 10/9c) returning to the network. ID’s October also includes domestic violence special Behind Closed Doors: Shocking Secrets (Oct. 26, 10/9c).

PBS Kids celebrates “Odd-tober” with an all-new Odd Squad special and Halloween-themed episodes of Arthur, Curious George and more. Disney Channel’s Monstober provides another kid-friendly alternative.

If you’re looking for classic horror, TCM boasts a 12-film marathon on Halloween day.

The potential Halloween programming boon doesn’t escape the attention of network TV, as FOX is unleashing a “monster-ous” month of its own.

Snowballing social media darling Scream Queens unsurprisingly has not one, but two Halloween episodes (Oct. 6 & 13, 9 ET/PT), joining The Simpsons’ annual “Treehouse of Horror XXVI” (Oct. 25, 8 PT/ET) and Halloween episodes of Bob’s Burgers (Oct.18, 9 ET/PT), Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Oct. 25, 8:30 ET/PT), Family Guy (Oct. 25, 9 ET/PT), and a two-part Bones and Sleepy Hollow crossover starting Oct. 29 at 8 ET/PT.

During October, TV viewers will be hard-pressed to avoid the spooky season, with the month marking the launch of the holidays.

And then rest assured, come November 1, TV will begin to look a lot like Christmas.

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