Join us on Tuesday, October 27, 2026 at 5:30 PM in the Hussey Room in the Michigan League at the University of Michigan for the first-ever Halaloween panel collaboration between the Global Islamic Studies Center and Michigan Medicine’s Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine! An expert panel of pediatric, geriatric, hospice, and palliative care medical doctors, hospital chaplains, and horror film scholars will discuss how the horror genre and horror movies can be tools for people dealing with illness, grief, death, loss, and shared fears that are both specific to and transcend religion and culture.

Panelists will discuss: what can horror tell us about the fears that people bring with them when they encounter bodily illness and healthcare providers, particularly when they, their elders, or their children are experiencing serious illness, the process of dying, ambiguous loss, or anticipatory grief? Can Muslim and spiritually or religiously themed horror movies provide psychological catharsis and alleviate suffering?

This panel is ONLY in person. The event is free and open to the public. RSVP on this form: https://forms.gle/bkZC5NsLagDaf99w9


Meet the panelists:

Dr. Adam Marks, MD, Clinical Professor of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine; Medical Director, Hospice Program and Adult Hospice

Dr. Nurah Omobola Lawal, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics & Hospice and Palliative Medicine

Dr. Karla Mallette, Professor of Italian and Mediterranean Studies; Founder, Halaloween

Chaplain LJ Brazier, Michigan Medicine Spiritual Care Department, Palliative Care

Chaplain Maryam Ashraf, Michigan Medicine Spiritual Care Department, Spiritual and Muslim Patient Care

Moderator: Dr. Aliyah Khan, Director, Global Islamic Studies Center; Associate Professor of English & Afroamerican and African Studies

This panel is brought to you by the Global Islamic Studies Center (GISC) in collaboration with the Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine at Michigan Medicine and the University of Michigan Medical School.

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Halaloween Muslim Horror Film Festival Info:

Welcome to the 8th annual Halaloween: A Muslim Horror Film Festival 2026!

What is Halaloween? Halaloween screens horror films from across the globe that were made by, for, or about Muslims to understand: “What scares Muslim audiences? Are horror movies halal?”

This year’s Halaloween 2026 film festival is a retrospective that brings back some of our Michigan community’s favorite Muslim horror films from the past few years. As usual, the festival runs throughout October with a different movie screening and/or event every week. In addition to local theater screenings, we are bringing you three community collaborations this year: with the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, with Michigan Medicine and the U-M Medical School, and with the Brooklyn Detroit venue in Corktown!

The 2026 lineup: Halaloween starts off at the Arab American National Museum (AANM) in Dearborn on Thursday, October 8, with a screening of the Saudi found-footage film Madayen (2016). On October 12 and October 20, head to the State Theatre in Ann Arbor for the Iranian film Under the Shadow (2016) and the Malaysian film Tiger Stripes (2023), respectively. On October 27, we are collaborating with the Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine at Michigan Medicine and the University of Michigan Medical School to bring you an expert medical and film panel on “Fears of the Body: Processing Illness, Death, & Loss with Horror Movies.”

Halaloween officially ends on the evening of October 29 at 9pm at the Brooklyn Detroit venue in Corktown, Detroit, with a screening of two Muslim horror short films: Aicha (directed by Sanaa El Alaoui, Morocco, 2025) and Enmity Djinn (directed by Mohamed Echkouna, Mauritania, 2023), followed immediately after by the special event “Those Between Worlds: A Jinn Dreamscape," a Halaloween sampler with live music score in collaboration with Reginald Thiessen, Victor Ghannam, and Devil's Night Detroit!

Also check out our streaming Muslim horror films anytime on U-M Kanopy: the Senegalese folk horror film Saloum (2021), the witchy Tunisian film Dachra (2018), and the Iranian “vampire spaghetti Western” film A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014).

The festival is mostly in-person and free–but make sure to reserve tickets! In-person screenings will be first-come, first-served, with RSVPs strongly encouraged.

We are inclusive of everyone's film needs: from new horror fans who close their eyes through most scary movies, to those who love the gore–we've got films for everyone! Check the Halaloween Horror Rating in the description of each film for its scariness rating and other details.



The 2026 Halaloween Lineup:

October 8: Madayen | Saudi Arabia | 2016 | 7:00 PM | Arab American National Museum, Dearborn
October 13: Under the Shadow | Iran | 2016 | 7:00 PM | State Theatre, Ann Arbor

October 20: Tiger Stripes | Malaysia | 2023 | 7:00 PM | State Theatre, Ann Arbor

October 27: Halaloween x Michigan Medicine Panel: “Fears of the Body: Processing Illness, Death, and Loss with Horror Movies” | Hussey Room, Michigan League, University of Michigan

October 29: “Those Between Worlds: A Jinn Dreamscape": Halaloween Short Films and Live Music Score Retrospective at Devil's Night Detroit | Short films Aicha and Enmity Jinn | 7:00 PM | Brooklyn Detroit, Corktown (venue). *This event is ticketed and not free. Get tickets and more info here.


RSVP & find out more: watch.eventive.org/halaloween
Sponsors: Halaloween: A Muslim Horror Film Festival is brought to you by the Global Islamic Studies Center and co-sponsored by the Arab American National Museum, Devil’s Night Detroit, and Michigan Medicine.



For more events from the Global Islamic Studies Center at the University of Michigan, please visit ii.umich.edu/islamicstudies. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to [email protected].

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