Off the Wall: Syfy rolls out horror month

Off the Wall is counting down -- 30 days to go!

SPOOKY STUFF Syfy is hyping 600 hours of chills in this year's 31 Days of Halloween stunt, starting with a full Saturday of movies like "My Bloody Valentine" (9 p.m.). And Syfy's not alone in eek!-ing early. Other creepy weekend arrivals include a new season of family fave "R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour" (Saturday night at 8, The Hub); the British drama "Bedlam" (Saturday night at 10, BBC America), set in a former insane asylum; "Halloween Wars" (Sunday at 9 p.m., Food), a scary displays competition; and "Making Monsters" (Sunday at 8 p.m., Travel), eyeing animatronics created for haunted houses and amusement parks, travelchannel.com.

SPOOKY CINEMA Turner Classic Movies stacks up classic horror on Mondays in October, launching with the new documentary "A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King" (Monday at 8 and 11:30 p.m.). Stay tuned for vintage cinematic scares like "Frankenstein" (with Boris Karloff) and Tod Browning's "Freaks" (Monday at 9 and 10:15 p.m.), along with such influential silent frights as the expressionist "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" and vampire pioneer "Nosferatu" (late Monday/early Tuesday, 3:30 and 4:45 a.m.). More screams at tcm.com/horror.

THE GREAT STONE FACE True American original Buster Keaton is October's star of the month at Turner Classic Movies, which gives us 51 features and shorts from one of film comedy's key creators. His family-friendly Civil War train film, "The General" (Sunday at 8 p.m.), kicks things off, followed by such other lively Keaton silents as "Cops" (9:30 p.m.), "Our Hospitality" (10 p.m.) and "The Navigator" (midnight, all on TCM). Watch all night long, or get up early, to hear Keaton in the early talkie "Speak Easily" (Monday at 5:15 a.m.), co-starring another original, Jimmy Durante. More at tcm.com/this-month.

'SPARTACUS' TRIBUTE Starz honors the original star of its gladiator series, Andy Whitfield, who died Sept. 11 of lymphoma. "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" (Sunday 9 p.m.-1:40 a.m.) showcases Whitfield's acclaimed work on his single season of the series. More at starz.com/spartacus.

MUST-SEE SERIES! Two of the fall's best drama bets also are two of the most intense hours in ages. "Homeland" (Sunday at 10 p.m., Showtime) stars Claire Danes as an obsessive CIA agent and Damian Lewis as her quarry, a returned Iraq War prisoner she fears has been turned into a terrorist sleeper threat. "American Horror Story" (Wednesday at 10 p.m., FX) is a psychosexual haunted-house thriller from Ryan Murphy ("Nip/Tuck," "Glee") with Connie Britton, Dylan McDermott and Jessica Lange. Previews at sho.com/homeland and fxnetwork.com/ahs.

COME ON DOWN TO 'SOUTH PARK' Celebrate the ruthless animated satire's 15 years on TV, all week long. Creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone surprise an NYU class in a new "Stand-In" (Monday at noon, mtvU and mtvU.com). They present another run of fresh episodes starting with this week's "South Park" (Wednesday at 10 p.m., Comedy Central). And their working process is revealed in next weekend's documentary "Six Days to Air: The Making of 'South Park' " (Oct. 9 at 10 p.m., Comedy Central). Trailer, episodes at southparkstudios.com.

THE FORGOTTEN BEATLE Finally, a showcase for him. "George Harrison: Living in the Material World" (Wednesday-Thursday 9 p.m., HBO), produced by Martin Scorsese, charts the life of this spiritual soul, philanthropist and filmmaker ("Time Bandits"). More at hbo.com/docs.

CHANNEL SWITCHING Discovery's HDTheater morphs into Velocity (Tuesday at 7 p.m.), designed for upscale men who like cars, poker and stuff like that.