Every October, something slightly strange happens to Sitges. For around ten days, during the Sitges horror film festival, our elegant little Mediterranean town fills with zombies, horror fans, filmmakers, actors, collectors, goths, emos, film students, industry people and some of the most wonderfully dedicated movie nerds you will ever meet.
Welcome to the Sitges – International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia (Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya).
I’m Daniela, your host and General Manager at Hotel Noucentista, and even if you have absolutely no intention of watching a horror film, I think the Festival is worth experiencing at least once. Because the films are only part of the story.
First: The Sitges Horror Film Festival Is Serious Cinema
Sitges isn’t simply a Halloween festival by the beach.
Founded in 1968, the Sitges horror film festival has become one of the world’s major international festivals dedicated to fantastic and genre cinema, particularly horror, science fiction, fantasy and everything strange that exists somewhere in between.
Directors, actors, producers, critics and industry professionals come to the Sitges horror film festival from around the world.
But what makes the Festival fascinating to me isn’t only who appears on the red carpet. It’s the audience.
Yes, Some People Really Watch Films All Day
This was one of the things that surprised me when I first experienced the Sitges horror film festival properly.
There are people who come to Sitges and essentially do nothing but watch films. All. Day. Long.
They plan their schedules almost scientifically, moving from one screening to another and discussing what they have just watched while already queuing for the next one. Some people manage six, seven or even eight films in a single day.
Breakfast. Movie. Movie. Coffee. Movie. Movie. Something resembling food. Movie. Movie. Sleep. Repeat. For ten days.
And I find them fascinating. Because many aren’t casual moviegoers. They really, really know their subject.
You meet people who can tell you about obscure Japanese horror directors, explain the evolution of a particular science-fiction subgenre, compare a new film with something made in Italy in 1974 and then casually tell you which three films you absolutely cannot miss tomorrow.
These are my favourite kind of nerds: the ones who know everything about something.
And Then There Are the People
This might actually be what I love most about the Festival. For those ten days, Sitges attracts an extraordinary mixture of people.
You’ll see serious film critics standing next to someone dressed as a zombie.
You’ll see directors, collectors, horror obsessives, film students, goths, emos, people in black from head to toe, elaborate costumes, vintage horror T-shirts and people who have travelled halfway across Europe simply because a particular director is presenting a film at the Sitges horror film festival.
And somehow… nobody looks strange. Or perhaps everybody looks strange, so nobody does. And I mean that in the nicest possible way.
There is something incredibly welcoming about an environment where being intensely interested in something isn’t embarrassing.
Nobody cares if you’re nerdy. Nobody cares if you’re emo. Nobody cares if you’re goth. Nobody cares if you’re 60 years old and have been collecting horror memorabilia for four decades. Nobody cares if you’ve spent an unreasonable amount of time creating the perfect costume. Nobody cares if you know absolutely everything about Korean horror cinema.
You have found your people. And there is something beautiful about that.
Nobody Has to Fit In
Sitges is already a town that has historically attracted people who don’t necessarily want to fit into one particular box. During the Sitges horror film festival, that feeling becomes even stronger.
There is space for eccentricity. There is space for obsession. There is space for people who are extremely knowledgeable about something most of us know absolutely nothing about. There is space to dress differently. There is space to be quiet, loud, introverted, theatrical, geeky, glamorous, weird or completely ordinary.
Nobody seems particularly interested in judging anyone else.
And that is probably my favourite thing about the entire Festival. Not the celebrities. Not the red carpet. Not even the films. The people.
Then Sitges Becomes a Little Darker
During the Sitges horror film festival, the atmosphere of the town changes too.
Film posters appear everywhere. Queues form outside cinemas. Conversations in cafés suddenly revolve around whatever screened the night before.
You might be having a perfectly normal morning coffee next to someone wearing a horror-film T-shirt discussing practical effects from the 1980s. And later that evening, you may encounter a zombie walking down the street.
Which brings us to…
The Zombie Walk
If you happen to be in Sitges for the Zombie Walk, go outside. Even if horror isn’t your thing.
People spend hours having professional make-up done, costumes become increasingly elaborate and eventually the streets fill with the undead. Thousands of people come out to watch and participate.
It’s ridiculous. It’s theatrical. It’s slightly disturbing. And it’s brilliant.
You Don’t Need to Be a Horror Fan
This is the part I always want visitors to understand.
You do not need to love horror films to enjoy Sitges during the Festival. You can watch one film instead of eight. You can watch none.
Have dinner, walk through town, people-watch, see the costumes, have a drink and simply enjoy the atmosphere.
Or talk to someone in a queue. You may discover that the person standing next to you knows more about fantastic cinema than you knew it was possible for a human being to know.
Ask them what you should watch. They’ll probably have an answer. A very detailed one.
Staying in Sitges During the Horror Film Festival
October is already a wonderful month here. The intensity of summer has passed, temperatures are more comfortable and the town has a completely different rhythm.
Then the Sitges horror film festival arrives and gives Sitges one last enormous burst of energy. For this year’s dates and practical tips, see my guide to the Sitges Film Festival 2026.
If you’re staying with us at Hotel Noucentista, you’re right in the centre of town, so you can walk out in the morning and immediately feel that something is happening.
And because we only have 11 rooms, the hotel still feels like a little refuge when you’ve had enough zombies for one day. Although, during Festival week, I make absolutely no promises about who you might meet on the stairs.
I’m Daniela, your host and General Manager at Noucentista, and if you come for the Sitges horror film festival, tell me what you’re interested in.
And if you know absolutely nothing about fantastic cinema? Even better.
Go outside. Watch the people. Talk to the nerds. Stay for the zombies.
Nobody is too strange for Sitges during the Film Festival. And honestly, that might be exactly why I love it.
So if the Festival tempts you, come and stay with us at Hotel Noucentista for the whole period. You wouldn’t be the first: we have four guests who come back every single year and stay the full two weeks. By now they feel less like guests and more like part of the Festival family.
