• by Sarah Mahoney , Staff Writer @mahoney_sarah, October 26, 2021

Pizza Hut wants to make Halloween, always one of the year's busiest pizza nights, extra scary this time around. The pizza chain is hooking people up with classic horror films, offering a month's free streaming on Shudder for up to 200,000 fans.

The promotion starts with a $12.99 Original Stuffed Crust pizza. Customers can then access a special 30-day free trial from Shudder, taking them to an episode of the streaming channel's "Behind The Monsters."

Pizza Hut says its "Originals Takeover" on Shudder also includes a block of curated content running this week, with a double feature of "Halloween" and "Night of the Living Dead."

"We knew we had to do something fun for our customers," says Lindsay Morgan, Pizza Hut's chief marketing officer, in its announcement. "And what's a better treat than a deal on one of our most iconic pizzas and the excuse to binge spooky movies to your heart's delight on Shudder?"

Pizza Hut, owned by Yum! Brands, says Halloween is one of its five busiest pizza days of the year.

Pizza Hut certainly isn't alone, with restaurants piling up the promotions. Papa John's is offering its Jack-O-Lantern pizza. And at Chuck E. Cheese, Boo-tacular Nights feature a new show and candy giveaways, with free gameplay for any child in costume.

Free sweets are out there for grown-ups, too, with the Cheesecake Factory offering a slice of some of its specialty cheesecakes on the house. Customers can use the "treatme" promotion code and tack the freebie onto online pickup or delivery orders of more than $40.

Halloween is a busy night for booze, too. Chili's is offering $5 Spider Bite' Rita, made with Lunazul Blanco Tequila.

At Applebee's, the celebration includes the latest $5 Mucho Cocktails, with Spooky Sips that include Dracula's Juice,  a wildberry-themed margarita, or the Tipsy Zombie, made with rum, passion fruit, pineapple, cherry, lime, all topped with a gummy brain.