Horror-on-Sea festival organisers are promising film-goers a weekend to dismember.

Fresh from thrilling hundreds of fans last year, Southend-on-Scream returns to the Park Inn Palace Hotel tonight, tomorrow and Sunday courtesy of The White Bus - the team behind the Southend-on-Sea Film Festival.

It will feature 37 new independent horror films from across the UK and around the globe featuring zombies, killer clowns, bloodthirsty ghosts, murderous Hitler Youth sisters and ravenous intergalactic rats.

Expect titles like All the Fear of the Fair to Motel 666 plus bonkers taglines including “when drummer Pekka dies from a bird infection that does not stop his drumming hand’s journey” to “Barnaby likes a clean house, but the dust decides to fight back with some cleaning of its own”.

“I’m absolutely delighted Horror-on-Sea is back bigger and better for 2014. I’m a horror movie obsessive and for years I wanted to put together an event for fellow fans,” says festival creator Paul Cotgrove, director of The White Bus.

“With box office returns and video sales proving people continue to love scary movies and the Southend Film Festival being so popular, the moment seemed right and we finally went for it in January 2013. I’m delighted to say it was a huge success.”

After the success of the first Horror-on-Sea, the hardest thing has been whittling down the number of submissions they have had for 2014 to just 37.

“We’ve got a huge variety of international movies being shown, making it the crème de la crème, or should that be scream de la scream, of the world’s best horror flicks. There genuinely is something for everyone and due to the vast amount of short film entries, the following weekend we are showing the best of these in the White Bus Cinema in Salty Shorts from the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival.”

There’s plenty more blood curdling fun to be had during the festival.

Acclaimed Leigh-on-Sea based film-maker Pat Higgins returns to host a talk called Fake Blood and Real Guts! Writing and Filming Your Horror Classic, which promises to be a masterclass for would-be Wes Cravens and John Carpenters.

Many of the films’ makers and actors are also travelling to Essex to showcase their work and give fans an insights into their films with question and answer sessions after selected screenings.

Unlike some of the victims in the films, tickets for Horror-on-Sea won’t cost you an arm and a leg either with prices starting at just £5 per film, a day pass £20 and a weekend pass £50.

“We have already had tonnes of repeat bookings from last year’s horror fans – including the hard core who sat through every single one of the 38 films we showed last year - so I am sure this is going to be another really popular event,” adds Paul.

For a full list of all the films and booking details, check out www.horror-on-sea.com