MTV's "Scream" paid tribute to horror legend Wes Craven before Tuesday's season finale with a simple title card that read, "Thanks for the screams." The 76-year-old filmmaker died Sunday after a lengthy battle with brain cancer.

Craven, whose long list of credits includes "The Hills Have Eyes," "The Last House on the Left" and "A Nightmare on Elm Street," reinvented himself, and horror movies, in 1996 with "Scream." The low-budget blockbuster inspired three sequels, a host of imitators and, of course, the new MTV series.

“We would not exist if it wasn’t for him,” Jill Blotevogel, executive producer of the MTV series, told EW.com. “We’re all still reeling at the suddenness of this. I was just really shaken when I heard the news. He really is one of the greats as a creative person — I won’t even say as a titan of the horror drama because he could do some many things. He was amazing.”