20 Best Analog Horror Series on YouTube

20 Best Analog Horror Series on YouTube

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The horror genre has been around for a long time, and as technology and media evolve, it only becomes more innovative. Over the years, new platforms and mediums have allowed creators to bring their visions to life in increasingly unique ways. No longer is horror limited to movies and TV, as many of the scariest and most fascinating stories have come out of online spaces like YouTube.

Although the found footage film technique existed long before YouTube, a relatively more recent subgenre called ‘analog horror’ has risen out of it. YouTube’s analog horror offerings usually take on a more vintage aesthetic, with clips made to look like they’re from the 90s and earlier, and content ranging from home videos to declassified government footage. YouTube horror series continue to be a popular form of entertainment among viewers, with analog horror being a niche interest with dedicated fanbases across different platforms. The best ones have become classics in their own right, delivering realistic and spine-chilling stories that haunt fans forever.

20

‘CH/SS’ (2016)

Turkey Lenin III

ch-ss-analog-horror

CH/SS is a series of instructional videos and advertisements for a mental wellness program sponsored by the government, all set around the 1980s. The videos slowly get more strange as they begin to hint at deception and supernatural workings. It was heavily inspired by the Cold War and real-life military projects, making the whole thing take on a heavier and much more eerie feel.

Coupled with the increasingly uncomfortable videos, there was also an in-character Twitter account that viewers could go to that would deepen the lore of the story, and give audiences a more interactive feeling. CH/SS feeds its information out slowly but once all is revealed it’s something you’ll never forget.

Watch on YouTube

19

‘This House Has People In It’ (2016)

Adult Swim

this-house-has-people-in-it

This House Has People In It was released in 2016 by Adult Swim and follows a seemingly normal birthday party in your everyday suburban household. But through grainy camera security footage, we notice that there’s some weird stuff going on in this house. Namely, their daughter is inexplicably sinking through the floor of their house, and they have no idea why or how to save her.

After the video ends, it urges you to visit the AB Surveillance Solutions website (the surveillance company used in the short) where viewers can dive deeper into the creepy ongoings using keywords found throughout the video. It’s a lot of “blink and you’ll miss it” horror aspects, but it’s nonetheless unsettling when you catch the creepy moments.

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Release Date

March 16, 2016

Director

Alan Resnick

Cast

Robby Rackleff
, Rory Ogden
, Jackson Manning
, Ben O’Brien
, Alan Resnick
, Cricket Arrison
, Naomi Kline
, Sharyn Kmieciak

Runtime

12 Minutes

Watch on YouTube

18

‘The Walten Files’ (2020)

Martin Walls

the-walten-files-bon (1)-1

Viewers familiar with the Five Nights at Freddy‘s franchise may find this series similar to the video games. The Walten Files, created by YouTuber Martin Walls, is centered around Bon’s Burgers. Akin to Chuck E Cheese, this children’s restaurant features a roster of performing animatronics, at least until it closes down after an unknown incident.

The number of mysteries only grows, with one of the restaurant’s founders missing, along with his wife and children, and the other founder seemingly conspiring against him. Of course, the actual horror aspect comes from the team of murderous, seemingly possessed animatronics.

the-walten-files-2020-1.jpg

Release Date

April 26, 2020

Cast

Kyle Denigris
, Bravvyy
, Coker Easler
, TTS Voice
, Martin Paredes
, Anastasia V.
, Izzsplash
, CoralineHecc

Seasons

2

Watch on YouTube

17

‘The Trinity Desk Project’ (2022)

MISTER MANTICORE

the-trinity-desk-project

The Trinity Desk Project, also created by Manticore, takes a similar approach as The Monument Mythos by combining analog horror with alternate history. The Trinity Desk Project takes the form of found footage videos and flips history so that the Manhattan Project became the Trinity Desk Project. In this alternate universe, it’s said that alongside researching the construction of the atomic bomb, they also researched invisibility, leading to the newfound ability for people and objects to become invisible.

The ability for people and objects to become invisible causes unforeseen complications, such as spikes in crime. Interestingly it also features Oppenheimer, and some sort of gadget which may just have to do with other dimensions. It’s a surrealist mindbend of a series and one that’s well worth a watch for those who like a little dystopian twist on their history.

Watch on YouTube

16

‘The Smile Tapes’ (2021)

Patorikku

the-smile-tapes-1

Created by Patorikku, The Smile Tapes was released in 2021. The series begins with a PSA about a new medicine that may cause people to behave violently. Thus, the tapes follow cases of people who have tried the medicine. Some of the effects include mania, uncontrollable laughter, facial deterioration, unstoppable violence, insanity, and smiling.

It also states that three weeks after the death of the host, after which time the person will have deteriorated beyond any recognition from the medication and the fungus, the corpse will then expel spores into the air that will spread the disease. It’s grotesque, gory, and downright nasty, but even as their bodies literally deteriorate they cannot help but smile, leaving the viewer with an eerie feeling that will be hard to shake.

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Release Date

December 15, 2021

Cast

Michael Vale
, Bonus1912

Seasons

1

Watch on YouTube

Eventide Media Center

eventide-media-center-logo (1)-1

Some of the scariest movies involve alien invasions, and likewise, many analog horror stories are centered around the idea of some sort of incursion or other appearance of horrifying monsters in a specific area. One of the most mysterious ones is Eventide Media Center, which is possibly due to its relative novelty, as the first video came out in 2020.

Compared to similar series that consist of various clips that slowly begin to connect together, Eventide Media Center’s videos almost seem unrelated to each other, like any other classic horror anthology. Of course, there are still puzzle pieces, along with strange scenes involving things like creatures rising out of the ground and ocean, a seemingly unholy town excavation project, and super entities that possess televisions.

eventide-media-center-2020.png

Release Date

February 15, 2020

Creator(s)

Aidan Chick

Seasons

1

Watch on YouTube

14

‘Blue_Channel’ (2018)

Gooseworx

Blue-Channel-Thalasin-1

Blue_Channel is created by Gooseworx, and is a strange collection of videos. At least, at first. The first installment is seemingly a television broadcast, but all the viewer can see is a bright blue screen with static. This was followed up a few years later by Blue_Channel_Thalasin which actually gives us more to indulge in than just the blue screen.

It’s stylized as a sort of late-night commercial programming about a drug called Thalasin, which is a series of pills, each one able to induce a different emotion upon taking it. This is illustrated through drawings of said emotions. But then things take a turn for the scarier when the host mentions the drug Thalasin+ which can induce emotions beyond their natural capabilities. These are also represented, only they lean more towards the body horror side of drawings, with expressions deemed names such as “dorcelessness” and “andric.”

blue_channel-2018.jpg

Release Date

October 15, 2018

Creator(s)

Gooseworx

Cast

Jason Marnocha

Seasons

1

Watch on YouTube

13

‘The Ningen’ (1990)

Mister Manticore

the-ningen

Manticore is one of the most unique analog horror creators out there, and their series The Ningen is a terrifying example of their talent. Set amongst the Trans-Antarctica Expedition of 1989, The Ningen follows Keizo Funatsu, a member of the expedition, as he recalls his experience. It seems like a tame and frankly horror-less premise at first but once he starts to share what he saw, it’s hard to keep from squirming. Keizo says he encountered a “Ningen,” which in Japanese folklore is described as a whale-like humanoid.

The visual of the Ningen is the stuff of nightmares, and the backdrop of the cold, dark, and isolated Antarctica makes for an even more chilling atmospheric watch. The Ningen has also been compared by viewers to the iconic horror film The Thing for its horrific creature and its themes of loneliness, depravity, and the unknown. It’s a must-watch.

Watch on YouTube

12

‘The Backrooms’ (2022)

Kane Pixels

The Entity in 'The Backrooms'.
Image via Kane Pixels.

The concept of The Backrooms first originated as a sort of creepypasta, after a photo of a pale, yellow hallway was posted as a picture that felt “off.” The basics of the lore are that the Backrooms are a seemingly endless labyrinth that people can phase, or “noclip” into, in specific areas in our world.

One of the bigger projects to utilize The Backrooms is the YouTube series of the same name by Kane Pixels. These videos consist mainly of found footage from those unfortunate enough to have found themselves in The Backrooms, and archive data from the secretive Async Foundation’s research on the place.

the-backrooms-2022.jpg

Release Date

January 7, 2022

Creator(s)

Kane Parsons

Cast

Kane Parsons
, Madison
, Aakash
, Henry

Seasons

1

Watch on YouTube

11

‘Petscop’ (2017)

Petscop

petscop-paul (1)-1

Presented as a “Let’s Play” of a strange fictional video game, the series Petscop began in 2017. In the video game, the goal of the player is to catch a variety of creatures called “Pets” in a similar way to Pokémon. For the actual videos, viewers follow the gameplay of someone named Paul who, after inputting a cheat code, discovers a darker side to the title.

Over Petscop’s duration, many theories have popped up to explain exactly what the game is about. Some fans have posited that it tells the fictional story of a murderer who caused great pain to the game’s creator, while others have said it was meant to shed light on a real-life criminal case.

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Release Date

March 12, 2017

Cast

Tony Domenico

Seasons

1

Watch on YouTube

10

‘Gemini Home Entertainment’ (2019)

Gemini Home Entertainment

gemini-home-entertainment-logo (1)-1

Relics from a time when VHS tapes were the main form of household media, the videos from Gemini Home Entertainment have something just a bit odd about them. On the surface, this series seems chock-full of wholesome entertainment for the entire family, until viewers actually watch it.

Each video starts out with a perfectly normal title and an often educational concept, such as “Storm Safety Tips,” or a “Wilderness Survival Guide.” However, there is always a point where they take a disturbing, and creepier turn, most of the time centered around the existence of eldritch creatures called Woodcrawlers, who can mimic the likeness of human beings.

gemini-home-entertainment-2019.jpg

Release Date

November 17, 2019

Creator(s)

Remy Abode

Seasons

1

Watch on YouTube

9

‘Surreal Broadcast’ (2020)

Surreal Broadcast

surreal-broadcast-logo (1)-1

In the same vein as Eventide Media Center and Gemini Home Entertainment, Surreal Broadcast is a collection of TV programs, with something strange happening in the background. What’s interesting about this, however, is that the videos are labeled with a range of different years, allowing viewers to construct a timeline as it goes on.

As a fair warning, people with arachnophobia may find this one a little uncomfortable. However, Surreal Broadcast has all the things that make a great creepy story. There’s a small county with a strange history, monsters that supposedly feed on fear, and of course, a classic sinister cult devoted to a being said to have fallen from the sky.

surreal-broadcast-2020.jpg

Release Date

July 20, 2020

Seasons

1

Watch on YouTube

8

‘Hi I’m Mary Mary’ (2016)

hiimmarymary

The Shadow advancing upon Mary while she is trying to sleep.

As one of the more abstract analog horror projects, Hi I’m Mary Mary definitely made itself stand out from the average found footage channel. Rather than a collection of clips and odd recordings from different people, Hi I’m Mary Mary focuses on one girl’s struggle in the face of suffocating fear.

The story centers on Mary, who wakes up in a seemingly familiar house with no clue how she got there, and no exit. While that’s strange enough, at night she is visited by a cast of horrifying entities, each uniquely dangerous. Like many other horror stories that have a heavy underlying theme, these videos can be both scary and emotional, so viewer discretion is advised.

hi-i-m-mary-mary-2016.jpg

Release Date

July 9, 2016

Creator(s)

-k.

Cast

-k.

Seasons

1

Watch on YouTube

7

‘Somnium DreamViewer’ (2022)

Somnium DreamViewer

Somnium-DreamViewer (1)

Somnium DreamViewer gets inside viewers’ heads, literally, as it depicts a brand new product called the Somnium DreamViewer which allows users to print images straight from their dreams. All you have to do is attach the advice to your head before you go to sleep and then print it when you wake up! It’s as simple as that. However, such incredible technology is sure to come with some flaws, namely the device causes extreme nightmares to its users.

The videos go through Somnium Technologies’ entire operation system, how it inducts its staff, and of course the legal battle around those terrifying nightmares. With a VHS and 1980s aesthetic, Somnium DreamViewer is a trippy ride from start to finish.

somnium-dreamviewer-2022.png

Release Date

January 1, 2022

Creator(s)

Holly Fernwright

Seasons

1

Watch on YouTube

6

‘The Mandela Catalogue’ (2021)

Alex Kister

the-mandela-catalogue-man-and-alternate-1 (1)-1

Created by Alex Kister, the somewhat new series The Mandela Catalogue quickly grew a following after its first upload in 2021. It revolves around the investigation into an invasion of seemingly hostile organisms, which, much like in Gemini Home Entertainment, can mimic the likeness of humans.

These creatures, called Alternates, don’t look exactly like people, however. Instead, they always have biologically impossible physical proportions, making them all the more frightening. The story puts forward the idea that they have been here at least since Biblical times when they came to people like Noah as “angels.” There’s something about mixing horror with religious concepts that always seems to be effective.

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Release Date

June 9, 2021

Creator(s)

Alex Kister

Seasons

2

Watch on YouTube

5

‘Local 58’ (2015)

Local 58

local-58-the-logo-for-the-local-television-channel (1)-1

Joining others of its kind in the subgenre, Local 58 paints the story of a bizarre, and terrifying invasion through the lens of a local television channel. Although it isn’t very long, this series makes a big impact due to the near-jumpscare quality of its darker content, and the refreshingly diverse mediums it uses.

While there’s no doubt that the Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror subgenre is common, Local 58 stands out by showing just enough to scare viewers while keeping them hooked on the unknown. Even though the danger isn’t clearly stated, the constant warnings to not look at the night sky are enough to make anyone feel uneasy.

local-58-2015.jpg

Release Date

October 26, 2015

Cast

Kris Straub

Seasons

3

Watch on YouTube

4

‘The Monument Mythos’ (2020)

MISTER MANTICORE

the-monument-mythos-freedom (1)-1

Unlike other series where the horrors are mostly contained in small towns or haunted restaurants, The Monument Mythos takes place across all of America for its majority. Depicting an alternate history of the United States, the audience gets to see what the country may look like if James Dean had been elected President, for instance.

The most interesting, and terrifying parts of The Monument Mythos, however, are the actual national landmarks themselves. The series goes through things like the Statue of Liberty or the Lincoln Memorial and gives each one a weirder, darker side. Not only that but there seem to be pieces of a conspiracy that might just go all the way to the top.

the-monument-mythos-2020.jpg

Release Date

August 26, 2020

Creator(s)

Mister Manticore

Cast

Lev
, Rohan Gerry
, Eliana Gallagher
, Giorgia Pellicciaro
, Amber Fowler
, The Wondering Wanderer
, Hannah McElroy
, Molly Chen

Seasons

3

Watch on YouTube

3

‘Cornerfolk’ (2020)

MISTER MANTICORE

cornerfolk

Cornerfolk is actually the prologue to The Monument Mythos but can be watched on its own for a terrifyingly good time. It follows a man named Riley who believes that there is a presence in his home whom he deems “Cornerfolk.” He explains them as creatures that transport from one plane of reality to another. He becomes obsessed with proving that the Cornerfolk are real, so much so that when he finally manages to capture a picture of one, he also attempts to travel to their universe, which he calls “Cornerworld.”

While not as in-depth or scary as The Monument Mythos, it’s a great way for viewers to dip their toes into the genre of analog horror. Cornerfolk is much more of a mind-game than the series it is a prologue to but because of that there is so much creativity and thought put into it that is undeniable.

Watch on YouTube

2

‘The Minerva Alliance’ (2019)

The Minerva Alliance

The Minerva Alliance

The titular Minerva Alliance in this analog horror series is shrouded in mystery, which is slowly unraveled by a (perhaps too) dedicated investigator determined to get to the bottom of its activities. Along the way, things take a dark turn as an increasingly disturbing string of enigmatic videos seems to prod at the nature of reality itself.

Creating an atmosphere of inescapable unease, The Minerva Alliance draws inspiration from the best found footage media to depict a realistic and immersive story. Alongside coded messages and eerie visuals, it’ll quickly draw viewers in before completely terrifying them as it escalates to surreal levels of horror.

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Release Date

August 17, 2019

Seasons

1

Watch on YouTube

1

‘Midwest Angelica’ (2022)

Midwest Angelica

Creature from Midwest Angelica (1) (1)-1

It all starts with an innocuous VHS tape in an old thrift store. Midwest Angelica follows the tape as it falls into the hands of an unfortunate group of viewers, who soon discover its malevolent secret. It depicts the work of an organization that chronicles the discovery of what seems to be a huge alien corpse… that isn’t quite as dead as they initially thought.

Suspense and dread build in the cosmic horror analog show that builds in intensity with each new episode. The spine-chilling series can evoke genuine fear with its combination of found footage, retro aesthetic, and a terrifying story of a contagion that seems impossible to stop.

midwest-angelica-2022.jpg

Release Date

January 22, 2022

Seasons

2

Watch on YouTube

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