Analog horror is a subgenre of horror fiction based around the aesthetic incorporation of elements related to analog electronics, such as analog television and VHS video recorders. It is typically characterized by low-fidelity graphics, cryptic messages, little to no traditional jump scares, and visual styles reminiscent of late 20th-century television and analog recordings.
This is a sortable list of analog horror media.
List of notable analog horror media
+TitleYearCreatorDescriptionNotesReferencesAmanda the Adventurer2023MANGLEDmaw GamesDora the Explorer-inspired puzzle game series involving locating mysterious VHS tapes full of disturbing content from an animated children's series starring an African American girl and a sheep named Wooly.Analog Horror: You Really Shouldn't Be Seeing This – Dread CentralAngel Hare2022East Patch Productions Inspired by Christian animated cartoons, Angel Hare is presented as an animated series starring an angelic hare named Gabby and her badger companion, Francis. Series protagonist Jonah, who watched the cartoon as a child, begins uploading footage of the cartoon to YouTube after realizing his personal VHS copy of the series differs from one found at the thrift store. As he rewatches the series, Jonah realizes that his copy of the cartoon had directly addressed young Jonah, giving him advice on how to deal with abuse by a parental figure (supposedly his father).Real horror is on YouTube – not Hollywood - The TriangleArchive 812016Horror podcast centered on an archivist named Dan, who is told by his new boss to constantly record his life. Dan's friend Marc listens to the recordings of Dan doing his job after Dan goes missing in hopes of learning what happened to him.It was adapted into a Netflix Original television series, which ran for one season in 2022.Backrooms2022Kane Parsons(as Kane Pixels)YouTube series which began with the horror short The Backrooms (Found Footage). Based on the creepypasta of the same name, the short is presented as a VHS tape recorded by a filmmaker who accidentally enters the Backrooms in the 1990s and is pursued by a monster. This was later expanded into a series of twenty-four shorts, following the employees of a company investigating the Backrooms.In 2023, A24 announced a film adaptation of the Backrooms based on Parsons' videos. It was released on May 29, 2026.Basswood County2022Dark MindYouTube series in which the main creatures are called Humanoids that go through 4 stages, Stage 1 is their True Form and Stage 4 is a Human Form. They come from a place called The Chamber which is deep in the forest. Ben Drowned2010Alex Hall(as Jadusable)One of the earliest examples of video game-related analog horror involving video footage of a cursed copy of Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.Blackwater EP2023Starbag FigurebreezeColumbine–inspired collage musical chronicling a would–be psychopath and his set of home movies combining with clips from radio broadcasts, the killer's own ramblings and non–violent CCTV footage of the Columbine shootings.Experimental album released the following year on BandcampBlackwater|Figurebreeze tymp2425c.c on official Bandcamp channelBlue_Channel2021GooseworxYouTube series about a fictional TV channel that aired a commercial for a new drug called "Thalasin" that allows the user to artificially feel emotions.Created by Gooseworx (The Amazing Digital Circus)The Boiled One Phenomenon2024Doctor NowhereA YouTube video which involves an entity named The Boiled One hijacking a broadcast channel made by a mysterious organization called the Ephrata Branch, discussing a disturbing interruption that has disastrous consequences. With themes of religion and the apocalypse. Individuals watching the hijacked broadcast became victims of The Boiled one, being completely paralyzed and forced to witness, and hear, The Boiled One’s appearance and torture, in a way that resembles the locked-in syndrome. Boisvert2020XreamyAn abstract surrealist animated YouTube series following several characters, including Ouriel, Room and Dogtooth, through a world of unsettling imagery, cryptic messages and psychological themes. The series explores isolation, emotional distress, personal conflict and attempts at change through experimental animation, distorted audiovisual elements and symbolic storytelling. Its narrative is communicated through hidden messages, QR codes, Morse code, hexadecimal, French, Hebrew and American Sign Language.5 Indie YouTube Horror Series That We Refuse To Watch At Night!|Hype MalaysiaBuddy2026Casper KellyOne kid refuses to participate in singing, dancing and playing along with the other kids and their brightly orange unicorn friend (the latter holding his friends hostage) on a 1990s Barney and Friends-inspired childrens' TV series It's Buddy.Casper Kelly Breaks Down the Making of 'Buddy' | TheWrap on YouTubeFeaturing the voices of Keegan-Michael Key, Patton Oswalt and Michael Shannon and directed by Casper Kelly (Too Many Cooks)Buddy Trailer: Too Many Cooks' Creator Is Back With A New Analog Horror Movie|/FilmSXSW 2026 Film Review: Buddy – Bad Feeling MagazineCH/SS2016Turkey Lenin IIICold War-inspired series of 1980s government-sponsored instructional videos for a mental health organization, with hints at espionage and supernatural forces through obscure Russian dialogue.Crypt TV2015Jack DavisMini-horror movies involving monsters such as The Birch and The Look-See alongside The Sunny Family Cult.Dog Nightmares2022Piggy SodaA young woman is looking for her lost dog only to rediscover a dog-man hybrid she knew from her childhood years. The story is told through her old drawings, photographs, video footage and excerpts from Sesame Street featuring skits created by artist William Wegman featuring his pet weimaraners.Eventide Media Center2020Aidan ChickHorror anthology series framed as the "local collection" of a public library in the fictional town of Eventide Valley, Massachusetts. Each episode focuses on a different event or monster that inhabits Eventide Valley or other fictional towns in the state.Final TransmissionsA '90s small town Illinois TV host airs disturbingly strange and terrifying signals claiming to be from unknown sources.FNAF VHS Tapes2019Various, including Squimpus McGrimpus, Battington, and ValoxYouTube videos based on Five Nights at Freddy’s, featuring aesthetics and styles of 1980s and/or 1990s analog media used for the creators' take on the lore and games of the franchise. These psychological horror videos, featuring low-quality and horrific graphics, hidden cryptic messages, and distorted audio, depict topics such as tapes recorded by night guards trying to survive their night shifts and video training manuals that are tampered with, usually by the spirits of murdered children (e.g. Charlotte Emily as the Puppet).The most popular FNAF VHS series is YouTuber Squimpus McGrimpus' Five Nights at Freddy’s VHS, which was the first to depict Five Nights at Freddy’s in analog horror and features popular installments such as Facial Recognition Testing, Fazbear Entertainment Video Manual, and Sound Response Test that have accumulated millions of views and pioneered FNAF VHS videos, with the last installment titled Finale releasing on July 11th, 2020. They revolve around Michael Afton uncovering the past doings of his father William Afton.Frogman2024Anthony Cousins & Karl Karsko 12 year-old Dallas Kyle, who encountered and captured video footage of a mythical creature, returns to where the creature lives to prove that his footage is legitimate.Gemini Home Entertainment2019Remy AbodeHorror anthology centered on the eponymous Gemini Home Entertainment, a fictional distributor of VHS tapes that detail numerous anomalous incidents taking place around the world, including the appearances of various dangerous alien creatures in the United States and an ongoing assault on the Solar System by "The Iris", a sentient rogue planet which sent the entities to Earth as part of its efforts to subjugate the planet and humanity.The Glendale Archives2025An archivist digitizes and upload a series of VHS tapes. The tapes show a man lost in a place with no humans at all, with the exception of humanoid "nesters". Throughout the tapes, he talks about problems with his mind and tries to survive in the place.The Glendale Archives is Uniquely Provocative Analog Horror – Night Mind on YouTubeGilbert Garfield2022-2023Faraone ProductionsA surreal comedy horror satire of lost media analog horror webseries focusing on Gilbert Garfield, a fake TV show where the character of Garfield is played by Gilbert Gottfried. This grows into a deep conspiracy surrounding the company who created the show, which is secretly a fascist cult that clones celebrities in order to create a new world order.Gilbert Garfield: The Most Horrific Crossover in TV History - Goose Boose on YouTubeGilbert Garfield: The Most Horrific Crossover in TV History - Night Mind on YouTubeHarvest Brood2025Joe MeredithAn unusually brutal series of murders tied to the dark legend of "the four mutant beings" in a small Alabama town on a Halloween night in 2006.‘Harvest Brood’ is a Remarkable Work of Lo-Fi Aesthetic Appeal: A Review – Creep CatalogPodcast #258: Harvest Blood (2025) & Joe Meredith|SwampflixHi I'm Mary Mary2016KWebseries about a woman trapped inside her parents' home without any exit, with only a camera and replenishing supply of food, and while being stalked by shadowy figures including a masked woman.Hi I'm Mary Mary|Night Mind IndexThe Kid and the Camera2022Braiden OrtizA stop-motion short about a six-year old camera-loving boy named Cailen who is visited by a creature known as The Cipsneed.‘The Kid and the Camera’ Review: Simple and Terrifying Analog Horror Short|The Movie BuffKraina Grzybów TV2013Wiktor StribogA Polish YouTube series about a mysterious pirate broadcast show hosted by a girl named Agatka and her squirrel friend, Małgosia. Kraina Grzybów is made in the aesthetic of old Polish TV shows from the communist era.Late Night with the Devil2024Colin and Cameron CairnesLate Night with the Devil. 2024. Written and directed by Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes|MoMAA Halloween-themed episode of a 1970s late night talk show, in which the host, in a desperate attempt to boost ratings, brings an allegedly possessed girl onto the show.Late Night with the Devil (2024)|Mass After MidnightWinner of the Best Independent Film Award at the 52nd Saturn AwardsFilm Review: Analog Scares in "Late Night with the Devil" - The KnockturnalReview: 'Late Night with the Devil' – Film CredThis Broadcast Gave Viewers Clinical PTSD – Farrell McGuire on YouTubeNight Owls Episode 335 (2024) · LetterboxdLiminal Land2023Nexpo and Nick CrowleyA series which revolves around a fictional theme park, Liminal Land, located in Lake Valley, New Mexico. The park opened in 1975 and was intended to be better than Disneyland. However, the park mysteriously closed in 1989. Many believe it was due to the horrific injuries and disappearances that occurred there.About Liminal Land|Visit Liminal LandLocal 582015Kris StraubYouTube series presented as authentic videotaped footage of a television station that has been continuously hijacked over several decades. While there is no main plot in this series, episodes include messages related to looking up at the Moon or the night sky, as well as the in-universe Thought Research Initiative (TRI) Local 58'''s first video "Weather Service" was published in 2015 as a stand-alone short and then added to the dedicated YouTube channel when it was established in 2017. |Frequently credited with creating and/or popularizing analog horror.
|The Mandela Catalogue|2021 |Alex Kister