Throughout human history, fear has accompanied us in a variety of ways. Fear is what kept our ancestors alive in the face of danger, allowing them to choose whether to run or fight the threat that faced them. Over time, fear has been translated into fiction, and the media that has been produced delves into various threats to human life. This can include murderous people and creatures, the paranormal, the loss of sanity, and more. And with the advances in technology, creators have more and more formats to tell their stories. As people build upon people’s biggest fears, creators have found new techniques to frighten people. One of these new techniques is through the horror-subgenre known as analog horror.  

Analog horror can be described as a mix of “digital horror” and “found footage” media like The Blair Witch Project and the original Japanese version of The Ring. It descends from online horror stories containing disturbing footage of haunted media such as Candle Cove and Ben Drowned. Some of the first few analog horror series were posted on YouTube.  Many sources cite Steven Chamberlain’s No Through Road (posted in January 2009) and Troy Wagner’s Marble Hornets (posted in June 2009) as the first examples of analog horror found online.  

However, analog horror has gained more popularity in recent years. In this surge of popularity, creators have rushed to create their own series that will gain popularity and successfully frighten their viewers.  

Here are some of the most popular and highly recommended analog horror series that are available on YouTube.  

Local 58  

Made by Kris Staub 

The series, Local 58, contains videos depicting a fictional TV channel that is constantly being hijacked to present disturbing and cryptic messages. The creator, Kris Staub, uses distorted video and audio to capture the look of analog television; adding another unsettling layer to each video.  

The series was made in 2015. According to the creator, Local 58 is the same as Channel 58 from his online horror story, Candle Cove. In the series, he also makes other references to his former works in Local 58.  

There is no clear plot, yet there is a re-occurring theme of “looking at the moon” and an organization named the “Thought Research Initiative.” The series and its themes are described by the creator as “”stillness, distrust of safety warnings, misuse of mass perception, parallel science that arises from unexamined bad intent, dogmatic thought.” 

The Walten Files 

Made by Martin Walls 

The Walten Files is a series inspired by the horror game, Five Nights at Freddy’s, and the first episode was released on April 26th, 2020. The plot of the series revolves around a restaurant meant to entertain children with animatronics. The founders of this fictional establishment, known as Bon’s Burgers, are Jack Walten and Felix Kranken, and this restaurant is under the management of Bunny Smiles Incorporated. The series takes place in the 1970’s and 1980’s.  

 The story of The Walten Files is told through VHS tapes created by Bunny Smiles Incorporated, and these tapes help reveal what occurred while Bon’s Burgers was still in business and what led to its closure.  

Gemini Home Entertainment 

Made by Remy Abode 

Gemini Home Entertainment takes place in the 1980s and 1990s and features found VHS tapes made by fictional companies and distributed by the company, “Gemini Home Entertainment.”  The tapes usually discuss topics regarding wildlife, space, and technology, though it also details a larger story concerning extraterrestrials and the end of the world.  

This series began in 2019 and it seems to be ongoing as of 2023. There are currently 19 episodes, the first one being released on November 17th, 2019. 

The creator, Remy Abode, was inspired by online horror legends describing mythological creatures such as “wendigos” and “skin-walkers.’ Another source of inspiration was through science fiction horror films like Alien (1979) and The Thing (1982). 

The Smile Tapes 

Made by Patorikku 

 This series takes place in the 1990s when a new, fictional drug called SMILE was circulated in the US. This drug would cause users to indulge in violent and aggressive behavior while laughing and smiling uncontrollably. It is later revealed that the drug contains spores from an extraterrestrial fungus.  

In the series, this drug is especially dangerous because it leads users to commit murder while they slowly lose their sanity and their faces become disturbingly warped as one of the side effects forces their facial muscles to form a smile.  

The series was made in 2021 by an individual online known as Patorikku.  

The Mandela Catalogue 

Made by Alex Kister 

The Mandela Catalogue is a series made by Alex Kister and was originally released in 2021. It takes place in a fictional location known as Mandela County, Wisconsin.  

In this series, there are disturbing beings known as “alternates” who disguise themselves as doppelgangers. These creatures use psychological torture on their victims by traumatizing them in various ways to the point that they take their own lives.  

These fictional creatures also manipulate audiovisual media (like televisions), target religious individuals, and they also seem to have a presumed leader who is disguised as the archangel Gabriel. People in this universe can be diagnosed with “Metaphysical Awareness Disorder” (M.A.D) which occurs when alternates tell them “Information which not desired to be known” according to the series.  

Alex Kister, the creator of the series, had originally made The Mandela Catalogue when he was 18 years old and was struggling with an existential crisis and was inspired by the isolation he felt during the COVID-19 pandemic. He had a little-to-no budget on the series, but continued to make videos when his first video, Overthrone, received online popularity.  

In conclusion, analog horror seems to be a great way for online creators to begin filmmaking in an inexpensive way that’ll give them a wider audience. Many of the mentioned series and creators didn’t have much to use, yet they improvised with what they had. Not to mention, they were able to use the low-video-quality of VHS tapes and the overall aesthetic of analog horror to hide the fact that they were on a very low budget. Many individuals online applaud these creative individuals for their innovative ideas in terms of finding a way to create original and entertaining content which stems from online classics and brings in a variety of other horror-genres as well. It is also very easy to garner a large audience since all these series are free to watch on YouTube and are perfect for setting the mood for Halloween.