Small Horror YouTube Channels To Watch
Sometimes, The Best Scares are Small and Unknown
Horror films have been a staple of cinema for years. Ever since the first moving picture was made, people have created films meant to entice, disturb, stimulate, frighten and scare viewers in some way.
In fact, some of the first horror films made were adaptations of classic horror literature. “A Christmas Carol” (yes, technically a ghost story) “Frankenstein”, “Dracula” (and what became “Nosferatu”), and other novels were some of the earliest films produced that last today.
Unfortunately, horror films, for all their history, also have a fairly poor reputation. Often, filmmakers believe they can churn out a quick film using cheap effects, jump scares, and flimsy premises to hook viewers who want to turn off their brains and get scared for a few hours. While this is true in a lot of ways – as the whole purpose of horror films is simply to feel the emotion of terror in a safe place – these films rarely hold up well after a while, and in a lot of cases, the cheapness of the film works against them.
Why? Well, keeping a captive audience held in thrall for that long makes it hard to hide the flaws that people aren’t there for. If your story is flimsy, then your audience will get bored. Yet if you keep ramping up the scares, the audience will get desensitized. For every “The Exorcist” that tells an amazing story between the disturbing parts, there are at least a dozen “It Came From Beyond the Grave” schlocky pulp movies that no one will remember in a month.
Yet even with that, horror films are still popular for a reason; people love to get scared and see original stories that made them interested in horror in the first place.
So what’s the best way to get good stories while getting scared at the same time? Luckily, many filmmakers, from amateurs, students, and even professionals looking to experiment, have gone to YouTube as a platform to showcase their skills, working with others – or even alone – to put together small films for others’ enjoyment. In fact, you’ll find that the horror film subcategory on YouTube is just inundated with short films that range from the amazing, well-edited, to something that some people put together in their backyard on an old iPhone in a weekend.
Below, I’ve collected three categories of horror YouTubers that fans of horror will like. Short Films, Serials, and Essayists. All of which have something new, varied, and different depending on people’s tastes. Let’s get into it with our first category.
Horror Films
Believe it or not, horror films don’t have to be feature-length and drag themselves on for hours on end. You can get enough scares from something that’s only 5 minutes long and possibly come out better for it in the end.
Mostly, this has to do with the nature of film. In most stories, the more information presented to the viewer, the better. Viewers want to know character motivations, why they do what they do, backstories, lore, and other contextual clues about why the film is the way it is. Yet in horror, the inverse is true because the more we know, the less scary something is. The nature of horror is that we are supposed to be terrified of the unknown and unexpected; the shadows in the corner do actually contain monsters, and the flickering lights indicate rising tension.
Which is why short films work best for it. They’re often to the point, don’t load the viewers with needlessly complicated story points, and often just present the terrifying event and move on after disturbing the viewers.
The following collection of short channels are just a FEW of the ones that are all over YouTube right now. In fact, short horror films are an entire industry in themselves, to where you’ll often find these channels collaborating with other channels. You’ll even find channels that are from different countries and speak in different languages – some with higher budgets for actors, sets, costumes, and VFX. Yet they all have one thing in common: they are designed to create content that scares you.
Now, because of how many channels there are, I limited the selection to at least 10+ videos devoted to horror films, so you don’t get channels that have languished for years with one brilliant film and then never came back. Most, if not all, of these channels are still uploading content to this day.
Dylan Clark
What makes Dylan Clark’s short films so fun to watch is that he’s not like a lot of horror YouTubers out there. Often, horror content tends to be evocative of violence and focuses on the visceral destruction of people and the scene itself. While this isn’t a bad thing, as violence IS rather disturbing when utilized horrifically, there’s really not a lot of nuances to it when all it does is disgust.
Where Dylan Clark succeeds is that his films are short, atmospheric, and creepy. No one gets injured during his films, at least not usually. That doesn’t stop things from moving in the shadows, the protagonists’ breath from hitching in their chests, and something dark lurking on the edge of our vision. His films are visual treats meant to evoke dread, and they work absolutely perfectly.
To see them for yourself, go to their channel and see what I mean.
https://www.youtube.com/@dylanclark
Surkee
Horror animation doesn’t get as much love as it should. While yes, realistic scenes with live actors and settings get more eyes on it, there’s so much that you can visually do with animation that simply can’t be done with real actors – or at least, not without a lot of practical effects or computer graphics, which can look fake and cartoony, anyway.
What makes Surkee so much fun is that they use SFM models, which stands for “Source Film Maker”. It’s an older animation tool that uses pre-rendered graphics, usually from video games like “Half Life” and “Team Fortress 2”, with rarely made custom assets. While the animation looks plain, janky, and blocky, it adds to the uncanniness of the stories and gives them a grungy, worn appearance that makes them look unique.
If you’re looking for an interesting channel with an interesting animation style, then you’ll find them at
https://www.youtube.com/@Surkee
ALTER
While this channel is fairly popular – sitting at around 3.77 million subscribers as of this writing – that doesn’t mean it’s not considered an indie channel. What makes ALTER so unique among other short film channels is the fact that they dip into many horror subgenres.
I’m not kidding either. You’ll find horror films that are homages to classics, while also finding some that are parodies. You’ll also find unique stories that experiment with different film techniques and story structures as well, and while they have a lot of videos, there’s something for everyone there. In fact, you could marathon all that they have on their channel and still easily have hundreds of hours left to watch. There are over 1,000 videos, and they create something new at least once a week.
Seriously, give it a go and see if there’s anything in there that’s perfect for you. You can find them at
https://www.youtube.com/@WatchALTER
Blake Ridder
This channel is unique in just how Blake Ridder approaches filmmaking. Most of his films are created at around 1 minute to 5 minutes, with a fast runtime that quickly cycles through its horror concepts while being filmed on a tiny budget.
Yet it’s this small budget that makes them so much fun to watch. While some channels – such as the previously mentioned ALTER – have a budget that they can use thanks to their channel’s success and the team of talent they command, Blake Ridder is someone who works with little to nothing but makes it work. Plus, he also devotes channel space to showing how he does certain special effects with no budget, often using his creativity to create practical effects with nothing more than what he found in his house and at Hobby Lobby.
Seriously, give his channel a watch because he deserves it, and talent like that should be celebrated no matter the genre. Can find him at
https://www.youtube.com/@BlakeRidder
Animated Horror Flicks
This channel is, as you would guess, all about animating horror stories. Unlike Surkee above, this channel is predominantly a 2D animated channel, or a 2.5D animated channel at least, since they use 3D models made to look 2D. Most of the stories are originals that the channel has produced, but it also features occasional creepypastas, or stories adapted from popular Reddit stories.
What sets this channel apart from other horror films on this list is that the stories are mostly just creepy, without being terrifying. None of their videos are focused on jump scares or dangerous monsters that suddenly attack. In fact, none of them are violent, and are mostly about people put into unsettling situations with some threat looming in the background, which you can’t see. Plus, there are some videos that are heartfelt in the end, despite how the tension feels uncanny.
If you’re interested in seeing what they have to offer, you can find them at
https://www.youtube.com/@AnimatedHorrorFlicks
Crypt TV
This channel is similar to ALTER above in that it’s not just one person who runs the show, but rather a congregation of filmmakers who work together. However, unlike the previously mentioned channel, this one allows individuals to submit to it to showcase, as it’s a channel that’s entirely revolved around submissions rather than their own internal production schedule.
As such, Crypt TV offers a wide variety of horror films for anyone with varied interests. You’ll see the surreal, the bloody, the violent, and the deep, thoughtful, and occasionally uplifting endings, though those are rarer.
In the end, there are over 800 videos to enjoy, dating back years and providing hundreds of hours of content. If that sounds interesting, then you can find them at
https://www.youtube.com/@Crypttv
For now, that’s all the YouTube Horror Filmmakers to talk about, though this is by no means the only channels on YouTube you’ll find. In fact, I have a spreadsheet with over a hundred channels that I’ve peeked at over the years, and I’ll get to them in the future.
Let’s move on to the next category. Which is not about horror short films, but rather a series of shorts that tell a longer story broken up piece by piece.
Serial Stories
So what sets serial stories apart from the films above? Mostly in how they present their stories. Usually, serials are done episodically, in several parts, and tell an ongoing story that can’t be done in one coherent film.
Think of your ARGs, your analogue horrors, and your web mysteries. The type of things that require viewing different segments together, or theorizing what the story is actually about. It’s not a structured story with a beginning, middle, and end, but glimpses into the narrative from different PoVs and story styles.
So let’s look at a couple. I’ll be keeping this segment brief as I mostly wanted to talk about them in depth in future articles, or review them when they conclude. Though the following should give you a taste of the type of horrors you’ll find on YouTube.
Dark Burn Opus
For now, this web series horror show only has a handful of episodes, but by god do they knock it out of the park. We don’t know much about what’s going on in the story, but from what we do know, it involves a dark god who came from a lake, and he captivated a town with his music despite everyone knowing he’s not human. His musical concert seemingly drove the town mad; they all disappeared, and those who had family in the town want answers, while those who get close to the truth are killed by the dark god. There are also governmental experiments as well.
A lot of threads to tie together for sure, but one that will hopefully be answered in time. You can find all the current episodes on a playlist on Reddiamond’s page, located at;
https://www.youtube.com/@reddiamond8846
Angel Hare
What makes analogue horror such a popular genre of YouTube horror serials is that it’s evocative of a simpler time when data was stored on VHS and cassettes, and everything wasn’t digitized. For those of us who lived during the 80s, 90s, and part of the early 2000s, we can remember a time when videos had scan lines on them, weird warping on the tapes made things look strange and uncanny, and how broadcasts on our TVs could be cut, spliced, hijacked, and more.
Things just felt a little weird, and even a little scary too, and it helps to fuel the nostalgia-based horror, or at least for those who didn’t experience it firsthand, gives us an uncanny look into the past.
So what makes “Angel Hare” different is that while it IS technically billed as a horror, it’s also wholesome. It’s about an Angel who takes the form of an animated rabbit – Angel Gabby – from the main character’s childhood and protects the main character throughout their life. The main character – Jonas Whitman – reconnects with this animated character when watching reruns of his favorite childhood cartoon, but realizes that they’re different from how he remembers. He recovers the old VHS tapes of the old episodes, and upon watching them, reconnects with his guardian angel.
While it’s not terrifying or disturbing, it does offer a breath of fresh air into the genre, and it has moments that make one uncomfortable to watch. A unique watch for those who are looking for something a little different. You can find all the episodes on The East Patch’s channel, as well as other projects.
https://www.youtube.com/@TheEastPatch
Petscop
Imagine the fun of finding a copy of a video game that never made it to market, but was still playable. You load it up on some old hardware, and it works flawlessly while you navigate its files, looking into the game and seeing what’s there.
Then imagine the utter confusion, and then, growing horror, as you realize there’s more to it than you realize.
That’s exactly what Petscop is. It’s a series about a man who found an unfinished video game, played it, and uncovered its secrets, while finding confessions of childhood trauma, death, abuse, forgiveness, and more. It’s a pretty dense series that sometimes meanders along, as the creator admitted that there are elements in the story they wanted to delve into but didn’t, but it is so very much worth it if you’re into the idea of haunted video games containing secrets. Plus, as a long-running serial, you can find plenty of fan-created works, as well as a potential video game adaptation being created.
While the series ended six years ago, there’s still a lot of discussion and theories about the series, even to this day, and you can find all the videos, as well as a soundtrack, at their YouTube page at
https://www.youtube.com/petscop
Video Essay Channels
Video essays on horror topics are far different from the short films and series from above. With these channels, the main topic isn’t in telling a story, but in creating in-depth discussion on horror topics ranging from cult classics to liminal spaces, to delving into the meaning of horror films and tropes, and everything else you can think of. Some channels even delve into real-life ghost stories, disturbing cases, and shocking supernatural footage.
In essence, they’re channels that talk about horror rather than create it. The fun of these channels doesn’t lie with the fact that they create content, but mostly in that they showcase other content and talk about their merits, deeper meanings, or just to essentially go “hey look at this scary thing”… which is close to what I’m doing right now.
For now, I’ve collected a series of channels with a variety of disparate topics to go over. I also tried to shy away from as much real-life true-crime as possible, as it’s a personal choice for myself. I don’t find true crime terrifying, but more infuriating; though if you do like that sort of content, there are plenty of channels that cover it. Some are more sensational, while others are more respectful of real-life victims.
With that said, let’s get into some channels that I feel deserve to be mentioned – and keep in mind that this is just a small sampling of fun channels. I intend to cover more, eventually.
Farrel McQuire
Farrel McQuire is a fairly large channel that covers a wide variety of different topics. On his channel, you’ll often find essays that talk about horrors found on social media platforms (such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.), as well as horrors hidden in YouTube Ads, different internet circles from around the world, found footage, and more.
What makes his channel fun is that he covers not just one niche but encompasses different interests that are pretty unique, uncomfortable to watch, and even downright disturbing, and it’s always fun to watch, no matter what he uploads. You can find his channel at
https://www.youtube.com/@farrellmcguire
Night Mind
Imagine a soothing voice lowly cooing at you from what feels like an open window to a warm summer breeze in the dead of night. This is essentially Night Mind. On his channel, you’ll find that he covers web series, such as the ones I mentioned in the previous section, and more. These web series are often either analogue horror, creepy video games, hauntings, or more.
A fairly large channel, there’s always something there that might catch one’s eye, especially for series that they’re interested in picking up, or rewatching, or even wanting to watch a summary of from someone who likes to delve deep into the meat of a series and truly come to understand it, and the theories surrounding them. You can find his channel at
https://www.youtube.com/@NightMind
Crowmudgeon
This channel is much like Farrel McQuire above, in that he covers a variety of different topics as well. Unlike Farrel, though, his interests aren’t solely on hidden, secretive horrors that lurk in mundane places, but rather discussing topics such as creepy paintings that look unnerving, popular creepypastas, paranormal conspiracy theories, and even seasons of web serials. He’s even delved into writing online horror stories and narrating them himself. All of which you can find at
https://www.youtube.com/@crowmudgeon
ManlyBadassHero
Yes, that name is all one word. What sets ManlyBadassHero (MBH from here on out) apart from other horror content creators on this list is just how unabashedly he enjoys playing horror games for both his and our amusement. Often, these essay channels speak in low, slow voices, add creepy music to the background, and treat the topics with reverence and even awe.
MBH, on the other hand, often laughs when the terror comes, acts out dialogue rather than reads it, and is often willing to replay games to film multiple endings. While he’s not exactly an essayist – as he’s mostly playing horror video games and showcasing them – he’s included on this list for those who are interested in niche, hidden horror game gems but don’t have the time to play said games themselves. Plus, MBH’s joy in finding a fun game is infectious.
Keep in mind that he does have some videos that aren’t of horror games, but predominantly (around 95%), they involve horror games. You can find his channel at
https://www.youtube.com/@ManlyBadassHero
The Jolly Reiver
Most of the horror channels on this list – especially in this section – cover horror that’s disturbing, terrifying, creepy, or just downright scary. The Jolly Reiver, though, is a relatively calm channel that covers ghost stories from before the modern era. Often, there are ghost stories, supernatural events, and creepy tales that date back to the 1200s, and it’s not uncommon to hear stories from even as far back as antiquity.
For now, almost all the stories he tells come from the British Isles, and even then, it’s predominantly Ireland he covers. However, who knows in the future, even though, as he said in one video, there are so many ghosts in Ireland, he could spend decades covering them in one county alone.
Plus, what makes his channel so fun to watch is that he doesn’t try to force it into being scary. He’ll include visuals and video on location, but he doesn’t try to upsell it. He simply tells the story and thanks you for watching. You can find his channel at
https://www.youtube.com/@TheJollyReiver
Connor McGrath
Connor is a lot like Farrel McQuire up above, but they differ vastly from one another in how they approach their essays. While Farrel does a lot of horror based around social media posts, forums from other countries, and even the occasional video game urban legend, Connor does predominately deep dives into television series, creepy niche horror video games, dissects horror tropes, as well as does overviews of basic scary concepts (such as darkness, the terror of silence, liminal spaces, etc).
Occasionally, he also narrates horror stories that he’s written himself, as well as other creepypastas he’s seen. You can find his channel at
https://www.youtube.com/@spookymcg
Virtual Carbon
Virtual Carbon is a video essayist who covers horror video game lore, settings, and more, predominantly focused on detailing dying worlds or stories where the video game itself is dark, dreary, and almost melancholic. It focuses less on the terrifying and disturbing aspects of horror and more on the slow burn and atmosphere.
While his videos covering these sad, dead worlds are more somber, his internet rabbit holes are much more energetic. Especially those that cover internet mysteries, lost media, and more. This is one of my favorite channels to watch in the dark with some snacks, and you can find all the videos at
https://www.youtube.com/@VirtualCarbon
Chilling Scares
A channel that prides itself on being succinct and to the point. A lot of the other essayists above work with clever editing, music in the background, and haunting visuals. By contrast, Chilling Scares gets straight to the point on what his videos are about and covers horror content found online. Such as chilling live stream footage, ring cam terrors, people filming themselves in the middle of the woods when something is hunting them, and other sordid and even morbid videos.
While he does edge towards true crime a lot of times, his videos are never about sensationalizing these crimes, but the lead up to it on film, and always just to highlight the footage itself. Plus, his videos capped at around the 15-minute mark, which makes them bite-sized watches in chunks, and you can find them at
https://www.youtube.com/@ChillingScares
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there is a lot of content found on YouTube. As stated at the start, this is just a few channels you’ll find. There are hundreds, thousands even, with more being created every day by enthusiastic horror fans wanting to either create a series for others to enjoy, create short films with the hope of breaking into the film business, or just the love of the game, or essayists who are passionate about horror subjects.
In fact, we hadn’t even touched on certain channel types, such as those who review books and movies and more, talk about real-life esoteric subjects like dark magic, the satanic panic, documentaries, demons, and more. Those discussions will come in time, though, as there’s a lot of ground to cover.
For now, enjoy the previous list above and add your own suggestions. Leave a comment, leave me an e-mail on channels to check out, or share this article and discuss it. I would love to hear others’ thoughts.
Till then, I’ll be howling at the moon, having myself a late-night coffee, and enjoying all the above content and more tonight.
