The internet is a place of nigh infinite content and curiosity, which well mesmerizing and awe-inspiring can lead to finely woven tales of terror, horror, and dread in ways that no movie or book could capture. From the crackling of old VHS tapes, the flicker of early-2000´s computers, to the annals of online forums with a sinister tale brewing. But first we must go all the way back to 1938 to see its roots.

H.G. Wells’s War of the Worlds is a book on how the earth is decimated by an alien invasion. There was a reading of this book in 1938 across the radio that caused widespread panic since many believed it to be real. This is a major inspiration for internet horror down the line. Going over to 1987 there was the Max Headroom Incident. This was a TV hijacking of a Chicago broadcast where a figure dressed as the fictional character of the same name performed odd, disturbing, and uncanny acts. Many people cite this as the inspiration for the internet horror trope of a strange, hijacked broadcast (Ex. Local 58 and Gemini Home Entertainment). Now going over to 1999 to the release of the horror film the Blair Witch Project.

This film is one of the key inspirations for almost all internet horror video series. Firstly, it is one of the most popular uses of ¨found footage¨ which is a horror genre where you witness recovered footage of horrifying events, usually on some kind of older video camera to leave more to interpretation (Ex. Mandela Catalogue and Marble Hornets). Secondly the marketing campaign for this film was one of the first noted and probably the most popular uses of the ARG. ARG´s aka Alternate Reality Games are a set of puzzles and clues that lead to more content for a piece of media, Internet horror authors have used the unique way people interact with the world wide web to their advantage. By hiding clues around websites, using hidden links, ciphers, and in messages only shown in singular frames, horror creators have engaged their audiences to an unprecedented degree. So now that we have all of the major inspirations down let us dive into the internet horror landscape starting from the very beginning.

1990s-2005

Now the first known record of internet horror cannot be stated since there have always been spooky stories or scary chain emails all across the internet which have sadly been lost to time. Scary stories had been shared throughout the 90´s through sites like the now defunct Fright.com. Yet, the first story resembling modern internet horror would be the Ted the Caver story posted in March of 2001 on an Angelfire website. This story details the discovery and excavation of a mysterious ancient cavern where there is something lurking. This is the first preserved internet story that resembles the now common model of the creepypasta. The word creepypasta itself comes from the word copypasta, which is copied and pasted stories spread across the internet. Over the years many popular creepypastas will come out and have significant influence on the internet’s horror landscape, and they will be mentioned at the appropriate time. We must also mention the series known as Salad Fingers, released in 2004 and having a huge impact, possibly being the largest horror flash animation of all time inspiring many series with its surreal and disturbing imagery.

2006-2010

Now this era has much more to work with since many of the stories are still preserved, so let us begin. We start this era in 2006 with the horror story of the Rake. The Rake is a cryptid of the humanoid variety and has been described as a sort of skin-walker. The Rake has existed since before the internet but in 2007 a story about the Rake allowed it to reach a more mainstream audience, inspiring many internet cryptids down the line.  Now moving over to 2007 with the creation of SCP-173. SCP-173 was the first in a long line of what are called SCPs. SCPs are anomalous creatures or objects contained by the fictional SCP foundation. All of the stories are stored on a central website where many aspiring writers can create their own intriguing monsters. Now moving on to one of my personal favorites and one of the most influential pieces of Internet Horror, No Through Road. First released in 2009 it follows a group of 17-year-old British kids getting trapped in a time loop between two road signs late at night being hunted by a mysterious masked figure.

This short film and its eventual continuation would garner critical acclaim from many sources and inspire many future stories and series.  From one heavy hitter to the next we now go to the something awful forums in 2009 to witness the creation of one of the internet’s biggest horror creations, Slenderman. Slenderman was first created by a user named Victor Surge in a Photoshop contest to create paranormal images. Slenderman is a long thin figure with a pure white face with zero features. He is often depicted wearing a suit and sometimes with black tentacles emanating from his back. Slenderman would become a humongous hit spawning game such as Slender and the Eight Pages and eventually a poorly received movie. Slenderman also plays a role in one of the internet’s most influential horror series, Marble Hornets. Marble Hornets follows the recovery of a group of film students attempting to make a movie, while unknowingly they are stalked by Slenderman (Called the Operator in this series).

This series inspired many found footage horror series that would become internet horror sensations. However further down the line in 2014 the Slenderman Stabbing would pretty much kill the style of the Creepypasta for years.  Now going over to 2010 many big events would occur. Firstly, the creation of the r/nosleep subreddit will lead to the creation of many famous internet horror stories such as Penpal and even inspire some movies and shows. This year would also be a huge year for the subgenre of video game horror stories. Starting off with the story of Ben Drowned where a guy buys a haunted copy of the Legend of Zelda: Majoras Mask. This would inspire the popular trope of a haunted video game copy. Now we move on to the creation of another one of the internet’s heavy-hitters, Herobrine. Herobrine was created by an anonymous user on 4chan. He is said to stalk many Minecraft worlds and do creepy things in general.  Herobrine is probably the most popular fan created video game monster of all time, even Mojang themselves reference Herobrine on multiple occasions in patch notes saying they removed him. This concludes the era of the 2000s.

2011-2020

This era marks the beginning of Analog Horrors’ widespread popularity and the creation of multiple iconic series. Starting in 2011 with the release of the first episode of Don’t Hug Me, I’m Scared. This bizarre and often surreal puppet show follows the typical layout of a children’s show like Sesame Street were ¨Instructors¨ come to teach the main cast about certain subjects, usually involving some kind of song. But unlike the typical children’s media, it gets dark fast. The use of puppets and the overall style was incredibly unique for its time, and it has garnered much critical acclaim.  While not being strictly internet horror, it would be remiss of me to not mention that 2014 saw the release of the first game in the Five Nights at Fredy’s series. This singular game inspired swathes of series either directly in the FNAF universe or heavily based off it such as FNAF VHS and the Walten Files (more detail on the Walten Files later).

I would also be remiss for me not to mention the 2016 horror story MOTHER HORSE EYES, a story which was uniquely told through a series of reddit comments which just goes to show the unique ways the internet allows for storytelling. Going over to 2017 there are two big series that come out this year. Firstly, the series which puts analog horror into the mainstream and even coins the term Local 58. This series follows a normal news broadcast station that is constantly being hijacked by a multitude of strange and terrifying parties. It is the series that coins the term analog horror saying ¨ANALOG HORROR AT 456mhz¨. Next up in 2017 is the start of Petscop, a series in which a man plays a Playstation game of the same name that was never released to the public. Only to realize that the game is incredibly personal to his life and his family’s lives. This is one of the most influential horror series on the internet since it uses the framing of a letsplay to its advantage to slowly creep into more disturbing subjects. It is also one of the more famous examples of Digital Horror, horror using the games and internet forums of early 2000s internet. Another big release is 2019s Gemini Home Entertainment, which takes great inspiration from the previously mentioned Local 58, with it also being a haunted broadcast.

2020-Present Day

We start out this period with one of my personal favorites, the Walten Files. Taking heavy inspiration from games like Five Night at Freddys and having a unique art style on top of it all. It follows the fallout of the closing and tragedies of Bons Burgers, be it murder or something far more paranormal. Now moving onto 2021, with probably the most popular internet horror series ever created The Mandela Catalogue. This series is probably the most popular analog horror series ever and inspired many to use themes of religion, the uncanny valley, and doppelgangers. It follows the residents of Mandela County as they face the horrors of demonic doppelgangers called Alternates. We close out 2021 with one of the best uses of Digital Horror I have ever seen, that being Brandonworks. It follows the friend of Brandon, who went offline recently only leaving his Roblox to give hints into his situation. It doesn’t really have anything overtly scary about it but the creeping dread you feel as the creations begin to become more twisted and cryptic is palpable.

Now 2022 was a huge year for internet horror giving probably the most series out of all these years so in no real chronological order let us begin. Starting out with Kane Pixels series, the Backrooms. Based off a popular internet horror story about falling into an endless dimension filled with monsters and mazes, being probably one of the best effects and editing of all these series, it inspired new interest in the Backrooms and inspired many creators. Next, I am going to lump two amazing series together, Vita Carnis and Midwest Angleica. Both follow humanities encounters with strange fleshy creatures who are plotting to take over the world. While Vita Carnis goes into the more coexistence route Midwest Angelicas aliens pretty much just go on a rampage. Both series have amazing lore and creature design and are incredibly terrifying. Next is another amazing example of Digital Horror being Andrewgaming. It follows the story of Andrew as he looks back on an old Minecraft world. He made with a friend who disappeared many months ago from the face of the internet, but perhaps not all of him left.  Terrifying and intriguing, it is a great series.

Next up is the June Archive which somehow manages to make Flipnotes terrifying. With incredible animation and an interesting setting, it is, once again, a wonderful example of Digital Horror.  Ending off this year with a series that is not exactly horror but uses the Analog Horror genre so well it has to be mentioned in this article, Angel Hare. It follows a man who realizes the show he watched as a child was weirdly personalized and talked directly to him. One of my favorites and I would recommend it even if you don’t like internet horror. Now rounding off this article in 2023-2024 I won’t be talking about a specific series, but instead a horror creator known as Doctor Nowhere. Doctor Nowhere has created some of the most popular and terrifying horror videos on YouTube. His most popular work being the ¨The Boiled One Phenomenon¨ releasing in 2024 and ¨The Boy in the Bath¨ also released in 2024. His surreal and dream-like horror has garnered much acclaim from across the internet, terrifying many a unaware viewer.

Well, that about does it for the major highlights in my eyes. Thank you for reading my Halloween special and have a great Halloween.