Terror. The adrenaline rush that comes with being frightened drives us to seek thrills, and there is no shortage of media that can make the audience uneasy. These videos, easily accessible as they are, will be sure to make you plunge into the uncanny valley.
To be frank, some of the videos deal with uncomfortable or disturbing content. Videos whose horror content is based around jump scares without redeemable content have not been included. Warnings will be placed beneath any video that has any perceivable jump scare for any readers with health conditions or anxiety.
10.) "He Took His Skin Off For Me"
What would you do to please your significant other? Would you change your entire being and how others perceive you? What would you do if your lover decided that this drastic change they desired of you no longer pleases them? "He Took His Skin Off For Me," the 2014 short film based on the writings of Maria Hummer and directed by Ben Aston, grapples with these questions in an artistic, if not eerie, manner.
9.) "Haunt"
Warning: Jump Scare
"Haunt" is an experimental stop motion horror short released in 2006 by Glenn Zimmatore. A young girl resigns herself to her bedroom at night, but she quickly realizes there is something lurking just beyond her window-- and it's gradually getting closer.
8.) "Dining Room or There is Nothing"
David B. Earle uses an incredibly innovative way of filming to make this one minute clip loops seamlessly back into itself again and again. Despite its popularity, I felt it's brilliant cinematography and the apocalyptic imagery made it deserving of a spot. The piece was directed by Earle to fulfill a paradox, proving to himself that this woman has died and seen nothing on the other side.
7.) The Jonestown Death Tape
Warning: Graphic
Nothing is more frightening than real life. Cult leader and mastermind of the Peoples Temple Jim Jones knew how to speak, and he used his skill as an orator to coax 900 people into committing "revolutionary suicide." We were left with the urgency and haunting reminder of this agonizing 44 minute audio recording. The Jonestown murders stood as the largest loss of American life until the September 11 attacks.
6.) "I Feel Fantastic"
More interesting than this unnerving uncanny valley video is the way the internet took this upload and ran with it. Theories about Tara the singing android varied. One of the most frightening was that Tara was dressed in the clothes of a woman the cameraman had murdered, and the grass the video pans to seemingly randomly is her burial site.
5.) Columbine Cafeteria Footage
Warning: Upsetting
The Columbine High School massacre shaped a generation of young people; we have been doggedly trained to duck beneath desks and fear trench coats. Nearly three hours of footage exist from the cafeteria that inspired a generation of classroom fear. These tapes document the fear in the building as Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris killed 13 students and faculty, injuring 25, before shooting themselves. Though the cafeteria was evacuated, seeing the shooters toting their heavy duty guns while searching for human targets is deeply upsetting.
4.) "plastic men"
This video gets to me. Treatsforbeasts is a channel that blends black comedy and horror into something spine chilling. This self-aware, outlandish cartoon still has an unnerving air to it. Something about the repetition just makes it an uncomfortable experience.
3.) "Happy Anniversary"
Maura Murray disappeared on February 9, 2004 after crashing her car on Route 112. Her father said she must have "[been abducted] by some dirtbags." 112dirtbag uploaded a clip of himself laughing on February 8, 2012-- titled "Happy Anniversary." What sick man could take revelry in the anniversary of a young woman's disappearance?
2.) "Hi walter ! i got a new gf today !"
The clip opens with an awkward young man talking about some sort of date he's embarked on with a young woman, addressing the vlog-type video to someone named Walter. Every woman's fear of abduction and kidnapping will be inflamed by this short video.
1.) 9/11 Footage
Warning: Graphic
We were all Americans on September 11, 2001 when the World Trade Center came crashing down after an aggressive terrorist attack. It was impossible to narrow it down to one single video; all footage of planes careening into the Twin Towers, accompanied by screaming, crying, shocked cursing, and a cacophony of horrible metallic sounds and roaring crashes as the buildings are ravaged, is deeply disturbing and upsetting. Human beings leap to their demise from hellfire-- because even dying by impact is preferable to burning alive. These videos, though aged, will forever be difficult to watch. Be warned that these videos are incredibly uncomfortable to watch and not for the faint of heart or stomach. Do not watch coverage of the 9/11 tragedy if you are easily upset. Your safety always comes first.
Honorable Mentions:
"Moonlight Man" [Warning: Jump Scare]
Elliot Rodger's last vlog
"Pikadon" [Warning: Graphic]
