So, now that you’ve heard me ramble on through my definition of analog horror you want me to give you some recommendations, is that it? Oh well twist my arm why don’t you. Here are six series to get you started watching analog horror.
Blue Channel: Thalasin (2021)
Full disclosure, this recommendation is just one three minute long video. But, before you run to come hunt me down and bash in my door for giving you a single video as the first recommendation when I promised you series, it is a very GOOD three minute video.
I obviously won’t go into details explaining the themes here because then there’d be no point in you watching it, so in order to sell you on it I will tell you the video was written by Gooseworx. Also known as the creator of such brilliant non-horror (allegedly) videos as The Darly Boxman Show, Little Runmo and the very popular series The Amazing Digital Circus. So if that hasn’t sold you I don’t know what will. But also just watch it, it’s three minutes long, surely your attention span can’t be that bad.
Local58 (2015-Present)
This next recommendation is one of the classics of the genre, many would even go so far as to label it the ‘founding father’ of analog horror due to it pioneering the analog aesthetics and general vibe seen in so many contemporary series. The creator Kris Straub is an incredible writer who has been present on the internet since 2007, but the work he’s most well known for outside of Local58 is his creepypasta Candle Cove, which I also highly recommend you check out.
The series features 13 videos around 5-7 minutes long, with the exception of one almost 30 minute one, that mimic small town American TV broadcasts. Each one has their own weird and unsettling premise, and Straub himself has stated that there is no real overarching plot to the series of shady government agencies or weird almost humanoid creatures like many contemporary works do. The series is more vibes based than anything else with Straub saying in a Reddit comment that the series explores themes of “stillness, distrust of safety warnings, misuse of mass perception, parallel science that arises from unexamined bad intent and dogmatic thought.”
Because of this each video can be watched on its own, although I would highly recommend a full series watch on this one since Straub is an incredibly talented writer with a great ability to create tension in a viewer from just images alone. But if you really don’t have the time to watch the full thing, I would highly recommend Real Sleep as it is one of the best made videos on the channel.
Vita Carnis (2022-Present)
One of my biggest gripes with a lot of the most popular analog horror series is that they take themselves too seriously. My second biggest gripe is that in 99% of AH series the antagonistic force is some non-human entity that looks almost human with slightly incorrectly proportioned limbs (a clear attempt to ride on the success of The Mandela Catalogue). Vita Carnis for me feels like a great step in the right direction away from these two problems.
As the name suggests, Vita Carnis is about a species of meat creatures that suddenly began appearing across the planet. These creatures are found in places where there are large amounts of Crawl, “a growth of meaty tendrils that closely resemble the small intestine the only difference being the dark red coloration”. This quote comes from the video Living Meat Research Documentary – Full Footage, which helpfully provides descriptions and explanations of all members of the Carnis species and serves as the perfect entry point into the series. Whilst at times the low budget quality of production can be a hindrance at the start of the series, the quality does improve over time and the comedy of the early episodes definitely makes up for it for me.
Monument Mythos (2020-2025)
If Vita Carnis is a step away from my biggest problems with the genre, Monument Mythos is a giant leap away from them. When it comes to describing this series I fear you wouldn’t believe me because everything that happens in this series is truly insane. The main thing to know is that monuments and other large man-made items are alive and survive by being fed humans. There’s a whole thing going on with multiple timelines where in one James Dean was the president instead of Richard Nixon. There are magic trees that transport people to a space between the timelines. The monuments are made with something called Giza glass which is what makes them sentient. Oh and Alcatraz island is steadily growing and projected to consume the whole of the United States’ West Coast. The whole series is unimaginably goofy but filled with incredibly well done production and some genuinely heartfelt moments. If you chose to only watch one recommendation from this list, I highly suggest you make it this one.
Generation Loss (2023-Present)
Personally, this is my biggest recommendation of the five which is entirely biased by the fact that the creator of this series, Ranboo, is a Twitch streamer that I have been watching for the past five years. Because of this, I was watching eagle eyed as the first sparks of an idea for this series were being realised in their subscriber only Discord channel all the way back in 2021. And then, I was front row for the first instalment of the series when it officially started in 2023. A series of three live streams that are definitely a core inspiration for my own analog horror series which I’m in the process of writing (if you’re intrigued by that sentence maybe read my short story in Station 3).
The series is currently ongoing but can be broken down into different ‘generations’ with Gen 1 and Gen 0 (the second instalment of the series) currently being available in full and Gen 2 being the next to come. With this series there is A LOT of content, so do be warned that if what I’m about to say piques your interest and you want to consume everything it has to offer, you’re going to really have to lock in. Luckily, the fandom behind this is very well equipped for this level of intense lore hunting and so there are several long google docs floating around that compile all the currently known information surrounding the series. But if you are not an avid fan of ARGs and becoming an amateur detective then there is an easier way to consume the series:
- Watch ‘The Social Experiments: Founder’s Cut’ video on the Generation Loss YouTube channel
- Read through the posts from @TheChronicle0 on Twitter
- Play through The Founder’s Game at www.thefoundergame.com
- And follow Generation Loss on YouTube to know when the next generation is coming out!
I would explain what the series is about but I fear I’d go on forever and this article would never end so instead I’ll move on to the next recommendation and just say, go watch Generation Loss right now (after you finish reading this article).
The Glendale Archives (2025-Present)
I don’t think I’ve ever felt as emotional whilst watching an AH series than I have whilst watching The Glendale Archives.
Whilst I’ve definitely connected with the themes in other series or gotten scared by them, Glendale touches on ideas of being alone and nostalgia that have been so core to all of my creative work over the past few years that it couldn’t not hit home. When recommending this series there isn’t particularly a lot I can say other than that, Glendale isn’t about the scares or strange non-human creatures (though there are many in the series), it’sits about one man roaming around a world devoid of any people at all and learning to survive in that world. That’s all I really want to tell you about Glendale because more than anything I want you to watch it.
At the end of the day I want you to watch all the recommendations I’ve given you here. Analog horror truly is my favourite horror sub-genre and even if you still after all of my ramblings think this genre is some internet gimmick that’s bad because it’s popular I urge you to just try one of these series (or the 3 minute video). Because there is so much creativity and so many interesting stories within this genre and you can’t knock something until you try it (plus if you’re here reading this I doubt you don’t already enjoy the genre so what are you waiting for go and watch all these videos!).
Bonus Recommendations (in case you’re hungry for more)
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