Get in the spirit with these horrors from YouTube

Close out the Halloween season with these creepy, weird, and unsettling videos from YouTube.

Terrence O'Brien

Oct 31, 2026, 9:06 PM UTC

Image: Alex Castro / Terrence O’Brien / The Verge / Mohammad Novian Fahrurriza

Get in the spirit with these horrors from YouTube

Close out the Halloween season with these creepy, weird, and unsettling videos from YouTube.

Terrence O'Brien

Oct 31, 2026, 9:06 PM UTC

Part OfWhat we’re listening to, watching, and reading right now.see all updates

Terrence O'Brien

is the Verge’s weekend editor. He’s covered the tech industry for over 18 years and knows a thing or two about synths.

Rather than recommend asingle horror filmor anunsettling albumfor our final installment of spooky season recs, I present you with a small selection of creepy, disturbing, and just plain weird videos from YouTube. There’s a little something for everyone here. Whether you’re a fan of surreal art house shorts, cosmic horror, or classic viral clips, you’re bound to find something below that will get you in the Halloween spirit.

Possibly in Michigan

This 1983 short film from Cecelia Condit found its audience over 30 years later when it was uploaded to YouTube and eventually found its way to Reddit. If you’ve ever wondered what a feminist musical about cannibals directed by David Lynch would be like, wonder no more.Possibly in Michiganis only 12 minutes long, but it has inspired hours of YouTube videos dedicated to analyzing its deeply unsettling imagery and meaning.

Homemade Gatorade

The line between horror and comedy is razor thin, andHomemade Gatoradeexpertly threads that line. It’s bizarre, uncomfortable, and uncanny. It blends stiff animation with heavily processed video to create something quite unique. I’m never sure if I should be laughing or squirming in terror with every turn this road trip short takes.

Portrait of God

Big budget cosmic horror films often make the same mistake — they try to show too much. What makesPortrait of Godwork is it knows less is more. So much of its short runtime is spent staring into an empty abyss. Or is it empty…

Heck

Speaking of staring intently at nothing and wondering if you did actually see anything,Heckis the short that eventually was turned into the experimental horrorSkinamarink. Personally, I loveSkinamarink, but I understand it’s not for everyone. 100 minutes is a long time to be staring into staticky corners of a drab suburban home.Heckdelivers the same tension-building quiet, but in a much more digestible 29 minutes.

Dining Room or There is Nothing

There’s not much to say about this one-minute loopable short from David B Earle. It’s the sort of video that did gangbusters on early YouTube. It’s all abstract creepiness and nightmare-fuel visuals. If you want the full effect and need something to put on the TV at your Halloween party, put on thisfour-hour looped version.

Spirit Halloween Theme

No Halloween is complete without this banger from Nick Lutsko.

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