Top 10 Horror Anime to Watch This Halloween
Horror anime is a small genre with a high failure rate, which makes the good ones precious. These ten are ranked on actual scares, atmosphere and how well they hold up on a late October night with the lights off.
The rankings
- Shiki. A village, a summer, and a slow vampire outbreak that turns the humans into the monsters. The best horror anime ever made.
- Higurashi: When They Cry. Cute character designs hiding a time loop of murder. Rena’s “you’re lying” still lands.
- Another. A cursed class, an umbrella, and the most infamous death in anime.
- Parasyte: The Maxim. Body horror with a heart, and the best alien invasion story in the medium.
- Made in Abyss. Not marketed as horror, which is why it works.
- Mononoke. Gorgeous, psychedelic ghost stories that crawl under the skin.
- Perfect Blue. Satoshi Kon’s stalker thriller, and still the scariest film about fame.
- Junji Ito Maniac. Uneven, but the Tomie and Hanging Balloons segments are pure nightmare.
- Corpse Party: Tortured Souls. Four episodes of relentless gore for the strong of stomach.
- Chainsaw Man. Horror comedy at its finest, and the Eternity Devil hotel is genuinely oppressive.
For a lighter night
Dandadan and Mob Psycho 100 deliver ghosts with jokes, and Zombie Land Saga is Halloween without the fear. The list above is for people who want to be unsettled.
My take: Shiki is number one because it makes you side with the vampires by the end and then punishes you for it. Watch it in the dark, all 22 episodes.
