The time has come for spooks, thrills and screams! It’s Halloween! The one day of the year where everyone can celebrate dressing up as all kinds of monsters or creatures and party through the night and enjoy all kinds of sweets no matter what age. But if you’re not the outdoors type, one can always celebrate the holiday with a good show for thrills and chills.
With all kinds of horror anime and films, even manga if one is up to it, to choose from, it may be tricky to find something to really celebrate the spooky holiday. For those looking for some good horror works to have their own Halloween celebration week then the following works may be just what you need for a night of terror and enjoyment.
10.Yamishibai Japanese Ghost Stories
If you’re looking for a series with more than one story and for each one to leave with all kinds of chills then this is the series for you. For each episode, this is a series that takes on all kinds of sinister urban stories with a mysterious yellow-masked man telling them. With the way this series sets itself it up you might as well be part of the audience listening to the story. Add it with an old style of art that just adds more to the creepy factor… it might be best to watch this during the day.
9. Gakkou no Kidan
Classic horror stories are always fun to watch during this time of the month, so why not go for a series that combines the traditional haunted house? Here we have a tale that begins with a supposedly haunted schoolhouse suddenly being cleared because of a certain student. Then we shift onto two young boys entering into their mother’s old hometown and ending up being tangled into the world of ghosts. As a classic horror f the 2000’s the level of horror may not be high for some, but the amount of spooks here is something to enjoy.
8. Shiki
It’s not often that an anime series takes on a western approach to their monsters but this series did. Taking place in a small village that ends up as a land of bloodbaths and terror, “Shiki” brings a tale filled with a struggle for a humanity with a theme of urban legends and mystery mixed into it as well. Starting off as a tale of a young girl who dreamed of making it big outside of her small village before a strange disease struck the story spirals down as a young doctor and high school enter into the mysterious village in search of their own truths.
7.Tokyo Ghoul
We get all kinds of monsters during the Halloween season, whether it be vampires, ghosts or zombies, there is some sort of media work about them. The fun thing about anime is that there are all kinds of series with fantastical and terrifying monsters. But what about those monsters that are able to hide as humans? Now that is a different kind of chill to have and this series delivers with a world where beings known as ghouls exist and live by eating human flesh. In a tale that tells of a young man being turned into one of this beings, this is one dark adventure to watch.
6. Mononoke
How about a series with a more traditional take to monsters? “Mononoke” takes place in feudal Japan where a medicine seller travels all around and goes against all kinds of spirits and monsters. With a more psychological look into monster hunting, the series brings a unique traditional art style that makes the monsters more distinct in comparison to other horror works. It may not have what you may expect of the usual horror works but it is a unique watch to have for your Halloween list.
5. Spirited Away
While the holiday may be about spooks and monsters abound with a mix of creeps and chills with sweets to ease things. However, there is a bit more to the holiday than the traditional scare. For one thing, it is said that Hallow’s Eve is the night when the line supernatural and human realm thins. So what better way to take part of this than to have an entire film that takes on the world of spirits, demons and witches? Sure, there isn’t a whole lot of scare factor with the film. But being one of the top animated films even today, it would be a nice break from the scares and chills with a tale of a young girl getting caught up in the world of youkai.
4. Vampire Hunter D
There’s all kinds of shows about terrifying monsters and other supernatural creatures, but how about a series that takes on hunting the creatures? With a mix of western, sci-fi, horror and high fantasy, this brings a uniquely designed series that looks like something from a twisted western cartoon. Add in a story taking place after a nuclear destruction and vampires taking over and having a vampire as a protagonist, this is a real classic of a horror series to check out during the month of spooks and scares.
3. Hell Girl
Now this takes a new twist to signing away your soul. As a series that takes on the concept of revenge, Hell and all kinds of psychological stories, there are lot of creeps and chills to be found. Add to the fact that the art style is something that is not nearly done enough, then not only do you get an incredibly creepy work but at the same time highly beautiful. Even the plot itself, which tells of a website that can send people to hell sets up a lot of stories with their own chills and thrills, especially when there is a lot of traditional and surreal art to mix things up.
2. Kakurenbo: Hide and Seek
How about we raise the level of creepiness factor with a special type of hide and seek involving fox masks and demons? In this story we have a game of Otokoyo, otherwise known as “Man Hunt”, children don fox masks and play near the ruins of an abandoned old Kowloon-inspired city. But those who play this game also bear the chance of being spirited away by demons. With mystery and thrills abound, this story of a young boy taking part of this high risk game so to find his sister will bring about a whole set of chills for your Halloween.
1. Hellsing
One of the most recognized vampire series in the anime community, “Hellsing” brings a story that not only deals with supernatural hunting and an unorthodox protagonist but also an internal struggle mixed in with a whole new type of vampire and other kinds of monsters. Over time, the series has become one of the classic horror series in the anime community with interesting characters and a different twist to one of the older horror themes regarding the takeover of a powerful and terrifying species. While the series takes more on destroying monsters and gore, the story brings much for thrills and enjoyment.