31 Days of Horror : Some of Our Favorite YouTube Horror Shorts

Horror isn’t just a genre; it’s an amalgamation of pop culture, cozy traditions, and things that go bump in the night. This year, we're taking our 31 Days of Horror across the entire cultural spectrum. We’ll be taking a look at movies that scare us, games that kept us paranoid, scary books we cozy up with under blankets, music that sets that spooky tone and seasonal food we’re craving–or strange food you’d have to tie us up and force feed us. Whether you’re looking for something truly terrifying or a cozy autumn haunt, come back every day this month for a new bite-sized review or spooky adjacent list.

I love short form horror. Whether it’s short video games, stories or YouTube videos. I think the short format is a great way to foster creative ideas. Here are a few short horror YouTube videos that are either new to me or aren’t featured heavily on other similar lists. 

Remain Calm (The Lewis Brothers) 

A brand-new viral horror-comedy starring Doug Jones, Pauly Shore and Nick Swardson features a monster that only attacks if you show fear. I never thought I’d be recommending a video with Pauly Shore and Nick Swardson in it, but they do a surprisingly great job portraying a pair of hapless convenience store workers caught up in what is essentially an SCP containment breach. Oh, and Doug Jones is always fantastic.

My House Walk-Through (PiroPito) 

Unsettling and disturbingly surreal. The narrator gives a tour of their grandparents’ house after a typhoon. The narrator frames the scenes as mundane, but it’s something out of nightmares. 

The Chair (that’s a bad idea) 

A chair is brought into a house and bizarre events occur. Is it psychological, or is the chair a cursed object? Time loops, paranoia and more in this Curry Barker short horror film.

Butterscotch (Alexander Deeds) 

A fun and somewhat cathartic short about comeuppance. 

Laboratory Conditions (DUST / ALTER) 

A laboratory set up to do shady experiments to measure the human soul is interrupted by a physician looking for an elderly patient that was taken from his room. Minnie Driver and Marisa Tomei star.

Mimic (The Noctuary) 

This clever, terrifying short is a fantastic execution of a familiar idea.