Analog Horror

About

Analog Horror is a subgenre of found footage that mimics the older "analog" style of video media such as old TV broadcasts, VHS tapes, or vintage film while adding horror elements to the video to create feelings of unease, fear and discomfort in the viewer. The genre was popularized by the YouTube web series Local 58 created by Kris Straub. Other popular examples of the genre include the YouTube series The Walten Files, BLUE_CHANNEL: THALASIN and The Mandela Catalogue.

History

The YouTube series Local 58 is generally considered the origin of the analog horror genre, although elements of analog horror appeared in earlier web series such as Kraina Grzybów TV^[6] (2013).

On October 26th, 2015, webcartoonist and author Kris Straub uploaded the first episode "Local 58 – Weather Service" of his horror anthology series Local 58 to YouTube,^[1] with the video also shared on the Local58.info^[2] website. The episode is stylized as broadcast by a local television station named Local 58. The broadcast gets interrupted by the Emergency Alert System notifying citizens of a meteorological event and warning them against going outside and observing the event with the naked eye. While the original upload of the episode to the YouTube channel Chainsawsuit Original is no longer available, a November 11th, 2017, reupload to LOCAL58TV YouTube^[3] channel received over 2.5 million views in four years (shown below)

Between 2015 and 2021, Straub uploaded a total of nine episodes of the Local 58 series to YouTube,^[4] also launching local58.tv^[5] website serving as an extension of the universe in September 2021. As of January 2022, the YouTube channel for the series has over 492,000 subscribers.

Spread

In the following years, multiple notable analog horror series were released by creators on YouTube, including GEMINI HOME ENTERTAINMENT (2019), THE MONUMENT MYTHOS (2020), The Walten Files (2020), and The Mandela Catalogue (2021).

On October 14th, 2018, the dedicated Reddit community /r/analoghorror^[7] was launched, gaining 5,400 subscribers in three years. The /r/local58^[8] subreddit, launched on August 8th, 2016, is another hub for discussions.

Additionally, many successful analog horror series have formed dedicated fandoms with their own fan theories, in-jokes and memes.

Notable Examples

The Mandela Catalogue

The Mandela Catalogue is an analog horror YouTube series created by Alex Kister. The episodes are divided into instructional videos for citizens of Mandela County warning them of supernatural organisms known as "alternates" and found footage videos of encounters with said entitles. The series premiered in August 2021 and gathered an online following in the following months and became a subject of references in memes.

The Walten Files

The Walten Files is an analog horror web series by Chilean Artist and Animator Martin Walls inspired by Five Nights at Freddy's. It gained popularity in the Summer of 2021 as several popular YouTubers highlighted it in their videos. Shortly after, the series achieved significant popularity on TikTok, with users creating fan animations and cosplay videos.

BLUE_CHANNEL: THALASIN

BLUE_CHANNEL: THALASIN is a viral Analog Horror video uploaded by Gooseworx in early 2021. The video is a mock television commercial for a drug called Thalasin that causes a variety of emotions in the user. In the second half of the video, the host talks about Thalasin+, which allows users to experience emotions "beyond previous natural capabilities," represented by disturbing, body-horror esque images of someone striking each facial expression.

Search Interest

External References