YouTube is one of the greatest social media sites. It has everything you need: vlogger tutorials, pirated movies, music videos, ads, trailers, and everything else in between. But surfing YouTube could very well teleport you to your very own YouTube Narnia, a vast internet space where you get sucked in to watching video after video until you don’t remember how you ended up on that particular one. One minute you’re watching a makeup tutorial, the next you’re being shown animated rabbits being dismembered.
In case you’re in the mood to explore the dark parts of YouTube, we’ve rounded up 8 of the creepiest and most disturbing videos and series to be found in the site.
Andywilson92 (YouTube channel)
Andywilson92 is a YouTube channel that publishes distorted animations of cartoons complete with garbled voices and disturbing sound effects. It’s the stuff of nightmares basically, trippy and looking like your favorite cartoons just survived a tragic car accident. His most famous video is an eerie parody of the Thomas and Friends theme song and his own version of Squidwards Suicide, the famous Creepypasta.
FilmCow’s Llamas with Hats and Charlie the Unicorn
These series aren’t as dark and creepy as the others but it comes with its own eerie charm. Both series are created and developed by FilmCow, a YouTube channel which has a number of great short animations under their umbrella.
Llamas with Hats consist of destruction, carnage, faces, and baby hands, all displayed through simple animation and interesting conversation. Carl’s obsession with killing people finally gets into Paul’s nerves so much that he leaves Carl on his own. But that isn’t where the story ends as Carl spirals into his own dark thoughts. It’s all fun and games until Episode 10 rolls along!
By the end of the series you’ll have a hard time getting “CAAAARLLLLLL” out of your head.
Charlie the Unicorn uses the similar animation style and storytelling as Llamas except that it involves a lot more characters. Charlie, a lethargic unicorn gets pestered by two other unicorns to travel with them through forests, under water, and outer space. Every episode is confusing, trippy, full of elements you might not understand immediately, and the high pitched voices of the twin unicorns. Feel free to interpret the series however you want!
Marble Hornets
If you’ve watched scary documentary movies like the Blair Witch Project, Marble Hornets will be familiar. Marble Hornets, a series started in 2009, uses the same creepy storytelling style as Blair Witch Project, knowing that alone will give you the heebie jeebies. The series is made documentary-style and follows Jay in his attempt to find out what happened to his friend Alex’s unfinished student film “Marble Hornets.”
This series is more than 10 episodes so watch at your own risk!
Don’t Hug me I’m Scared
This 6-episode web series is a bizarre animated musical thriller created by Becky Sloan and Joseph Pelling back in 2011. It will seem cutesy at first with the catchy tunes and familiar looking characters (Sesame Street anyone?) but every episode takes a dark turn towards the end and I am not kidding when I say it will mess you up.
Although DHMIS could scar your young brain, it’s a brilliant masterpiece you can’t help but watch over and over again to admire how it’s made. Don’t be fooled, it’s not a kid’s show so don’t let your children anywhere near it!
To better understand DHMIS, watch this Film Theory video!
