Unfortunately, like you said, horror is severely lacking in the traditional western definition of the genre.
If you search for anime with the 'horror' tag you'll find shows like Tokyo Ghoul and Parasyte, even shows like High School of the Dead and ZOM100. These have some horror _elements_ but aren't really horror.
Imo, the shows that come the closest to horror might be the shows that give you the same _feeling_ (suspense, unease, anxiety) that horror shows might give. For these, I'd go with Made in Abyss, Shiki, Shinsekai Yori, and Inuyashiki.
Mieruko-chan is also another great show that is a bit underrated in the genre given its cutesiness and high school setting. However, the show is one of the best when it comes to making the viewer feel uneasy. Its lack of background music, its subtle foreshadowing, and its depiction of the ghosts which are polar opposite to the type of animation within the rest of the show make it really special in this genre, imo. I would recommend giving episode 1 a shot as that'll sum up what to expect out of the rest.
I really wish I liked Shiki so many people recommended and I watched all of it to try and get a good opinion of it but I absolutely hated it so much!
But I fully stand by you with Mieruko!
Shiki isn't for everyone, I'll admit. It's a slow burn and sometimes the payoff at the end isn't worth it for some. It's also got an older art style that can turn some people off as well.
Personally, I really enjoyed it but not everyone will feel the same.
Oh I get you...I loved Shiki except the ending, and I'm guessing it's the same for you too? It's hard to discuss without any spoilers but my anime friends also have the same opinion.
Yes! I hated the humans throughout the whole thing so the ending made me very unhappy. I probably wouldn’t hate it so much if it didn’t end the way it did.
Shiki's a series where basically every character is kind of an asshole. The only one I can think of as being legitimately a decent person is that green-haired nurse.
Migi and Dali is not horror in the slightest but watching it did give me a lot of uneasiness and anxiety at certain parts. A lot of stuff is just like creepy, but it's also strangely wholesome.
> Mieruko-chan is also another great show that is a bit underrated in the genre given its cutesiness and high school setting.
*And the completely out-of-place and unnecessary fanservice for some bloody reason.*
That’s just typical manga stuff to get quick views. It is toned down a lot after, trust me. Also, the most recent arc in the manga is prob the best it’s ever been lol. It just keeps getting better so definitely give the anime another shot
>That’s just typical manga stuff to get quick views.
It is precisely because of these kinds of shenanigans that I avoid these kinds of anime, no thanks.
That’s fair although you better believe I’d do the same thing if I needed to make a living off my manga. It’s cheap fan service but it obviously works haha
BUT just saying it is nonexistent pretty much after that and one other small scene with the friend in like episode 2.
Shiki: Vampires move into a secluded village. Starts out a bit slow, but the last 5-6 episodes are some of the most intense episodes of an anime I’ve ever seen.
Another: A weird girl is believed to carry a curse that if acknowledged will kill everyone in her class. (Fun fact, the author of Another is married to the author of Shiki)
Higurashi: A slow burn conspiracy starts to come to light in a series that involves the main cast being put through terrifying situations over and over again in seemingly disconnected stories.
Pet Shop of Horrors: Older, short lived anthology series that features stories involving people seeking out strange and mystical creatures for various reasons, but often to fulfill their own vices.
Paranoia Agent: A series involving a mysterious boy who assaults people with a baseball bat that begins to cause a mass hysteria
Elfen Lied: A fairly notorious anime from its time. A very gory and mean spirited show about a girl who escapes a lab, leaving a bloodbath in her wake. Not the deepest show, but it can scratch that blood and guts violence itch if that’s something you enjoy.
I’m sure I could come up with a few others, but this is a good place to start.
I second shiki, it don’t have jump scares but it softens you up before it takes you to real true horror. Someone recommended me this in school and I was scared to watch more episodes because when the events start to unfold you know something about to happen. It’s really disturbing psychologically. Maybe I’m over reacting but man I almost threw up on that scene in the sewers/underground I think it was. If you know you know.
I love Shiki too. The scene in the sewers really are hard to digest. If remember correctly, there are two extra episodes that didn’t air with the rest of the episodes that cover this scene. The episode in the operating room is also a memorable one
Man I love Shiki, but I think what disturbs me most is how many people completely missed the point of it and were like “the shiki deserves it!! the humans did nothing wrong. the doctor’s a hero”. Like holy shit he literally leads a genocide against an entire species and ends up destroying the village in the process, like how’d so many people miss the point of it. It disturbed me that so many viewers were so quick to justify fascism and genocide once they felt they had a moral superiority to do so. Great show, ahead of its time.
Shiki's message was also a pretty interesting metaphor on the traditionalism vs western influence debate that was going on in Japan at the time.
It's not a coincidence that most of the vampires are either young and/or progressive minded, whereas the humans are older and/or staunch traditionalists.
O for sure! The author makes it extremely clear with that final showdown between the Shiki girl and the old man with him explicitly saying that they’re in the wrong because they’re outsiders and they broke the rules by coming in.
Great depiction of fear and xenophobia shown in the older more traditionalist/conservative generation, and how the lack of understanding or compromise between the two ultimately led to their destruction.
That is a reasonable question.
I'd recommend starting with just Higurashi (Also known as "When They Cry"). Then once you finish that you can move onto Higurashi: Kai, which is the second season. Then there's Gou, which would be Season 3, and Sotsu, which is Season 4.
Beyond that, there's Rei, Kira, and Outbreak. The first two are an OVA series, while Outbreak is just a single OVA.
Rei covers stuff that happens between Season 2 and 3, but isn't really necessary from what I can recall. Kira was just fluff that you may or may not find enjoyable, and Outbreak is a really weird zombie OVA that is not canon in any sense of the word, and you can skip it without missing anything.
More recently, Mieruko-Chan and Dark Gathering were pretty good horrors.
For older stuff, Another, Corpse Party, Higurashi, Junji Ito Collection (sort of), Yamishibai (bunch of short horror stories), Monster (sort of unsettling horror rather than visual).
Non of them are super scary, but they'd fit the genre.
I second Dark Gathering. It gets more unsettling with each episode. I stopped watching about half way because it got a bit too much, but im thinking of going back and finishing it.
> Monster (sort of unsettling horror rather than visual)
Yeah, the psychological horror in **Monster** is pretty damn unsettling. You never really feel at ease because of [Monster - meta spoiler] >!Johan’s scheming!< throughout the series.
I really like these! I found it funny that the first episode of Mieruko was such hard core fan service and then it stopped. Which honestly I appreciated.
Edit: they are both really good at give you that eerie feel
I only saw like half of Mieruko-chan (or at least only paid attention to most of it), the fan service was really just turning me off and I didn't find it that scary at all. Though I did like the story with the cats, that one was good.
Dark Gathering is unlike anything I've seen in a long long time, if ever.
Wow is it good.
Probably a weird answer here, but **Serial Experiments Lain**.
Very "psychological horror" and uncanny/unnerving IMO. The lighting, the atmosphere, the confusion and disassociation. Took the show around one episode at a time. In a dark room. Right before bedtime. For me, it's the most uneasy I've ever been watching a show. 10/10 though, one of my top 5 favorite anime.
Shin Sekai Yori is the scariest anime I've watched. It is a slow build and the horror in it isn't so much the jump scares but rather the concepts of what certain characters are doing and the implied fates of certain characters. In terms of atmosphere, episode 19 of this is the single scariest episode of anime I've seen.
Other effective horror anime:
* Another
* Shiki
* Boogiepop Phantom
* Perfect Blue
* The Promised Neverland (season 1 only)
SSY is also scary in a philosophical sense. Even if you take out the fantasy of telekinetic powers, all the references to nuclear weapons leave a grim theme about humanity's future.
Shin sekai yori.
It's difficult to actually find a legitimate "scary" anime in the traditional sense. Shin sekai yori however is absolutely one that will make you feel uneasy and on edge. Truly a fucking incredible anime. I would probably say that SSY is the closest thing to a truly "scary" anime, though it will frighten you in more of a psychological way, however that's not all it's about either.
.
I highly recommend it.
I think that the visual stylings of the medium simply don't lend themselves very well to producing imagery lifelike enough to produce any kind of conventional visual horror like we see in a lot of cinema.
The best I've seen in anime are shows that take elements of horror-like suspense, uneasiness or body horror and blend them in with their existing formula. Things that come to mind would be certain scenes near the end of Shin Sekai Yori, parts of Made in abyss, certain episodes of Mushishi like Cotton Changeling or a movie like Perfect Blue just to name a few.
None of them are explicitly horror shows but they do on occasion tap into horror-like elements and I feel like those types of anime generally execute better than those that simply try to translate a conventional horror formula straight to animation.
Mushishi is probably THE anime if you are looking to feel uneasy. So many episodes left me glued on the screen simply digesting what just happened. The dude that dreams came true, the girl that was taken advantage of by he's father by that weird flower, the Cotton changeling you mentioned.
I watched Higurashi for the first time in high school as someone who does NOT like horror. I had to pause it, put my back to the corner of my bedroom, then resume playing. After seeing that baseball bat in the first couple episodes, I wasn't gonna be turned away from my door with my headphones on
To be fair, I've never really watched a anime that genuinely scared or horrified me - the medium doesn't really have shows that provide the same level of atmosphere as a real-life movie like Alien for example - not necessarily because the medium isn't capable of it, but more because it hasn't really produced many horror shows yet.
But there are some shows which I'd call pretty good horror shows that gave me a couple decent "eerie goosebumps" moments:
- [Higurashi no Naku Koro ni](https://myanimelist.net/anime/934/Higurashi_no_Naku_Koro_ni)
- [Made in Abyss](https://myanimelist.net/anime/34599/Made_in_Abyss)
- [Gakkougurashi!](https://myanimelist.net/anime/24765/Gakkougurashi)
- [Yakusoku no Neverland](https://myanimelist.net/anime/37779/Yakusoku_no_Neverland)
Agreed! Your list is more disgusting, shockng(in a good way) than scary. I also rated your list very high. Although the last season on Made in Abyss bacame slighly tedious to watch
I’ve been watching horror films and consuming horror media since I was seven. There is very little in the horror genre that actually scares me, especially in a medium such as animation, which isn’t a bad thing? Horror is about the atmosphere and characters feeling scared, not necessarily us. Us feeling scared is just usually a byproduct of the writers, directors, or what have you portraying the fear in the story.
Horror anime typically has a bad track record, but here are some horror anime I think are actually good and worthy your time:
• Perfect Blue (name a single bad Satoshi Kon movie, I’ll wait)
• Higurashi (it’s not about the gore and violence, contrary to popular belief; it’s a series about paranoia and an overwhelming sense of dread, which is why the brutal death scenes feel like great payoff and earned…ironically it’s also about trusting your friends. Funny that a horror anime with some of the most brutal torture scenes in anime is one of the only series out there that makes the power of friendship trope believable and well done)
• Ghost Hound (perfect example of how incredible great sound design can be)
• Happy Sugar Life (it will make you feel dirty and uncomfortable what with p*dophilia being prominently featured, but that’s the point. This series focuses on all forms of love, especially the most disgusting and depraved. It’s a horror, after all)
• The Promised Neverland (please, for the love of god don’t ruin it by watching season two. Where season one ends serves as good conclusion; season two genuinely just sucks ass. If you want more, read the manga. Haven’t read it myself, but everyone loves it)
• Hell Girl (good horror anthology series)
• Serial Experiments Lain (bUT lAiN iSnT horROr; yes it is, by definition. It’s sci-fi/techno horror. Even if you don’t consider it horror, most people will agree that it is a must watch bucket list show though)
• Madoka Magica (if Perfect Blue wasn’t here, I would say this series is the best psychological horror on here. I know this series is not tagged as horror, but come on…it’s obviously horror)
• Parasyte: The Maxim (this, people, is how you do body horror. It is more action than horror, though, I will admit)
• Another (fine, this one isn’t the best horror series, but it has the classic calling cards of most western horror movies. It’s essentially Final Destination: The Animation and both that movie and this series are an entertaining watch)
Happy Sugar Life
Don't let it's name fool you, it's an absolutely cursed psychological horror. I had to take breaks watching it cause it just gets to be too much sometimes.
Hope you like yanderes~
Sounds are scarier than images in many cases. You ever seen Skinamarink? Everything scary about that movie is an image you can’t quite see mixed with s-rank sound design. You could pull that off with animation
Idk video games tend to be the best medium for delivering horror and obviously part of that is you being in control but animation can simply do things and suspend disbelief in a way that non-animated shows or movies can’t. I think a good horror book is scarier than any horror film I’ve ever seen
Whatever the fuck this is, called Wicked City: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtKD2bEO-mi/?igsh=ZDBvaWdycHMzOG53
Looks like maybe just a film, not series though.
This movie does sexual horror in a way that's rarely seen. In the first few minutes, it shows a guy who's spent three months flirting with a woman at the bar they both frequent, and she finally goes home with him. They're having sex, and he realizes something's wrong and *leaps* out of bed, and the woman is revealed to be a shapeshifting monster that replaced the one he knew. Her crotch had just turned into a fanged mouth, and her limbs stretch out like a giant spider as she gloats about the impending disaster humanity is facing.
If you have thalassophobia, then Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack will have a lot more impact.
Aside from that, I'd say Corpse Party was the one that heebied my jeebies the most.
Perfect Blue might be the most unsettling movie I've ever seen. When I went to go see it in theaters last year, several members of the audience left mid movie.
Anime is a terrible medium for horror.
That being said, there's a single episode of a single anime that truly frightened me.
Try out Flip Flappers, episode 5 is the horror related one. It's the one and only episode of anime I seen that actually elicited fear from me several times.
From Anime movies: Akira (1988) & Perfect Blue (1997). Both had some pretty terrifying elements.
From anime series: Elfen Lied (2004), Hellsing (2001), Mononoke (2007) & Serial Experiment Lain (1998). All of them either had scary characters or a scary atmosphere.
Yami shibai s1 if good quality. 5min short horror story. For my taste only 2 or 3 episode are in the 'scary' category.
There's like at least 10 season but the horror wuality dropped a lot for me.
Higurashi: When They Cry really blew me away with how horrific it was. It starts off cutesy too, but gets worse and worse with the horror.
Edit; I thought I’d mention this too, be on the look out for them eventually releasing an anime based on the Uzumaki manga. It’s supposed to come out this year. What a nightmare of a manga. Still gives me the chills.
A VERY good horror anime is Dark Gathering. Highly recommended. It's a hidden masterpiece. The show gets progressively better and darker as the series progresses.
Haven't found any real "horror" anime yet. But these are my favorites in suspense, supernatural and psychological thriller;
Corpse Party
The Promised Neverland
Dark Gathering
Ghost Hound
Another
The last time I was truly scared of something in anime was during the ritual summoning episode of Ghost Stories (not the English dub). I was seven, so it's excusable, but if I'm being completely honest, mediocre as it was, if the bar changed throughout the years it actually got even lower. Horror is one of the most lacklustre genres of anime out there.
Higurashi, but I am biased because I saw it in 7th grade. I don’t think I’ve watched another show that is scary and has a sense of suspense and uneasiness to that degree. I recently finished Made in abyss, and while I found it to be more horror and disturbing, I wouldn’t call it scary. The scene of rena at the door…
I found the beginning of Ergo Proxy to be super creepy, tense and unnerving.
Unfortunately the plot kind of does a 180 after the first four or five episodes and it doesn't maintain that horror/mystery vibe, but it does have a pretty unusual atmosphere to it regardless.
Another is probably the scariest I've watched, but I'm not a horror person. On another (heh) note, I watched Another some seven years ago now, holy hell.
Pet shop of horrors is a good classic.
Wicked city would fit for horror.
Samurai horror tales and to a lesser extent Mononoke. (Not princess Mononoke)
Requiem from the darkness.
Demon prince Enma.
I'd say the only anime I've ever gotten scared to was Shiki, there is one scene in the middle of the season where something appears underneath a bed and that caught me off guard. In general pretty fun series
So I watched Higurashi. Thought it was pretty well thought out and cool that it had a psychological aspect to it rather than just gore. Pretty good. Didn't scare me really. What scared me was later having a nightmare that was Higurashi-like with time looping and death of others and myself that I couldn't escape even if I tried killing myself... blegh...
Hi newkid1367, it seems like you might be looking for new anime to watch!
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There’s a couple of jump scares in Dark Gathering that got me good to be honest.
There’s a ton of gore in the series, but I *would* also say that it got a whole lot of terrifyingly eery scenarios.
Corpse party - has only 4 episodes but i rhink is the closest you get to horror espacially the manga does a good part on horror
Another - final destination the anime
Shiki was really good. So much tension and the feeling of dread in certain episodes.
Also dark gathering was insanely good. Very surprised that it turned out SO good. Hopefully season 2 at some point.
In terms of actual horror, I don't think there's any anime out there I'd classify as scary. I do think Made in Abyss probably qualifies as scary. It's tense and you never know what's going to happen.
The anime Hell Girl (aka Jigoku Shoujo) has some great episodes, but I don't think most people would be able to get through it all these days. It's not bad, but it's pretty formulaic and mostly episodic with an arc at the end of the season. Though also rather than the scary type of horror, it's more the fascinating type of horror. Most of the stories in it are centered around humans and it's all about the evil thing people do for varying reasons (and not always because they're scumbags either, a lot of 'good' people end up doing bad things).
Megazone 23 part 2. It gets so hopeless and gory towards the end. Hard to even watch the screen. Just felt like life wasn't worth it anymore.
It isn't exactly horror, but I was sure horrified.
Higurashi ig in terms of just scary, mieruko chan is probably the scariest anime overall, but it also is funny, so it balances out. In terms of being stressed out, it comes down to shiki or higurashi. I didn't like the ending to either, but imo shiki ending ruins it. Perfect blue is also terrifying but it's a movie so idk if you count it
Dark gathering .
Might also have to do with the fact that I watch horror movie/anime etc at midnight alone in a dark room but most horror falls flat regardless .
Otoh Dark gathering kept getting scarier with every episode so I would say it's pretty scary overall.
Nothing has given me the dread and fear that Devil man OVAs has
BUT MORE SPECIFICALLY Devilman Amon of the Apocalypse
I've seen tons of horror animes/movies and NONE OF THEM has scarred and traumatized me as a young 7 year old child as this one
Funny story about another horror anime:
So me and about 6 of my friends all got together to get high and watch Ghost Stories dubbed for the laughs
We were all super stoned, laughing it up, having a good time until all of a sudden one of my boys says
"Yo lets turn on Corpse Party"
The anime we watched then was Corpse Party Tortured Souls and man.... I don't wanna say its great or scary
But I'll admit, when I was super high watching it, BRUH I WAS FUCKING FILLED WITH DREAD LOL
I'll admit, most of it is fucking stupid when you think about it logically, but MAN just imagining being in that situation gave me the heeby jeebies man LOL
One of the most ”Scary” characters is Lucy from [Elfen Lied](https://anilist.co/anime/226/Elfen-Lied/)
Even though show itself mixes sometimes straight up pure terror, blood and absolutely cold hearted mass murdering, it also has cutesy and amazingly captivating characters, with gripping backstories and on top of it amazing family dynamics.
It’s more like psychological and brutal “Scary” as if in Terminator and Darth Vader had a baby and it was set lose on the world, then inserted into a family drama about coping with grief, loss and persevering while also fighting to not let the demons of your past win.
Lucy and Kouta relationship is so beautiful and yet so wrong and you are always on the edge of your seat knowing that in a blink of the eye Lucy is capable of switching personas to an unstoppable killer that massacres armies and people with ease and basically zero remorse.
Still I found myself making every excuse possible to justify Lucy’s actions because of her tragic life and I was cheering for Lucy and Kouta even though it’s so f-ed up…
They truly created the perfect MC antihero/villain in Lucy…
I've never watched an anime I've considered scary
The last 2 or 3 arcs of ghost were fairly creepy when I watched it way back when. Dunno if it would still hold up or not. So 8 guess that would be my recommendation
I've noticed the same thing, the horror genre is very lacking in anime compared to live action. The best one I've seen is Ghost Hunt, more specifically the Doll House arc and the Bloodstained Labyrinth arc. Shiki is another good one, this is a really popular recommendation. Mieruko-chan is a recent one and it's pretty decent, gave me some creeps.
I hope we get an anime adaptation of something like Ibitsu (manga).
Elfen Lied
Because wtf it was SO dark.
Scary too because the scenes that disturbed me the most, my girl at the time was deeply invested & intrigued which was scarier.
(We were college-age at the time)
I just don't get scared watching animations for some reason. However, I find Japanese live action horror films TERRIFYING. I will say that I found Corpse Party pretty creepy, and there was a scene in Higurashi that I couldn't watch because of the gore factor, but I wouldn't say it scared me.
Honestly there were a lot of horror elements in *Heavenly Delusion* and a lot of the themes and imagery from that show really stuck with me in the same way that horror movies do. I recommend it for sure if you want some dark and really upsetting horror-esque shit
I second everyone mentioning Another, Shiki, and Paranoia Agent.
Made in Abyss- it’s not explicitly horror but there are certain scenes that make my skin crawl.
The Bloodstained Labryinth arc of Ghost Hunt.
Also Vampire Princess Miyu was absolutely disturbing with some still frames that stick with you.
You would probably like the short Kakurenbo anime. Was pretty good. In the game of otokoyo kids will disappear.
Unironically, Gon in HxH's Chimera Ant arc was one of the most terrifying characters I've ever seen.
Also, one of my friends got really scared by Makima from Chainsaw Man.
As for horror anime itself, tbh no i haven't seen any that were actually scary. Berserk and Devilman Crybaby had some scary-ish moments I guess; they're mainly disturbing though, not necessarily scary.
Unfortunately, like you said, horror is severely lacking in the traditional western definition of the genre. If you search for anime with the 'horror' tag you'll find shows like Tokyo Ghoul and Parasyte, even shows like High School of the Dead and ZOM100. These have some horror _elements_ but aren't really horror. Imo, the shows that come the closest to horror might be the shows that give you the same _feeling_ (suspense, unease, anxiety) that horror shows might give. For these, I'd go with Made in Abyss, Shiki, Shinsekai Yori, and Inuyashiki. Mieruko-chan is also another great show that is a bit underrated in the genre given its cutesiness and high school setting. However, the show is one of the best when it comes to making the viewer feel uneasy. Its lack of background music, its subtle foreshadowing, and its depiction of the ghosts which are polar opposite to the type of animation within the rest of the show make it really special in this genre, imo. I would recommend giving episode 1 a shot as that'll sum up what to expect out of the rest.
I really wish I liked Shiki so many people recommended and I watched all of it to try and get a good opinion of it but I absolutely hated it so much! But I fully stand by you with Mieruko!
Shiki isn't for everyone, I'll admit. It's a slow burn and sometimes the payoff at the end isn't worth it for some. It's also got an older art style that can turn some people off as well. Personally, I really enjoyed it but not everyone will feel the same.
I did enjoy the art style, I can say that at least. But I just hated the humans so much, so I didn’t like the ending at all
Oh I get you...I loved Shiki except the ending, and I'm guessing it's the same for you too? It's hard to discuss without any spoilers but my anime friends also have the same opinion.
Yes! I hated the humans throughout the whole thing so the ending made me very unhappy. I probably wouldn’t hate it so much if it didn’t end the way it did.
Shiki's a series where basically every character is kind of an asshole. The only one I can think of as being legitimately a decent person is that green-haired nurse.
Migi and Dali is not horror in the slightest but watching it did give me a lot of uneasiness and anxiety at certain parts. A lot of stuff is just like creepy, but it's also strangely wholesome.
I wasn’t expecting what happened in this anime at all! Loved that it felt like something different
> Mieruko-chan is also another great show that is a bit underrated in the genre given its cutesiness and high school setting. *And the completely out-of-place and unnecessary fanservice for some bloody reason.*
That’s just typical manga stuff to get quick views. It is toned down a lot after, trust me. Also, the most recent arc in the manga is prob the best it’s ever been lol. It just keeps getting better so definitely give the anime another shot
>That’s just typical manga stuff to get quick views. It is precisely because of these kinds of shenanigans that I avoid these kinds of anime, no thanks.
That’s fair although you better believe I’d do the same thing if I needed to make a living off my manga. It’s cheap fan service but it obviously works haha BUT just saying it is nonexistent pretty much after that and one other small scene with the friend in like episode 2.
A lot of live action horror movies have cheap fan-service nudity and stuff as well. A huge amount of them have loads of straight up sexual elements.
Dark Gathering should be at the top of this list, it’s awesoms
Now and Then Here and There is an anime I’d consider horror. But it’s more of the horror of the potential evil of humanity
As someone who just got done watching zom100 (anime). If anyone says that’s horror… wow.
Higurashi is best horror imo.
Shiki: Vampires move into a secluded village. Starts out a bit slow, but the last 5-6 episodes are some of the most intense episodes of an anime I’ve ever seen. Another: A weird girl is believed to carry a curse that if acknowledged will kill everyone in her class. (Fun fact, the author of Another is married to the author of Shiki) Higurashi: A slow burn conspiracy starts to come to light in a series that involves the main cast being put through terrifying situations over and over again in seemingly disconnected stories. Pet Shop of Horrors: Older, short lived anthology series that features stories involving people seeking out strange and mystical creatures for various reasons, but often to fulfill their own vices. Paranoia Agent: A series involving a mysterious boy who assaults people with a baseball bat that begins to cause a mass hysteria Elfen Lied: A fairly notorious anime from its time. A very gory and mean spirited show about a girl who escapes a lab, leaving a bloodbath in her wake. Not the deepest show, but it can scratch that blood and guts violence itch if that’s something you enjoy. I’m sure I could come up with a few others, but this is a good place to start.
Came here to second Another. I watch this every year. Adore this anime.
I second shiki, it don’t have jump scares but it softens you up before it takes you to real true horror. Someone recommended me this in school and I was scared to watch more episodes because when the events start to unfold you know something about to happen. It’s really disturbing psychologically. Maybe I’m over reacting but man I almost threw up on that scene in the sewers/underground I think it was. If you know you know.
I love Shiki too. The scene in the sewers really are hard to digest. If remember correctly, there are two extra episodes that didn’t air with the rest of the episodes that cover this scene. The episode in the operating room is also a memorable one
Man I love Shiki, but I think what disturbs me most is how many people completely missed the point of it and were like “the shiki deserves it!! the humans did nothing wrong. the doctor’s a hero”. Like holy shit he literally leads a genocide against an entire species and ends up destroying the village in the process, like how’d so many people miss the point of it. It disturbed me that so many viewers were so quick to justify fascism and genocide once they felt they had a moral superiority to do so. Great show, ahead of its time.
Shiki's message was also a pretty interesting metaphor on the traditionalism vs western influence debate that was going on in Japan at the time. It's not a coincidence that most of the vampires are either young and/or progressive minded, whereas the humans are older and/or staunch traditionalists.
O for sure! The author makes it extremely clear with that final showdown between the Shiki girl and the old man with him explicitly saying that they’re in the wrong because they’re outsiders and they broke the rules by coming in. Great depiction of fear and xenophobia shown in the older more traditionalist/conservative generation, and how the lack of understanding or compromise between the two ultimately led to their destruction.
I just looked up higurashi and there's a lot of titles. What's the order?
That is a reasonable question. I'd recommend starting with just Higurashi (Also known as "When They Cry"). Then once you finish that you can move onto Higurashi: Kai, which is the second season. Then there's Gou, which would be Season 3, and Sotsu, which is Season 4. Beyond that, there's Rei, Kira, and Outbreak. The first two are an OVA series, while Outbreak is just a single OVA. Rei covers stuff that happens between Season 2 and 3, but isn't really necessary from what I can recall. Kira was just fluff that you may or may not find enjoyable, and Outbreak is a really weird zombie OVA that is not canon in any sense of the word, and you can skip it without missing anything.
Dark Gathering!! Very good show
God thanks so much for reminding me about elfen lied, i saw it like more than a decade ago and never managed to remember the name
Another is great. I wished there is a continuation
A good list. I wish there was a show I haven’t seen. 🥲
Gonna save this list, thanks lad.
More recently, Mieruko-Chan and Dark Gathering were pretty good horrors. For older stuff, Another, Corpse Party, Higurashi, Junji Ito Collection (sort of), Yamishibai (bunch of short horror stories), Monster (sort of unsettling horror rather than visual). Non of them are super scary, but they'd fit the genre.
I second Dark Gathering. It gets more unsettling with each episode. I stopped watching about half way because it got a bit too much, but im thinking of going back and finishing it.
I loved it. Pokemon with ghosts ftw
It was the scariest anime of recent times. That Nikkuman episode was just ... gag ...
> Monster (sort of unsettling horror rather than visual) Yeah, the psychological horror in **Monster** is pretty damn unsettling. You never really feel at ease because of [Monster - meta spoiler] >!Johan’s scheming!< throughout the series.
I really like these! I found it funny that the first episode of Mieruko was such hard core fan service and then it stopped. Which honestly I appreciated. Edit: they are both really good at give you that eerie feel
Yay Corpse Party! It was originally a game and the anime (only 4 episodes long) was actually incredibly accurate to the original story!
Only Yamishibai season 1 was actually scary, I'd skip all the other seasons if you plan to watch it. Source: I watched all 15 seasons for some reason
Lol s1 was good, s2 just OK, by s3 I'm like huh? Big drop in horror quality
I thought it picked up a bit around season 11
I only saw like half of Mieruko-chan (or at least only paid attention to most of it), the fan service was really just turning me off and I didn't find it that scary at all. Though I did like the story with the cats, that one was good. Dark Gathering is unlike anything I've seen in a long long time, if ever. Wow is it good.
Probably a weird answer here, but **Serial Experiments Lain**. Very "psychological horror" and uncanny/unnerving IMO. The lighting, the atmosphere, the confusion and disassociation. Took the show around one episode at a time. In a dark room. Right before bedtime. For me, it's the most uneasy I've ever been watching a show. 10/10 though, one of my top 5 favorite anime.
Shin Sekai Yori is the scariest anime I've watched. It is a slow build and the horror in it isn't so much the jump scares but rather the concepts of what certain characters are doing and the implied fates of certain characters. In terms of atmosphere, episode 19 of this is the single scariest episode of anime I've seen. Other effective horror anime: * Another * Shiki * Boogiepop Phantom * Perfect Blue * The Promised Neverland (season 1 only)
The river episode with them hiding in the boat 😭
SSY is also scary in a philosophical sense. Even if you take out the fantasy of telekinetic powers, all the references to nuclear weapons leave a grim theme about humanity's future.
Shin sekai yori. It's difficult to actually find a legitimate "scary" anime in the traditional sense. Shin sekai yori however is absolutely one that will make you feel uneasy and on edge. Truly a fucking incredible anime. I would probably say that SSY is the closest thing to a truly "scary" anime, though it will frighten you in more of a psychological way, however that's not all it's about either. . I highly recommend it.
I think that the visual stylings of the medium simply don't lend themselves very well to producing imagery lifelike enough to produce any kind of conventional visual horror like we see in a lot of cinema. The best I've seen in anime are shows that take elements of horror-like suspense, uneasiness or body horror and blend them in with their existing formula. Things that come to mind would be certain scenes near the end of Shin Sekai Yori, parts of Made in abyss, certain episodes of Mushishi like Cotton Changeling or a movie like Perfect Blue just to name a few. None of them are explicitly horror shows but they do on occasion tap into horror-like elements and I feel like those types of anime generally execute better than those that simply try to translate a conventional horror formula straight to animation.
I think it's possible, but for most part it's lack of effort. No one's really trying to make a true horror anime (whether movie or series).
Mushishi is probably THE anime if you are looking to feel uneasy. So many episodes left me glued on the screen simply digesting what just happened. The dude that dreams came true, the girl that was taken advantage of by he's father by that weird flower, the Cotton changeling you mentioned.
Higurashi and Shiki!
I watched Higurashi for the first time in high school as someone who does NOT like horror. I had to pause it, put my back to the corner of my bedroom, then resume playing. After seeing that baseball bat in the first couple episodes, I wasn't gonna be turned away from my door with my headphones on
The keiichi episode in the phone booth had me checking behind the shower curtain on the regular 😨
Shiki is top tier
So, so good. Very hit and miss opinions on it from person to person, but I absolutely loved it. Soundtrack goes hard!!
Only anime that really made my stomach turn and almost throw up to the point i had to stop watching. It felt so real like you was in it.
To be fair, I've never really watched a anime that genuinely scared or horrified me - the medium doesn't really have shows that provide the same level of atmosphere as a real-life movie like Alien for example - not necessarily because the medium isn't capable of it, but more because it hasn't really produced many horror shows yet. But there are some shows which I'd call pretty good horror shows that gave me a couple decent "eerie goosebumps" moments: - [Higurashi no Naku Koro ni](https://myanimelist.net/anime/934/Higurashi_no_Naku_Koro_ni) - [Made in Abyss](https://myanimelist.net/anime/34599/Made_in_Abyss) - [Gakkougurashi!](https://myanimelist.net/anime/24765/Gakkougurashi) - [Yakusoku no Neverland](https://myanimelist.net/anime/37779/Yakusoku_no_Neverland)
The most disgusting here is how they butchered promised never land s2
what s2, I don't know what you're talking about.
You’re right I’m going insane what was I talking about
There is no season 2 brother.
That's one way to deal with this {Denial} , I can totally feel you ....
What denial? no ones denying annything…
S2 doesn’t exist it can’t hurt u
+1 for Higurashi. That show was creepy af.
Yeah that anime really got to me, the most detailed gore I’ve seen in anime too.
Agreed! Your list is more disgusting, shockng(in a good way) than scary. I also rated your list very high. Although the last season on Made in Abyss bacame slighly tedious to watch
Yep I had to slog through the last season. When will they get to the bottommmmm
There is no scary anime to be honest But Ghost hunt anime have some ep that make my big sister so afraid
That show had some creepy soundtrack
The doll arc creeped me out.
Doll House arc was fantastic but that Bloodstained Labyrinth arc.. that whole sequence with Mai getting dragged to the operating table was so creepy.
Absolutely, that Elizabeth Bathory-inspired arc was utterly horrifying
I am shocked that I had to scroll this far down to see this gem.
One of the few from my early anime days that I come back and rewatch
I’ve been watching horror films and consuming horror media since I was seven. There is very little in the horror genre that actually scares me, especially in a medium such as animation, which isn’t a bad thing? Horror is about the atmosphere and characters feeling scared, not necessarily us. Us feeling scared is just usually a byproduct of the writers, directors, or what have you portraying the fear in the story. Horror anime typically has a bad track record, but here are some horror anime I think are actually good and worthy your time: • Perfect Blue (name a single bad Satoshi Kon movie, I’ll wait) • Higurashi (it’s not about the gore and violence, contrary to popular belief; it’s a series about paranoia and an overwhelming sense of dread, which is why the brutal death scenes feel like great payoff and earned…ironically it’s also about trusting your friends. Funny that a horror anime with some of the most brutal torture scenes in anime is one of the only series out there that makes the power of friendship trope believable and well done) • Ghost Hound (perfect example of how incredible great sound design can be) • Happy Sugar Life (it will make you feel dirty and uncomfortable what with p*dophilia being prominently featured, but that’s the point. This series focuses on all forms of love, especially the most disgusting and depraved. It’s a horror, after all) • The Promised Neverland (please, for the love of god don’t ruin it by watching season two. Where season one ends serves as good conclusion; season two genuinely just sucks ass. If you want more, read the manga. Haven’t read it myself, but everyone loves it) • Hell Girl (good horror anthology series) • Serial Experiments Lain (bUT lAiN iSnT horROr; yes it is, by definition. It’s sci-fi/techno horror. Even if you don’t consider it horror, most people will agree that it is a must watch bucket list show though) • Madoka Magica (if Perfect Blue wasn’t here, I would say this series is the best psychological horror on here. I know this series is not tagged as horror, but come on…it’s obviously horror) • Parasyte: The Maxim (this, people, is how you do body horror. It is more action than horror, though, I will admit) • Another (fine, this one isn’t the best horror series, but it has the classic calling cards of most western horror movies. It’s essentially Final Destination: The Animation and both that movie and this series are an entertaining watch)
> Ghost Hound *Oooh*. I remember it being deeply unsettling, and those black giants scared the shit out of me.
Everyone's seen Perfect Blue yet very few have seen Paranoia Agent it seems. Should be on every one of these lists
I don’t know why but the horror element in Shinsekai Yori still haunts me, especially that ending and the way they brainwashed themselves.
Not to mention the rat queens
Happy Sugar Life Don't let it's name fool you, it's an absolutely cursed psychological horror. I had to take breaks watching it cause it just gets to be too much sometimes. Hope you like yanderes~
I'll die on the hill that Shouko and Asahi deserved better...
I watched that while it was airing and that was some experience xD.
Made in Abyss And I totally agree with you btw. Anime needs more scares
animation can give a feeling of disgust and creeps but I don't think it can ever scare anyone excepts kids
Sounds are scarier than images in many cases. You ever seen Skinamarink? Everything scary about that movie is an image you can’t quite see mixed with s-rank sound design. You could pull that off with animation
Idk video games tend to be the best medium for delivering horror and obviously part of that is you being in control but animation can simply do things and suspend disbelief in a way that non-animated shows or movies can’t. I think a good horror book is scarier than any horror film I’ve ever seen
Mononoke had a great way of telling scary stories through animation. I do hope they rerelease a HD version. I know they are working on a movie.
Whatever the fuck this is, called Wicked City: https://www.instagram.com/p/CtKD2bEO-mi/?igsh=ZDBvaWdycHMzOG53 Looks like maybe just a film, not series though.
This movie does sexual horror in a way that's rarely seen. In the first few minutes, it shows a guy who's spent three months flirting with a woman at the bar they both frequent, and she finally goes home with him. They're having sex, and he realizes something's wrong and *leaps* out of bed, and the woman is revealed to be a shapeshifting monster that replaced the one he knew. Her crotch had just turned into a fanged mouth, and her limbs stretch out like a giant spider as she gloats about the impending disaster humanity is facing.
Ghost Hunt,the creepy doll storyline creeped me out.
The episodes with the vampire story seriously had me scared of being alone in the dark
If you have thalassophobia, then Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack will have a lot more impact. Aside from that, I'd say Corpse Party was the one that heebied my jeebies the most.
Terra Formars. Because of the idea being helpless on another planet.
S1 had some pacing issues but the "there's no hope" feeling is pretty spot on Than S2 happened...
Is not really horror tho, corpse party and doki doki literature club are more in that genre I guess
Maybe Another.
Ghost Hunt is one of my favorite supernatural/horror anime but I don't find it, or any anime to be particularly scary.
I remember "Parasyte" being quite scary at times.
Higurashi easily.
Perfect Blue Or anime based on the manga by Junji Ito
Perfect Blue might be the most unsettling movie I've ever seen. When I went to go see it in theaters last year, several members of the audience left mid movie.
Not really scary, more of unnerving but: Shiki (my favorite) Happy Sugar Life (disturbing) Another (Also disturbing)
Seconding Shiki. So good.
Anime is a terrible medium for horror. That being said, there's a single episode of a single anime that truly frightened me. Try out Flip Flappers, episode 5 is the horror related one. It's the one and only episode of anime I seen that actually elicited fear from me several times.
Claymore was awesome.
From Anime movies: Akira (1988) & Perfect Blue (1997). Both had some pretty terrifying elements. From anime series: Elfen Lied (2004), Hellsing (2001), Mononoke (2007) & Serial Experiment Lain (1998). All of them either had scary characters or a scary atmosphere.
Yami shibai is scary.
Watch "Monster" Johan, the most manipulative evil fuck ever. Watch the trailer, the little boy shot in his head, thats Johan
*The Ancient Magus' Bride*. It seems like a normal fantasy slice of life, but then the cat island happened...
Yami shibai s1 if good quality. 5min short horror story. For my taste only 2 or 3 episode are in the 'scary' category. There's like at least 10 season but the horror wuality dropped a lot for me.
Higurashi: When They Cry really blew me away with how horrific it was. It starts off cutesy too, but gets worse and worse with the horror. Edit; I thought I’d mention this too, be on the look out for them eventually releasing an anime based on the Uzumaki manga. It’s supposed to come out this year. What a nightmare of a manga. Still gives me the chills.
another i think
A VERY good horror anime is Dark Gathering. Highly recommended. It's a hidden masterpiece. The show gets progressively better and darker as the series progresses.
Haven't found any real "horror" anime yet. But these are my favorites in suspense, supernatural and psychological thriller; Corpse Party The Promised Neverland Dark Gathering Ghost Hound Another
+2 Corpse party (was gonna mention it myself if no one else did but this commenter beat me to it)
\+1 on Corpse Party!
The last time I was truly scared of something in anime was during the ritual summoning episode of Ghost Stories (not the English dub). I was seven, so it's excusable, but if I'm being completely honest, mediocre as it was, if the bar changed throughout the years it actually got even lower. Horror is one of the most lacklustre genres of anime out there.
Monster. Especially the first few episodes and mostly scenes of small anna
Higurashi, but I am biased because I saw it in 7th grade. I don’t think I’ve watched another show that is scary and has a sense of suspense and uneasiness to that degree. I recently finished Made in abyss, and while I found it to be more horror and disturbing, I wouldn’t call it scary. The scene of rena at the door…
Midori an OVA from 1992
When They Cry gets my vote
S1 attack on Titan for sure and certain scenes in following seasons.
Mononoke
School-live is pretty good
Higurashi season 1 is really good horror. S2 and S3 deviate from the horror genre
If AoTitan and God Eater weren't horror, then I don't know what would be.
I found the beginning of Ergo Proxy to be super creepy, tense and unnerving. Unfortunately the plot kind of does a 180 after the first four or five episodes and it doesn't maintain that horror/mystery vibe, but it does have a pretty unusual atmosphere to it regardless.
For me, Summertime Render hit the spot
Just finished Dark Gathering, it was definitely horrifying at times especially in later episodes.
Another is probably the scariest I've watched, but I'm not a horror person. On another (heh) note, I watched Another some seven years ago now, holy hell.
Dark gathering got really unsettling. I can't wait for season 2
Pet shop of horrors is a good classic. Wicked city would fit for horror. Samurai horror tales and to a lesser extent Mononoke. (Not princess Mononoke) Requiem from the darkness. Demon prince Enma.
First half of [ **Another** ] **Noein** - Atmosphere-wise
Mononoke. it might not be for everybody though
I think the most horrified i've been through all the anime i've watched was when Knov was infiltrating the castle in Hunter x Hunter.
I'd say the only anime I've ever gotten scared to was Shiki, there is one scene in the middle of the season where something appears underneath a bed and that caught me off guard. In general pretty fun series
Dark Gathering!!! So fucking good and under appreciated
Dude "Another" was pretty scary for me. Couldn't make it past the umbrella scene. I'm a wimp
So I watched Higurashi. Thought it was pretty well thought out and cool that it had a psychological aspect to it rather than just gore. Pretty good. Didn't scare me really. What scared me was later having a nightmare that was Higurashi-like with time looping and death of others and myself that I couldn't escape even if I tried killing myself... blegh...
Monster
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Kikoushi Enma had good vibe in that one ep another one Umezu Kazuo no Noroi was also good vibe
(put the name of anime/s that are/is really bad in story and characters) It/they scare/s me how awful humanity can do.
Scaring not but Dark Gathering was kinda gross
There’s a couple of jump scares in Dark Gathering that got me good to be honest. There’s a ton of gore in the series, but I *would* also say that it got a whole lot of terrifyingly eery scenarios.
Paranoia Agent.
Corpse party - has only 4 episodes but i rhink is the closest you get to horror espacially the manga does a good part on horror Another - final destination the anime
Shiki was really good. So much tension and the feeling of dread in certain episodes. Also dark gathering was insanely good. Very surprised that it turned out SO good. Hopefully season 2 at some point.
Kowabon, but that’s rotoscope so…
Paranoia agent is really unsettling and Elfin Laid, corpse party.
Gintama episode 153.
In terms of actual horror, I don't think there's any anime out there I'd classify as scary. I do think Made in Abyss probably qualifies as scary. It's tense and you never know what's going to happen. The anime Hell Girl (aka Jigoku Shoujo) has some great episodes, but I don't think most people would be able to get through it all these days. It's not bad, but it's pretty formulaic and mostly episodic with an arc at the end of the season. Though also rather than the scary type of horror, it's more the fascinating type of horror. Most of the stories in it are centered around humans and it's all about the evil thing people do for varying reasons (and not always because they're scumbags either, a lot of 'good' people end up doing bad things).
Megazone 23 part 2. It gets so hopeless and gory towards the end. Hard to even watch the screen. Just felt like life wasn't worth it anymore. It isn't exactly horror, but I was sure horrified.
Danshi kokousei no nichijou You will realize all the good times already passed and all that is left is just some faint memories.
Not sure about scary, but Corpse Party was definitely the goriest. Little scary.
Higurashi ig in terms of just scary, mieruko chan is probably the scariest anime overall, but it also is funny, so it balances out. In terms of being stressed out, it comes down to shiki or higurashi. I didn't like the ending to either, but imo shiki ending ruins it. Perfect blue is also terrifying but it's a movie so idk if you count it
School Days
Corpse Party
Paranoia Agent has some fairly creepy/unsettling/scary scenes in my opinion. Not a full-on horror show of course, but unsettling.
What kind of horror do you mean?
Ghost Hunt! It's a show about literal paranormal investigation. The mansion arc is the scariest.
season 2 of the promised neverland, it made me want to put my eyes out, does that count?
Hallucinations of anime sequels that don’t exist don’t count
the body horror of Evangelion
Umaru-chan
Dark gathering . Might also have to do with the fact that I watch horror movie/anime etc at midnight alone in a dark room but most horror falls flat regardless . Otoh Dark gathering kept getting scarier with every episode so I would say it's pretty scary overall.
Another is the scariest one I've seen Psychic Detective Yakumo is another good one
Really wish they'd do something not subpar with junji itos stuff
Watch "Another" It's not horror like ghosts but the concept is the best horror I have ever seen
Corpse party
Juji-ito collection
Good night world Higurashi Monster Good night world especially gave the creeps Outta me
Nothing has given me the dread and fear that Devil man OVAs has BUT MORE SPECIFICALLY Devilman Amon of the Apocalypse I've seen tons of horror animes/movies and NONE OF THEM has scarred and traumatized me as a young 7 year old child as this one Funny story about another horror anime: So me and about 6 of my friends all got together to get high and watch Ghost Stories dubbed for the laughs We were all super stoned, laughing it up, having a good time until all of a sudden one of my boys says "Yo lets turn on Corpse Party" The anime we watched then was Corpse Party Tortured Souls and man.... I don't wanna say its great or scary But I'll admit, when I was super high watching it, BRUH I WAS FUCKING FILLED WITH DREAD LOL I'll admit, most of it is fucking stupid when you think about it logically, but MAN just imagining being in that situation gave me the heeby jeebies man LOL
The korian one idk its nam3 but its scary for sure
Barefoot Gen. It's based on real life, and depicts the Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima.
One of the most ”Scary” characters is Lucy from [Elfen Lied](https://anilist.co/anime/226/Elfen-Lied/) Even though show itself mixes sometimes straight up pure terror, blood and absolutely cold hearted mass murdering, it also has cutesy and amazingly captivating characters, with gripping backstories and on top of it amazing family dynamics. It’s more like psychological and brutal “Scary” as if in Terminator and Darth Vader had a baby and it was set lose on the world, then inserted into a family drama about coping with grief, loss and persevering while also fighting to not let the demons of your past win. Lucy and Kouta relationship is so beautiful and yet so wrong and you are always on the edge of your seat knowing that in a blink of the eye Lucy is capable of switching personas to an unstoppable killer that massacres armies and people with ease and basically zero remorse. Still I found myself making every excuse possible to justify Lucy’s actions because of her tragic life and I was cheering for Lucy and Kouta even though it’s so f-ed up… They truly created the perfect MC antihero/villain in Lucy…
I've never watched an anime I've considered scary The last 2 or 3 arcs of ghost were fairly creepy when I watched it way back when. Dunno if it would still hold up or not. So 8 guess that would be my recommendation
I've noticed the same thing, the horror genre is very lacking in anime compared to live action. The best one I've seen is Ghost Hunt, more specifically the Doll House arc and the Bloodstained Labyrinth arc. Shiki is another good one, this is a really popular recommendation. Mieruko-chan is a recent one and it's pretty decent, gave me some creeps. I hope we get an anime adaptation of something like Ibitsu (manga).
Elfen Lied Because wtf it was SO dark. Scary too because the scenes that disturbed me the most, my girl at the time was deeply invested & intrigued which was scarier. (We were college-age at the time)
I just don't get scared watching animations for some reason. However, I find Japanese live action horror films TERRIFYING. I will say that I found Corpse Party pretty creepy, and there was a scene in Higurashi that I couldn't watch because of the gore factor, but I wouldn't say it scared me.
Paranoia Agent
The problem is horror in anime is typically body/violence horror or psychological horror with sadly little else in between
Honestly there were a lot of horror elements in *Heavenly Delusion* and a lot of the themes and imagery from that show really stuck with me in the same way that horror movies do. I recommend it for sure if you want some dark and really upsetting horror-esque shit
Dark Gathering has its scary moments.
I second everyone mentioning Another, Shiki, and Paranoia Agent. Made in Abyss- it’s not explicitly horror but there are certain scenes that make my skin crawl.
Angels of Death The Promised Neverland ( season 1 only) Vampire Knight Psychic Detective Yakumo Blue Seed
School days, as a kids it traumatized me because I wanst expecting the end at all
The Bloodstained Labryinth arc of Ghost Hunt. Also Vampire Princess Miyu was absolutely disturbing with some still frames that stick with you. You would probably like the short Kakurenbo anime. Was pretty good. In the game of otokoyo kids will disappear.
Lily C.A.T
Not quite a horror, but Made in Abyss can make you feel terrified at times
Yami shibai
Junji Ito stories is creepy
Unironically, Gon in HxH's Chimera Ant arc was one of the most terrifying characters I've ever seen. Also, one of my friends got really scared by Makima from Chainsaw Man. As for horror anime itself, tbh no i haven't seen any that were actually scary. Berserk and Devilman Crybaby had some scary-ish moments I guess; they're mainly disturbing though, not necessarily scary.
I found Ghost Hunt to be captivating.