NO SPOILERS!!! Promise!
5. From the New World (Shinsekai Yori)
This anime has me so confused. Literally, I have no idea what I just watched. There was a story in there, I'm sure, but I think I was distracted by how creepy the show was. The animation was beautiful but dark. It's genre is sci-fi, supernatural, horror. I'd put horror to the front though because this was a crazy anime. I usually watch anime in a dark room and I can tell you there was a time I had to turn the lights on. So if you're looking for an anime that'll freak you out, this needs to be on your to watch list.
4. Paranoia Agent (Mousou Dairinin)
Anime from the early 2000s was famous for being on Toonami and Adult Swim. Paranoia Agent was an anime I watched in my early teens when it came on late at night. This anime is supposed to be a psychological, mystery thriller but it scared me so much that I sometimes had to change the channel because it was getting too weird for me. Something about Little Slugger just didn't give me a good feeling, and I remember hiding under my covers more than once while watching because of him alone even though he wasn't the only creepy thing in that anime.
3. When They Cry (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni)
This is a freaky anime. Don't let the art style fool you. They may look like cute little girls but they do some messed up things that will give you nightmares. The anime tries to make the story flow into the same storyline but the manga uses arcs in order to shine the light on each character. If you like manga more than anime I can recommend the manga. It'll still freak you out on paper. My favorite character (and when I say favorite I mean freaky) is Mion Sonozaki. She is soooo messed up in the crazy things she does. Gives me chills just thinking about it. I could also recommend Corpse Party as it has a cutesy art style that takes a turn on horror street but it does not get a place on this list since it is only an OVA.
2. Blood +
There are so many anime out there that are supposed to be consider "horror anime." Just because an anime has gore does not make it scary, there's a difference. So that means no Tokyo Ghoul, Hellsing, or Elfen Lied. Those are amazing anime to watch, but they don't scare me at all. There is one anime that had the same cool factor as the ones I've just mentioned but actually did the job in scaring me, and that's Blood +. It has everything in it: horror, action, war, and vampires. You may be thinking why Shiki isn't on this list if we're talking about vampires. Shiki was a freaky anime that was pretty cool but it did not have the same fear factor as the anime on my list. In Blood + not only was I freaked out, but I was scared for the main character, Saya Otonashi. When an anime can make me be scared for a fictional character, that is talent. Blood + is a definite recommendation. Even though it is a longer anime than any of the other anime I've mentioned, with 50 episodes, it's worth the watch!
1. Another
My number one horror anime is Another. Yes, this anime has a ton of gore but that is not what makes it scary. What makes this anime perfectly scary are the many ways a person can die. I've never seen so many deaths in an anime before, and different deaths at that. After watching this anime I remember watching my surroundings, making sure I wasn't setting myself up for a gruesome death. I was genuinely scared for my life. Not only can I recommend this anime for it's horror but it has a great story-line to add to how awesome it is. If you are not into anime there's a light novel and novel of this series.
That's it for my top 5 horror anime. I was freaking myself out while writing this because I kept hearing noises from outside. Glad I never have to write about this topic again. lol!
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