Analog Horror

Analog horror is a niche subgenre of horror fiction and an offshoot of the " found footage" film technique. Often cited as originating from early 2010s Internet videos, analog horror is characterized by low-fidelity graphics, cryptic messages, and visual styles reminiscent of late 20th century television and analog recordings (often set between the 1960s and 1990s).

Characteristics

Analog horror is commonly characterized by low-fidelity graphics, cryptic messages, and visual styles reminiscent of late 20th-century television. This is done to match the setting, as analog horror works are typically set between the 1960s and 1990s. It is named "analog horror" because of its aesthetic incorporation of elements related to analog electronics, such as analog television and VHS, the latter being an analog method of recording video.

Analog horror may also be influenced by found footage horror movies, such as ''The Blair Witch Project'' and Hideo Nakata's original version of '' The Ring''. David Lynch's ''Inland Empire'' heavily influenced ''Petscop'', an alternate reality game that is similar to analog horror.

History

Analog horror could be regarded as a form or descendant of creepypasta legends. Many creepypastas anticipated analog horror's themes and presentation: ''Ben Drowned'' and '' NES Godzilla Creepypasta'', among others, featured manipulated or contrived footage of "haunted" media, and '' Candle Cove'', a creepypasta from 2009, focused on a mysterious television broadcast. The subgenre is typically cited as originating from late 2010s Internet (mostly YouTube) videos, gaining substantial popularity with the release of Kris Straub's ''Local 58''. The series, which quickly became successful, would later inspire works such as '' The Mandela Catalogue'' and ''The Walten Files''.

In 2020, Netflix announced their own horror series, ''Archive 81'' (based on a podcast of the same name), which is similar to analog horror. The show was canceled after a single season.

Examples

''Local 58''

Kris Straub's ''Local 58'' is a series of YouTube videos presented as authentic videotaped footage of a television station that is continuously hijacked over the course of several of decades. While there is no main plot in this series, every episode seems to include hidden messages related to looking at the Moon or the night sky, as well as the in-universe Thought Research Initiative (TRI).

''Local 58'' is frequently credited with creating and/or popularizing analog horror. Additionally, the series is responsible for naming the genre through its slogan, "ANALOG HORROR AT 476 MHz".

''Mandela Catalogue''

'' The Mandela Catalogue'', created by Alex Kister in 2021, follows events in the fictional Mandela County, Wisconsin, where entities known as "alternates" have been terrorizing the community. As the series continues, it becomes apparent that there is both a paranormal and occult aspect to the Alternates, which have a history dating back to before the birth of Jesus.

''Gemini Home Entertainment''

''Gemini Home Entertainment'' is a horror anthology series by Remy Abode. It centers around the eponymous Gemini Home Entertainment, a fictional distributor of VHS tapes that detail numerous anomalous incidents taking place around the world, including the appearances of various dangerous alien creatures in the United States and an ongoing assault on the Solar System by "The Iris", a sentient rogue planet which sent the entities to Earth as part of its efforts to subjugate the planet and humanity. The creature of the "woodcrawler" in the series is heavily inspired by the Native American mythologies of skinwalkers and the wendigo.

''The Monument Mythos''

''The Monument Mythos'' (stylized as THE MONUMENT MYTHOS) is an analog horror series created by Mister Manticore. Combining alternate history with hyperlink cinema and cosmic horror, the series takes the form of several mockumentary videos about an America where unexplainable events occur at national landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty or Mount Rushmore.

With episodes such as CanyonCrown and MaizeMovieMaker, Mister Manticore also introduced "digital horror" to the greater analog horror community. Some videos are entirely based around digital editing software such as ''Maize Movie Maker'', the in-universe analogue of Windows Movie Maker.

''The Walten Files''

''The Walten Files'' is an analog horror series that is partially based on ''Five Nights At Freddy's'' and was created by Martin Walls. Each episode is usually in the form of an employee training video for a restaurant named Bon's Burgers, which has robotic animatronic entertainment. Over the course of the videos, the backstory of the restaurant and its founders is revealed.

''The Smile Tapes''

''The Smile Tapes'' is an analog horror series created by the YouTuber Patorikku from late 2021 to early 2022.
The story takes place in the mid-1990s in the United States. It starts with a public service announcement talking about a new drug in circulation called "smile", which induces violent and maniacal behavior in its users and causes them to don a deranged smile and laugh hysterically.

''The Secret of Sacrith Village''

''The Secret of Sacrith Village'' is an analog horror series and Alternate reality game by the YouTube
The Sphynx
from early 2023. The story takes place in the fictional Sacrith Village and starts out with three cryptic videos, the first of which is inspired by the Riddle of the Sphinx and the third starting the alternate reality game with the first clue.

References

{{Reflist

Horror genres
Narrative techniques