It’s October, which means for many of us it is time to hunt down the scariest TV shows and movies you can find. Horror does not have to be just live action either, as animation has taken massive leaps and bounds forward in finding ways to scare us. Thankfully you don’t have to go far. The anime streaming service Crunchyroll has done a fantastic job of compiling them all in one place. Here are the five scariest anime that you don’t want to miss this October.

Mieruko-chan

What it is: Sometimes you need a little levity with your horror, and Mieruko-chan gives you just that. The protagonist can see grotesque, terrifying spirits but tries to act like everything is normal to avoid attention. Normal however ends up leading to sometimes hilarious results.

Why it’s scary: Why was The Sixth Sense scary? Because there was tension between what he saw and what others didn’t see. It’s the same thing here. The monsters are often visually disturbing as well. The psychological toll on the main character, and the creeping dread of being seen by something unexplainable, add to the horror.

Theatre of Darkness: Yamishibai

What it is: This anthology tells very quick ghost stories or Japanese urban legends. Each episode only runs about 4 minutes long, which means you can burn through the entire series in under an hour.

Why it’s scary: The brevity is part of the appeal. It gives  you quick snapshots of creepy folklore, uncanny events, not to mention traditional ghost motifs. The animation style and storytelling lean more into atmosphere and suspense rather than gore, which is always nice to see.

Parasyte: The Maxim

What it is: This 2016 series is a classic style horror / sci-fi anime about alien parasites that infect humans. The twist, instead of being lodged in a boy’s brain, it infects his right hand instead.

Why it’s scary: The parasitic creatures are physically grotesque and morally ambiguous. The transformation scnes are also very intense.  The tension comes from you start to question what makes someone human, and what happens when you lose control of your body. It also makes you wonder how guilty you are when something else is infecting you, infection themes.

Another

What it is: A horror-mystery set in a school where a curse causes gruesome, often bizarre deaths among students. It came out in 2012, and only has one season.

Why it’s scary: Tension builds slowly, excruciatingly so. Even though the feeling of dread is strong, you find yourself unable to turn away because you just need to know what happens next.  Once things get started though, and the deadly accidents start, things get quite grim and moves quickly. Visuals are also very unsettling when the horror starts to manifest.

Junji Ito Collection

What it is: An anthology that came out in 2018 that adapts various stories by horror manga legend Junji Ito.

Why it’s scary: This show leans heavily on surreal, grotesque imagery and existential dread. Common themes include creeping weirdness, the uncanny and fear of the unknown. It’s not always jump-scare horror, but it does have it’s moments which might cause you to scream out. It is however is very much more about lingering disturbances, which build your over all paranoia. The art matches the theme as well, and Is very dull and dreary.

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