As the leaves begin to change color and make their descent, that can only mean one thing: Fall is officially here. With the weather cooling down and October in full force, what better time to explore old and new horror anime series?
Whether it be supernatural, psychological, or just plain Halloween vibes, now is the perfect chance to immerse yourself in a new anime. Anime Fire has put together a list of 10 spooky anime fit for all levels of horror.
Content warning: mentions of sexual assault, blood, and suicide.
Spooky Anime with Halloween Elements
These are the anime fit for those who don’t necessarily like horror but want to get into the spirit of spooky vibes.
Soul Eater
While not outright horror, Soul Eater is a series that takes tons of inspiration from spooky elements. From the gothic setting to some of the character designs, it is a great series to watch this season for those who aren’t fans of being scared. While being spooky, the plot and characters are also really interesting and there is plenty of action to keep viewers interested from beginning to end.
The series follows meister Maka Albarn and her demon scythe partner, Soul Eater, as they attend Death Weapon Meister Academy (DWMA). The goal of all meisters at the school is to have their weapons absorb the souls of 99 evil souls before absorbing the soul of one evil witch. Upon completing this goal, their weapons become death scythes that become used by Shinigami, the personification of death. Along the way, they encounter fellow meisters, Black Star, who believes he is destined to surpass God, and Death the Kid, the “son” of Shinigami who has godlike abilities, but lacks his father’s aspect of fear. Maka and Soul work together as they strive to complete their own personal goals while also trying to complete the goal given to them by the DWMA.
Spirited Away
Although not a Halloween anime, Spirited Away combines a heartfelt story with eerie elements, including the spirit world, monsters, and other creatures. With some rather creepy scenes and so many supernatural creatures in the spirit world, including the spirit No-Face, the Studio Ghibli movie has the essence of the spooky season without any actual spooking. If you’re looking for a movie to watch while you curl up on the couch this Halloween season, Spirited Away is perfect for you.
After her family stumbles into a mysterious and abandoned amusement park, which is a front for a resort for the supernatural beings to relax, Chihiro enters the spirit world, surrounded by creatures, witches and spirits. During her time in the spirit world, Chihiro makes an ally in Haku, a dragon disguised as a boy, who tries to help her return to her home world. She ends up working at the spirits’ bathhouse, making unlikely friends, meeting countless spirits and trying to save her family to return home.
Skull-Face Bookseller Honda-san
What’s scarier than a skull-face book seller? For Honda-san, it’s customer service. There’s nothing inherently Halloween-y about this series. However, the variety of talking heads and masks is enough to elicit shrieks of laughter. Or cringe. Either way, this anime is a down-to-earth comedic look into a book store employee’s daily life.
Based on the author’s real-life experiences, Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san follows the titular character as they work in a book store in Japan. In order to maintain their privacy and that of their colleagues, all the faces are replaced with comical masks that only add to the surrealism of the show. Where else can you find a skeleton making yaoi recommendations to a foreigner? If you want a break from the horrors and thrills this Halloween season, this anime is a perfect fit.
Supernatural Series
These spooky anime series involve the traditional Halloween archetypes: Vampires, zombies, monsters and spirits!
Hellsing
With vampires that control undead zombies, Hellsing has no shortage of downright creepy creatures throughout the series. For fans who get into the Halloween spirit with vampire and zombie movies, Hellsing is the perfect spooky anime to watch. What’s better than regular old vampire hunting? Vampires hunting other vampires. Hellsing’s main characters, Alucard and Seras, are vampires turned vampire hunters, hunting their own species to protect the human race.
Hellsing follows the Hellsing Organisation, which handles all things supernatural in the United Kingdom, ridding the country of undead threats. Fans watch as characters Alucard, Seras Victoria, and the rest of the organization handle vampires and undead who attack the British population. With gore, curse words, blood and sexual moments, mature fans can enjoy Hellsing’s gory monster hunting.
Castlevania
A renowned vampire hunter heir, a nomad sorceress, and the son of the most feared vampire in the world team up to take down Dracula and his vampire army. Castlevania perfectly puts fans in the Halloween spirit with its gothic European aesthetic, vampires, night creatures, and endless horrors expected when humans dare cross Dracula. With power-hungry bloodsuckers and characters literally being impaled at the stake, Castlevania perfectly encapsulates the traditional vampire aesthetic for Halloween lovers.
After the death of his wife Lisa Tepes, Dracula wages a war against the humans. The unlikely trio of the vampire hunter Trevor Belmont, sorceress Sypha Belnades, and Dracula’s son Adrien ‘Alucard’ Tepes team up to take down the vengeful vampire and save the human race. This series is takes place during the 1400s in Eastern Europe. It follows the trio as they attempt to rid the world of evil vampires with their mission to save humanity. With endless witty comments and a heartfelt romance, Castlevania’s plot ensures fans of any genre can still enjoy the vampire hunting adventures.
Servamp
For fans of action involving vampires, Servamp is the perfect spooky anime series to watch during the Halloween season. The series offers a unique spin on the vampire trope. Each vampire in the series represents one of the Seven Deadly Sins. There is tons of action when it comes to confrontations between series protagonists, Mahiru Shirota and Sleepy Ash, and the antagonist, Tsubaki, and his army of Subclass Vampires.
The series follows Mahiru Shirota, a high school student who finds a stray cat and decides to take it home. However, he soon finds out that the stray cat is actually a vampire. Due to Mahiru buying a cat bell and giving him a name, Kuro, he mistakenly created a bond with the vampire. The bond is then completed when Sleepy Ash, the Vampire of Sloth, has a taste of Mahiru’s blood. They are soon confronted by Tsubaki, who is the Vampire of Melancholy. Tsubaki is hellbent on creating an all-out war against the other vampires. He is out to kill anyone that doesn’t know who he is. Mahiru and Sleepy Ash, who adopts the name “Kuro,” work together to try and rally Kuro’s siblings and fellow vampires in an effort to combat Tsubaki and his army in order to protect each other.
GeGeGe no Kitaro
Ghosts, goblins, and ghouls, oh my! Halloween wouldn’t be complete without these trademark monsters, and this anime offers a plethora of spooky spirits. Most of the time, it’s a lighthearted slice-of-life action/comedy as Kitaro and his friends resolve issues between humans and yokai. It’s not afraid to go really dark. Furthermore, it peers into the human condition and how sometimes people are their own worst enemies.
Yokai have always existed alongside humans, though they tend to keep their distance. Sometimes, though, they will reveal themselves in response to the negative emotions humans project. In the face of these unexplained phenomena, rumor has it that sending a request for help through the Yokai Post will be answered by GeGeGe no Kitaro. His job is to maintain balance between the human world and the yokai world. This way, both can continue to exist peacefully. Join Kitaro and his yokai friends as they fight evil spirits, teach other yokai how to coexist, and keep humanity in check. But dark forces loom in the background, threatening to consume the whole world.
Psychological Horror Spooky Anime
These final spooky anime have more psychological horror elements, particularly paranoia. Some of these have scenes of sexual assault, mentions of suicide, blood, and other methods of violence. Viewer discretion is advised.
Perfect Blue
This anime contains scenes of sexual assault.
A classic Satoshi Kon anime film, Perfect Blue handles horror in a different way. Rather than having ghosts, goblins, and ghouls, Perfect Blue explores themes of paranoia, stalking, mental health deterioration, and psychosis. The line between reality and fiction is blurred, and the Mima, as well as the viewer, doesn’t know what’s real or fake. Perfect Blue adds multiple layers of discomfort and presents a haunting view of what it costs to be famous.
Mima Kirigoe is a J-Pop idol who wants to make the transition from singer to actress. As a result of leaving her idol group CHAM!, she becomes the target of an obsessed fan who begins stalking her. Mima discovers a site called “Mima’s Room,” a website with diarylike entries written with Mima’s in depth personal thoughts. Spoiler alert: She isn’t the author.
As Mima struggles with her transition to acting, and her growing obsession with Mima’s Room, she develops psychosis and has a hard time distinguishing real life from fiction.
Paranoia Agent
Like Perfect Blue, Paranoia Agent is a Satoshi Kon series that bends reality and fiction. An anthology series, Paranoia Agent first starts out as a mystery, looking for the attacker known as “Lil Slugger.” As the anime progresses, it becomes less about Lil Slugger’s identity and more about society and escapism. This anime features discussions about suicide, child abuse, and sex work.
An unknown attacker dubbed Lil Slugger has been assaulting numerous people on the street. There’s just one problem: None of their victims can identify him. The only traits they can remember are the attacker’s golden inline skates, a baseball cap, and a bent golden baseball bat.
Another
A spooky anime list wouldn’t be complete without Another. This psychological horror anime has Final Destination written all over it. Featuring blood and gruesome deaths that seemingly can’t be avoided, Another’s characters work together to break the curse that’s been plaguing their classroom for years.
Set in 1998, Kōichi Sakakibara is a new transfer student at Yomiyama Middle School. He befriends a girl named Mei Misaki, and a strange phenomenon happens in their class: Their classmates start dying gruesome deaths. Now knowing he’s in the presence of a curse, Sakakibara and his classmates start to work together to figure out how to end this curse before it kills them.
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