12 Best Horror Anime To Watch This Halloween

With Halloween just around the corner, it’s the ideal time for horror anime to emerge from the shadows. There is a horror anime for everyone to sink their fangs into, whether anime fans are ready to binge their favorite horror anime for the hundredth time or are timidly dipping their toe into the genre for the first time.

Horror anime has chills and thrills for everyone, from demons and ghouls to dangerous killers roaming the night. Whether fans are looking for a spooky anime to watch as Halloween approaches or some anime to binge on the holiday night, these creep-tastic anime will have something for everyone. Today we’ll be listing the 12 Best Horror Anime to Watch This Halloween!

Best Horror Anime

12. Mononoke

The “Medicine Seller” is a lethal and mysterious occult master who travels to feudal Japan in search of malevolent spirits known as “Mononoke” to slay. He cannot simply kill one of these spirits; he must first learn its Form, Truth, and Reason in order to wield the mighty Exorcism Sword and fight it. He must begin his strange exorcisms with intense psychological analysis and careful investigative work—a dangerous step because he must first confront and learn about the Mononoke before he can defeat it.

The journey of the Medicine Seller leads him to an old-fashioned inn where Shino, a pregnant woman, has finally found a place to rest. The owner has reluctantly placed her in the last vacant room; however, as she settles in, it quickly becomes clear that the room is infested by the Zashiki Warashi, a lethal band of Mononoke. The Medicine Seller begins his investigation with the hunter’s intuition to discover the Form, Truth, and Reason before the Zashiki Warashi can kill again.

11. Shiki

Life is idyllic and unassuming in Sotoba, a small town where everyone knows everyone. However, tragedy strikes when Megumi Shimizu, a young girl with high hopes, dies unexpectedly from an unknown illness. As more unexplained deaths occur around the village during the hot summer months, the town’s doctor, Toshio Ozaki, begins to suspect that something more sinister than a simple disease is at work.

Toshio joins forces with Natsuno Yuuki, an apathetic and aloof adolescent, and Kaori and Akira Tanaka, two of Megumi’s friends, to solve the dark mystery surrounding the deaths in Sotoba. The investigation leads them to an eerie secret concerning the new family in the Kanemasa mansion as a result of their combined efforts.

10. Highschool of the Dead

The dead began to rise unexpectedly, and Japan was thrown into complete chaos. Takashi Kimuro is forced to kill his best friend when he is bitten and joins the ranks of the walking dead as these monsters terrorize a high school. They narrowly escape their death trap of a school, vowing to protect Rei Miyamoto, the girlfriend of the man he just executed, only to be greeted by a society that has already fallen.

Takashi and Rei soon join forces with other students on a journey to find their family members and discover what caused this massive pandemic. Saeko Busujima, the beautiful president of the Kendo Club, Kouta Hirano, an otaku with a gun fetish, Saya Takagi, the daughter of an influential politician, and Shizuka Marikawa, their hot school nurse, join them. Will the combined strength of these individuals be sufficient to defeat the undead apocalypse?

9. Angels of Death

With dead and lifeless eyes, Rachel Gardner wishes only to die. She wakes up in a building’s basement with no idea how or why she got there. She comes across a bandaged murderer named Zack who is attempting to flee. Rachel and Zack set out to ascend through the building floor by floor until they escape, with Zack promising to kill her as soon as he is free.

However, as they progress upward, they meet more twisted people, all of whom appear to be acquainted with Rachel. What is her relationship to the building, and why was she assigned to it? Facing a new boss on each floor, can Rachel and Zack both achieve their wishes?

8. Parasyte: The Maxim

They appeared out of nowhere: parasitic aliens who descended on Earth and quickly infiltrated humanity by burrowing into vulnerable targets’ brains. In order to feed on unsuspecting prey, these insatiable beings gain complete control of their host and can morph into a variety of forms.

Shinichi Izumi, a sixteen-year-old high school student, becomes infected with one of these parasites, but it does not take over his brain, instead landing in his right hand. Because it is unable to relocate, the parasite, now known as Migi, must rely on Shinichi to survive. As a result, the pair are forced to coexist in an uneasy manner and must defend themselves from hostile parasites hoping to eradicate this new threat to their species.

7. Hellsing Ultimate

There are creatures of darkness and evil that stalk the night, devouring any human unfortunate enough to fall into their clutches. Hellsing, on the other hand, is an organization dedicated to destroying these supernatural forces that threaten humanity’s very existence. Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing, who commands a powerful military and spends her life fighting the undead, is at its helm.

Integra’s vast army, however, pales in comparison to her ultimate weapon: the vampire Alucard, who works as an exterminator for Hellsing against his own kind. With his new vampire servant, Seras Victoria, by his side, Alucard must battle not only monsters but anyone who stands in Hellsing’s way, whether good or evil.

In a battle for humanity’s survival, Hellsing Ultimate demonstrates that appearances are not always what they seem and that the greatest weapon can sometimes take the form of one’s worst nightmare.

6. Devilman: Crybaby

Without a living host, demons cannot take shape. However, if a person’s will is strong enough, they can overcome the demon and claim its power, becoming a Devilman.

Weak and unassuming, Akira Fudou has always had a bleeding heart. So when his childhood friend Ryou Asuka asks for his assistance in locating devils, Akira gladly accepts. To Akira’s surprise, the destination is the Sabbath: an immoral party of debauchery and degeneracy. In the midst of bloodshed and death, demons possess the revelers, transforming their bodies into grotesque monsters and wreaking havoc. Akira unwittingly merges with the devil Amon and becomes a Devilman, gaining the power to defeat the remaining demons in his reckless attempt to save his best friend.

Despite the fact that it gives him great power, this new alliance awakens an insatiable and primal part of Akira. Akira, who has a devil’s body but a crybaby heart, works alongside Ryou to destroy those who harm humanity and his loved ones.

5. From the New World

Saki Watanabe, 12, has just awakened to her psychic powers in the town of Kamisu 66 and is relieved to rejoin her friends—the mischievous Satoru Asahina, the shy Mamoru Itou, the cheerful Maria Akizuki, and Shun Aonuma, a mysterious boy Saki admires—at Sage Academy, a special school for psychics. Unease looms, however, as Saki begins to wonder about the fate of those who are unable to awaken to their powers, and the children become involved in secretive matters such as the rumored Tainted Cats, who are said to abduct children.

From the New World tells the story of Saki and her friends as they grow into their roles in the ostensibly utopian society. Accepting these roles, however, may be difficult when confronted with society’s dark and shocking truths, as well as the impending chaos caused by the new world.

4. When They Cry

Keiichi Maebara has just moved to the quiet little village of Hinamizawa in the summer of 1983 and quickly becomes inseparable friends with schoolmates Rena Ryuuguu, Mion Sonozaki, Satoko Houjou, and Rika Furude. However, darkness lurks underneath the seemingly idyllic life they lead.

Keiichi learns about the local legends surrounding the village’s annual festival as it prepares for its annual festival. To his horror, he discovers that several murders and disappearances have occurred in the village in recent years and that they all appear to be linked to the festival and the village’s patron god, Oyashiro. Keiichi attempts to question his new friends about these incidents, but they remain suspiciously silent and refuse to provide him with the answers he requires. As strange events continue to occur, he wonders what else his friends are hiding from him and whether he can even trust them at all.

When madness and paranoia take root in Keiichi’s heart, he will be drawn directly into the mysteries at work in Higurashi no Naku Koro ni, a story told in multiple arcs.

3. Elfen Lied

Lucy is a “Diclonius” human, born with a short pair of horns and invisible telekinetic hands, which makes her a victim of the government’s inhumane scientific experimentation. However, when an opportunity to flee presents itself, Lucy, corrupted by confinement and torture, unleashes a torrent of bloodshed as she flees her captors.

During her breakout, she suffers a crippling head injury, which leaves her with a split personality: a harmless child with limited speech capacity. In this state, she comes across two college students, Kouta and his cousin Yuka, who unknowingly take in an injured fugitive, unaware of her murderous tendencies. This act of kindness will transform their lives, as they are soon drawn into the shadowy world of government secrecy and conspiracy.

2. Another

Transfer student Kouichi Sakakibara returns to Yomiyama North Junior High after missing the first month of school due to illness. Among his new classmates, he is strangely drawn to Mei Misaki, a reserved girl with an eyepatch whom he met in the hospital while he was away. But none of his classmates are aware of her existence; they caution him not to become acquainted with things that do not exist. Despite their warnings, Kouichi befriends Mei, only to discover the sinister truth behind his friends’ fears.

The ominous rumors center on a former student from class 3-3. No one, however, will tell Kouichi the entire story of what happened. Kouichi becomes engrossed in the curse that afflicts his class and sets out to discover its connection to his new friend. As a series of tragedies unfold around them, it is up to Kouichi, Mei, and their classmates to solve the eerie mystery—but doing so will cost them dearly.

1. Tokyo Ghoul

A sinister threat is invading Tokyo: flesh-eating “ghouls” who look exactly like humans and blend in. Ken Kaneki, a reserved college student, hides his face in his books to avoid hearing about the growing crisis. When an attractive woman named Rize Kamishiro approaches him and asks him out on a date, his solitude is shattered.

While walking Rize home, Kaneki discovers she isn’t as kind as she first appeared, and she has led him on with sinister intent. After a tragic struggle, he later awakens in a hospital to learn his life was saved by transplanting the now-deceased Rize’s organs into his own body.

Kaneki’s body begins to change horrifyingly, transforming him into a human-ghoul hybrid. Kaneki clings to his humanity as he embarks on his new dreadful journey in the evolving bloody conflict between society’s new monsters and the government agents who hunt them.

That was it for the list, let us know what’s that one horror anime that actually scared the hell out of you in the comments below!

You might like these:

Also, be sure to follow us on Twitter, Instagram & Facebook for more fun Anime & Manga content!