Horror short films are one of those YouTube rabbit holes I find myself falling down from time to time. Needless to say, horror is my favorite genre. I love the feelings it gives you, the creativity in scares, the tension music provides, and more. Not everyone has time to watch an hour and a half film to take it all in though. Sometimes, a nice 5-15 minute film works too, and depending on the type of scare, can work even better in the shorter format!

Below are 31 horror short films I’ve ran across on YouTube. Some you may recognize, but hopefully some you will be introduced to for the first time. Enjoy the spooky month of October with these 31 horror short films!

1. Bedfellows

Bedfellows is a classic. Even if you haven’t seen the video, odds are you’ve seen the gif from it. You’ll know when you see it. Short and sweet, and one of those horror moments you see a lot in shorts. But just so well done and worth a quick watch.

2. Peephole

Peephole is a great example of turning something uneasy, making it funny, then doing a 180 once again. I can see the backhalf being a little offputting as to how it’s shot, but I find it works well enough without taking the viewer out completely.

3. The Ten Steps

One common fear for a child is the dark. Another, going into the basement. This involves both of them, but to a clever extent of overcoming them while prompting you to never attempt to overcome them.

4. Don’t Look Away

This one’s a lot of fun and feels like an offshoot of something like It Follows. But instead of an entity constantly walking towards you, this entity doesn’t want you looking at it. Then things take a turn…

5. Lights Out

One of the many that started out and became a hollywood film. However, Lights Out is also a great example that well done horror doesn’t need to be 90 minutes long and bloating out an idea can make things worse. While I like the hollywood film enough, I think this short is much better without diluti g the idea.

6. My House Walkthrough

If you play video games, you may have run across a playable teaser of sorts that ballooned into a whole type of horror game. My House Walk-Through gives me those same vibes. The longer it goes, the more uneasy it becomes. Well shot. Creepy atmosphere. Wonderful short film.

7. Play Me

Imagine suddenly waking up in a car with a man in your backseat. He has a bag over his head, and you dont remember anything including yourself. But you left yourself some clues. Now it’s just a matter of what to believe when the man starts talking to you.

8. The French Doors

Being in a new place is always hard. Harder when you are in the middle of fixing it up. And even harder when two rooms seem to be in different worlds entirely.

9. Speechless

At some point, when weird things start happening in a laundromat, you cut your losses. Leave your clothes behind. Go buy new ones. Otherwise, this could happen.

10. The Hidebehind

I love me some hide-and-seek. The problem is when you think you’re alone in the woods and you start playing it with something you’re not quite sure is human, and not by choice.

11. Chad Gets the Axe

If you’re a fan of the movie Deadstream that came out in 2022, you should check out this one. Same premise of a YouTuber visiting a haunted location, very well done, but with a comedic take that works great. They did make a longer film after this video, but I haven’t watched it yet. Hoping it’s just as good.

12. Ignore It

When horror involves kids, it can be well done or one of the most irritating things to experience. Fortunately, Ignore It is on the better side of things as this family gets an unwanted (but not unexpected) guest.

13. The Backrooms (Found Footage)

Kane Pixels seems to be THE Backrooms guy on YouTube. So much so that he got called up to do a Hollywood movie before he finished high school. This video is where it starts. It’s great and has a few other videos on his channel worth checking out.

14. Daniel Wants to Play

When someone who is mad at you suddenly texts you wanting to play a game….assume the worse. Otherwise you might be inviting someone else you didn’t realize was also playing.

15. BlinkyTM

All Blinky wanted was to be a friend. In this horror short film, he gets to be a friend. But the family life of said friend makes things go real bad.

16. The Halls

I have a thing about hallways. I always expect something to come around a corner down there, or see something peeking out. This is a relatively good reflection of my fears.

17. Other Side of the Box

One of my favorites. One of those concepts I hope never gets turned into a full fledged film becauae I cant imagine how it would work. Incredibly creepy and offputting with some great acting to boot.

18. Tickle Monster

One of the things I hate the most is being tickled. But I imagine being tickled by something you can’t see is even worse. That is, until you finally see it.

19. Finley

This comedic take on a murderous ventriloquist dummy found in an attic is a great way to break up the spooks. It even has you rooting for him by the end, and not in the “these people are horrible, please kill them” kind of way.

20. Mikus

All it takes for a bit of unease is a creepy drawing or painting and some anticipation…

21. The Jester

He may not be Freddy or Michael Myers, but there’s something about a “face” of a horror film. The Jester is just that, and while the full blown movie wasn’t great, the short films do him justice.

22. Zygote

Great monster design and just going to leave it at that. One of, if not the best, horror shorts I’ve seen. A staple for any horror short film lists.

23. Curve

Don’t expect a ton to happen in this horror short film. But in it’s simplicity is a frightening realization in being in a spot you can’t escape from and feeling helpless.

24. The Tunnel

There’s quite a few horror short films of this type out there, so I picked one of the many that I liked. I always appreciate the moment where even the viewer feels a bit of helplessness given the situation, and this one has that in spades.

25. Catch Your Breath

Interesting idea where holding your breath like a child hiding under the sheets is what prevents the person from being killed. Love the look of the creeper as well with the floating hair during the frozen moments.

26. Downstairs

This security guard is one of my favorite characters in any horror short film I’ve seen. I have engrained his “What the fuck was thaaaat?!” delivery in my head. Really good short with a character I really enjoyed watching.

27. Teaching Jake About the Camcorder, Jan ’97

Just stumbling across this one was a pleasant surprise. A man showing his son the ropes of a new camcorder, but the longer it goes, the more things become off.

28. Rhyme or Die

Not the most scariest of the horror short films on this list, but I was captivated the whole time with this weird take on SAW. I’m going to chalk it up to the host Dynamo who I fell in love with. Especially during the credits, so stay to watch those.

29. Basement

I’ve watched a lot of Japanese horror films, and I must say…stay off of elevators. Between stuff like this, The Elevator Game, and the story of Elisa Lam; there’s plenty of reasons to just take the stairs.

30. Robbie Ain’t Right No More

Returning from war can send you back in pieces, whether it physically or mentally. In this short, it’s more of the latter. But there’s a reason for it, and the tension that leads up to discovering what is done remarkably well.

31. The Strange Thing About the Johnsons

I was a tad timid to put this one on here. It’s….different to say the least and the longest one on this list. But it has horror elements, though of a much different degree to the others. The less you know about this one going in the better. It was not what I expected upon first viewing, but I couldn’t take my eyes away the entire time.