Horror anime

Though most people’s minds probably go to live-action gore fests when the spooky season comes around, anime has a smorgasbord of terrors to delight you with. Since the ’60s, Japanese animators have been enchanting viewers with haunting myths. Often creating original stories or adapting terrifying manga tales, horror anime has become a powerhouse space for some of the most deranged, thoughtful, and unique genre storytelling.

While there are thousands of great horror anime series and movies, we’ve curated and ranked 10 of the best. From paranormal thriller anime to supernatural serial killers through psychological nightmares and vampiric epics, there’s something for every fear here.

Here’s our selection of the 10 best horror anime of all time. Take a look at our guide to the for even more top picks.

Melding body horror with sci-fi, is one of the most addictive horror anime on our list. Created by mangaka Hitoshi Iwaaki, the story follows 17-year-old Shinichi Izumi. His mundane life in Fukuyama, Hiroshima is upturned after an invasion of parasitic aliens targets Japan. When one of the monstrous aliens accidentally implants itself in Shinichi’s hand instead of his brain, he has to learn how to share his body with his new bodily neighbor. This turn of fate ends up becoming a tool for survival as Shinichi must survive other parasites in this high school horror story that mixes coming of age with body horror and big questions about the nature of being human.

We recently highlighted the 2005 OVA Hellsing Ultimate in our . But when it comes to pure horror we have to stick with this classic. In an alt-history version of England where vampires run riot, the mysterious Hellsing organization is the only line of defense against the bloodsuckers and a dangerous new substance that looks to blur the line between vampire and human once and for all. Luckily, the Hellsing organization and its leader–the daughter of the famed vampire hunter Van Helsing — have a secret weapon, the vampire Alucard. Unforgettable and ferocious nightwalker action makes this a horror anime for the books. And if you grew up in the ’90s or ’00s then it’ll likely also instill a hefty dose of spooky nostalgia in you.