I know it’s not Halloween anymore and I’m late. But the spooky never truly dies, so here are some of the best horror animators I’ve come across on TikTok.
These are 3d surreal/horror animators I’ve found whose videos are 1. super creative, 2. really well animated, and 3. freaky as all hell.
For some extra fun shenanigans, I’ll be including: types of videos they post (surreal, sci-fi, eldritch, horror, etc, etc), my personal favorite video of theirs, their most popular video, and their scariest video (in my humble opinion/IMHO).Â
Let’s begin.
LIGHTS ARE OFF
TW: thalassophobiaÂ
@lights.are.off POV: you run into the new guy at the break room #fyp #horror #foryou #animation ♬ original sound – LIGHTS ARE OFF
- Types of Videos:Â sci-fi, surreal, eldritch, horror, horror versions of pop culture characters/Creepypasta
- Favorite Video: Don’t look away!Â
- Most Popular Video: cartoon cat chose violence
- Scariest Video (IMHO): chose the wrong day to go paddle boarding
The very first 3d horror animator I came across on TiTok, LIGHTS ARE OFF, creates beautifully rendered horror shorts with a delightfully creepy and isolated feel. My very first experience watching a LIGHTS ARE OFF clip was a jump scare at three in the morning, so I’d definitely say this creator delivers the scares.
That’s not to say these videos are without a sense of humor, however. From popular Creepypastas to everyday pop culture references, you can find a healthy mix of horrifying, surreal, and even some humorous videos that are always wildly creative and a joy to watch.
LIGHTS ARE OFF has slowed down on making shorts a bit lately. But fear not, for it seems they are currently preoccupied with designing their very own horror video game in the style their followers have come to know and love, and (possibly?) featuring some of the spooky LIGHTS ARE OFF creatures we’ve come to know and love as well.
It’s not very often that I anticipate a particular TikToker’s posts rather than mindlessly scrolling through random nonsense until I find something fun. But LIGHTS ARE OFF is a creator whose shorts I always look forward to, and I highly recommend checking them out if you’re looking for some horror inspiration, or maybe just a good scare.Â
Shortest Blockbusters
TW: arachnophobia, megalophobia
@shortestblockbusters A Toy Story: Payback #onlyinohio ♬ original sound – Shortest Blockbusters
- Types of Videos: urban legends, 3d cinematic sci-fi/horror, very much “short blockbusters”
- Favorite Video: Titan in the city.
- Most Popular Video:Â Attack on Titan
- Scariest Video (IMHO): Spider Shower
When I think of Shortest Blockbusters, I tend to think, “Attack on Titan if it was somehow even more gruesome.” A lot of this creator’s most popular videos involve grotesque, horrifying giants, warped eldritch monstrosities, and the occasional folktale or urban legend. Like LIGHTS ARE OFF, I’ve been watching Shortest Blockbusters’ videos since I first came across them, and it’s been fantastic seeing them start to create animations promoting upcoming horror movies, and to see their already (terrifying) beautiful style evolve over time.
If you are looking for some story inspiration, Shortest Blockbusters is a great option considering they live up to their name, and their TikToks are indeed like short little blockbuster horror or sci-fi films. As someone who finds a lot of story inspiration from media with a genre, magic system or concept that gets me in the right headspace, Shortest Blockbusters has been great for getting me in the zone, particular when it comes to science fiction, horror/post apocalyptic, and even a bit of urban fantasy.
3dshane
@3dshane Literally Me #fyp #weird #trippy #streetart ♬ QKThr – Aphex Twin
- Types of Videos:Â surreal, trippy, sci-fi, SCP Foundation
- Favorite Video: SCP-780 SIGHTING
- Most Popular Video: SCP-780 SIGHTING
- Scariest Video (IMHO): Literally Me
Less outright horror and more trippy and surreal, 3dshane is the perfect TikTok creator for fans of the SCP Foundation, or general fans of strange sci-fi anomalies. I came across this creator recently, and all of their TikToks are beautifully animated clips of bizarre creatures and unusual happenings. It’s basically if the beings carefully catalogued by the SCP Foundation were real, and prone to appearing in the middle of everyday spaces where the odd passerby can find them and record them on their phone.
I’m a big fan of 3dshane’s TikToks that take place on city streets, where the setting is entirely mundane, but something a little, well, unusual, is happening in the foreground. For example, a New York City subway station with a giant black blob right smack-dab in the middle.
These TikToks tend to be shorter and simpler, but the design and sheer creativity are no less incredible. I can just picture a world not so different from our own, but populated by strange, dreamlike creatures—some maybe a bit creepier than others. It’s not so hard a picture to paint with renders as detailed as 3dshane’s.
JF Lemay
TW: eye stuff
@lemay.jf Why are your eyes so itchy? #darkart #animation #creepypasta #horrorart #art #eye #bug ♬ original sound – JF Lemay
- Types of Videos:Â sci-fi, horror, trippy
- Favorite Video: An apple a day…
- Most Popular Video: Thomas The Train but he reveals his true form.
- Scariest Video (IMHO): Why are your eyes so itchy?
I love the creativity of JF Lemay’s work. Animated in a papercraft style of drawings that the unseen POV interacts with in various ways, the result is always absolutely grotesque. For example, giving a drawing of a girl an apple and watching as the insect-infested fruit infects the poor girl and leaves her screaming with worms exploding out of her eye sockets and ants streaming out of her mouth. That’s the kind of delightful experience you can expect with this horror TikToker, with each video just a little more unnerving than the last.
Picture the things most likely to make you wince, like skin peeling or eye touching, mix it with some unholy event or infestation, and you’ve got an absolute *chef’s kiss* of a horror TikTok. I would probably say that out of all the videos on this list, I found these the hardest to watch (in a good way). Really hits the pain points, the “ouchie wowchie, that’s disgusting” points, you know?
So if you’re looking for something suitably scary to inspire the body horror writer in you, you can’t get much better than plucking an eyeball out of a skull to the song, “Eyes. Lips. Face,” or performing a very squishy and gooey autopsy on a xenomorph. Probably.
reality.jump
@reality.jump #liminalspaces #liminalspace #horror #horrortok #scary #scarystories #FrunktheBeat #scarystories #dreamcore #nightmare #dream #virtualreality #vr #cgi #cgiartist #blender #blender3d ♬ Moonlight Serenade – Glenn Miller
- Types of Videos:Â horror, surreal, trippy, liminal space, Creepypasta, the Backrooms
- Favorite Video:Â On the subway
- Most Popular Video: Had to @miksstuff
- Scariest Video (IMHO): Hallway
Friends, we’ve had this chat before: the chat about using the surreal to make your audience all the more uncomfortable, giving them a look at something that, on the surface, appears perfectly normal, maybe even pleasant or nostalgic to look at. But once you dig beneath the surface, you find that something isn’t quite…right.Â
3d artist reality.jump gives us a taste of the experience encountering something unnatural or beyond the realm of logic. Focused primarily on Backrooms content, an urban legend that has grown a community constantly expanding the lore and rules of this bizarre setting outside of reality, reality.jump is nonetheless a great option if you enjoy or are inspired by liminal spaces.Â
For those not familiar, liminal spaces are settings that make us feel nostalgic and uneasy, reminding us of a place that once was and what will be. I tend to think of it as giving distinctly post apocalyptic vibes, making me feel lonely and out of place. If you’re looking to create a bleak world with no companionship or anchor to keep you grounded, browse through some of relaity.jump’s videos to really capture the mood.
