Analog Horror (or Analogue Horror ) is a subgenre of Found Footage horror that emerged primarily on the internet in the mid-to-late 2010s. It features horror elements within media designed to emulate outdated "analog" formats from the late 20th century, such as VHS tapes, television broadcasts, emergency alerts (EAS), and public access television. This aesthetic evokes feelings of dread, fear, and uncanniness by corrupting familiar or seemingly mundane media with unsettling content, often without visible protagonists. The genre builds suspense by starting videos normally before slowly introducing disturbing elements, frequently relying on ambiguous storytelling.

Analog Horror developed as an internet-based subgenre of found footage horror, emerging primarily in the mid-to-late 2010s. Its origins can be traced to earlier online horror formats such as the creepypasta " Candle Cove " (2009) by Kris Straub, " The Wyoming Incident ," and the ARG " Marble Hornets ." Early examples of Emergency Broadcast System (EAS) scenarios, with videos dating back to 2007, also contributed to the genre's foundational elements.

The genre gained significant popularity and was codified by Kris Straub's web series Local58 TV. This series not only helped define the aesthetic but also established many of its common conventions. Other works such as Gemini Home Entertainment and The Mandela Catalogue further codified the genre's tropes. Unlike traditional found footage, Analog Horror rarely features visible characters recording the footage. Instead, it typically emulates "official" media like television broadcasts, employee training tapes, or police archives, often presented through channels that pose as legitimate media entities or organizations. The format's reliance on ambiguous storytelling and the gradual reveal of disturbing elements is a key characteristic.

The visual style of Analog Horror primarily emulates the look of analog media from the late 20th century, typically VHS tapes, cathode-ray tube televisions, and FM radio. This often involves deliberate VHS quality with grain, tracking issues, and static effects to create an unnerving atmosphere. The footage is frequently made to resemble "official" media, such as television broadcasts, employee training tapes, or emergency alerts, creating a sense of phony bureaucracy where familiar authority figures or systems become unsettling. These visuals often feature ominous visual glitches that signal impending horror or a corrupted transmission.

Television broadcasts or commercials within Analog Horror commonly utilize a deep blue color palette or a plain background of any color. They may display schedules of shows and broadcast times, often set during late-night hours between 12 AM and 5 AM. The aesthetic also employs facial horror, with distorted, warped, and blackened faces appearing as a common recurring visual. These faces are often heavily shadowed, use sharpening effects, and display twisted, sinister, or unnatural expressions with extremely detailed features.

The visual style often incorporates Retraux elements, primarily from the video era of the mid-1980s to mid-2000s, though older-style filters like film grain from the 1960s may also appear. These videos are designed to disrupt the viewer's passive experience by employing techniques like sudden scene changes, breaking the 180° camera axis, and unconventional framing. Space imagery also frequently appears, often in a sinister light, such as planets and moons depicted in series like Gemini Home Entertainment and Local 58 . This includes Vanity Plates for fictional companies or broadcasts that are interrupted.

Analog Horror's appeal stems from various reasons. It often targets late millennial and Generation Z viewers, taking advantage of their exposure to or unfamiliarity with the analog media formats it emulates. For some, it taps into a nostalgic memory of older television broadcasts and VHS tapes, subverting this familiarity by introducing unsettling elements. For others, the outdated technology contributes to a depersonalized sense of horror, as they lack direct experience with these mediums.

The genre relies on psychological dread and uncanniness rather than explicit gore. It creates a sense of powerlessness by portraying once-trusted systems, such as public broadcasts or instructional videos, as corrupted or hijacked by unseen, often incomprehensible, forces. This frequently places the viewer in a direct, unbuffered encounter with the horror, as traditional protagonists are often absent. The narrative ambiguity characteristic of Analog Horror compels the audience to piece together information, fostering speculation and engagement with the unfolding events.

Sound design is highly important to its effect, utilizing tape hiss, static, and distorted ambient music to create a lonely atmosphere. Sudden, jarring movements within otherwise static footage can trigger primal fear responses. The thematic core of Analog Horror often reflects anxieties about governmental or corporate deception, the ineffectiveness of established authorities in the face of widespread catastrophe, and the potential for technology to become a conduit for malevolent entities. It explores cosmic horror, presenting threats that are vast and beyond human understanding, frequently subverting the comforting nature of everyday media to deliver its unsettling message.

While not "Analog Horror" in the modern sense, these works are technically linked to the aesthetic through their use of diegetic video tape and broadcast interference.

Vaporwave , smooth jazz, Signalwave , and muzak, along with standard stock music, are the genres typically used as soundtracks in analog horror works. This mimics the use of these genres in real 1980s and 1990s media. Some artists that are frequently used are: