HuffPost
Photomontage mixing Backrooms, the urban legend of Slenderman, zombies and the YouTuber Squeezie, known for his “Thread Horror” videos.
HALLOWEEN – Today, when you want to shiver, you no longer need to read a Goosebumps or look for a horror movie : just go to YouTube or TikTok to find what you’re looking for. Between virtual treasure hunts, interactive videos and collaborative stories, social networks are shaking up the codes of horror, while increasingly blurring the boundaries between fiction and reality.
Through this series of 5 videos and on the occasion ofHalloweenthe writing of HuffPost therefore invites you to delve into the depths of Gen Z’s fears, in order to better understand the terrifying stories that haunt the Internet in 2024.
➡️ Welcome to the “Backrooms”this frozen normality which is a hit
Endless hallways, yellowed wallpaper, fluorescent lights, and moldy carpet. In 2019, a photo of an anonymous place resembling an abandoned open space was posted on the 4chan forum. This image sends shivers through the Internet, and inspires the world of horror. HuffPost tell the dark history of “Backrooms”and explains why they are so scary.
➡️ From “Ted the caver” to ARGs, where viral (and creepy) urban legends come from
Before YouTubers, there were forums. We came back in the early 2000s to explore the countless themed forums, blogs, Wattpad or Reddit that populated the web, and which hosted terrifying stories, whether true or invented. A perfect breeding ground for untraceable and unverifiable horror stories, but credible enough to be repeated as a possible true story.
➡️ Le Grand JD, Sylartichot… From YouTube to TikTok, who are the influencers of fear?
After dominating the big screen, horror is settling into our computers and cell phones. From the paranormal to true crimethere are as many formats as there are content creators, and they do a little bit of everything: creepy fiction on TikTok, testimony on YouTube or urban exploration in places “haunted”. For HuffPost, three influencers from the horror industry returned to their relationship with the race for sensationalism and the terrifying stories they tell.
➡️ Vampires, zombies and Slenderman: each era has its fear (and trauma)
Whether born around the fire or on Reddit, monsters are reflections of our deepest fears. From Dracula to zombie films, including Twilightwe investigated the ancient and modern fears these creatures arouse, and how they are reincarnated – because from the ghosts of the Middle Ages to Slenderman, there is only one step.
➡️ ChatGPT, Midjourney… What if artificial intelligence pushed us into horror?
Of 2001: A Space Odyssey has Black Mirror until Terminatorthe dangers posed by artificial intelligence have often been at the heart of anticipation stories. While AI, chatbots and “AI Girlfriends” are more and more present in our daily lives, will fiction one day catch up with reality? We looked at the underlying horror of AI, and the new fears its advances are creating.