The Stories That Inspire Each Recent Horror Media

It is believed that, after so many years of human history, every type of story worth telling has already been told. And while that may be true, our individual experiences are what allow us to mix and match these stories into something new. We aren’t copying something, we’re getting inspired by it.

Several movies, games, and even books that come out today have very different settings, even within the horror genre. What they have in common, though, is a certain vibe that you might not be able to quite place. That may be the result of them being inspired by the same thing. Here are the works that seem to be inspiring everything nowadays.

The King in Yellow

Robert W. Chambers’ 1895 collection of short stories has a strange, recurring play that drives people mad. This early piece of psychological horror has influenced countless writers and creators with its themes of unspeakable, mind-shattering art.

The Great God Pan

Published in 1894, this novella was controversial for its themes. Its story of ancient forces and body horror influenced everyone from H.P. Lovecraft to Stephen King, who called it “one of the best horror stories ever written.”

The Call of Cthulhu

This is the story that introduced the world to Cthulhu himself, the famous cosmic entity with an octopus-like head and giant wings. His ancient, slumbering power established a new kind of horror: one utterly indifferent to humanity.

The Colour Out of Space

An alien entity that is nothing but a sentient, malevolent color slowly poisons a remote farm. H.P. Lovecraft himself considered this story of slow, creeping dread to be his personal favorite work of short fiction.

The Shadow Over Innsmouth

Written in 1931, this tale of a decaying port town with a dark secret is classic Lovecraft. The story slowly reveals that the townsfolk are intermingling with a monstrous, deep-sea civilization to achieve immortality.

The Willows

Two friends canoeing become stranded on an island overgrown with willows that seem alive and hostile. This 1907 story is a masterclass in cosmic dread and a clear ancestor to modern camping horror like The Blair Witch Project.

House of Leaves

This cult classic novel from March 2000 is famous for its bizarre, experimental format. The story of a house that is bigger on the inside than the outside is told through frantic footnotes and shifting text.

The Backrooms

Born from a single creepy photo posted in 2019, this concept of an endless, empty office space became a viral sensation. It’s a famous example of ‘liminal space’ horror and inspired a popular YouTube series, which later became a movie.

The SCP Foundation

Started in 2008, this massive collaborative writing project is framed as the case files of a secret organization. Its clinical, academic tone describing how to ‘Secure, Contain, Protect’ paranormal objects creates a unique kind of horror.

Slender Man

Created on a forum in 2009, this unnaturally tall, faceless figure in a black suit became a modern bogeyman. His silent stalking of children fueled countless stories and video games, defining a new era of internet folklore.

Candle Cove

This 2009 story is written as a forum thread where people recall a creepy ’70s puppet show. The chilling twist is that the show was never real; they were all just staring at a screen of pure static.

The Mandela Catalogue

This hit YouTube analog horror series from 2021 is set in a county plagued by shapeshifting demonic entities called ‘Alternates’. Its use of unnerving imagery and distorted emergency broadcasts made it a viral phenomenon online.

The White People

Though not as famous as other tales on this list, this story deeply impressed fellow writers. Written as a personal journal, the story follows a lonely character trying to make sense of an alien world.

Local 58

A spin-off of the Candle Cove story, this web series presents itself as old broadcasts from a haunted TV station. It helped define the ‘analog horror’ genre with its cryptic warnings about looking at the moon.

Uzumaki

This celebrated horror manga series ran from 1998 to 1999. It follows the residents of a small town who become supernaturally obsessed with spirals, leading to grotesque body horror and terrifying transformations. A true masterpiece.