Into the World of Analog Horror

Into the World of Analog Horror 

      If you're an internet user in the confusing year of 2022, you may be familiar with the image above. The view of a dimly lit set of rooms and corridors accompanied by yellow wallpaper and carpet always present no matter where you look. "The Backrooms" is what this picture is known as. Being an internet urban legend, the picture has been recreated numerous times by many different people. One recreation in particular, however, managed to raise the popularity of "The Backrooms" far beyond every other iteration of it. Kane Pixels, a VFX artist, brings the world to life as an analog horror series. This is a series in which the first episode alone has reached 61 million views at the time of writing. And the crazy thing is, it is just one of many in the wave of analog horror series that will captivate YouTube audiences. It is a horror genre that has started discussions, theories, and even other videos talking about it. But before we delve deeper into it, let's first define what an "analog horror" is.

    As mentioned in the previous posts, analog horror is a subgenre of internet horror that plays with the aesthetic of outdated technology such as VHS tapes, CRT television broadcasts, and emergency alert systems from the late 20th centuries. In trying to mimic said aesthetic, the videos often use grainy visuals and distorted audio. This results in making the viewers feel as if they stumbled upon something they are not supposed to see, a relic from the past that should be left alone. This format thrives on ambiguity, prompting the audience to theorize and discuss each videos that are uploaded. Dissecting each frame of the video to find a secret message or important information. 

    There are typically, but not limited two ways to tell the story through this format. The first one is through simulating found footage. Be it a footage from a group of people going on a road trip that ends with a tragedy, a footage of a CCTV, or a formal recording of an expedition area made by a corporate entity. The second most popular way is to simulate public service announcements, informing the masses about a calamity or a group of creature's invasion. Amazing stories has been made through these methods, amassing a large following of dedicated fanbase who discusses and theorizes about the subject.