The following bite-sized movies will have you screaming and hiding behind the sofa in just a few minutes flat. The genre, after all, lends itself well to the short film format, just the merest flash or suggestion of something unusual is often more effective and will leave you unsettled for hours after. And with the rise of YouTube and Creepypasta, the digital folklore of the modern age, film directors have found new and inventive ways in which to terrorize their audiences. While there are plenty of horror shorts available on the internet, we’ve picked out a selection of the very scariest for you. Just remember to turn the lights down low as these miniature scream-fests are best enjoyed in the dark. The Smiling Man Like many great modern horror stories, this one has its root on the internet folklore breeding ground Reddit.
The 4-minute film is a scene-for-scene adaption of the story posted by about his late-night encounter with a David Lynch-like villain in the form of a smiling, dancing man. After watching this, you’ll never go for a late night walk alone again. This surprisingly effective 8-minute film follows an unscrupulous real estate agent who is determined to close on a mysterious estate. As she goes about her business she begins to discover that the house is not as deserted as it seems. The plot of the film was inspired by director Michael Chaves’ thoughts on the real estate crash of the mid-2000s and the corruption of the current housing market. It clearly hit the mark as The Maiden has been so successful that it’s been optioned for a feature-length film, so stay tuned for more.