400! - 100 Great Horror Short Films

Once again, my hundredsome milestone has coincided with my Halloween Countdown. It's an exciting time... and as soon as I saw it, I had only one idea.

I want to share more horror stories with you, but I don't always have the opportunity to write them. So, I thought it would be fun to curate some for you. So, years ago, when I first started the Halloween Countdown, I started compiling a collection of horror short films.
I thought it wouldn't be too hard to find 100 films, but it turns out, I am kind of a horror movie snob [Wow(!) a guy who analyzes horror stories is a bit picky about horror stories, who knew?] so, it took me a long time to find several that I liked.
In fact, I have spent the last four months trying to find the last 40 or so movies for this list, because I wanted every single one to be one that I thought were the actual best of the best out there.

And this isn't just a "hey, maybe go look for these" type of list, where you have to do homework to find the cool things I'm talking about. No, I am going to embed them all here for you to watch, right now. You can save them to watch later, but I highly recommend that you check some of these out. If you're not sure why you should check out a particular title, I'll give a little description about why I think it's awesome, as well as a little "triggers" list. These include:

Bigotry (Homophobia/Misogyny/Racism/Transphobia); Death (of Animals/of Children/Murder/Suicide/); Flashing Lights/Jumpscares; Gore (Blood/Bone/Flesh/Organs/Rot); Nudity/Sex Scenes; Violence (to Animals/to Children/Domestic/Self-harm/Sexual);

Feel free to highlight the red to see the triggers, or Ctrl+F and search for your particular trigger, if you want to either prepare yourself for them, or avoid them entirely.

I have put these vaguely in order of "least favourite to most favourite", but that's my opinion, I hope you can find a new favourite amongst them. So, without further ado, to celebrate another 100 blog posts enjoy a bit of Horror for this Halloween Countdown, I am proud to present to you...

The AWN's 100 Best Horror Short Films (That You Can Watch, RIGHT NOW)

Internet Story  by AdamButcher
This starts as a mystery that could only exist online, in a video essay style, then slowly becomes a tragedy which can also only exist online...
Trigger Warnings: Death (Murder);Bigotry (Homophobia);

Apt 17  by Indiego Cinema
One of the scariest thoughts can be "Am I doing the right thing?", and this short explores it in a way that builds tension with every passing second.
Trigger Warnings: Date Rape implied; Violence (Domestic) implied;

Creep Box  by Witchcraft Motion Picture Company
An interesting exploration of a new technology which challenges ideas of life, death, grief, memories... and the horrors of resurrection.
Trigger Warnings: Death/Suicide implied;

Hysteric  by Witchcraft Motion Picture Company
Filmed in one take, this tale follows two girls late at night whose mother's mind has been influenced by an alien, humming sound.
Trigger Warnings: Death/of Children; Harm to Children;

The God Man  by Andrew Foerster
This mockumentary is initially a cosmic mystery, but the revelations of this incredible discovery is both incredible, and potentially disturbing.
Trigger Warnings: n/a;

We Got a Dog  by Ryan Valdez
Morgan's boyfriend crosses a line when he buys a dog without consulting her. So, what makes this a horror story? Simple... that thing is not a dog.
Trigger Warnings: Nudity;

Whistle  by Superfreak Media
I listen to a lot of podcasts, so the idea of a podcast slowly revealing that you're in danger from a deadly cryptid gives me the creeps.
Trigger Warnings: Jumpscare;

DOORS  by High Strange TV
This has a simply premise with great execution, and its one of very few analogue horror. Have you checked all of the doors in your house, lately?
Trigger Warnings: n/a;

Laura Hasn't Slept  by Paramount Entertainment Australia
Stories of dreams can be overdone with surreality, but this story explores nightmares in a way that's more subtle and disturbing.
Trigger Warnings: Gore (Blood, Bone, & Flesh);

The French Doors  by New Zealand Film Commission
A man renovating his new house discovers a world of darkness outside of the french doors he just installed.
Trigger Warnings: Violence; Death implied;

On My Way  by MakeDo Entertainment
We follow a simple partygoer on Halloween, and join him as he watches the world around him starts to go completely mad.
Trigger Warnings: Death (Murder) off-screen;Gore (Blood) implied;

MONSTER  by Maya Films
Whilst this would inspire the feature film The Babadook, it has a different vibe, and (in my interpretation) a very different storyline.
Trigger Warnings: Jumpscares;

The Knife  by Holomax
A small town gets terrorized by a cursed, bloodthirsty knife. Excellent execution elevates this basic premise into a pulpy masterpiece.
Trigger Warnings: Gore (Blood); excessive; Death (Murder); Violence (in General, & to Children); does pregnancy count?;

The Silvergleam Whistle  by Nickel Eye Pictures
A ghost story about a haunted train turns into a horrifying adventure for a young family who decide to stay at an old motel in the woods.
Trigger Warnings: Death (general, & of Children implied; Gore (Blood, & Rot); Jumpscare;

Slut  by the American Film Institute
This film explores the impossible standards of the virgin-whore complex, and the deadly implications of the men who perpetuate it.
Trigger Warnings: Gore (Blood); Death (Murder); Bigotry (Misogyny);

Larry  by Jacob Chase
When a parking attendant finds a tablet with a strange fairytale, he becomes haunted by the twisted creature of the darkness.
Trigger Warnings: Flashing Lights; Jumpscares;

I Can't Wake Up  by Gnostica Productions
When a lone dreamer is trapped in his nightmares, he becomes more and more desperate to find a way to escape, and avoid the monsters in his mind.
Trigger Warnings: Jumpscares; Flashing Lights;

Fragile.com  by AT&T Hello Lab
A young actress struggling in love and theatre is recruited to perform for a strange website that caters to a niche set of clientele.
Trigger Warnings: n/a;

Hunter's Cabin  by N'cee Van Heerden
A man has fled to a secluded cabin in the woods because he has a dark secret, but his plans go awry when he discovers that he's not as secluded as he hoped.
Trigger Warnings: Gore (Blood); Death (Murder);

The Whisperer  by Danny Donahue
I saw so many "And Then a Monster Killed You" stories for this, it's so boring. I thought this was the same, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Trigger Warnings: n/a;

Gargoyle  by Michael Cusack
This sad, gothic story sees a woman mourning the loss of her beloved husband, with this emotional tale portrayed entirely in gorgeous stop-motion animation.
Trigger Warnings: Word;

Harvey's Dream  by Omen Bird Pictures
Can you tell a horror story with little more than two actors talking in the kitchen? With this short film, I learned that you can.
Trigger Warnings: Gore (Blood);

And They Watched  by Fun Size Horror
A janitor is haunted by the ghost of an executed man in this short that explores the different concepts of guilt and innocence.
Trigger Warnings: Gore (Flesh); Death (Murder) off-screen;

Phone Home  by Aria Jackson
Grief can be such a lonely, isolating feeling, so when Eric gets a phone-call from his late fiancée, he will do anything to bring her home.
Trigger Warnings: Death; Gore (Blood); Nudity;

Teaching Jake about the Camcorder, Jan '97  by Brian David Gilbert
The inimitable BDG is very funny, but this exploration into analogue horror shows that he knows what it takes to scare you as well.
Trigger Warnings: Flashing Lights;

Sleep Talker  by Carl Firth
I thought I knew what this would be about, but things take a strange turn, but rather than making it silly it just becomes all the more scary.
Trigger Warnings: Gore (Blood & Flesh);

The Lonely Host  by Lisa J Dooley
This is really just a story of a weird, sad lady, but her character just builds and builds the tension into a crescendo of horror.
Trigger Warnings: Death (Murder);

Overtime  by Craig D. Foster
Ralph has been held up at work, and everything is keeping him from getting home. But he needs to get home before the full moon rises.
Trigger Warnings: Gore (Blood);Death (Murder) off-screen;

Chad Gets the Axe  by Travis Bible
A narcissistic streamer decides to desecrate a corpse for content (sound familiar?), but he just walked into the wrong murder cabin...
Trigger Warnings: Gore (Blood);Death (Murder);

The Flying Man  by Marcus Alqueres
I find the concept of Superhero Horror fascinating, and this short film explores the idea in a way that is both creepy and captivating.
Trigger Warnings: Death (Murder) censored;

The Noise Next Door  by Christopher Cox
This simple, but effective story combines a few different tropes together into a scary story about the danger behind closed doors.
Trigger Warnings: Violence (Domestic) off-screen; Jumpscare;

The Pavement  by Taylor Engel
There are a few of these stories that are truly beautiful, and this neo-noir tale of death and regret, whilst not the scariest, is dark and poetic.
Trigger Warnings: Blood (Gore); Death (Murder & Suicide); Word;

Night Bus  by Pia Pressure
I love this idea, the tale of a bus driver driving the late route who realizes that she's a picked up an unnatural passenger.
Trigger Warnings: Jumpscares; Violence;

Special Day  by Ink Run Productions
This premise does have the vibe of a two-sentence horror story, but it's a fascinating, high-concept horror used to great affect.
Trigger Warnings: Word;

The Three Men You Meet at Night  by Niteshift Films
The most effective horror tackles real terror, and a woman dealing with various predatory men as she travels home at night is as true as it gets.
Trigger Warnings: Bigotry (Misogyny) heavily implied; Violence (Sexual) themes;

Milk  by Santiago Menghini
This seemed like another "I heard it too" style horror, but this short film is so much darker and more metaphorical and surreal than that.
Trigger Warnings: honestly, it's so surreal, I don't even know...

Abi's Monster  by Christopher Cox
I thought this, too, was an "I heard it too" story, but it became a much deeper exploration into all of the deepest fears parents can have.
Trigger Warnings: Death (of Children) it looks like one, anyway;

Progeny  by AFI Conservatory
Whilst it shouldn't require such metaphors, this is an incredible and gross story about power, violence, consent and control.
Trigger Warnings: Death (of Children) unborn/alien, but still; Gore (Blood & Flesh); Violence (Sexual) themes/design;

Pleasant Inn  by David Romero
There's something about this animal, with minimal dialogue and dynamic movement that makes the threat here feel more inhuman and violent.
Trigger Warnings: Death; Gore (Blood & Flesh);

Hello?  by Hollywood Institute for Parapsychical Research
Whilst I don't usually like ghost stories, this has an interesting plot behind it, and I like both the acting and the effects in this.
Trigger Warnings: Death (Suicide) discussed; Jumpscares;

Ten Shots  by Gordon Shoemaker
When a local hunter sees something evil in the woods, all he has are ten bullets in his gun. Can he save anyone? Can he save himself?
Trigger Warnings: Death (Murder); Gore (Blood);

Red Skies  by Bret Miller
This sci-fi horror story is simple, but effective, telling the story of Earth's initial invasion and foreshadowing the doom soon to follow.
Trigger Warnings: Death (of Animals) alien;

Basement  by Jeffiot
This simple, short film is about a woman discovering a dangerous secret hidden within a film camera in the basement, and the subtle horror.
Trigger Warnings: Flashing Lights screen flicker;

Vikaari  by Synhedrion Studios
This fictional documentary is about a species of inhuman children, which seem to have evolved in response to violence.
Trigger Warnings: Bigotry; Death; Gore (Blood);

The Banishing  by Red Tree Pictures
This simple story of a girl haunted by a spirit becomes much more engaging with great atmosphere and interesting writing.
Trigger Warnings: Death (Murder; Gore (Blood); Violence (to Children);

Fetch  by Blanca Agudo Hernández
Want to make an "And Then a Monster Killed You" story fresh and interesting? Step 1: awesome cinematography. Step 2: Make the hero a dog.
Trigger Warnings: Death (of Animals) implied;

Slaughterbots  by The Future of Life Institute
This would be higher if not for the "PSA" at the end, but it is a genuinely creepy idea. And the message, if unsubtle, is worth hearing.
Trigger Warnings: Bigotry themes/implied (heavily); Death; Gore (Blood);

Remains  by Dylan Clark
This sad, dark exploration and grief and desperation is as sad as it is haunting and scary. What would a mother do to hear her dead baby again?
Trigger Warnings: Death (of Chidren) themes; Flashing Lights blinking colours; Jumpscares;

The Cat with Hands  by Halo Productions
A simple folk tale with some impressive effects and unsettling imagery, this story will haunt me for quite some time.
Trigger Warnings: Death (to Animals & Murder);

We're Not Safe Here  by Christopher Cox
I love a good campfire story, and this is one about a monster that can mimic your voice, with all the psychogical horror that it entails.
Trigger Warnings: Death off-screen; Gore (Blood); Jumpscares;

Bad Boy, Oliver  by Mr. Friend
This was just a really creepy story, but it also had an ending that I wasn't expecting and which made the story that much scarier, to me.
Trigger Warnings: Violence (to Children);

Selfie  by Digital Interference
This metaphor for the dangers of social media is elevated by incredible effects and a monster with a haunting way of hunting its prey.
Trigger Warnings: Gore (Blood & Bones); Jumpscares;

SomeThing  by Dan Riesser
A woman comes home to find a dead body. Has he actually killed an inhuman monster, or is he relapsing because he's off his medication again?
Trigger Warnings: Death implied; Gore (Blood);

The Portrait  by Cinemug
Zachary Padgett has channel full of talented filmmaking, but none if it truly captured my attention until I found this haunting story.
Trigger Warnings: n/a;

The Last Time I Saw Richard  by Mushroom Pictures
I came for the exploration of mental health, friendship, and mild queer themes, but stayed for the foreboding sense of helplessness and doom.
Trigger Warnings: Bigotry (Homophobia) implied; Gore (Blood); Violence (to Children & Self-harm) teenagers;

Garden Party  by ILLOGIC
I love the atmospheric storytelling in this story of nature taking over an abandoned mansion, as we slowly learn what happened to its occupants.
Trigger Warnings: Death; Gore (Flesh);

Imaginary Friend  by J. Sanchez Productions
I love a great mystery, and this story introduces a detective interested in the "monster" under her niece's bed, and what it really is.
Trigger Warnings: Death (General); Gore (Blood);Violence (to Children) themes;

Audio Guide  by Randominity
There's more to cosmic horror than tentacles and xenophobia, this short provides an example of how knowledge alone can be existentially disturbing.
Trigger Warnings: Death (General & Suicide) themes;

Moonstruck  by Telekinesis Entertainment
A simple idea (with cosmic horror roots) done in an exciting way... if you look at the moon, you will fall under its control
Trigger Warnings: n/a;

Dawn of the Deaf  by Shadowhouse Ltd
I love seeing different perspectives and after a sonic attack with only the deaf immune we see the struggles they face and must now overcome.
Trigger Warnings: Bigotry; Death; Violence (to Children, General & Sexual);

The Hunter  by Visionary Boulevard Productions
Some say the scariest monsters are human, because they're the only ones that truly exist. This short explores that with tension and drama.
Trigger Warnings: Death (Murder) implied;

Pelican Milkshake  by Skinner Street Films
I love the tension of a woman burying her husband being spotted by a recreational drone, forcing her to hunt down a potential witness.
Trigger Warnings: Death (Domestic & General); Gore (Blood & General);

Sophie's Turn  by Crypt TV
Some kids will do anything to be accepted, and it can lead to ridicule, but when demons get involved, nobody is truly safe.
Trigger Warnings: Death (of Children) implied; Gore (Blood); Violence (to Children);

Everything's Fine  by Rhodesclosed Productions
My opinion
Trigger Warnings: Death (of Children) implied; Violence (to Children implied;

The Relic  by J.M. Logan
My opinion
Trigger Warnings: Death; Gore (Blood, Bones & Flesh);

Here There Be Monsters  by Wanderer Films
This incredible Australian film explores themes of bullying and violence with a surreal twist, all with no dialogue and great acting.
Trigger Warnings: Death (of Children) implied; Gore (Blood); Violence (to Children);

Curve  by Lodestone Films
A woman awakens upon a slab of curved architecture, with no means of escape. There's also an alien/mystery elements, but I love the tension.
Trigger Warnings: Death implied; Gore (Blood);

Immure  by Uzong Films
I think it's clear, basic "werewolf/vampire" stories don't interest me, so this tale of a loner with a vampiric mother is fraught with drama.
Trigger Warnings: Death (Murder); Gore (Blood & Flesh); Jumpscares

Storytime  by Dylan Clark
MI said before, I love podcasts, and I love the way this fictional podcast starts to bleed into the reality of the listener.
Trigger Warnings: Death; Gore (Blood & Bone); Jumpscares;

Other Side of the Box  by Caleb J. Phillips
I enjoy a "Follow The Rules" horror stories, but they tend to be "Then a Monster Killed You" stories. Thankfully, this is not so pedestrian.
Trigger Warnings: n/a, it's all tension and implication, here;

Drone  by Action On The Side
Exploring the perspective of someone with a stutter, this uses sci-fi to dive deep into trauma and psychology of someone desperate to be heard.
Trigger Warnings: Bigotry; Gore (Blood & Flesh) if you don't like needles...;

Stalled  by Bonus Features
I like time loop stories and this one manages to be both compelling and scary with a simple, but effective mechanic. Story ain't half bad either.
Trigger Warnings: Death (Murder & Suicide) discussed/depicted; Flashing Lights; Gore (Blood);

Turned  by Vanishing Angle Productions
Like werewolves and vampires, zombie movies need a good twist; themes of motherhood and zombie virus hallucinations are a pretty good one.
Trigger Warnings: Death (of Children) implied; Gore (Blood);

Asleep & Awake  by Joshua Giuliano
This one is all about atmosphere, sound and cinematography. If you need a masterclass in tension, then this is it.
Trigger Warnings: n/a it's all about the atmosphere;

All You Can Carry  by London Film School
Another zombie one, but I like that this one is about a child protagonist. Seeing the world through his eyes is a whole new kind of fear.
Trigger Warnings: Death; Gore (Blood);

Thingamajig  by Skeleton Crew Productions
Stranded in a dimension of darkness, a man must find out how to combat the monsters in the dark. This is just a fantastic and creepy story.
Trigger Warnings: n/a;

Deep End  by Anthony Sellitti
The concept alone is just so creepy, a kid sneaking into a pool only to encounter an unnatural darkness beneath the surface
Trigger Warnings: Death (of Children); Jumpscares;

Vicious  by Oliver Park
This explores grief and anxiety as a woman is trying to come to terms with the death of her sister, as she now lives in an empty flat
Trigger Warnings: Jumpscares;

Whiteout  by Washington Square Films
A couple alone in a car, in a blizzard, on a road, in the middle of the woods, you encounter a sick man in the snow. What do you do?
Trigger Warnings: Death (Murder);

Cream  by David Firth
The creator of Salad Fingers has a lot of disturbing videos, but this weird concept is the first that has a truly compelling story to tell.
Trigger Warnings: Death (of Children) discussed; Gore (Blood, Bone & Flesh); Violence (Sexual) discussed;

In Sound, We Live Forever  by Joshua Giuliano
This is not only scary, but beautiful, telling the history of a crime scene in sound before becoming a more traditional horror story.

Trigger Warnings: Death (Murder); Gore (Blood & Bone); Jumpscares;

Monsters  by Dreaming Ants Productions
This exploration of a dystopian world is not what you were expecting, but it builds up the drama and tension to a crescendo well worth watching.
Trigger Warnings: n/a;

Caravan  by Sarah Brims
During a family road trip, two Australian parents must confront one of a parents worst fears... not knowing where their children are.
Trigger Warnings: Death (of Children); Gore (Blood); Jumpscares;

Somniphobia  by Silver Hero Entertainment
A sleep therapist who can walk through dreams helps a woman haunted by her nightmares. But nightmares aren't always a monster under your bed.
Trigger Warnings: Death omplied;Flashing Lights; Violence (Domestic) discussed/implied;

MORA  by Grimoire Horror
Inspired by Loab, the cryptid that haunts AI images, this short is about a man doing everything he can to find the ghost in the machine.
Trigger Warnings: Death; Gore (Blood, Bone & Flesh);

Winston  by Aram Sarkisian
Whilst madness is interesting to explore, it can be done so poorly, but this excavation of a man's paranoia and obsession is unsettlingly poetic.
Trigger Warnings: Death (of Animals & Murder); Flashing Lights; Gore (Blood, Bone & Flesh);

Riley Was Here  by Black Poodle Productions
Another strange exploration of zombies, in a world where zombification can be cured... but infection is a high unlike any other drug.
NOTE: This one appears age-restricted. I think because the main character is depicted in his underwear, the algorithm thinks this is porn or something. It isn't... but if the video below is just a grey box, click the link within the watch it on YouTube.
Trigger Warnings: Death; Gore (Blood & Flesh);

Backstroke  by Robbie Barclay
Such a simple, but effective idea. A girl is skinny dipping in a lake when a strange man with unclear intentions comes upon her.
Trigger Warnings: Death implied;

The World Over  by Nothing Rhymes With Entertainment
Another example of a story that explores cosmic horror by revealing that there are infinite realities, just beyond your doorway.
Trigger Warnings: Death (Murder & of Children again, unborn; Gore (Blood);

The Rougarou  by Lorraine Caffery
This follows a girl whose father got out of prison, and we watch her growing up in the mature world of crime, gangs and violence.
Trigger Warnings: Death (Murder); Gore Blood; Jumpscares;

The Sky  by Matt Sears
Another cosmic horror story, this one focuses more on the drama of two friends trying to find peace before the end of the world.
Trigger Warnings: Death; Gore (Blood);

The Kid and the Camera  by Grumbled Ink Entertainment
A great example of analogue horror, this old kid's show becomes more unnerving and disturbing, the longer you watch it.
Trigger Warnings: Death (of Children); Gore (Flesh);

Oscar's Bell  by Genesis Flux Films
A father, his son, and his dog are out camping in the woods. It's a beautiful night out... but there's a monster in these woods.
Trigger Warnings: Death (of Children) implied; Jumpscares;

It's Not About Fear  by Shotgun Productions
As someone with a mental illness, this exploration of trauma and vulnerability hits close to home. It's both horrifying and heartbreaking.
Trigger Warnings: Jumpscares; Violence (Sexual) themes/discussed;

Don't Die First  by Unchained Media
I don't usually like horror comedy, but this starts off with some campy 80s fun, messing with tropes. But it doesn't shy away from true horror...
Trigger Warnings: Bigotry (Racism); Death;

The Facts in the Case of Mister Hollow  by Rue Morgue Cinema
The second instance of a horror both scary and beautiful, but this also has hints at a mystery. Can you solve it before your time is up?
Trigger Warnings: n/a this is all music and (mostly) still images;

Maggie May  by Make Trouble Films
You are going to HATE this character... that's the point of this film and it's disturbing, but it has a strong message about right and wrong.
Trigger Warnings: Death (of Children); Gore (Blood);

Portrait of God  by Dylan Clark
Yet more cosmic horror. Despite watching hundreds of cosmic horror films, few captivated me in its religious horror like this short piece.
Trigger Warnings: n/a;

The Disappearance of Willie Bingham  by Guerin Group Films
In a world with a cruel and unusual form of capital punishment, criminals aren't executed, they just disappear...
Trigger Warnings: Gore (Flesh);

There's a Man in the Woods  by Jacob Streilein
Why is this animated "slam poem" the last on the list? Because I get shivers down my neck every single time I watch it.
Trigger Warnings: Death (of Children); Flashing Lightsflickering images; Gore (Blood);

— — —

So, that's my list. I hope you enjoyed it. If there's a short film you like which isn't on this list, feel free to include it in the comments below. But, after watching over 500 films, I think I watched it and excluded it for one reason or another... but this is my opinion, feel free to share what you want.

I'm the Absurd Word Nerd, and Until Next Time, I'm glad we got to watch a movie together before the end... we only have three posts left for this Final Countdown, there's not a lot of time left, so I'm glad we got to spend this time together. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.

Died in the Crib: Lost Ideas

 

One of the reasons that death is so tragic is the loss of opportunity. Life is full of potential, moments and ideas to explore, but death renders all of it impotent.With the death of this Countdown, I find myself reflecting on a lot of the ideas that I had for this blog which now simply will not come to pass.
Obviously, some ideas I'm hanging onto. The GameBlog, a hypertext story written for this blog with actual, useable links? I'm gonna do that, Countdown or not... heck, I would have started it already if not for the fact that I was chosen to do a talk for TEDxAlbury 2025.

[Author's Note: By the way, that happened yesterday. I'm writing this ahead of time, so I don't know if the recordings will be available at the time of this post's publication, but go check out my TEDx Talk!]

Some of these, I can hang onto, but others... well, there are others I let go of a long time ago, long before this Countdown died. These are the lost ideas which you'll never see, for one reason or another.

·   ·   ·

"The Horsemen of the Zombie Apocalypse" (fiction)
When I was first starting out, I had all kinds of ideas for blogfiction I could write, and this was one that I really wanted to do for the Halloween Countdown. See, I got this idea back when zombies were a huge part of pop culture (to the point that some people were getting "zombie fatigue" from oversaturation). But I thought it was interesting that in a lot of these stories the outbreak was referred to as a "zombie apocalypse".
That inspired this idea where zombies attack and kill lots and lots of people, but effectively this causes a celestial, clerical error triggering the horsemen of the apocalypse to start appearing early. If you don't know, in Judeo-Christian literature the horsemen of the apocalypse are meant to herald the end of days, arriving in the order: Pestilence, War, Famine, Death, and then Judgement happens, End of Days, oh dear...
So, the idea I had was that the main character of the story would be Pestilence (or someone working with him), but since his whole thing is disease, he instantly recognizes what's going on. He will realize the mistake that because zombies represent pestilence (as zombie virus is a disease), war (as it leads to worldwide conflict), famine (as zombies are ravenously hungry), & death (as zombies are, well, dead), it has accidentally triggered the Last Judgement.
I was toying between the ideas of either having the villain be the Antichrist, some satanic human who worked to create and release this virus. Or... maybe having one of the horseman be responsible, as each is related to zombies in some way. But the end of the story would be Pestilence rallying his fellow Horsemen together to ride towards the Hellmouth to prevent the premature apocalypse.
I ultimately never ended up writing it because researching religion makes me want to set fire to a church and because as interesting as some of these concepts were, it felt like there wasn't any real heart to this story except for the wordplay in the title.

The "Ain't That Neat" List (lists)
Listicles, the list-based article, are a staple of online media. They're easier to write, since you can either break down one large idea into bite-sized chunks, or you can combine several half-baked ideas into a leftovers casserole. Of course, like any recipe, it's all about the flavour and spice. You need to make sure it is actually engaging, with something novel or interesting, entertaining or somehow unique. So, I would compile ideas for lists in a big collection of "ideas". But, after a while, I came across a common problem with most of these ideas, and I refer to them all collectively as the "ain't that neat" ideas.
Basically, these are lists where the entire concept boiled down to one single idea. To explain this, let me provide several examples:
Bookdogs/Memefrogs - these were both the same idea. I noticed that there were several instances of Dogs associated with Reading Books (Wishbone, Bookaboo, Selby), and I noticed several instances of Frogs associated with Memes (Pepe, Dat Boi, Crazy Frog). But there was nothing else except that there's a weird amount of these, huh, ain't that neat?
Greek Words for Love - There are five different words for love in greek ("philos", "agapeo", "xenia", etc...) , but the only reason I find that interesting is because xenia is really just hospitality, and one of those words is "mania", associated with insanity. Well, hey, ain't that neat?
My Misspellings - despite being a genuine word nerd, I realized that there are several words that I spell wrong. so I compiled a list: diahorrea (diarrhea); seccoteers (secateurs); scul (skol); fouffernousse (pfeffernüsse). I was hoping to show that even a word nerd makes mistakes, but when I looked at the list I realized, I spelled these wrong because I haven't ever seen written down. Well, dang, ain't that neat?
I have so many of these half-baked lists—wait, not even half-baked, this is just raw dough of an idea for a list. I compiled lists of writers who committed suicide, archaic words that aren't used anymore; fictional books that exist in different media.
These ideas are so thin that if I tried to write it into a list, rather than elevating the material, it would just be watering it down even further. In fact, it seems appropriate that the best mileage I can get out of these ideas is putting them on this list, and I think that's rather ironic... huh, ain't that neat?

Hunter's Guide to Monsters: Chapter Fairies (fiction)
The idea for this was simply. I was writing a story where I was trying to put as many fun monsters from mythology as I could into it, and I had tried to combine related monster mythologies together, so that there weren't 30 kinds of shapeshifter, and 12 different vampires. And so an easy idea for a Halloween Countdown post was to just... write a post about my "version" of these monsters, explaining how they worked.
Unfortunately, that story was one that I abandoned (#1 on that list, check it out). I still liked the idea of playing with monsters, but having the story behind my bestiary whipped out from under me left me a little less comfortable writing them.
But, the main issue I ran into was that the main conceit was a Hunter's Guide. I really liked the idea of talking about fairies and unicorns, but my first issue came when I realized that there's not actually a good reason to Hunt a unicorn. Only the "pure-hearted" are meant to be able to do it, but Hunters are meant to protect people, but there's nothing about a unicorn people need to be protected from. But then I realized that there was a similar, but opposing, issue with fairies.
See, I am really proud of some of the monster concepts I had. I think it's silly when vampires have superstrength, since they a singular, liquid diet. Also, I like the idea of changelings looking like aliens, and having bogeymen be scavenging shadow-creatures. I also really like the chupacabras concept, a cursed abomination explaining why werewolves and vampires don't mix.
But, I also had a concept for fairies. For the record, I tend to conflate fairies and pixies. I recognize that there's a whole Irish folklore of fae and the whole Seelie Court including everything from leprechauns to banshees. But, I was talking about the little people with wings, and I had a really fun idea for that.
Basically, the idea is that they are concentrated magic, magic that had spontaneously come to life (because... magic). So, they're playful, ridiculously powerful, and blissfully ignorant of their pluripotent nature. Now, as much as this could be potentially dangerous, I also realized that there's no way that you can actually Hunt down a creature that is pure magic.
Thankfully, I imagine that fairies were too busy chasing butterflies and playing tricks to ever hurt anyone, but if they accidentally caused some kind of mischief... well, the only thing you can do is distract them. But, you don't need a Hunter for that, and it would be a very short entry if I ever tried to write it.
I've been going back and forth over whether I would ever write another chapter in the Hunter's Guide to Monsters series at all. Because on the one hand it's using a bestiary that I'm less interested in and it takes a lot of effort, research and brainpower to do. But on the other hand, I never wrote the chapter for Dragons. To me, that seems like the ultimate chapter, right? How to Slay a Dragon.
I still haven't decided if I will ever write that... but one thing's for sure, I simply can't write one for fairies, or unicorns, or many of the other little critters that I liked.

Let's Talk about Dicks (list)
I want to start this by saying that, originally, this was an idea for a Cracked.com article. Back before that website lost its sense of humour and caught fire, I liked the idea of writing for the website. I came up with a few ideas for it, and this one was based upon three principles. Firstly, there are a lot of men who are insecure about the size of their genitalia, but I found that concept rather silly, thought it merited discussion. Secondly, because this could be a touchy subject (ha!), the websites adoration of dick jokes made for a perfect platform. Thirdly, the point was to explicitly point out that size genuinely needn't matter, by listing each size in odd numbers of inches, going from micropenis to megaphallus, 1-inch, 3-inches, 5-inches, 7-inches, 9 inches and talking about how each has benefits and drawbacks.
If you're shorter, even though it is small it's not weak and can actually engage in more clitoral stimulation and experimental positions, whereas the larger sizes look impressive, but can have issues with discomfort and injury.
I decided not to write it for Cracked, but I still thought it was a good idea. And hey, some people find the idea of talking about sex and sexuality scary and confronting, so could that make for a good Halloween Countdown post?
Short answer: No.
Long answer: What the actual fuck, are you serious, Matt? Do you even know what you're talking about, you ignorant goose... people aren't scared to talk about sex, they're embarrassed about it, those are two very, very different things. Also, yes, sure, it's a great idea that people get educated about the social and cultural aspects of sex and sexuality, but guess what, there are other, better websites, that are more informative and educational that can and have talked about this kind of thing. Sure, education isn't universal, and it can't hurt to repeat a topic just to see if you can reiterate it so that those who missed it the first time get another chance to learn. But, I don't know if you noticed this, but those are all sexual health websites, or informative, scientific/educational websites. You write a personal, philosophical website about life and writing.
So, if it's such a bad idea, why is it even on this list? Well, because I half-wrote it.
Yeah, in doing research for this, I found a half-written, joke-speckled article that I wrote all about how dick size doesn't matter. But, I've deleted it. I don't think it's adding anything to the conversation besides a lot of bad dick jokes.

"Security Level: Magenta" (fiction)
I've written a few stories for this blog starring Brian Lockburn, a small-time employee at a government-funded facility that monitors and maintains secrecy for the cosmic horrors that plague our world. If you want to check them out, the first story was Operation: White Christmas, followed later by The Ambrosial Glass.
They're also both part of a larger network of stories (some published, some not) set in the world of my "Kitchen Mythos", but in any case I wanted to write a third story. Perhaps create a trilogy of sorts? And the idea I had was a cross country road trip.
Because of the events of the last story, Cabinet Archivist Lucas Trenton was upset at Brian for, basically, making him do his job. So, finding Brian's work ethic exhausting, he decided to reassign him by promoting him (from Junior Archivist to Assistant Archivist) for a position in another state.
And, just because it was logistically satisfying, his first assignment was going to be accompanying a convoy that was transporting a top-secret delivery (from the Oven [R&D department] to the Freezer [high security prison]) in a nondescript semi-trailer; but because it's a highly classified subject, all they are allowed to know about the contents of the truck is:

“█████████████████████ 172.2 kg █████████████████”
“███████████████████████████ the container must remain closed.”
“Exposure ██████████████████████████ is extremely hazardous.”
“█████████████████████████ cannot open, under any circumstances.”
“████████████████████████ within two days █████████████████”

Hence the title. Magenta was to be one of the highest levels of security, so none of the convoy knew what they were carrying. And here's the secret: They were transporting a live alien, from another dimension. This alien will appear in other stories so I won't reveal all of its secrets, but it had a subtle area of effect ability that begins affecting the entourage and the main action will be an escape attempt in the middle of a busy highway. I was also going to use this story as an opportunity to showcase a "Specialist", a Kitchen-trained magic-user (in this case, a psychic), and he discovers what they're carrying because he senses its alien mind.
I never wrote this because of the usual issue, lack of timing. But also, I never actually came up with an ending. Sure, they arrive at the facility, but that would require me deciding where it would be, and I just never got around to it. And because I didn't think this idea was compelling enough (it lacked a real hook, a purpose behind the events of the plot), I just never wrote it beyond the first few chapters, and I don't think I ever will.
I will write more Brian Lockburn. Heck, technically I already have. I had a story of mine published in an anthology because I was so inspired by the prompt. But, I wasn't actually paid for that (I didn't read the submission policy close enough), so I still have the copyright, I might as well publish it on this blog at some point. It's called Mandatory Exorcise, and follows Brian as his workplace undergoes a compulsory security sweep for demons. But, I decided I just won't write this one. I don't even know if I like the title that much...

The Criminal Recipe Book (list)
This one kind of hurts because, for the longest time, I adored this idea. See, in doing research for writing I looked up a lot of true crime. Because, I wanted to get into the mind of a "villain", and real life treats rapists, serial killers and child molesters like villains so I wanted to know how they think. Ultimately, this lead me to the realization that morality is a social construct, but my research still bore fruit when I noticed that a lot of criminals tended not to have a typical upbringing. Rapists tended to start off with some sexual deviancy in youth; serial killers often hurt animals; child molesters tended to fail at school. There were certain patterns that I was noticing... and this lead to an idea. If there are certain factors relating to all people who commit a certain crime... could you therefore make someone commit a specific crime, by engineering those patterns?
It's an incredible idea, and really creepy. So, why didn't I write it? Well, it failed because of a single criterion: it isn't true.
When I delved deeper into this idea to research it, the patterns started dissolving. See, I realized that some of those "coincidences" I saw in true crime did exist, but that's because true crime is telling a story. I talked all about this stuff in my post The Ethics of the Truth. See, once you go beyond the kinds of people featured on My Favourite Murder, you realize that the narrative breaks down. A child going down a dark path is a compelling story, but once you step away from true crime and just look at crime reports, you realize that some people commit similar crimes for very dissimilar reasons.
But okay, I couldn't have a specific recipe "kill their cat and punch them in the nose to make a burglar" or whatever was out, but I still saw some significant overlap for "violent crime" in general. So, I shelved the idea to research further later. But, during my post all about crime, I did further research... and I was wrong again.
Yes, it turns out, if your family is poor and you're not well educated, you likely will be a criminal. Which isn't really "scary", it's just sad. But more importantly, people have willpower. For every John Wayne Gacy or Ed Gein; some kid who had a troubled childhood and was poorly educated... there's also the neighbour down the street, the woman who works at your grocery store, the guy who delivers your mail. The economy affects everyone, childhood trauma is much more common than it ever should be, and if my theory about "these factors make you into a criminal" were actually correct, then there'd be a lot more criminals in this world then there actually are. The remnants of this idea exist in my post Bizarre Criminal Connections, but even that required a huge disclaimer.
I still think, maybe, I could write a story where a devious person gaslights a specific person into becoming a killer. But that's because after all this research, I've come to the conclusion that that is where this concept belongs... the fiction section.

Thirteen Chapter Countdown (fiction)
First and foremost, I am a writer. I started this blog to force myself to write, but, I am a fiction writer, so sometimes I would fantasize about turning the Halloween countdown into one big story. It never came together, but here are some of my attempts.
The Thirteen-Story House - In Australia, we call different levels "storeys", not "stories", but this Americanism alongside Americas 13 colonies inspired an idea where a character enters an accursed, 13-storey building, and each level houses a monster. Each monster was associated with one of those colonies in some way, There was the Jersey Devil, some lake monsters, and it all ended with the Devil (in Georgia, of course). But, there was a problem... why would you enter such a house?
Also, each chapter would be the same: "aagh, monster, run/kill it, go upstairs", rinse, lather, repeat... so, I shelved this one indefinitely.
The Harringer Experiment - Initially this was about putting 10 people in a very uninteresting facility to see what could turn someone into a serial killer [yes, it was inspired by the Criminal Recipe Book idea]. Sounds creepy, but in practice it's rather silly (boredom does not, a killer, make) so instead I decided that the test was putting 9 people in an uninteresting facility with a serial killer, to see if being a serial killer was a "social contagion". Would being in a facility with a serial killer, with all that death, paranoia and conspiracy, make you become one? a slightly more believable premise, so if that inspires you go ahead and write it because I won't. Why? I don't think it's bad, but this actually inspired an even better idea... but one that would require a lot more work to write, and so it would be worth it if I turned it into a show. So I'm keeping that one secret, you'll find out what it was if/when I create it.
The Thirteenth Zodiac - the last time I ever considered doing a thirteen chapter story, I started with the idea of each chapter being related to the signs of the zodiac, including the oft-ignored thirteenth sign, Ophiuchus (that way there'd be thirteen), and each was to represent a character somehow... I didn't do this one because that's as far as the idea got.
See, for all of these, I realized that they had the same problem: the effort tightrope. If I put too little effort into it, it was so loose and lazy that it wouldn't be worth reading. If I put too much effort into it, I would be wound so tight that it would be equivalent labour to writing a book. And at that point, why not publish it as a book?
Publishing some high-effort short stories? Sure, that's good return on investment. But writing a novella and publishing it for free isn't something I would enjoy doing. The only way I could write a 13-chapter story would be if it was something I didn't think could be published, perhaps something fanfictional, experimental, or so dumb that only I think it's a fun idea. I simply never found that for longer blogfiction.
I hope you'll see what became of the Harringer Experiment idea, but besides that, the rest of these ideas are dead and buried.

·   ·   ·

So, those are all the ideas that died young, way before the Halloween Countdown was 13 years old. I don't mourn every loss, but each one helped me learn more about myself, my writing style, this blog and what I wanted to achieve out of all of this.

I'm the Absurd Word Nerd, and I hope you learned something from me digging up these old memories. But enough about the past. Because, I don't know if you know this (I certainly wasn't expecting it), but this is the 399th post on this blog. Do you know what that means? Yes, that's right, the next post will be another 100th milestone. And that being the case, I have something very special in mind. So, Until Next Time, feel free to share some of your own lost ideas in the comments, but in any case, I look forward to sharing something very fun with you all, tomorrow night.