Best Anime to Watch During Halloween [Recommendations]

Soul Eater rolls in at #10 for good reason. Soul Eater sets up Halloween elements perfectly. Death gods, angry evil beings, the sun and the moon are creepy, etc. Soul Eater is a great start to this list because it’s not scary like terrifying per se, but it shows the viewer what the world would be like with death gods, witches and the like. Soul Eater is a very entertaining watch through and through, and I think you’ll enjoy it greatly to get you in the mood for Halloween.

Soul Eater follows three weapon meisters and their human weapons. The goal is to make a death scythe, the ultimate weapon, by eating 99 evil human souls as well as 1 witch soul. Shown in pairs with their weapons, the students enrolled in Death Weapon Meister Academy as they train to become the Ultimate Shinigami!(Death god!)

It seems that you really can’t have a scary show anymore without zombies or some form of undead creature. That being said, Highschool of the Dead is another great spooky show that is a little more high on the adrenaline than the fear, but it still brings plenty of zombies, so that’s why I have entered it in at #9!

What if you woke up one day, came to school, and suddenly 99% of the student body were zombies looking to eat you? Well, I’d panic and bounce. Unfortunately though, for a group of students and the school nurse, they are trapped on the roof of the school. With nothing left to do, they must fight their way out, killing former classmates in the process to survive. Once outside, there is nothing different. Zombies are now wandering around trying to kill them as well. Panicked and scared, they must now try to find safety while escaping the horrors of a zombie invasion

Paranoia Agent isn’t so much bloody or adventurous as the other two. Paranoia Agent is a psychological thriller. What’s really disturbing, among many things in this show is the harsh animation. It will go from being very bright, to very dark quickly so you have to pay attention. Paranoia Agent is not as psychologically disturbing as a few more further down on this list, but it’s still a great show to give you the chills in preparation for Halloween. Be sure to watch it in the dark!

Paranoia Agent is about “lil slugger” or “Shonen Bat”, a boy who mysteriously travels around on golden skates with a bent golden bat. What does he do with it? He assaults people. As more and more people are being targeted, two detectives try to step in, at their own peril, to solve the mystery behind lil slugger and get to the bottom of all these attacks before anyone else is attacked and loses their sanity in the process.

Kakurenbo rolls in at #7 here, and for good reason. It’s actually a very short film but it’s perfect in the way it’s set up. To put things bluntly; it’s creepy. Full of suspense, this is another anime that’s great to watch at night and in the dark. Kakurenbo is also a perfect metaphor. Let me know in the comments if you know what it’s about!

Kakurenbo follows a game in an abandoned city. What kind of game you ask? Well, it’s kinda like… capture the flag meets hide and seek. It’s called Otokoyo which means manhunt in English. There’s one problem though, the teams are those playing the game in the old, abandoned city itself. The longer you play the game, the more the city starts to fight back. Can these children survive long enough to win?

I know I know. Put down your pitchforks. You thought that Tokyo Ghoul would be lower. Well on some lists yes, but for Halloween, this show rolls in at number six. What puts Tokyo Ghoul here is obviously the horror element as well as the blood, violence and fighting. At times being quite graphic for a show that aired on TV, Tokyo Ghoul is a great show for Halloween.

Kaneki was an ordinary college student, but one day, he is attacked by a very deadly and powerful ghoul, Rize. Somehow killing her and surviving, the doctors take parts of Rize, since she dies, and puts them into Kaneki. They did not know that she was a Ghoul. Now when Kaneki wakes up, he can no longer eat normal food. The sight of it makes his stomach curl. What does he crave? Human flesh and Blood. The show takes off from there introducing new characters who are also Ghouls that teach him how to live and blend into society. Why? Because he cannot be found out for fear of what might happen.

Higurashi has to be one of the scariest shows I have ever seen in my life. It was positively terrifying to watch. However, at the same time, it’s a gigantic puzzle that requires you to watch to the very end to understand everything fully. It’s perfect for Halloween because this show has gore, horror, and above all else, it’s psychologically disturbing. Paranoia Agent is like dipping your toe into a pool to see if it’s cold. Higurashi is like throwing yourself into the Arctic Ocean.

Higurashi starts out with Keiichi Maebara, who had just moved to the small town of Hinamizawa (Based on a real city in Japan! Look up Shirakawa-go!). Life seems to be adjusting well for him in his small school where he gets along well with his classmates. In fact, so well, they form a club together and play games. One day, the games stop being fun. People start getting hurt. Someone’s coming for Keiichi. Just when it looks like it’s over for him, the season resets? Part of the way through, the story resets and now it’s told from another person’s perspective. But things are different this time. What’s going on?? What’s happening?? Keep watching to find out.

Where would Halloween be without a good Vampire flick? No I’m not talking about that ridiculous one where the guys sparkle and have on way too much makeup! I’m talking about REAL Vampires! It’s got the whole post-apocalyptic thing which is usually more zombie friendly. To make sure that the film doesn’t get too dry, it also has a great upheaval that happens as well! This film is quite dated (now almost 30 years ago) but it easily stands on it’s own as a great way to get you hyped up for Halloween!

10,000 years into the future, society as we know it has collapsed. What has happened you say? Well, monsters now exist freely attacking people. It’s a throwback to centuries old living and how the people survive. They are ruled over by a merciless vampire count. When he takes a girl as his own and bites her, she hired the help of a passing traveler named D. Well, D just happens to be the best vampire hunter in all of the world and takes up her task. You will not be disappointed with this movie!

Jigoku Shoujo rolls in at number three. I mean come on, the show has the word hell in it. It’s perfect for Halloween. Full of murder, betrayal, voodoo, curses and definitely some mentally unstable people, Jigoku Shoujo is perfect for Halloween! Plus, not to mention, you see Hell a lot which exists in a permanent Halloween type setting!

Have you ever hated someone to the point where it consumed you? Maybe they were a bully. Maybe they are a former friend. Maybe they just did you wrong and you have never been able to get beyond that. Well, I have good, and maybe potentially bad, news for you. If you access a website called Hell correspondence at midnight with a heart full of revenge, you’re able to call upon Hell Girl. What does she do? She will offer to take the person that you hate the most to Hell immediately. This comes at a price, and you’ll have to watch it to see what that price is!

Blood + is another show that’s perfect for Halloween. Why you ask? Well it has monsters. It’s got vampires. There is suspense as well as some of the worst heartbreak that you can imagine. Families are destroyed. People are destroyed. Plus, the title has “blood” in it. What’s not to love?

In Blood+ exist these creatures called Chiropterans, who can transform their bodies into the form of a human being. Why is this dangerous? Because they hunt and kill people. There’s a special Organization called the Red Shield, who protect humans from these monsters as well as hunting them down and exterminate them. Saya was just an ordinary high school girl until one day, she loses an entire year of her life. It’s just gone in an instant and she can’t remember anything. Her family is torn away from her in the most heartbreaking manner possible, and now she’s out for revenge.

Hellsing Ultimate is number one on my list! Yes, that’s right, it’s Hellsing Ultimate! It’s the perfect show for Halloween! It’s got vampires, zombies, Nazis (eww gross), ghouls, fighting, horror, psychotic priests, blood, and everything in between. Oh! Don’t forget the undead skeleton army either. If there was ever a perfect show to watch for Halloween, it would be this show hands down. It’s creepy, dark, and violent. Perfect for a Halloween slasher, wouldn’t you say?

Hellsing is the name of a secret British organization that keeps the people safe from vampires and other dark creatures of the night. Hellsing is run by Integra Wingates Hellsing, a normal human being. So how does she protect everyone? She has a deep, deep dark secret. She has the world’s greatest Vampire Exterminator at hand, Alucard. Oh, and he’s a vampire too! After receiving a protégé, Seras Victoria, they serve the Hellsing organization.

However, the monsters are getting braver, darker, and more violent. An ancient war is brewing and the Hellsing organization is going to need everything they can, maybe even borrowing from hell itself, to fight back…