Buzz
Late-night internet binges often take you to YouTube's oddest realms, where you’ll find everything from cringe-worthy indie music clips to the world’s most massive pimple. While some channels are quirky, others dive into the downright bizarre. Here are 10 of the most unsettling, grotesque, and downright disturbing ones.
10. Cyriak
Cyriak, a freelance animator based in the UK, has been sharing his creations on YouTube since 2006. Using tools like Photoshop and After Effects, he’s crafted commercials, music videos, and even animated segments for Adult Swim’s iconic “bumps.”
However, Cyriak’s work often takes a dark turn. Many of his videos start innocently, featuring ordinary scenes like cows grazing or a cat meowing, only to transform into surreal, multi-limbed monstrosities that leave viewers both fascinated and horrified.
Cyriak’s most unsettling video: “Something.” This piece takes vintage black-and-white footage and twists it into something entirely unexpected. Faces multiply on heads, and soon, streams of multi-faced heads pour out of bodies, creating a surreal and eerie spectacle.
9. Seinfeldspitstain
Since 2013, Seinfeldspitstain has been sharing computer-animated videos. Despite his relatively short time on the platform, he’s gained modest popularity, and the quality of his animations has significantly improved over the years.
Seinfeldspitstain has a peculiar obsession with the Nickelodeon franchise Jimmy Neutron, which includes a movie and TV series about a boy genius who solves problems with his inventions. His most disturbing video, “Jimmy Neutron Happy Family Hour,” is anything but happy. In this crudely animated clip, Mrs. Neutron announces dinner, only to be killed by her husband, Hugh, who then insists Jimmy order pizza and bond with him. When the pizza arrives, it bursts in and beheads Hugh.
That pizza had a serious attitude.
8. Larry Carlson
Larry Carlson, an artist from Vermont, aims to create mind-bending, trippy art across various mediums like video, photography, print collage, and music. His work delves into surrealism and mysticism, producing intensely psychedelic results. A graduate of Cooper Union School of Art in New York City, Carlson has exhibited his art globally.
Since 2006, Carlson has been sharing his videos on YouTube, but many of his earlier works, including flash animations, are available on his personal website. Be sure to check out the interactive experience with Jim the Spider.
Larry Carlson’s most unsettling video: “In Your Cube.” While his signature style of splitting faces and vibrant colors can feel repetitive, this video stands out with a dummy delivering nonsensical monologues against a backdrop of psychedelic patterns. Eventually, the dummy steps aside for Carlson’s iconic color flashes, but it makes a return to keep viewers on edge.
7. Don’t Hug Me .I’m Scared
At first glance, the UK-based channel Don’t Hug Me .I’m Scared appears to cater to children, featuring puppets and vibrant colors reminiscent of a kids' show. However, the content takes a dark turn with graphic depictions of blood and organs, far from what you’d expect in children’s programming.
Since its inception in 2010, Don’t Hug Me has primarily used its videos to promote a successfully funded Kickstarter campaign aimed at producing more content.
The channel’s most unsettling video is its namesake, “Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared.” The video starts innocently, with three puppets having breakfast, until a talking notebook interrupts, urging them to embrace creativity. What begins as a seemingly harmless children’s show quickly devolves into a nightmare, with crafts and cakes filled with human organs.
6. Andywilson92
Andywilson92 has created over 100 unsettling, low-quality computer-animated videos, often targeting beloved childhood franchises. His disturbing parodies include Sonic the Hedgehog, Thomas the Tank Engine, The Legend of Zelda, and The Simpsons. Since 2009, he’s been sharing his work on YouTube, and recently, he launched a gaming channel.
Andywilson92’s most unsettling video: “Squidward’s Suicide.” Inspired by a well-known creepypasta, this video reimagines a supposed lost episode of Nickelodeon’s SpongeBob SquarePants. After a disastrous clarinet performance, Squidward returns home, where the video takes a dark turn, showing a series of disturbing visuals before culminating in his tragic end.
Wilson’s version of the story is a grotesque and unsettling parody. The animation features a distorted Patrick and a sinister female SpongeBob tormenting a deformed Squidward, ultimately driving him to his demise.
5. Nana825763
Nana825763’s channel is known for its chilling content, including the infamous video “Username: 666,” where a user stumbles upon a demonic YouTube channel. Much of nana’s work evokes a nightmarish, hellish atmosphere, leaving viewers deeply unsettled.
Since 2006, nana825763 has been uploading videos, including an oddly random series documenting the life of a pet ant colony. While these entries are mostly horror-free, they often include eerie dolls lurking in the background, adding a subtle layer of unease.
Nana825763’s most unsettling video: “Mr. East Loves Mom.” It begins innocently with a clip of an adorable baby, but the screen soon glitches, filling with distorted images and garbled sounds. Amid the chaos, the faint beep of a heart monitor can be heard, adding to the eerie atmosphere.
4. Jillian Mayer
Jillian Mayer, an American postmodern artist, frequently examines humanity’s increasing reliance on technology. Her work often leaves viewers feeling uneasy, if not outright bewildered, as she delves into unsettling and thought-provoking themes.
While her art has gained international recognition, Mayer is perhaps best known for her viral YouTube video, “I Am Your Grandma.” In this clip, she addresses her future grandchildren through a short song, wearing a series of bizarre and frightening outfits. It’s a message her descendants might find more disturbing than endearing.
Jillian Mayer’s most disturbing video: “Day Chip.” The video shows two young women casually engaging in an unexplained ritual. Suddenly, one uses a box cutter to carve open the other’s forehead, inserting a large computer chip. Upon waking, the woman discovers she can access early 2000s internet imagery, but the overwhelming influx of information drives her to panic.
3. David Firth
David Firth, a British animator, has gained significant recognition in the UK for his bizarre and nightmarish cartoons, even earning a spot on the BBC. As of 2013, he has been developing a feature-length film tentatively titled The Meadow Man.
Firth joined YouTube in 2006, initially sharing live-action videos featuring a character named Devvo, portrayed by Firth himself, engaging in absurd and comedic antics.
David Firth’s most unsettling video: “Dog of Man.” The story follows a man envious of his houseplant’s growth. His dog, which communicates via a machine, convinces him to purchase “tumor seeds.” The man plants them in his body by cutting himself open. As the tumors grow uncontrollably, the dog offers its own body as a replacement. The man proceeds to decapitate the dog and attach its limbs to himself.
2. RubberFruit
Team Fortress 2, a Valve-developed video game, is a frequent subject on YouTube’s stranger side. This multiplayer first-person shooter revolves around cartoonish, class-based combat.
Many creators use Garry’s Mod to manipulate Team Fortress 2 characters like Spy, Soldier, or Heavy into bizarre and surreal videos. RubberFruit is one such YouTuber, known for his disjointed and perplexing content. Beyond Team Fortress 2, he also incorporates characters from Super Mario Brothers and Sonic the Hedgehog.
RubberFruit’s most unsettling video: “Spy Gets His Driver’s License.” The title suggests Spy (from Team Fortress 2) is celebrating his new license by driving a pink car in a desert, surrounded by robots. Friends warn him of danger, but he is soon devoured by a giant Wario head. After waking up elsewhere, he lies on the ground, reflects briefly, and then scuttles away like a crab.
1. Vikram Yadav
Vikram Yadav, an Indian doctor, shares videos of his medical procedures, focusing on the most gruesome cases. His channel showcases everything from pimples and blackheads to severe wounds and deformities. While educational for medical enthusiasts, his content is often stomach-churning for the average viewer.
Despite joining YouTube just four years ago, Yadav has already shared over 1,000 videos. He maintains a consistent schedule, uploading new content every Sunday and Wednesday.
Vikram Yadav’s most unsettling video: With so many options, it’s tough to choose, but “Severe Dog Bite & Abscess Drained” stands out. The video shows a young girl with a dog bite that has torn open her scalp, along with a massive abscess behind her ear. Yadav carefully drains the abscess, releasing a mix of blood and pus.
