THIS is the kinda horror I love. No jump scares just creepy vibes and mystery. Absolutely perfect

I actually feel kinda bad for all the folks out there that are missing out on this underrated masterpiece. The colors, composition and sound design are spot on and you really captured the retro 90s feel perfectly. I can't remember the last time an animation provided me with so much nostalgia and I'm really looking forward to more ;)

Saw "The Worm" came back to check out this one, happy I did ^°^

There's something amazing about this style of animation that makes it feel so warm, fuzzy, and nostalgic for childhood memories. The contrast between this and the actual scary, horror elements meshes perfectly, and I'd love to see more works like this in general!

This feels like a Hilda sub-story my god this already looks so good

To me theres nothing creepier than silence, someone just being taken away. They dont scream, they dont struggle, theyre just taken. Because even a scream would let you know at least kinda whats happening, but if you hear nothing then you literally have no idea what happened, how thats even possible. Creepy. Reminds me of a random animated short i saw a couple years ago, dont remember it but it was a bigger sister and a little sister, the little one was maybe 5 and she was going to the kitchen at night because she heard noises, and the sister followed behind, the whole time the characters foot steps could be heard, floor creaking, breathing, just normal noise, and the ending scene was a flash of something coming into the window and grabbing the child and yanking her out so fast that you could tell she didnt survive the force of it, but it was totally mute silent. Fast and no sound. Really great layer of horror and unnatural. If you're somewhere quiet right now, like in bed, imagine it. The ringing in your ears it's so silent, and imagine it. Scary, right?

The opening almost made me cry, brought me back to my childhood when everyday was an adventure with your friends………now I’m alone

Don't know if someone's pointed out that 4 people disappeared in the 70s and we see exactly 4 Pinecreepers. Interesting detail

Just looking at the inside of the car frightened me. Seeing the scuffed up blanket and broken windows, you can imagine what Jordi experienced the night he was taken by the Pine Creepers.

I love how Hilda's artstyle has already become an influence for many artists

I love the pine creepers design at a distance you could mistake there face for an owl with there facial structure, at first I thought they were some sort of owl people but looking closer you see that they are some kind of goblin creature making them more otherworldly but still grounded.

when one guy goes missing and the entire town goes looking for him, he either meant something to everyone or the town was bored or they've had peace for the past 10-20 years

Damn...left his buddy at the mercy of those Rake rejects. He must be suffering from a terrible case of survivor's guilt.

I appreciate the economic use of animation, taking advantage of stillness and saving most of the frames for when they're needed. I also like the designs for the monsters, as they look like they could have derived from new world monkeys; some particularly stealthy, semi-plausible form of cryptid.

the build up, the scene being set, the lore being laid out. perfection, utterly beautiful

“Bite the bullet” is an informal phrase that means to do something unpleasant or painful because it is necessary; even though you would like to avoid it.

What a wonderful combination of narration and animation! You just made me see how I can combine both audiobook writing and animation. Thank you for inspiring me ❤

I've always been a fan of "silhouettes of creatures hidden in fog/mist only seen when lightning/lighting hits" and "forrest horrors" And I saw your Worm video first then this and I'll say this is by far my favorite

Reminds me of a very strange and scary encounter me and my brother had while backpacking in the Colorado wilderness. Never thought much of it until I got more into horror stories and podcasts and heard people talk about similar experiences. I’ll never go out into the woods at night alone and without a gun again. Great stuff guys, 10/10 from me.

A beautiful short story that absorbed me the moment I started watching and as a passionate fan of Luke Pearson's Hilda it had a welcoming aspect to me; should Hilda ever get a continuation, it should have a similar aesthetic and writing as this short story. Congratulations to the writer(s) and the animator(s) of "The Pine Creepers"! You created a masterpiece.

There's something cozy about how you did the animation, even with the pine creepers. The voice work was also smooth and comfortable, adding to the atmosphere.

the limited animation in this is so cool. its one of the most creative ways of portraying a memory in any show ive ever seen. the way it freeze frames a bit when talking about the more basic moments and suddenly starts to move smoothly in the more memorable parts really does capture how memories feel sometimes. this show is definitely filling the hilda shaped hole in my heart.

Reminds me so much of Gravity Falls; the art style, the story, the creepy atmosphere. I'm not one for the Cal Arts style or any of it's derivatives, but once it is paired with an engaging story, it definitely works. Looking forward to more.

I like how the shot at 2:20 having the fire animated insinuates that all three of the boys are just there, unmoving.

I’m so proud of the artist for making this, it feels timelessly nostalgic while still sticking to its setting, I can’t wait for what’s coming next.

Loved it ❤

Oh my god, this was amazing! A very eerie atmosphere all the way through, the voice for the narrator is perfect, the animation style is great and I love the mix of still and movement. What a great recommendation from Animated Horror Flicks! Subscriber gained 😁

As people keep saying, the animation is very warm and cozy and it made me so happy and also made all the sense in the world when I read that the creator was also the director of "Hilda". This looks like it could fit right into a slightly darker spin-off in Hilda's world.

This popped up again in my recommendations after a year and I had to watch again. I probably watched this 2-3 dozen times last year when it came out, it's just so good. It has this almost coziness to it's story telling with the background sounds and music matching with the amazing voice acting and visuals just perfectly, using a slightly darker color pallet than you'd get out of modern animation that is still colorful and full of life while also fitting the spooky story it's paired with. Honestly can't believe I never commented on it until now. Gonna have to check out the new release after this.

Dude, I can't believe how skilled you are in narrating. This is a true art of telling the story where you don't even need to watch the animation, it's so perfectly imaginable in your head while listening to you which shows you read books. You deserved a sub, and I want more of these! Well done, man! Love the video so much.

This “Horror Story” feels so calming with a cool animation that for the first few moments I didn’t even realized it’s a horror story until I read the title properly

I just discovered this and I am in AWE of the compositions and animation and especially the style being very obviously reminiscent of Hilda's. This is just too good to be on KZfaq and it puts all those other horror story animations TO SHAME. 😭

You nailed the vibe and the story. What I love most is that there isn’t a whole bunch of animation, but the visuals compliment the story. You give us these beautiful shots and of what you do show it adds just enough detail to the narration while allowing us to interpret the rest, and it works so dang well. Awesome work, looking forward to more!

this is the most underrated masterpiece i have ever seen. the story is great, the animation is great, and the music is perfectly fit, yet it doesn't even have 100k views.

This is why I don’t like being out in the dark alone. Ever. Just a constant feeling of something watching me out there in the dark. Doesn’t help I live near a cemetery either

Novelle form: I'll never forget the summer of 95. I was 13 that year. A heat wave had set in, making it one of the hottest July's on record. The house I grew up in on Lake Michigan didn't have air conditioning. Most of the time, that was fine. At night, a breeze would come in off the water, so just an open window was usually enough to cool things down and sleep pretty comfortably. Not that summer, though. That summer was different. Some of my friends and I had taken to camping outside to try and escape the heat. Jordy Baker, Auggie McLean, and me. I don't know if it really made all that much difference. I think maybe we just liked being together. That made it easier to get through. I can't remember the first day I met Jordy. We lived on the same street in our small town, and we did everything together. He was my best friend. It felt like it had always been that way. Augie was a quiet kid back then, but you wouldn't know it when we were alone, so much so that his big mouth got us kicked out of my backyard. Dad had to be up at five for work, and he didn't exactly appreciate Augie's high-pitched laugh the same way Jordy and I did. There was a clearing in the pines behind Jordy's house where we used to hang out sometimes, so we decided to set up camp back there. An old rusted out Buick Century marked the spot. I always wondered whose car that used to be, back before it became part of the woods. I mean, thinking about it now, I'm not even really sure how it got out there through the trees in the first place. We cleaned out the broken glass and the cigarette butts left behind by the neighborhood teenagers. We made a fire pit out of one of the wheel rims Jordy managed to pry off. The mosquitoes out there were ruthless at sundown. Dry, prickly needles covered the ground in a thick blanket under the trees. The only thing I hated more than that feeling under my feet when I wasn't wearing any shoes was the crunching sound they made whenever I was. It wasn't all that cozy of a spot, but at least it was private, a place far enough away from the rest of the world that we could stay up all night laughing, and no one would care. Jordy had skimmed some beer from a case in the basement that his dad was working on. Four bottles of lukewarm lager to share between us. Not exactly a blowout, but not enough that Mr. Baker would miss them either. I don't drink much beer these days, but even just the smell of it always brings me back to that night. The hours slipped past as we stoked the fire, talking about nothing in particular. That half a sip of beer must have gone right to Augie's head as he called it a night pretty early on without even finishing one bottle. We didn't mind, more for us. At some point, Jordy brought up what happened to Pike Lister. Pike was two grades ahead of me in school, and he probably failed a couple on top of that. He was big, and everybody was scared of him. On a Friday that past November, Pike left school after his usual extra hour of detention to walk home, and that was the last time anybody saw him. The search lasted for weeks. They never found anything. Some people said he just took off, ran away from home. Others thought he might have drowned in the lake accidentally. Not Jordy though. I listened quietly as he laid it all out, how his dad said it wasn't the first time something like this had happened around here, how back in the 70s, four people disappeared without a trace, and now around that same time, locals had started seeing something in the woods that wrapped around our town, pale creatures with large eyes and long limbs, creeped around on all fours. The pine creepers, that's what we called them anyway. Jordy figured that's what happened to Pike. The pine creepers must have got him. I laughed him off and eagerly changed the subject. We ended up burning a couple more sticks before letting the fire die and heading to bed. One of us could take the back of the Buick, and the other had to sleep in the tent with Auggie. To call it a two-man tent was being generous. I offered to bite the bullet, or at least that's what I let Jordy think. I'd never admit it at the time, but the truth is all that talk about the creepers had me a little scared. Augie's snoring and spooning seemed like a fair price to pay if I didn't have to be alone outside. After all, if they could take Pike Lister, what chance did any of us have? I'm not sure what time it was when I woke up. It was still dark out, and I could hear rain coming down outside. For the first few minutes, I just laid there, listening to the steady sound of the drops against the tent. It wasn't long before I realized that beer had gone right through me, and I wasn't going to be able to hold it. I fumbled around until I found the lantern, and I made my way outside. The night air had cooled down a bit with the rain, which felt nice. The whole sky was clouded over, blocking out any light from the moon or the stars. My eyes finally started adjusting to the dark. That was when I noticed it, something catching the light just beyond the edge of the clearing, a dim reflective shine that flickered as I moved the lantern. It took me a second to realize what I was looking at, eyes, watching me. It was hard to see much of what those eyes belonged to, but I knew what they were. Pine creepers. My pulse pounded in my ears as we stared each other down. I carefully started backing up, never once looking away. I wanted to turn and run so badly, but just kept slowly taking one step after another. I got back into the tent as quickly as I could without making much noise. Maybe if I was quiet enough, those things would move along. I thought about waking Augie, didn't want him to freak out and draw attention to us. Seconds passed, nothing. The rustling of the trees, the calm drone of the rain. Just as I started to think that maybe I'd overreacted, maybe my mind could be playing tricks on me, it started, that familiar awful sound, the crunch of those needles. There was something moving around outside the tent. I was out there, alone. I kept telling myself he wouldn't wake up, he was safer in the Buick, that I should stay still, stay quiet. I laid there, and I kept listening for what felt like forever. I was too scared to do anything else. I never woke up Augie, I never called out to Jordy, I never did anything. The hours passed, and I must have fallen asleep for a few minutes because the next thing I knew, the birds had suddenly started chirping, and even from inside the tent, I could tell it was getting light out. I gathered any bit of courage I had, threw the sleeping bag off, and gave Augie a shove. I climbed out of the tent first

Why did I watch this just before bed ffs

The worm was well done and this story has a good plot too. No jump scares, no overly exaggerated scary looking characters and no blood and gore. Just chilling stories that leaves you begging for more.

Looking *SUPER* forward to hopefully seeing more of these spooky monster stories, the style of this animation is excellent!

Other horror animation channels: I went inside an abandoned Mr beast burger and what I found was horrifying This channel: God tier animation and storytelling Seriously, I loved this! I love the designs of the pine creepers and the music, oh the music is beautiful! What’s your next video about because you have yourself a new subscriber!

Pretty good start. Art style is almost a mix of Gravity Falls and Hilda

I love how I live pretty close to where this story takes place, and I've been in a place like the woods in the story. It really makes the story 10x better when you know the crunch of pines and the feeling of Northern summer night air

This really shows that you can do a lot with limited animation and good use of sound. The whole scene inside the tent at night was very tense.

I was not prepared for how much a visual component to this story would elevate the spooky factor well done sir.

Make a second part where he’s older and a guilt ridden mess, that he decides to go out a hunt down the pine crawlers

Wow. It's been awhile since a story gave me the chills. I definitely look forward to your next story.

New manga: That One Time I Let Monsters Eat My Best Friend Because I'm a Coward

Maybe one of these days I will actually write down a few things that happened when I was a teenager. They aren't fiction, but I think fiction or not, the stories should be told. You made me think about them because your content is top-notch. Truly an inspiring final product, guys!

I would love to know if there are more channels like this one, dont think there is anything as good as this, but something at least close to this two master pieces

I forgot I ever watched this a year ago, man I miss this animation. The style and smoothness gave me a gush over it that at the time was the best I’ve ever seen. Now I’ve seen so many incredible animations idk who to gush the most over but this will forever hold a piece in me

man I wish there was like hundreds of theses videos I could binge, pleasing visuals with a calm but interesting narration is wonderful, keep it up I can't wait for the next video :]

how is this not popular'??'!!! IT IS AWESOME! THE NARRATIONS! THE CHARACTER DESIGN ! EVERYTHING!

I wonder how none of them heard and/or wake up to jordy's screams or the pine creepers cries or at least the struggles of them pulling him out of the car

God, the animation on that fire is absolutely astounding.

I'm completely mind blown! Everything in this video is perfect! It truly is a masterpiece! Keep up the good work!

OHMYGOD THIS APPEARED ON MY RECOMMENDATIONS AND I JUMPED WHEN I RECOGNISED THE ARTSTYLE ART DIRECTOR OF "HILDA"???? this is such a interesting story. really got me into the "halloween vibe" is there gonna be more?!

Just had to come back to this. Art style is beautiful, voice is very chilling, narrative slowly creeping up on you, and I love it all!!

This is amazing! It perfectly captures that fear of the woods at night, almost a primal feeling. I love scary stories and moonlit forests. Thanks so much for this video.

What a masterpiece. The channel name suggest this will be an anthology?

Why tf is this comforting

Please never stop making these, they are absolutely amazing

That was mesmerizing dude! The culmination of the artstyle, dim color scheme, and recollection style of narration really helped build up a both a feeling of eeriness and nostalgia throughout the video and the climax at the end with the reveal of what was going on and it's implications really was done well. Ya did a good job at making the viewer question what might be the fate of the missing people and I think films that pull it off like this are some of the best out there in the animation sphere! Bravo!

why do i keep watching this stuff at midnight

This took me back to my childhood days, 90's feel and the music, stories I shared with my friends, the narration especially reminds me of my English teacher when he taught us Sherlock Holmes The Hound of the Baskervilles. The entire class felt like that we are in a movie. You gave me the same feeling, I felt like I travelled back in time. I'm eagerly waiting for you next project.

I saw this on my Xbox KZfaq and had to come here to say i absolutely loved this and thank you for the animation of a simple but chilling tale. I look forward to your future work ❤!

Very well done. The narrator's tone is what makes this work by setting the atmosphere so well. Looking forward to seeing more from this channel

Indie, atmospheric, great art and detail, strategic stills, and tense storytelling!! Glad I found you even as a new KZfaqr. Subbed.

Killing it with this art style and story telling🔥🔥🔥had me hooked

This has to be the most sensible character in any horror movie ever.

Oh I loved this! I liked the feeling it gave and it was pretty cool! Loved it. Will there be more? 👀 I think this could become a small indie animated mini show. Also with how similar it's to Hilda I headcanon this show as happening it in the same universe as Hilda haha.

Scarier than any horror short I’ve seen recently. 10/10.

People comparing the style to Hilda and I agree It really feels like when you grown up and an show grown up with you, getting heavier and more mature along with you Love this vibe, thank you for this❤

Bruh, these are so good. Really hope you keep up the amazing work. Cant wait to see more.

Best animated channel I've stumbled upon recently with both the feelings of horror and chill vibes. Thank you ❤️

I never usually leave comments, but i have to tell you this is geuinely unreal. I have never seen animation on youtube to this standard. Please, please continue we all want this

I don’t subscribe to much on youtube, so when I do, you know something is quality, and you are definitely getting a sub from me. This is the perfect horror format imo, please don’t stop making these. The animation is perfect and the writing is on point! You guys are gonna blow up on here, I can already tell. Btw, whoever your artist and animator is, they are incredibly talented

The moment I heard Lake Michigan I instantly became that much more invested in the story since I go there every summer since my family lives in Michigan so it's only an hour or so away from our place

this was amazing from the animation and storytelling to the music, I loved every bit of this video

Getting strong Hilda vibes! The music, art style, lighting, very Hilda

Such grand storytelling I love the way it feels like someone is trying to creep u out with a ghost story.

I've seen a few of these stories and I love them so much!!! Thank you for everything you do to make them happen!!! 😊

This was very good, I'm looking forward to what else will come from this channel. Also great style, it really fits the story.

It's amazing, more people need to watch this series of mysterious occurences!

This is an abolute masterpiece wth❤ Thank you for making this! This deserves to be seen by way more people!! The creepy vibes are just perfect

"I'll never forget the Summer of '95" [cue fun car ad and Christmas ad for a clothing store] Nothing like it

Such a Divine narration!!! The atmosphere and tension on point!! And the flow of emotions between the warm and cold was sublime! New subscription acquired!

This art and animation style has grown on me over the years and this video is a top quality of both of those. The story didn't really grab my attention that much, I was mostly looking at the art. But that don't mean plot was bad. Good job!

the animation... the artstyle... the story... this is stellar

Woow that was a masterclass in story telling. This video deserves way more views.

This was so good! I showed this to my kids as their bedtime stories and they loved it they even asked to watch it again. Really reminds me of Stephen King in terms of writing ❤ pls make more 😊

this blows all other scary channel animators out of the water. Whereas IMR scary tales relies on templates and dainty barely detailed backgrounds, using the same body types and faces. You go out of your way and time to reassure everyone looks unique for the story being told, and flash multiple angles. Scary animation channels seem to rely on puppets, where you put the effort to show their legs in more than one scene. You deserve way more views, attention, and fan funding.

Omg this is great, production value is amazing. Everything flows together perfectly.

10:I5 I love how the animation and sound manage to perfectly capture the feeling in the morning when you wake up from camping after hearing a scary story or something the night before. How you're still uneasy from the night, but the birds chirping and the warm light makes it all feel so distant. 6:50 also, did he just piss his pants or what?

Oh crap , ok I got genuinely creeped out, specially the tension of just holding your breath while hoping something scary just walks off. Incredible. Also astounding the animation of those things creepers. Incredible work, congrats, I wish there was a series in this style R rated ala Stranger Things, it'd be awesome. Aaan yup im not camping ever again ahaha :'D

Great story and I loved the narrative voice. I think every teen boy who ever camped had a similar experience! .. love this piece of work!

This the best animated scary story I've seen on KZfaq. Fantastic

Thank god I saw one of your shorts, now I'm hooked to your animations

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SO HAPPY THIS IS OUT :0 ! HAPPY SPOOKY SEASON EVERYONE

This is like an American Hilda, I would pay for a series of short horror stories in this style.

Stunning. Everything about it was just stunning. The sounds of the forest and the insects were pristine, as well as the voiceover. The animation, especially the fire and its light it gave off, was beautiful and warm, yet also dreadful when it needed to be. The story itself, absolutely astounding. Even though it was a short story, I have never felt fear like that from a story in such a long time. Everything about this one video was precisely blended into this masterpiece. Whatever you're doing to make this stuff so good, keep on cooking. You've got the recipes down.