Make a haunted object, write a story with more than one way out, shoot a small horror film or put a strange noise into someone's evening. This collection brings the Splatter VHS workshop into a growing collection of practical guides, with room for both playful Halloween projects and darker horror craft.
Watch the original demonstration
Watch the original episode, then use the written guide to plan your own version. Older episodes may include extra demonstrations or reviews.
Welcome to Static VHS: Video Horror School.
An introduction to the channel and its practical horror filmmaking workshops.
Splatter VHS is an independent horror and science-fiction studio in Brisbane, Australia. Films, practical effects, fiction, music, games and robotics all belong here. Pick the thing you want to make, then follow its problems into the next guide.
Choose the kind of evening you want
Spooky pages focus on atmosphere, objects, shadows and suggestions. Darker pages discuss stage blood, body horror or more intense themes. The labels describe these articles; linked books, music, films and games have their own content. They are not age ratings.
A decorative pumpkin can belong in a joke or a deeply unpleasant photograph. Decide which experience you are inviting people into. Our Halloween tone dial helps you choose, and the second after the scare shows how an ending changes the feeling.
Make a Halloween object
Start with a haunted radio photo prop, a cursed VHS sleeve or a paper creature's enormous shadow. Tell a complete little story using REAL, CHEAT and RESULT.
These exercises use ordinary objects, framing and a clear idea. The illustrative project images show possible moods and compositions. Your own camera test tells you what your arrangement does.
Learn practical effects
Use the beginner effects brief to define one manageable shot. Compare physical and digital methods, develop a creature design, give a prop wear with a history, or plan continuity across takes.
For darker work, test fake blood on camera before it reaches the shoot. More practical-effects work lives on our FX page.
Make an independent horror film
Plan a short you can finish, organise suspense in your shot list, and build sound around what remains unseen. Then assign the jobs for a small indie crew and follow the footage through the edit to final playback.
Visit the film catalogue for released work, including M Is for Melt.
Write something that follows the reader home
Explore body horror with character, Australian creature horror and adapting a fear across different media.
For interactive fiction, write the golden path and its choices, then make your own HTML story. Our books and terminal story offer different ways into the fiction.
Listen, play and build
Start with horror synthwave, create a soundtrack brief, or plan a music video around one strong idea. The music catalogue is the place for released tracks.
Play the Spectra.Run web alpha, then look at Server Room 42-A as a design problem.
For a character that starts acquiring physical parts, plan a first robot bust and a head you can open and repair. Nyx remains an ongoing build.
Leave with one finished thing
Choose one guide, define one result and use what you already have. A ten-second scene, a three-photo story or one complete route through an interactive tale is a respectable finish.
Keep a note of what failed and what you changed. That is where the next useful lesson starts.
