The Verge's 18-Year Tech Writer Rounds Up Halloween YouTube Horrors

The Verge closed out its 2026 Halloween coverage on Oct. 31 with a roundup of creepy YouTube videos instead of the usual horror movie or album pick, according to the outlet's entertainment section. The piece, published at 9:06 p.m. UTC, was written by Terrence O'Brien, who the byline identifies as the Verge's weekend editor.

What is the roundup, exactly?

The article gathers what O'Brien calls "a small selection of creepy, disturbing, and just plain weird videos from YouTube." He frames it as the final installment of the outlet's spooky-season recommendations for 2026, a departure from the single-film or single-album picks that typically close out the Verge's Halloween coverage in prior years. "There's a little something for everyone here," O'Brien writes in the piece.

The Verge did not publish a numbered list of titles in the portion of the article made available; the framing centers on variety across tone, rather than a ranked top pick. Readers looking for the specific clips are directed to the original story on the Verge's site.

Who picked the videos?

O'Brien's author bio describes him as someone who "has covered the tech industry for over 18 years and knows a thing or two about synths." That tenure places him among the Verge's longer-serving staff, and his role as weekend editor means he regularly oversees the outlet's lighter, culture-facing coverage outside the five-day news cycle — the kind of beat that produces seasonal roundups like this one rather than hard tech news.

The byline sits inside a recurring Verge feature labeled "Part Of" a series described on the page as "What we're listening to, watching, and reading right now," a running collection of staff recommendations that the outlet updates with new entries. The Halloween YouTube piece is one entry in that ongoing series, not a standalone special.

Why YouTube instead of a movie this year?

The article's framing suggests a deliberate break from film or music picks: "Rather than recommend a single horror film or an unsettling album for our final installment of spooky season recs," O'Brien writes, he opted for a multi-video YouTube selection. The piece does not explain further reasoning for the format change, and the Verge did not attach a separate statement on the choice beyond what appears in the article itself.

The shift tracks with a broader pattern across entertainment desks treating YouTube as a legitimate source of Halloween content alongside streaming services and traditional media, though the source material reviewed here does not quantify how often the Verge has run YouTube-specific horror roundups in past years.

What images accompany the piece?

The lead image credit lists four contributors: Alex Castro, Terrence O'Brien, The Verge, and Mohammad Novian Fahrurriza. The multi-credit line is consistent with a composite or illustrated image built from several sourced elements rather than a single photograph, though the article does not describe the image's content beyond the credit itself.

Where can readers find the full list?

The complete roundup, including whatever videos O'Brien selected beyond the opening framing captured here, is available on the Verge's site. The outlet's entertainment, streaming, and "Column" sections all tag the piece, placing it alongside the Verge's other recurring recommendation coverage for subscribers who follow those topic feeds.

The piece carries no runtime, platform availability, or age-rating information in the portion reviewed, and the Verge does not list a follow-up or correction to the Oct. 31 posting as of this writing.

FAQ

Who wrote the Verge's Halloween YouTube video roundup? Terrence O'Brien, the Verge's weekend editor, who the outlet says has covered the tech industry for more than 18 years.

What series does this roundup belong to? The Verge tags it as part of a recurring feature called "What we're listening to, watching, and reading right now," according to the article's own labeling.

Did the Verge pick a single horror movie this year instead? No. O'Brien writes that he chose a selection of YouTube videos "rather than recommend a single horror film or an unsettling album" for the final 2026 spooky-season recommendation.