History NightmareFuel / AdultSwim

As the DarkerAndEdgier counterpart to Creator/CartoonNetwork, Creator/AdultSwim takes full advantage of its {{watershed}} format with a penchant for SurrealHumor ''and'' SurrealHorror. It's designed to scare kids away from watching... and the adults [[NightmareFuel can certainly vouch for its effectiveness]].

* The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jplkppP_Icg "Nightmares" episode]] of WesternAnimation/OffTheAir.
%%** [[http://giphy.com/gifs/cHOJBbyUL4M5W This.]]

** [[http://giphy.com/gifs/cHOJBbyUL4M5W This.]]

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEnhfMRLXnc This bump]]. [[UncannyValley Yeesh.]]

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1pVLJl_snc Jack Stauber's OPAL]]'' is a psychological horror musical short about a girl fantasizing about having a perfect family [[spoiler:while in reality she has AbusiveParents.]] What makes it nightmarish is the presentation: we open on the main character "Opal" having a meal with her doting parents and grandfather, only for the mood to be briefly spoiled by Opal catching a glimpse of the mysterious house across the street. Despite her parents telling her to pay no mind, she sneaks in after being put to bed and meets a trio of incredibly dysfunctional adults who all rely on someone named Claire to provide for their every need while providing nothing for her in return. With each new character, it becomes increasingly obvious that [[spoiler:Opal's real name is Claire, and this is her actual family. The family from the beginning is a fantasy based on a billboard from across the street.]] The short ends with Opal[[spoiler:/Claire hunched over, clutching her head, and retreating back into her fantasy to ignore her family's pounding on her bedroom door.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39FB2aXN85A This sign-off bumper]] was created to prevent children from watching... certainly ''not'' to [[HellIsThatNoise help them sleep better at night.]]]]

As the DarkerAndEdgier counterpart to Creator/CartoonNetwork, Creator/AdultSwim takes full advantage of its {{watershed}} format with a penchant for SurrealHumor ''and'' SurrealHorror. It's designed to scare kids away from watching... because the adults [[NightmareFuel can certainly vouch for its effectiveness]].

As the DarkerAndEdgier counterpart to Creator/CartoonNetwork, Creator/AdultSwim takes full advantage of its {{watershed}} format with a penchant for SurrealHumor ''and'' SurrealHorror. Perhaps it's all designed to scare kids away from watching... because the adults [[NightmareFuel can certainly vouch for its effectiveness]].

[[caption-width-right:350:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39FB2aXN85A This sign-off bumper]] was created to prevent children from watching Creator/AdultSwim... certainly ''not'' to [[HellIsThatNoise help them sleep better at night.]]]]

** On May 2020, [as] unexpectedly brought the infamous bump back as "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq8OXZke644 The Dawn Is Your Frenemy]]" by making it less creepy by adding piano music, a red balloon, and making the sun wink (just like the creepypasta mentioned above). It is ''still'' creepy though. The piano music combined with the original sound effects make the enviroment much scarier, the red balloon will remind those of Literature/{{It}} and the sun's wink could catch those by surprise. Hell, this version might be scarier than the original (though not as scary as the the creepypasta).

Creator/AdultSwim takes full advantage of its {{watershed}} format with a penchant for SurrealHumor ''and'' SurrealHorror. Perhaps it's all designed to scare kids away from watching... because the adults [[NightmareFuel can certainly vouch for its effectiveness]].

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1pVLJl_snc Jack Stauber's OPAL]]'' is a psychological horror musical short about a girl fantasizing herself having a perfect family while in reality she has AbusiveParents.

* Around 2013 they did teasers for ''Series/TheHeartSheHoller'' and the way they chose to do it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufvpRLSWSy0 was a series of jump scares]] that got louder as the month of August went on ending with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spSsfca3dNk this.]] A lot of people were, needless to say, not pleased.

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1pVLJl_snc Jack Stauber's OPAL]] is a psychological horror musical short about a girl fantasizing herself having a perfect family while in reality she has AbusiveParents.

** It was then replaced with a pixel art sign-off for only a year or so... then it was replaced with something [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vvUWrnN9fc a million times worse.]] '''WARNING: DO NOT WATCH IF YOU ARE PRONE TO EPILEPSY!'''

[adult swim] has a ton of horrors that are designed to scare kids...... and adults too.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39FB2aXN85A The Dawn Is Your Enemy]], a former [as] sign-off bump designed specifically to scare away children. It has gained infamy for its not being outwardly scary, but ''incredibly'' creepy. It contains a static composite image [[DeliberatelyMonochrome devoid of color]] that focuses on an uncomfortably large pair of fearful, nervous eyes and a glowering sun in the background. What makes the bump especially creepy is the quiet, ominous background noises they use--resonating, rumbling, and scraping metal--which is practically NothingIsScarier in audio form.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STRuMrfb2n4 Watch Harder]] has similar energy to The Dawn Is Your Enemy, with a still close-up shot of a CreepyDoll while a nursery rhyme plays, eventually transitioning to an increasingly louder scream of anguish...and then [[NothingIsScarier cutting abruptly]].

** On May 2020, [as] unexpectedly brought the infamous bump back as "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yq8OXZke644 The Dawn Is Your Frenemy]]" by making it less creepy by adding piano music, a red balloon, and making the sun wink (just like the creepypasta mentioned above). It is ''still'' creepy though. The piano music combined with the original sound effects make the enviroment much scarier, the red balloon will remind those of Literature/{{It}} and the sun's wink could catch those by surprise. Hell, this version might be scarier than the original (Though not as scary as the the creepypasta).

* So far, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSWCdywJv0E This obscure bumper]] has appeared very rarily aired on AS, [[OurMonstersAreWeird and]] [[UncannyValley for]] [[JumpScare good]] [[HellIsThatNoise reason]].

* ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJkfGuw-76I Spooky Dreams]]'' is about a teen trapped in a nightmare. Unsurprisingly, there's a lot of nightmare fuel. The pilot is filled with NightmareFace and JumpScare moments, and the whole thing has a dark atmosphere. Oh, and it begins with a [[CrossesTheLineTwice teacher strangling a student so hard]] ''[[YourHeadASplode his head explodes]]''.

[[caption-width-right:350:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39FB2aXN85A This sign-off bumper]] was created to deter children from watching Creator/AdultSwim... certainly ''not'' to [[HellIsThatNoise help them sleep better at night.]]]]

** A 2020 bump tires to make the infamous bump less creepy by adding piano music, a red balloon, and making the sun wink (just like the creepypasta mentioned above). It is ''still'' creepy though. The piano music combined with the original sound effects make the enviroment much scarier, the red balloon will remind those of Literature/{{It}} and the sun's wink could catch those by surprise. Hell, this version might be scarier than the original (Though not as scary as the the creepypasta).

[[caption-width-right:350:[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39FB2aXN85A This sign-off bump]] was created to deter children from watching Creator/AdultSwim, not necessarily to help them sleep better at night.]]

** It was then replaced with a pixel art sign-off for only a year or so... then it was replaced with something [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vvUWrnN9fc a million times worse.]]

* Before The Dawn, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5q6w5mdeS5A this was the sign-off]], an assault of flashing, distorted images and odd ending with a synthetic voice telling the audience "Good night, sweet dreams".