Nine Gnarly Horror Wikis.
If you’ve ever looked something up on Wikipedia and wanted more information than its editors would allow, the good news is that there are dedicated wikis for practically everything these days. These wikis often lack the speed and crowd-edited finesse of Wikipedia, but they make up for it where it counts: Superfluous entries on inconsequential nonsense!
For proof, look no further than the horror genre. Every major franchise has its own wiki. Even franchises than only ten people care about have them. If you’re the type of horror-loving trivia-gobbler who likes to keep reading until unconsciousness happens organically, these wikis are a positively blessed find.
I’ve collected nine of my favorites below — but please note that this barely scratches the surface!
All of these wikis are hosted on Wikia, a site that lets anyone build an online encyclopedia for free. The trade-off is that the pages are covered in resource-draining ads. Before you start browsing, I’d suggest creating an account on Wikia. Logging in seems to limit the ads somewhat, and you’ll only need one login for all of the wikis featured below!
The next time you’re wide awake on a stormy night with an emptied DVR and no one to talk to, give one of these a try.
#1: Description: A celebration of All Things Friday the 13th, with the strongest emphasis (obviously) on the films. While the pages on each movie are really no more thorough than what you can already find on Wikipedia, the Friday the 13th Wiki shines in its extracurriculars: There are entries on every major character (and minor) character, not to mention pages for the semi-canonical novels and comics.
Size: Currently over 430 pages, so even considering the many “stubs,” there’s a lot to read.
Appearance: White text on a gray background may kill your eyes after a few hours, but it does set the mood. Uses cool F13 images liberally.
Thoughts: Though missing some neat bits — there are no pages for the various toys, for example — the wiki is still so packed that even super devoted F13 fans are sure to learn something new. Many horror wikis are left abandoned after only a few days’ worth of work, but this one is still regularly updated.
Notable Pages: Learn about Roy Burns, who pretended to be Jason Voorhees so he could kill people more freely. Read a summary of the Friday the 13th Part 2 novelization, which believe it or not actually exists. Get the scoop on Jason’s appearance in Mortal Kombat, which pieces together every hint of inspiration to explain why he looks… the way he looks.
#2: Description: Loaded with info on every movie in the Puppet Master series, this wiki shines brightest with its individual entries on every single killer puppet. (Over 20 of ‘em!) Those pages not only match names to the faces, but they also tell you about each puppet’s special power (special horrible power) and their roles in the franchise!
Size: Seems pretty damn stacked.
Appearance: Between the blond backgrounds, the splashes of color and the fact that it forces your mouse cursor to turn into a little Tunneler head, there was a sincere effort to give the Puppet Master Wiki some sense of personality. Wikia’s customization options are pretty limited, but this one makes the most of them.
Thoughts: As someone who is more “curious” than “knowledgeable” about the Puppet Master series, this is definitely up my alley. (If you already know everything about a particular wiki’s subject, all you can really do is enjoy the reminders and maybe skim for typos.) As soon as I’m done with this article — which judging by my present speed should be sometime before Christmas — I plan to absolutely devour the Puppet Master Wiki.
Notable Pages: Did you know that one of the franchise’s most popular puppets never actually did anything? Or that things got incredibly weird by the time Puppet Master 4 rolled around? Or that there were roughly 6000 Puppet Master movies?
#3: Halloween Wiki!
Description: A very impressive wiki on the Halloween franchise, you’ll only have Wikia’s aggravating ads to remind you that this isn’t an official source on Michael Myers.
Size: There are 665 pages as of this writing, and plenty of them are huge. Each individual film’s page blends information from Wikipedia and IMDB, but much of it is filtered through the archetypal Halloween “super fan lens.”
Appearance: Black with orange trim. Makes reading it at 3 AM so much more appropriate!
Thoughts: With tons of trivia sections and a movie-by-movie murder tally, this is one wiki that knows why you’re visiting it. Some pages are almost comically long, but since this is the sort of wiki you only dive into when you’re looking to kill several bleak hours, that’s encouraged!
Notable Pages: How much do we really know about the next Halloween movie? Is the famous producer’s cut of Halloween 6 worth tracking down? What were Michael’s accommodations like during his stays at various mental institutions?
#4: Description: This one includes entries on possibly every single segment ever featured on Unsolved Mysteries. Yes! If you’re only mildly familiar with the show and don’t know why I’m including it on a list of “horror” wikis, note that Unsolved Mysteries covered everything from ghosts to aliens to Bigfoot to murder. Given that even the wildest segments had some footing in the real world, this might be the spookiest wiki on my list.
Size: With well over 1600 pages, the Unsolved Mysteries Wiki is HUGE. Many of the pages only offer brief summaries on the particular segments, but there are still plenty with blow-by-blow coverage — meaning that you needn’t have necessarily been a fan of the show to enjoy plowing through the pages.
Appearance: Nice and clean, but with some spooky touches.
Thoughts: This is a must-read wiki for fans of the show, effectively serving as the most thorough Unsolved Mysteries episode guide online. It’s also a great “start point” if you want to spend a night looking up spooky stuff. Just click around until you find a case that interests you, and then Google that case directly. (Unsolved Mysteries only gave the broad strokes on many of its featured cases — you’ll be surprised at how much more info is out there once you start searching!)
Notable Pages: Relive the horrors of the Tallman House, where ghosts used imaginary fire to torment a suburban family. Read about the infamous Skunk Ape segment, and see if it turns you into a believer. Learn about the heartbreaking murder of Cam Lyman, whose skull turned up in his own sewer system.
#5: Nightmare on Elm Street Wiki!
Description: Not only do you get extremely thorough entries on every A Nightmare on Elm Street movie, but there are also character pages, actor bios and more. Heck, there’s even plenty of info on the old Freddy’s Nightmares TV series!
Size: With “only” 266 pages, I can’t say that this one tackles everything. (There’s no page for the Fat Boys song, for instance.) Still, while the focus is mostly on the movies, there are many more esoteric rewards waiting to be discovered.
Appearance: Total Elm Street vibe. Black with deep red highlights. They’re even using Freddy’s sweater pattern for the background!
Thoughts: The Elm Street Wiki is clearly a labor of love. You won’t find many “dud” pages, or pages written hastily by people who probably weren’t the best choices to write them. (That’s a big problem on Wikia sites.) I’d give myself a solid 8 out of 10 on NOES knowledge, but I found tons of interesting tidbits that I’d either forgotten or never knew.
Notable Pages: Since the “Elm Street House” is kind of a character in its own right, it’s only fitting that it has a dedicated page. And did you know that Freddy Krueger starred in his own computer game? Or that he battled both Jason and Ash in a six-issue comic series?
#6: Universal Monsters Database!
Description: An enormous pile of information about the classic Universal Monsters, this is arguably the most important wiki on this list. Entire books could be written using information pillaged from these pages. I don’t think I’ve seen another site that collects this much Universal Monsters “stuff” in one place.
Size: The Universal Monsters Database has over 800 pages, but when you’re browsing, it’ll feel more like 8000. It doesn’t leave many stones unturned.
Appearance: With its pale yellow background, the wiki looks appropriately old-fashioned and haunting. There are tons of images too — it’s as much a visual database as a textual one.
Thoughts: Most of us have dabbled in the classic Universal Monsters movies, but this wiki is a real crash course. All of the old monsters are here, along with info about every movie that they appeared in. It’s an incredible resource for people who want to know more about Gill-Man and Dracula without marathoning all of their movies.
Notable Pages: On this wiki, the well runs deep enough for the Castlevania version of Dracula to have his own page. Even films that don’t fall squarely into the “Universal Monsters” category are featured, such as Attack of the Crab Monsters. God! If you’re into these sorts of movies, I don’t know how you can’t appreciate a site that devotes 2000 words to Lucy Westenra.
#7: Hellraiser Wiki!
Description: A collection of articles covering the Hellraiser franchise. This wiki isn’t nearly as packed as some of the others on this list, but it makes up for it with lots of Cenobite photos.
Size: Only 61 pages, which is enough to tackle the basics but not much else. Really, though, anyone seeking out a Hellraiser wiki is only interested in two things: Movie synopses, and Cenobite bios. This one has both.
Appearance: Very dark and littered with monster photos, you’ll have a hard time locating a single page without something freaky on it.
Thoughts: Additional contributors could certainly add to this wiki, but the truth is that the Hellraiser franchise doesn’t really merit as many pages as, say, Friday the 13th. This one sticks with the main bullets, but it covers those bullets well.
Notable Pages: Learn about Dr. Channard, who will forever be my favorite Cenobite. Track the Lament Configuration’s appearances in eight different movies. Pay homage to Julia Cotton, played by the fantastic Clare Higgins.
#8: Halloween Horror Nights Wiki!
Description: Halloween Horror Nights is one of the biggest Halloween events each year, where various Universal Studios theme parks across the globe get redressed for the spooky season. The event began in the early ‘90s and continues to this day. This wiki collects information on all of the attractions throughout its history.
Size: Even factoring in the number of pages that amount to little more than brief descriptions, there are still around 575 entries on this wiki… which clearly makes it the web’s leading resource on Halloween Horror Nights.
Appearance: Basic and not very customized, you’re here more for the information than the ambiance.
Thoughts: If you’ve never experienced Halloween Horror Nights, this wiki will make you want to fix that as soon as possible. The fact that people “keep track” of these events suggests that they’ve become an integral part of so many fans’ Halloween traditions. Also, since so many of each year’s attractions were based on the then-current “in things,” this wiki doubles as a nice romp through horror’s mainstream history.
Notable Pages: Check out this great collection of Halloween Horror Nights TV commercials. Remind yourself that Robosaurus was once a part of the festivities. Read an impressively thorough report on Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure. Then book your flight for next October.
#9: Ghoulies Wiki!
Description: OH GOD YES. I can’t believe this exists! A whole wiki dedicated to the Ghoulies movies! If you’re unfamiliar with Ghoulies, it was a series of ’80s/’90s horror movies — mostly tongue-in-cheek — filled with adorably hideous monsters.
Size: Small and with lots of stubs, I’m including this one more out of respect for its existence than for its wealth of information.
Appearance: Basic, but with a decent amount of photos.
Thoughts: The big draw of this wiki is its monster-by-monster breakdown of all of the Ghoulies from all four movies. (It even hits on a few that are only arguably Ghoulies!)
Notable Pages: Say hi to the Fish Ghoulie, the true star of the franchise. Then visit his big brother, who remains one of my all-time favorite movie monsters. End with a half-assed wave to Lite and Dark, the final Ghoulies in the series… who kind of weren’t Ghoulies.
I didn’t intend for this article to crack 2000 words, but here we are. Thanks for reading, and I hope I’ve given you enough ammunition to keep reading for another six months!
