ADVERTISEMENT

When you were a kid you were afraid of the dark because of monsters lurking in the shadows, well Irish illustrator Brian Coldrick has cast these creatures as the stars of his ongoing webcomic and book "Behind You: One-Shot horror stories." Each of the cool drawings is a beautiful and haunting one-panel illustration that shows a monster hiding just in arms reach, along with darkly humorous one-sentence captions. The London-based artist states that although none of his short scary stories are direct adaptations of existing narratives, they do touch on "well-worn horror tropes."

Coldrick told Bored Panda that his inspiration for the series of creepy stories sprung from his love for horror films, books, and spooky internet stories. "Just before I started the series I'd been reading through some Creepy Pastas, the internet's version of spooky folktales, and also lots of horror stories of 'real life' supernatural encounters on sites like Reddit."

An illustrator since 2003, he began 'Behind You' in April 2015 and confessed it was partly borne as an attempt to tackle his laziness. "I had wanted to do a continuing webcomic for a while, but I was worried I'd lose interest after starting a story I thought if each installment was a snippet of different scary stories I could start each time afresh. It also had the great side effect of leaving much of the story to be decided by the reader. It's probably the main reason people enjoy these scary drawings."

With a style all his own, these murky pictures have a charm you can't ignore. The artist said he uses a hand pencil to create his characters but works with Photoshop to create the backgrounds, add texture, and make the animations. Although he has many artistic influences, (such as horror comics Junji Ito and Emily Carroll), he said GIF illustrators Rebecca Mock and Sachin Teng had a direct impact on his attempts to make his own illustrations move.

When it comes to Coldrick's creative process, the order can vary. "I almost always start with the image first but once or twice a phrase has popped into my head, and I've worked back from there. Rather than a coherent story, the first step is usually one element. In the early days of the series it might have been a desire to draw a particular kind of creepy monster, but later on, it's been the setting. A kitchen at night illuminated by a fridge light, or an escalator on the Underground. Sometimes it can be something darker like the loneliness, doubts or anxieties that emerge once no one else is around."

In addition to "Behind You," Coldrick draws editorial pieces, posters, book covers, and character designs. Check out some of his short horror stories from this quirky webcomic series below!

More Info: Instagram | Facebook | Tumblr | Twitter | Website

#7

Scary Illustration

Brian Coldrick Report

Add photo comments
POST
Laugh Fan
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Mine don't either!! I hope they don't have people there who look like that!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#8

Scary Illustration

Brian Coldrick Report

Add photo comments
POST
Ladies and Gentlemen
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I am always afraid of hidden creatures under my bed, after spending thousands of bucks on psychologists an no avail, my friend who is a carpenter too, simply cut down the legs of my bed and now it sits on floor. I won a little battle with monsters, though when I travel it again becomes hard, I cant sleep on floor too as I keep looking beneath nearby beds. It has rotten my whole life. I started keeping small portable LED lights with me which brighten up the underneath of beds and that gives me some consolation when sleeping on floor.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
#10

Scary Illustration

Brian Coldrick Report

Add photo comments
POST
Beeps
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Reminds me of Cliver Barker’s ‘The Hellbound Heart’

Candia Lee
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also a Clive Barker fan. These titles are unfamiliar, thanks for the reminder of who I might read next.

Load More Replies...
XxInstantKarmaxX
Community Member
4 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Countless others had fallen for the curse and had been horrifically trapped within the depths of the peeling walls. Trapped within a place that they used to call home, now an eternal prison of torment (so sorry i just had to XD)

Last Hurrah
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They had to kick him out when he began calling The Haunted Mansion at Disneyland home and refused to leave.

Pikachu_is_drawing
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This kinda reminds me of a wallpaper in Animal crossing new horizons. If you keep turning the light off a ghost will keep getting closer until it disappears

sofe era
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

So I know that this is supposed to be a horror story, but I’ve always seen the pictures that were supposed to be scary differently. Anyway, here’s a happy ish story about this. Would he ever get used to this place? Call it home? He didn’t know. It was cold here, but not the cold of the streets he had just left, not the cold of the house that was supposed to be a home that he had left behind in a desperate bid to get out alive. It was the cold of a snowy day with friends, where you felt warm inside and like you could be outside forever. How long had it been since he had felt that. No matter. It was shelter, and as he looked around at the boxes left over from other tenants, he pulled a candle out of his pocket, and set it on the floor. He took out the brand new box lighter he got from the corner store out of his pocket, and lit the candle he had bought two years ago as a reminder of what he was fighting for, and lit it. As the candle slowly flickered in front of him, he looked around

sofe era
Community Member
5 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

At the empty room and saw possibility. And in that moment, he knew. Yeah. This would be home. He may have been one of many, and he may not have been the last. But he was one of the longest. The room had been home to many over the years. Some had committed suicide in its walls, but most who got to her, went on to live long, happy lives. The darkness takes care of those in its embrace. And she was better than most. She protected her own. And it showed.

Load More Replies...
Paul Corteville
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This one scared me. Plenty had come over the years ... and never left

Lucy Bell
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That really has me spooked. The whole series is fantastic, but this one is unnerving.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#12

Scary Illustration

Brian Coldrick Report

Add photo comments
POST
Richard
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This shows just like things are in my place! There's a spider in the corner of my living room. We have an agreement: as long as she stays there and keep on catching mosquitos everything's fine and the corner stays sanctuary.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#15

Scary Illustration

Brian Coldrick Report

Add photo comments
POST
Sora Lyra
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was a librarian before at school. One time, when I was on duty to look after the library, I was alone and I'm pretty sure no one was with me, since I lock the door, so I able to arrange the book to the bookshelf before any students come in. Then suddenly, I heard like someone was reading book at the table next to the bookshelf I'm arranging. Then I take a look, buy no one was there. I then the book at my back suddenly fall. I was shocked and at the same time I heard the same sounds again. I gradually get out of the library.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#16

Scary Illustration

Brian Coldrick Report

Add photo comments
POST
r3dd3v1lL
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

More like Night Crawler. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ifwh_R3XUFY

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#17

Scary Illustration

Brian Coldrick Report

#23

Scary Illustration

Brian Coldrick Report

Add photo comments
POST
Laugh Fan
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Tie it to a brick and lob it from a distance - no way is it safe to cycle up there!

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#25

Scary Illustration

Brian Coldrick Report

Add photo comments
POST
Laugh Fan
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Never look for the key to the old nursery!! Nothing good will come of it... ARGH!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#26

Scary Illustration

Brian Coldrick Report

Add photo comments
POST
Laugh Fan
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Got to go into hospital soon - any dark, quiet areas will remain completely unexplored by me!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#28

Scary Illustration

Brian Coldrick Report

Add photo comments
POST
Lenny
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love the design of the creature! The ribcages, chains and the crown are so cool.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#32

Scary Illustration

Brian Coldrick Report

Add photo comments
POST
Alexandru Bucur
Community Member
6 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ah, so this is what the Wild Hunt is up to these days. Where's Ciri when you need her?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#50

Scary Illustration

Brian Coldrick Report

Note: this post originally had 94 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.