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AMC’s Shudder: Is This Spooky Streaming Service Worth It?

Are you a fright-fest fanatic in the mood for haunting tales and scary flicks? With Halloween on the horizon, there’s no better time of year to amp up the terror by indulging in some spooktacular programming. Whether you’re a fan of pure horror, slasher films, psychological thrillers, monster movies, or cult classics that are as nostalgic as they are nauseating, plenty of streaming services offer Halloween-themed marathons to satisfy your needs.

But what’s a true horror fan to do when all the ghoulish gross-outs are spread out across multiple platforms? Put down the hockey mask and machete — AMC’s Shudder  is here to administer your necessary dose of screams. With hundreds of films and TV show episodes on its roster, this horror-only streaming service might be just what you need to quench your thirst for terror. Ready to conjure up Candyman or mingle with Michael Myers? Find out what Shudder offers and whether it’s worth the subscription price.

Shudder: A Platform for Horror Fanatics, by Horror Fanatics

Shudder is a streaming platform designed to meet the niche needs of a key group of film buffs: horror fans. By all accounts, the streaming service has successfully pulled off this mission. Shudder is a premiere service that offers scary programming — and only scary programming — in the form of old and new films, television shows, and documentaries that fall into the genres of horror, supernatural, and thriller themes. It caters to movies and episodic horror fans and provides an impressive library of options to explore.

What makes Shudder such a fantastic platform is its variety. Shudder’s collection of films and shows spans hundreds of movies, dozens of TV shows, and even a handful of horror-themed podcasts. The platform features a large number of classics that have defined the horror genre — think iconic flicks like John Carpenter’s Halloween , George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead , The Texas Chainsaw Massacre,  and Train to Busan . But it also offers up plenty of indie films, comedies, and old-school titles that paved the way for today’s horror. Ever watched Chopping Mall , Hell Night, or Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker ? With Shudder, you can dive into films that might not have crossed your radar before.

Shudder also organizes content by collections so you can spend less time reading endless summaries to hunt down the films or series that fit your taste. Curated collections like “Love Sick,” “Horror Noire,” “Anthologies” and “Queer Horror” make it easier to tap into the topics you’re dying to watch. And, what’s even better is that these super-specific lists aren’t left to the whims of AI software; instead, actual people — vetted horror fans — create the lineups, so you know they’re good. With over a million users subscribed to the streaming service, Shudder may have cracked the code for successfully spooky programming.

Shudder’s Perks Include Original Flicks and Spooky Shows

While Shudder features many classic horror flicks and shows, these aren’t the platform’s only claim to fame. It also provides exclusive and original content designed to appeal to Shudder subscribers One of the most popular original series available is Creepshow , which is inspired by the 1982 film of the same name (directed by George Romero and written by Stephen King) and the E.C. horror comic books of the 1950s. Creepshow  is structured like an anthology, bringing horrifying comic panels to life and exploring everything from the supernatural to the super-strange. The platform is also releasing new episodes of the original series Slasher , which features a storyline about a family on a secluded island who’s forced to fight against one another for survival.

Shudder’s original films are also some of its highlights. The movie Host  was one of the top films of 2020 on Shudder’s platform. Recorded utilizing Zoom only (giving it that pandemic-anxiety vibe), the movie features a group of friends gathering online for a socially distant hangout…and succumbing to dark forces on each end of the camera. Another Shudder original is 2021’s Prisoners of the Ghostland which stars Nicolas Cage as a bank robber who has five days to find a wealthy man’s daughter otherwise, the bomb collar secured around his neck will detonate. These titles represent only a handful of the unsettling nailbiters within Shudder’s library. But what’s the verdict?

Is the Subscription Worth the Horrific Hype?

If you love all terror all the time, Shudder is the perfect platform for you. Even if you subscribe to Netflix, Hulu, or another popular streaming platform , Shudder has the widest variety of curated horror on the streaming market centralized in one place. With over 400 movies and hundreds of television episodes already on its docket, this collective of frightening tales is slated to only grow in size, with new films and episodes appearing weekly. Like most streaming platforms, you may not love all the content that you view on Shudder — but there’s a handy rating system (with skulls instead of stars!) so you know what fellow horror fans think.

The platform is easy to access through most devices and browsers, so you can queue things up on your Roku or fireTV device or take the streaming service with you on your laptop or phone. A standalone Shudder app is available via Google Play, Apple’s App Store, and Xbox One, and it works similarly to other streaming apps.

If you’re not sure you want to make the subscription leap, Shudder has you covered. It offers a seven-day, no-strings free trial so you can take your time browsing titles and collections to see if the variety is enough to capture your interest. Just keep in mind that you’d be hard-pressed to engage with all that Shudder has to offer within a week. As an added bonus, the platform is entirely ad-free.

Membership plans start at only $5.99 a month, making this an affordable option. To save a bit on this month-to-month price, you can opt to purchase a yearlong subscription for $56.99 — which comes out to $4.75 per month . If you’re more interested in getting your scare on for the Halloween season without committing to the entire year, subscribing to Shudder at least through October can help you scratch the itch.

Ultimately, if horror is your top streaming genre, signing up for Shudder is a no-brainer (sorry, zombies). With an influx of new flicks and shows frequently hitting its library and an affordable monthly fee, you won’t run out of terrifying titles anytime soon.

MORE FROM ASK.COM

The Creepiest Songs in the Pokemon Games

There are plenty of iconic tracks in the Pokemon games, some of which are incredibly creepy and do an excellent job of creating an ominous atmosphere.

Pokemon games have been around for more than a quarter of a century, with the franchise featuring many songs that will instantly make players feel nostalgic. Whatever generation they grew up with, there will be a collection of songs that takes them back to a time, place, and console where they experienced a standout route, town, or battle for the very first time. But within the music of the Pokemon games lies a set of very haunting tracks.

RELATED: Pokemon: The Best Songs In The Series, Ranked

Most of the time, these songs are associated with haunted places that involve a vast collection of Ghost-type Pokemon, like in Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue's Lavender Town or the Totem Mimikyu trial in Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon . However, some players may not have realized particular Pokemon outside the Ghost-type have a peculiar vibe due to the situation they play over.

1 Viridian Forest

Most of the forests in the Pokemon games have an ethereal feel to them with their music, like Eterna Forest in Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl or Santalune Forest in Pokemon X and Pokemon Y . However, there are some that verge on being more foreboding than dreamlike. Ilex Forest in Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver and Petalburg Forest in Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire encapsulate this, but none more so than Viridian Forest in Red and Blue .

As it's the first major destination in a new trainer's journey, the music's vibe perfectly matches the dark, unfamiliar maze filled with Pokemon that a trainer has most likely never encountered. It has a way of putting players on edge while encouraging them to explore the depths of the forest further.

2 Ruins Of Alph

When players come across the Ruins of Alpha in Gold and Silver , it really is a peculiar site. Unlike other caves in the games, it's filled with mysterious Pokemon known as Unown, which resemble characters from the Latin alphabet. In addition, the Ruins of Alph theme is eerie, consisting of a haunting melody matching the dark, claustrophobic environment.

RELATED: Pokemon: Best Theme Songs From The Anime

On top of that, if a trainer turns on their Pokegear radio while inside or near the ruins, they'll hear the Mysterious Transmission on channel 13.5, which transmits bizarre noises. It almost sounds like Unown are talking to each other in a secret language. There's more of a chance Unown will also appear when the transmission plays.

3 Scary House

Nestled away on Route 14 in Pokemon X and Pokemon Y lies the Scary House, which has an equally spooky theme. The area, also referred to as the Laverre Nature Trail, is eerie enough, with Haunter floating around in the grass. Unfortunately, the route itself seems to be stuck in perpetual Autumn. The haunting theme only plays once the player and their allies decide to enter said Scary House and listen to a ghoulish tale from a man who once sought shelter there.

Said man finds another huddled in the corner, petrified of a "horde of faceless men" that only he can see. The players' friends seem underwhelmed with the haunting story, but the menacing theme and the fear exhibited by the man are pretty creepy nonetheless.

4 Abandoned Thrifty Megamart

Trial 6 in Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon is not to be messed with, as it sees the player confront a Totem Mimikyu in an abandoned Thrifty Megamart. Situated on Ula'Ula Island, the supermarket was destroyed by Tapu Bulu and is now home to an abundance of spooky Pokemon like Shuppet, Haunter, and Gengar.

As trainers complete the trial, a haunting melody cuts in and out of low-quality speakers, with an additional undercurrent of unsettling electrical noise. That's creepy enough, but added to the trial at hand, it makes the experience of searching the abandoned Thrifty Megamart even more terrifying.

5 Slumbering Weald

The Slumbering Weald in Pokemon Sword and Shield contains one of the most beautiful songs in the franchise. Until it drops, that is, and the menacing disembodied howls of Zacian and Zamazenta fill the thick fog of the forest. This theme occurs once more when players encounter the box legendaries in their Hero of Many Battles form, which sees them covered in scars and scratches.

The unsubstantiated fear is amped up during said battle when the player and their newly obtained starter face off with one of the Pokemon Sword and Shield Legendaries. However, moves won't work against it as it's shrouded in a mysterious forcefield, making the situation even more harrowing as the legendary wolf envelops the player in an even more disorientating fog.

6 Area Zero Theme

The main goal of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is to uncover the secrets that lie within the Great Crater of Paldea . Once the player does so, entering what becomes known as Area Zero certainly leaves an imprint; thanks in large to its hauntingly breathtaking music. Otherworldly, creepy, and beautiful all at the time, the Area Zero theme matches the overwhelming dread of what lies at the bottom of the crater.

Sending chills down the spine in a mysterious way, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet provide a rare instance where players will want to stop and take in the music, mixed with the choral highs and punchy lows. The Area Zero theme creates such a memorable atmosphere that's both hard to forget and creepily disturbing in a way that's hard to explain.

7 Old Chateau

Unlike X and Y's Scary House, trainers can explore the Old Chateau in Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl . Unfortunately, players get stuck with one hell of a harrowing song full of ghoulish sounds and effects while they do so. It makes trainers feel as though they're being haunted as they explore a place they probably shouldn't be.

RELATED: Unanswered Questions We Have About Ghost-Type Pokemon

All the distortion and pitch changes in Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl's Old Chateau make it sound like the Ghost-type Pokemon and spirits residing there are trying to communicate somehow. The Old Chateau theme would fit right at home in a horror movie, that's for sure.

8 The Drought

Unlike Kyogre, a Legendary Pokemon that gets a pretty beefed-up theme with Heavy Rain in Pokemon Sapphire , Groudon's Drought in Pokemon Ruby is far more menacing. The ear-piercing crescendos make it sound like the player is in a race against time against the Legendary Pokemon's actions, which is even more terrifying when it's revealed what Groudon can do .

That, coupled with the dialogue between Team Magma's Maxie and Team Aqua's Archie, makes for a tense situation that needs to be quelled as soon as possible; just as the song suggests. It's one of the creepiest pieces of music in the Pokemon franchise, not to mention one of the most memorable.

9 Lavender Town

When thinking of the creepiest song in the Pokemon games, Lavender Town is a popular choice among players, especially those who have been with the franchise since its inception. While it's undoubtedly less horrifying than players remember, its connotations precede itself. The song is more melancholic than frightening, lending to the fact that Lavender Town is home to the Pokemon Tower: a gravesite for Pokemon.

With it being the prominent gravesite for the creatures in the Kanto region and their spirits residing in the town, the theme is somewhat reminiscent of Frédéric Chopin's Piano Sonata No 2 in B flat minor, one of the most recognized compositions of the Funeral March genre. It's a great piece of music, albeit an incredibly creepy one.

MORE: Best Ghost-Type Pokemon

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• General Pokémon Discussion

Top 7 Creepiest Pokémon Music Themes

• Thread starter Pokebert
• Start date Jun 29, 2012
• Jun 29, 2012

Top 7 Creepiest Pokémon Music Themes If you've ever played a Pokémon game, you know that it is full of cute cuddly wuddly Pokemon and all of that rainbow barf. Of course, you probably know that there is some pretty crazy bat poo poo in the games, which makes you wonder how little 6 year old's rave about it still. This is a list of the top seven creepiest music in the games. #7: Distortion World - Pokemon Platinum This one is pretty creepy, although it didn't really send chills up most kids back's when it was released. But for a Pokemon game, it's definitely a bit extreme. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPJoEIJi1HM #6: Ruins of Alph Radio - Pokemon Gold/Silver .__. Umm...this one's pretty, uhh, creepy. This is unexplainable... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdMq5hakfMU #5: Old Chateau - Pokemon Platinum This one really gave me the creeps and still does. Especially with the ghosts and everything. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwlD5UPqfAw #4: N's Toy Playroom - Pokemon Black/ White This is creepy, really creepy. I know it's all happy, but doesn't it seem a little too happy? That's what makes this creepy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJGUaD6Qd64 #3: Lavender Town - Pokemon Red/Blue Well, I don't want to explain this one. It's too over-"OMG this is creepy!!!1!!" I'm not going to bother, everyone's heard it. #2: N's Castle - Pokemon Black/White 2 Man, N is on a roll! anyways, this is just creepy. it just sounds sort of lifeless, a "dreams destroyed, lost forever" feel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEc585y17ZU 1#: N's Toy Playroom - Pokemon Black/White 2 Oh fudge . What did I just...hear? This tops off Anything else on this list by a hundred million whatevers. This music theme is fudging high octane nightmare fuel. At. It's. Finest. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FG-GZsfl8Cc  

Lord of Fire

The great conqueror.

Old Chateau makes me feel insecure, watched, and chills my spine and also makes me feel exposed and vulnerable. Also, the ghosts of the girl and butler really freak me out  

Well-Known Member

Lavender Town and Old Chateau always creep me out. Btw, I'm pretty sure they use the Old Chateau music for other areas if sinnoh. N's playroom never really creeped me out. I mean, it's so colorful and he has a huge skateboard ramp and a train set! What's creepy about that?  

TheReckless1

Lavender Town creeped me out a little. The Old Chateau theme made me want to leave it as quick as possible. The Lost Tower theme just makes me slightly chilled because it is a pokemon graveyard. The most creepist to me though is N's Toy Playroom. Strange thing about it is that it makes you kinda feel bad for N in a strange way.  

Flame Mistress

Lavender Town never actually freak me out that much. I'm guessing that's normal. Old Chateau, however... *shudders*  

Bolt the Cat

Bringing the thunder.

N's theme in general is just creepy. And yeah, Lavender Town really isn't that creepy. OMG @ N's Playroom in BW2, that wins by a long shot.  

oh hai there

Old chateau, that's the one that creeped me out the most, lavender town a bit but the oters in the first post are kinda nice  

Grandmaster of time

Old chateau really creeped the hell out of me!!!!!!!!!!  

I have a boyfriend now; I am his princess❤️

Pokedex holder.

N's Toy Playroom - Pokemon Black/White 2 is really a nightmare I just listen to it and it creep the hell out of me  

☭Secret_Shocker☭

Old Chateau just spooks the crap out of me. Lavender Town's too.  

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Earthia100 said: Lavender Town and Old Chateau always creep me out. Btw, I'm pretty sure they use the Old Chateau music for other areas if sinnoh. N's playroom never really creeped me out. I mean, it's so colorful and he has a huge skateboard ramp and a train set! What's creepy about that? Click to expand...

empoleon mike

Magma leader maxie.

i always found the G/S/C version of team rockets evolution radio signal quite un-nerving, also the R/S/E drought theme and the strange radio signal in the Runis of Alph  

blackterminator3

Mostly the classic Lavender Town music that always creeps me out.  

"Spite" DefaultAsAwesome

Lavender Town. I don't think clarification is needed.  

TurboMechaElgyem

EV training in the old chateau has made it much less scary for me. N's playroom just disturbs me. Also, what about the pokemon tower? (shudders)  

YaDunGoofed

The top two for me is N's toy room and FRLG's Pokémon Tower. I actually wrote a creepypasta of FRLG's Lavender Town. xD  

#chelloressurection

Back...kinda.

My list is pretty much the same as the OP's list. Although, the Lavender Town one has gotten arise from people in the last few years, and it really is creepy, so, thats my number 1.  

Dragon Trainer X

I can't remember the one from N's Room. I do, however, remember the Old Chateau well. I remember when I was just bored so I went back and forth in the rooms. Then, suddenly, a man appeared out of nowhere on the opposite side of the room, across the table. He stared at me, and with out making a sound, turned and went away. I don't say walked because, well...he wasn't moving his legs at all. Ugh, that sent shivers down and up my spine ;_;  

Young Xehanort

I didn't seem scared of the Ruins of Alph thing. Then I saw a picture of a video right next to it. My heart started beating faster. I Was SCARED And holy CRAP At B2W2 N's room.  

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This is based on opinion. Please don't list it on a work's trope example list.

Nightmare Fuel / Pok�mon Music

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Every game or show worth its salt has music with that proper feeling: Pok�mon has plenty of Awesome Music , but sadly part of that awesomeness is devoted to convey fear.

• It's chilling if you run with the interpretation that the reason the track sounds confrontational unlike anything else in the game is because the game is angry at you , because you weren't supposed to know that this event even exists.
• Team Rocket's evolution signal at Lake of Rage. A level of cacophony that wouldn't sound out of place in a Beatles song.
• In HeartGold and SoulSilver , most of the scarier themes have been toned down (except for the aforementioned Diglett Cave Music, it got much worse). However, the GB Sounds item will change the music back to its original 8-bit form, restoring the creepiness.
• In Sapphire , during that part the world begins to continually rain. In Sootopolis, everyone is inside their houses cowering, which makes sense as Sootopolis is pretty much a giant secluded basin about going to flood and drowning everyone in it. At the moment where Archie goes " My God, What Have I Done? ", the music that starts is one of the scariest things in any video game.
• Emerald combines the best of both worlds because both teams wake up their mascots simultaneously: it goes back and forth between pulsing heat rays and flooding.
• This creepy theme is also used for the inside of Shoal Cave (north of Mossdeep City) causing the otherwise not-scary-in-the-slightest cave to take on a decidedly creepy atmosphere.
• Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs has an in-universe example; there was a song that was banned for being too scary for kids, talking about black clouds and lightning. Bonus points for the book containing it being found in a haunted mansion.
• That sound you hear in the song is technically Ghetsis' name. His name comes from that chord you hear: "G-cis".
• Word to the wise, never go through the Strange House on max volume when you're home alone at night.
• Haina Desert's theme is very unsettling when compared to past deserts, with the eerie ringing that plays throughout. It doesn't help that its name means "Cruel Desert" in Hawaiian.
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Pokémon's Creepy Lavender Town Myth, Explained

Pokémon may be famously cheery, but creepy things can be found in nearly every game in the series.

Pokémon may be famously cheery, but the series has its share of dark, spooky myths . The most famous of those have got to be the ones about Lavender Town.

Perhaps you’ve heard this internet tale already. I first heard the story years ago, and every so often I’ll see it pop up again on the internet. The curious thing is, people like to circulate the story of Lavender Town despite knowing full well that it’s false. Being that it’s almost Halloween, I thought now would be a good time to dissect why the legend of Lavender Town never fully dies.

[This post originally ran on 10/28/2014. It’s back in time for the spooky Holidays!]

For starters, the story. While the details usually vary in the telling, the important part of the story is this: following the release of Pokémon Red and Green , there were a number of reported child suicides in Japan. The thing responsible for the suicides varies somewhat depending on the story, but the one I’ve heard the most has to do with a location called Lavender Town, one of the few towns in Pokémon Red & Green without a Pokémon gym. Or more specifically, the story refers to a song that plays whenever the player visits Lavender Town. This one:

Before we get any further, I absolutely insist that you listen to the song while reading this piece. You know, for ambiance.

In some versions of the tale it is said the programmers for Pokémon Red and Green created the song with code that would later drive children to kill themselves; the song contained harmful frequencies of some sort.

You can read a version of the creepypasta here, if you’d like. Note that this version of the story doesn’t focus entirely around the Lavender Town theme, but it does mention it. Most versions, in my experience, either mention the theme’s potential effects, or revolve around the idea that it harmed children.

When I initially heard the story, it wasn’t a video or a Pastebin. Rather, it was a webpage that played the Lavender Town theme while I read the story—and at a critical moment, the music changed into something horrible, freaking me the fuck out. At the time, I couldn’t explain what had happened. It wasn’t a jump scare or anything like that. Instead, the tone changed to something that genuinely made me feel dread. It probably sounds like I’m trying to pull your leg, but I don’t think it was something supernatural. I’m certain that it was a clever use of binaural beats, those special tones that allegedly influence brainwaves. People use these sounds as ‘ digital drugs ’ of sorts, since they can have all sorts of effects on people. Whoever made the Lavender Town webpage must have stuck an eerie binaural beat in there which was set to go off when I got to a certain point in the story. To this day, that remains the best creepypasta I’ve ever read. I wish I still had the link.

The whole thing wouldn’t have worked without the Lavender Town song priming me beforehand. Which brings us to the first reason why the Lavender Town story is so effective: the song that the story revolves around is genuinely creepy. It’s the sort of thing I don’t really want to listen to in a dark room for an extended period of time.

Given its efficacy, it’s a wonder that the town and its theme song made it into the game at all. Consider Lavender Town’s purpose: it’s where Pokémon go to be buried. Imagine, if you will, a child playing Pokémon Red or Blue for the first time. They’re told the game is about friendship, about bonds, about exploring, about catching them all. They play through the game, and they have fun, even though sometimes they probably have some of their Pokémon faint. But setbacks like those are never a big deal, considering they can simply heal their Pokémon back to life at any Pokémon center. It’s all good! ...and then they get to Lavender Town, where they learn that no, Pokémon can actually die. Even now, as an adult, I’m somewhat shocked by the idea, even though I know full well that ghost-type Pokémon have to come from somewhere.

Lavender Town’s in-game story doesn’t make it any less creepy. The plot involves a restless Pokémon spirit that angrily haunts a tower. That same tower is full of trainers mourning their dead Pokémon, all of which the player speaks to while climbing the tower. As you explore the tower, you come across a number of ghost Pokémon too—which you can only see by using a special item—as well as some possessed, crazed trainers. All of this to say: Lavender Town is weird and kinda dark. It’s no mystery that Lavender Town went on to become a source of fascination among players. I can’t think of a single thing in Pokémon more unsettling than Lavender Town. Of course legends about Lavender Town have lingered.

The idea that Pokémon media could somehow harm children is not completely outlandish.

Lavender Town is spooky and memorable on its own, but there’s something weirdly seductive about the myth, too. The idea that there are frightening things in the world that only children can see or experience is a well-known horror trope. It plays into the belief that children are so innocent and so sensitive, they are likely more susceptible to things of a demonic nature—like a horrible tone that tells them to commit suicide. It’s also worth noting that the trope isolates the vulnerable children from the adults, since the adults can’t see what is plaguing the children. And when adults are supposed to be the ones protecting children, the idea becomes rather sinister, doesn’t it? A kid in this case would have to fend for themselves—especially when you consider that the Lavender Town story posits that any adults looking into the mystery end up dead. Yikes.

When something gets as massive as Pokémon , it’s always accompanied with allegations that, despite its wholesome nature, there’s a hidden message that will somehow corrupt our kids. I distinctly remember all the commotion around Pokémon ’s troubling values, especially when it came to collecting all the Pokémon themselves (devil creatures!!), or the idea that the Pokémon can evolve (which goes against creationist ideas). While a creepypasta involving Lavender Town is meant to be in good fun, it still preys on our latent fear that popular piece of media isn’t all that it seems.

The fact that the suicides are said to have happened in Japan is also important: it means that for most of the rest of the world, fact-checking becomes way harder. Looking into the story might require command of Japanese in order to read through interviews, or it might require relying on translations of discussions that were supposedly held over a decade ago. As Rich McCormick argues over at Polygon , the language barrier when it comes to the Lavender Town myth “lends the rumor a powerful mystique.”

Finally, the idea that Pokémon media could somehow physically harm children is not completely outlandish. In fact, such a thing did happen—but it wasn’t a nefarious, devilish plot, as is the case in the creepypasta. Rather, back in 1997, a certain episode of the Pokémon anime had a scene that reportedly triggered seizures on hundreds of children, causing some of them to vomit blood or lose consciousness. The New York Times explains what happened as follows:

The scene apparently combined almost simultaneously two techniques that are frequently used in cartoons. The first, called ‘’paka-paka’’ in Japanese, uses different-colored lights flashing alternatively to cause a sense of tension. The second, called ‘’flash,’’ emits a strong beam of light. It was this climactic scene that apparently set off the convulsions and vomiting. Dr. Yamauchi said light emitted at frequencies between 10 hertz and 30 hertz, a unit of frequency meaning cycles per second, can induce seizures and that the color red is also stimulative.

Considering that something like that actually happened in real life, it’s not a surprise that tall tales of Pokémon physically harming children have spread far and wide. The urban legends are riffing off real life; they’re almost ripped from the headlines. If anyone looks the Lavender Town story up, they miiiight come across reports like the one referenced above and think, hey, maybe this isn’t as outrageous as it sounds.

All that is why, sixteen years after the release of Red and Blue , that creepy town from Pokémon still haunts us, and why it doesn’t matter at all whether or not the Lavender Town story is true. I mean, listen to this:

Creepy, right?