Higurashi No Naku Koro NI

Higurashi is an anime adaptation of a visual novel that contains 4 seasons and an OVA. It first aired on April 4, 2006 and its fourth season ended on January 25, 2012.

Plot
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni takes place during June 1983 in a fictional rural village called Hinamizawa (based on the village of Shirakawa, Gifu, a World Heritage Site), which has a population of approximately 2,000. The main character, Keiichi Maebara, moves to Hinamizawa and befriends his new classmates Rena Ryugu, Mion Sonozaki, Rika Furude, and Satoko Houjou. Keiichi joins their after-school club activities, which consist mostly of card and board games (and punishment games for the loser – usually him). Hinamizawa appears to be a normal, peaceful, rural village to Keiichi. However, the tranquility abruptly ends after the annual Watanagashi Festival, a celebration to commemorate and give thanks to the local god, Oyashiro. Keiichi learns that every year for the past four years, one person has been murdered and another has gone missing on the evening of the Watanagashi Festival. Keiichi himself soon becomes drawn into the strange events surrounding the Watanagashi Festival and Oyashiro.

In each story arc, he or one of his friends becomes paranoid, and a crime is committed. Usually, the crime involves the murder of one of their own friends. While it seems impossible to tell their delusions apart from the mystery of Hinamizawa, slowly the truth is revealed.

Trivia

 * The Chanting at the end of the opening song "Naraku no Hana" matches the chanting at the beginning of the Higurashi no Naku Koro ni opening song played backwards
 * The nickname Rena uses when referring to Shion (Mion's twin sister) is Shi-chan. Shi means Death in Japanese.
 * Out of all the characters, Rika has died the most number of times.
 * Higurashi is one of the most known horror anime, although the manga is said to be more scary than the anime.