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Scarriest Horror Movie, Book, Video Game

Castle

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I'm not overly fond of the horror genre. It's rather disappointing really. I'm not bragging or anything but it takes a lot to scare me... in fiction anyway. I don't know if it's just harder for me to suspend my disbelief for horror fiction to affect me or if I'm just wise to the horror genre's tricks, but a work of horror fiction has to be really crafty to freak me out.

Still, I know there are fans of the horror genre out there who just delight in spending hours in perpetual fear.

What are your scariest horror stories?

There are still a few movies that have managed to put me on edge:

1.) War of the Worlds

Yup. Terrible movie. But man if those tripod walkers don't freak me out! It's a combination of the threat you can't see coupled with their total invulnerability to conventional weaponry and that freaky sound they make!! :eek: All that, and just what they do to people is terrible! The movie does a good job establishing the overwhelming threat of the alien invaders early on. For a while the movie proceeds through a cycle of scenes depicting survivors fleeing from the tripod's merciless extermination of the human race. Once the threat the aliens pose has been firmly established, all it takes is to hear that low eerie wail from off in the distance to know that everyone is about to die.

Also, that scene in Tim Robbin's basement where they try to elude one of the walker's tentacle probes is tense and admittedly a pretty creative premise for a suspenseful scene. They quickly screw it up later but until then it had me on the edge of my seat.

2.) The Alien

No, not the xenomorph. I'm going to conveniently pretend that the whole blighted alien franchise never happened past Aliens. The alien was still scary back before a whole world lore had been canonized about it. Back before they turned it into a clown. Before it even had a name. Back when it was that thing lurking somewhere in the dark, so utterly otherworldly it couldn't be understood. The threat you couldn't see.

Moreso than the alien itself, the Nostromo is what makes for the true source of horror in Alien. On its own, the dark, dank, confounding labyrinth of the Nostromo is just another clunky space tug creeping its way across the cold dark silence of space. But when the Alien makes it its hunting ground, it turns into a place of terror.

3.) The Ocean House Hotel - Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines

When I first played this legendary level I had never heard of it before and didn't know what to expect. By the time I had returned from the dusty charred ruins of the abandoned seaside hotel I was on edge, shaking, and jumping at shadows. Fortunately, I just so happened to be playing through this level for the first time well after midnight in a pitch black room.

I didn't get much sleep that night.

Sadly, these days my playthroughs of the Ocean House Hotel are more nostalgically quaint compared to the terror induced nightmare fuel of that first playthrough. Such is the nature of horror. It's built on suspense, so that once you know what to expect there's nothing to be scared of. The Ocean House Hotel feels more like a chintzy carnival ride now. But when I first stepped through the front doors of the imposing Ocean House not knowing what was in store for me, I was treated to ghastly mind tricks, horrific thrills, nerve wracking suspense and incredible spooky ambiance and to date the only video game to ever scare me to wits end.

4.) The Skeleton Key

I've found this to be a little known horror flick, but to date really the only well crafted horror film to ever really freak me out. It's a different kind of horror. You'd be forgiven for not being scared most of the time. Or for thinking that what little scares exist throughout the entirety of the movie are lame and superficial. I was honestly bored most of the way through. You could be forgiven for thinking that the whole plot is built on a mystery that ultimately ends up going nowhere...

But you'd be wrong, because the ending is where the movie really lets loose and drops its devastating revelation - much of it thanks to a finely crafted narrative that serves to make the ending as traumatizing as possible.

I can't really say much, because I wouldn't want to spoil it for anyone. Suffice it to say that the scares affect on a personal level. There's no creature lurking in the shadows. No real impending threat of doom the whole time. Just one very dark, fatal secret.

It's also one of the few horror stories that can be viewed a second time, not just in spite of but because of knowing how it all plays out allows you to go back and piece together the little hints and suggestions you couldn't have picked up on the first time that flesh out the story and provide additional horrific revelations.
 
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I find horror disappointing too, for a genre designed to have such an impact on the audience I've never felt that it has ever done enough. For as over-saturated as it is, I don't think the genre has ever been fully realised, but there are some good examples I still enjoy.

MOVIE
Horror movies suck. But my favourite would be Ju-On/Grudge.
I love Kayako, she is gorgeous and terrifying. The fact she can come for you at any time from anywhere in impossible ways is great. It completely takes away the idea of freedom and hope of survival and makes her feel omnipresent and powerful to the point where she is like a predator toying with her prey. I love her <3


BOOK
I haven't read too many horror books, but my favourite is I Am Legend. I love the twist at the end and there's one scene in particular that had a physical reaction on me; it made my heart jump and made me feel sick with the realisation of a certain danger.

Such a well written book, yet ever movoe adaptation of it has ****ing sucked.


VIDEO GAME
Silent Hill 4. Yes, this isn't the best, but it was still the last good one before Team Silent disbanded.
Silent Hill 4 is my personal favourite of the series because it didn't try to just recreate what had come before.
SH4 had a unique horror vibe, pushing the surreal to breaking point and being able to have some incredibly heart stopping scenes through fear and dread.
I've had friends hit themselves in the face with their controllers through fear while playing and others who were so scared of the trailer that they still refuse to play the game to this day.

Good stuff.
 
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Dio

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I think Insidious is probably the top scariest for me. It's that creepy violin music that tips me over the edge. The Darth Maul demon doesn't look too terrifying but the bride in black is super creepy

Dead Space was also very scary for me. I couldn't play it and had to take it back to the shop when I first got it. Though when it was free on Xbox Live I decided to give it another go and actually completed it. It was scary but not nearly as bad as I remembered.
 

Morbid Minish

Spooky Scary Skeleton.
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I'm a huge fan of horror, but not really for video games for some reason. So I haven't really played any horror games. I guess the closest thing would be The Year Walk, which was kinda horror/folklore. I did like that quite a lot.

I think scariest book for me would be IT by Stephen King. I know a lot of people get freaked out by the movie, especially because clowns seem to be a huge fear. But clowns don't really scare me much at all. Whereas the movie tends to focus on Pennywise to capitalize on the fear of clowns, I feel like the book puts some more focus on the real reason IT is scary. It becomes the thing you fear the most. The movie does show that as well, but it just doesn't hit you the same way as reading the book does. I remember when I first was reading it, and I would stay up all night reading while everyone else was asleep. Having the stillness and quietness of the house at night really felt unsettling at times.

As for movies, I don't tend to get scared by them even though horror is my favorite genre. But thinking about one of my favorite horror series, A Nightmare on Elm Street (even though I'm aware it is pretty cheesy which I actually like), just the idea of how he operates is pretty scary. Everyone has to sleep, and even if you can fight it off for a long time that starts to get to you as well. Until you finally just close your eyes to rest, and suddenly you're in his world. Just really like that concept.

Also, I'd think I would say that Jeepers Creepers is fairly creepy. I don't see it mentioned a lot when talking about horror movies, but it's one of my favorites. There was actually a time years ago when my brother and I were heading home at night, driving back some rural roads. And this truck had been following us for a while, so my brother mentioned it. I said that maybe it was like the truck from Jeepers Creepers, which actually got us both a little spooked, and made us want to get home even faster. Haha.

An honorable mention also goes to the TV scene in The Ring. I remember just that part freaking me out the first time I watched it. And it's great how that movie can make you scared of your phone ringing afterwards.
 

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