The 10 scariest moments in horror game history 

Video games have been terrifying players since the ’70s when Haunted House was released on the Magnavox Odyssey (ask your grandad).

Since those primitive days, though, horror games have come on in “creeps and bounds,” with millions picking up their controllers in the hopes of giving themselves a good scare. 

So, with nearly six decades of gaming history behind us, we wanted to know, “What are the scariest moments in video game history?” Well, that’s a tricky question to answer. After all, what sets your hair on end might not bother someone else.

Still, we think this list, which includes the most shocking moments from some of the best games in the spookiest genre, will send shivers down the spine of even the toughest video game fans. 

10. Mr. X drops in to say hello – Resident Evil 2 (1998)

No one will forget their first encounter with Mr X – a lumbering undead juggernaut who falls (quite literally) out of the sky in Resident Evil 2 to ruin Leon’s day. I still remember turning the corner in the Racoon Police Department and being confused about who or what this grey hulk was. 

The only thing I was certain of was that he wasn’t friendly, a suspicion soon confirmed when he murdered me. Eventually, I managed to put enough hot lead in Mr. X to bring the tyrant to his knees, but we all know that’s not where the story ends. Mr X follows the player around Racoon City like an oddly obedient (if slightly murderous) dog. The only clue he’s after you? The sound of his horrifyingly heavy footsteps. 

9. The Rat King appears – The Last of Us Part 2 (2020)

Naughty Dog

As a warped fusion of different infected, The Rat King is a fearsome beast, but what makes the encounter with this awful amalgamation so memorable is the way the game uses your complacency against you. By the time you encounter the creature, you’ll be a literal wasteland veteran; having dealt with so many creepy cordyceps mutations, you’ll likely see them more as an inconvenience than a threat. 

Then you meet the Rat King, a completely new monster far stronger and deadlier than anything else you’ve encountered.

This shambling mockery of a man (or men as the case may be) is basically unstoppable, forcing many players (or maybe just me) to unload almost their entire arsenal into it before it finally dies. Except… it doesn’t die! One of the Stalkers that made up the creature splits off, forcing you to track it down before it finds you. 

8. Isaac Clarke’s eye surgery – Dead Space 2 (2010)

If you’re squeamish, you may want to look away now (pun definitely intended). The Dead Space games are full of absolutely terrifying sequences, and the Necromorphs are defintiely highly volatile nightmare fuel. Yet of all the panty-wetting scary moments in this trilogy of terror, we think Isaac’s eye surgery might be the most horrific.

Why? Well, we’re no strangers to video game violence, but there’s something about eye trauma that brings us out in a cold sweat. What makes this moment truly shocking, though, isn’t the fact it involves a needle slowly going into someone’s eye. It’s that we’re the ones responsible for the surgery, and if we’re not careful, we can end up skewering poor Isaac’s baby blues. 

7. The Bear Trap – Until Dawn (2015)

Supermassive Games

It may sound silly to say that the scariest moment in Until Dawn — a game about cannibalistic Wendigos hunting down the player character—involves a simple bear trap and Mike getting his hand caught in it, but it’s true. What makes this moment so terrifying isn’t the sudden and shocking violence (although I can’t lie, the steel jaws slamming shut on Mike’s poor pinky finger always makes me jump). It’s the follow-up. 

You see, while Mike’s pinned in place by the trap and howling in pain, we get a first-person perspective of ‘something’ listening in on the chaos. This creates a really uneasy panic, as you desperately try and pry open the trap, knowing there’s an inhuman presence getting closer and closer to you. 

As Mike struggles to open the jaws, keeping him trapped, you get offered another option,” amputate fingers,” and I don’t blame any player who mutilated Mike in the hope of escaping the approaching Wendigo. 

6. The Child’s Room – Layers of Fear (2016)

Bloober Team

Unlike other games on this list, which rely on monsters and shocking jump scares to terrify the player, Layers of Fear is all about atmosphere, and few scenes are as atmospheric as the child’s room. 

What starts as a rather pleasant trip to your daughter’s nursery becomes a traumatic nightmare as a haunting music box transforms the bedroom first into a dark and gloomy room full of possessed toys and then into a ruined wreck before finally all reason breaks down and your left in a void occupied by scary dolls.

It’s a genuinely creepy sequence, and like so many of the set pieces in Layers of Fear, it’ll have you questioning what’s truly paranormal and what’s a symptom of the player character’s rapidly disintegrating sanity. 

5. The dog chase – Resident Evil (1996)

While it might seem quaint by modern standards, it’s hard to explain just how horrifying the dog chase scene in the original Resident Evil was. The shock and surprise of an enemy leaping through a window when you weren’t expecting it was incredibly novel, and it’s made all the worse as you try to run away and another damn dog comes crashing through the glass blocking your path. 

This was actually the point where I stopped playing the game back in 1996. I just couldn’t cope with the anxiety anymore, and I wanted the game sent back to the Blockbuster I had rented it from as soon as possible.

Still, as an adult, I can appreciate the scene for the mortifying masterpiece it is (it’s undeniably one of the most memorable moments in all the Resident Evil games), and I’ve grown to love Makoto Tomozawa, Koichi Hiroki, and Masami Ueda’s tense and discordant score that emphasizes the panic the player feels in that moment. 

4. Meeting Pyramid Head – Silent Hill 2 (2001)

Konami

Everyone who’s played Silent Hill 2 remembers the first time you encounter the character who (for better and worse) has gone on to become the most iconic monster in the Silent Hill games.

Yet as shocking as the scene is – Pyramid Head appears to be doing some unspeakable things to some unfortunate Mannequin monsters – it’s not actually the first time you see Silent Hill’s myth executioner. No, you actually encounter Pyramid Head just before then, stood at the end of a corridor behind some bars, unmoving and unresponsive. 

At the moment, it seems odd, but compared to the things around you, it’s pretty tame. That is until you learn later in the game that Pyramid Head represents James’s subconscious desire to punish himself for what he did to his wife, Mary. So why didn’t Pyramid Head attack at that moment? Because it knew that letting James live long enough to work out, he killed Mary was the worst thing it could do to him at that moment. 

3. Seeing the Xenomorph for the first time – Alien Isolation (2014)

Sega

The powerful AI that drives the Xenomorph to hunt you down keeps Alien Isolation thrilling, but arguably, the most shocking moment in the game is your first encounter with the alien. 

Who can forget the panic as it emerges from the vents, unseen at first, but as you cower under your desk, its tail slams into the ship’s deck, reminding you of the beast’s speed and strength.

Finally, you creep round the corner, getting your first look at the alien in all its glory, as it looms out of the room. Only then does the true horror hit you; the creature is loose and looking for you. How will you survive? Well, screaming won’t help because, as you know, in space, no one can hear you scream.

2. The Baby Chase – Resident Evil 8 (2021)

Capcom

I don’t know what the baby thing we encounter while exploring House Beneviento in Resident Evil 8 is, but I do know I never want to see it ever again. Everything about this creature is unsettling, from the hysterical crying noise it makes to its monstrous appearance and the gruesome way it devours any player unlucky enough to be caught by it. 

Still, what makes this greasy fetus so horrible is that it, unlike the other creatures you encounter in Resident Evil Village, is never explained. We know that Donna Beneviento is a master of illusion, but her cruel conjurations are normally harmless, so how can this creature – that’d give Pyramid Head nightmares – hurt you? It’s probably best not to think about it. It’ll only give us nightmares. 

1. Lisa’s behind you – PT (2014)

Konami

Anyone who had the misfortune (or good luck) to play PT knows the terror of bumping into Lisa as you wander around an infinitely repeating hallway. Lisa, for those who haven’t played the demo, is a ghost (we think) who can appear at random by either blocking your path, staring through a window, or even peeking at you through a crack in a door. 

She’s a genuinely haunting figure whose elongated limbs and ghoulish visage are reminiscent of horror’s most marvelous monsters. Yet while she’s creepy, she is, to quote Douglas Adams, “mostly harmless.” Emphasis on “mostly” because the longer you play, the higher the chance you trigger Lisa to attack you.

Let’s just say that as horrible as she is from a distance, she’s even worse in close-ups, and there’s no way to defend yourself from her.

Looking for more creepy content this Halloween? Then check out our Terror-Tober schedule. We’ve also got a list of the 102 best horror movies and a guide breaking down the creepiest manga ever written.