The spookiest holiday of the year is almost upon us. While some might spend Halloween going to costume parties or going door-to-door collecting candy, we’ll be doing something else—dimming the lights and playing some of the scariest video games ever made. Coop, Sarah, and I got together, and looked from the pixelated days of the 1980s to the current generation to find some of our favorite creepy games, any of which would be more than appropriate to spend October 31 with.

These are thirteen games to play this Halloween (in no particular order), along with the systems they originally appeared on and years of release.

Friday the 13th (NES, 1989) - 00.19

Hands down the greatest Friday the 13th game ever made, no other title has come close to replicating the frustration, terror, and pain of actually trying to take on a supernatural monster as awesome as Jason Voorhees. The game put you in the shoes of a handful of camp counselors, who not only had to save the kids at Camp Crystal Lake from being killed, but also fight Jason, zombies, bats, and the floating head of Mrs. Voorhees herself. The word “impossible” doesn’t even begin to describe Friday the 13th, but I still think this is one of the most fun games to play, if only for the sheer joy it gives me to see Jason kill everyone who tries to take him on.

The 7th Guest (PC, 1993) - Sarah

Old man Stauf built a house, and filled it with his toys. One of the first games to be released on CD-ROM is also one of the scariest ever made. The 7th Guest presents itself as a puzzle game in a haunted house, but the more the old mansion is explored, the more disturbing the game becomes. In the course of unraveling the mystery of sociopathic killer Stauf, you will see fellow partygoers meet their ends in gruesome ways, and the puzzles themselves are full of unsettling elements. Even creepier is hearing Stauf’s voice taunt you as you wander around the otherwise silent house: “Feeling looooooonely?”

Siren: Blood Curse (PS3, 2008) - 00.19

Released episodically, Siren: Blood Curse was a reimagining of the original PS2 hit. This time, you played as eight different characters whose lives intertwined over the course of three days in the village of Hanuda, Japan. With a constantly twisting plot, gameplay that realistically relied on sneaking around instead of combat, and extremely disturbing imagery, there was no dull moment during a playthrough. There are some truly “Oh, shit!” sequences, and just thinking about them has me itching to run through the game one more time.

Resident Evil (PS1, 1996) - Sarah

The PS1 was a great system for survival horror fans. Many of the genre’s most prominent franchises got their start on Sony’s first console; however, after all these years, Resident Evil is perhaps the most memorable. In fact, according to some stories, this was the game for which the phrase “survival horror” was coined. Though the origin of the genre is debatable, the fact remains that Resident Evil has some of the most notorious scares in gaming history. Remember leaping out of your seat and screaming the first time you walked down that hallway and the dogs jumped through the window? Yeah, me too.

Splatterhouse (TurboGrafx-16, 1990) - 00.19

Rick and Jennifer are attacked by demons when hiding out from a storm in a creepy ass mansion. Jennifer’s taken away, and Rick is left for dead. He awakens with a mask attached to his face, which turns him into a hulking mass with incredible strength. Hellbent on saving Jennifer, Rick takes on all kinds of monsters with a 2x4 in this side-scrolling classic. Jennifer herself is turned into a demon, and begs Rick to kill her. He does, and as she turns back to human form to thank him, you can almost feel the heartbreak through your TV. After multiple sequels, and nearly twenty years later, the first Splatterhouse remains a classic.

F.E.A.R. (PC, 2005) - Coop

Early on in F.E.A.R., a little girl slowly walks towards you while a hallway is erupting in flames. When I played this section, I shot every bullet I had at her, trying desperately to take her down before I found out what she was trying to do. That's right, I tried my best to shoot a little girl in the head because she scared me. That's what F.E.A.R. did. As soon as Alma makes her presence known she's twelve kinds of frightening. The developers didn't have to try too hard - little girls are scary to begin with, but they knew what they were doing, and they made one of the most uncomprehendingly creepy characters in game history.

Night Trap (Sega CD, 1992) - 00.19

What starts out as an innocent slumber party quickly turns into a night of sheer terror as the home comes under siege from a cadre of vampires. Utilizing FMV, players relied on hidden cameras in the home to spring traps to protect the lovely ladies. Though memories of the game may be tarnished due to the ridiculous controversy about killing and capturing women (which you never do) that got Night Trap yanked from store shelves, I can still remember popping this cult hit into my Sega CD, and being completely blown away by the fact that all of these girls were in their underwear. Hey, I was 11. Cut me some slack.

Silent Hill 2 (PS2, 2001) - Sarah

The first Silent Hill did a great job of being scary, launching one of the most prolific survival horror series in gaming. Silent Hill 2, however, upped the fear factor with two little words: Pyramid Head. The physical manifestation of guilt, with his giant sword, blood-stained apron, and triangular helmet that can kill you instantly, is undeniably one of gaming’s most terrifying creatures. The sound of his heavy weapon scraping along the ground is enough to make the hairs on the back of your neck shoot up. His displays of brutality in Silent Hill 2 are especially horrific, as he sexually assaults monsters and mannequins before violently killing them. When Pyramid Head shows up, you know someone is going to die, and it’s going to be ugly.

SAW (360/PS3/PC, 2009) - Coop

SAW isn't a great game. Hell, SAW isn't even that scary of a game. However, it has the same effect as the movie, in that it makes you think about what you'd be willing to do to survive. Would you reach your hand into a toilet full of needles to get a key? Would you electrocute yourself to open a door? Would you kill a man if you were told to? Working through Jigsaw's asylum isn't the most entertaining gaming experience of the year, but it's certainly one of the most disturbing, and it has to get points for that, right?

Fatal Frame (PS2, 2002) - 00.19

Armed with only the mystical Camera Obscura, you investigate a haunted mansion hoping to find your missing brother. Survival horror was a prominent enough genre that publishing any game even remotely comparable to Resident Evil earned you some pretty decent sales. Thankfully, Fatal Frame was strong enough on its own merits. Spooky, challenging, and at times, absolutely terrifying, this game would go on to spawn several sequels, including one for Wii, which will hopefully be making its way stateside soon.

D (3DO, 1995) - Sarah
 
Though Resident Evil was probably the most popular survival horror game of the mid-90s, the overlooked D also deserves a place in the history of scary games. Though many of the plot devices seem typical for the genre—a creepy environment, a murder mystery, disturbing flashbacks—the game also used a two-hour time limit that created an insane amount of tension. D couldn’t be saved, and couldn’t be paused; you had two hours to successfully beat the game and ensure survival. Because the hellish hospital the main character is forced to wander is full of traps and other hazards, attempting to proceed in a timely fashion, while avoiding sudden death, really went a long way towards making this a suspenseful experience. There’s no way that sort of gameplay mechanic would fly in this day and age, but it certainly made D a memorably scary game.

Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne (PS2, 2004) - 00.19

You’re just a simple high school kid who survives the apocalypse, is given powers by Lucifer, and must decide whether to recreate the old world, or create a new one using one of the game’s three philosophies. Your character is defined only by the choices you make, and the demons you keep company with, providing a truly tailored gameplay experience. This is the first SMT game I ever played, and the one that launched an obsession with playing subsequent games in the franchise. Nocturne is one of the most interesting, thought provoking, and fun to play RPGs not just on the PS2, but perhaps ever.

Dead Space (360/PS3/PC, 2008) - 00.19

It starts with a distress signal. Responding, the members of USG Kellion attempt to board the Ishimura, but are met almost instantly by disturbing monsters that kill all but three members of the Kellion crew. You, as engineer Isaac Clarke, must find out what really happened, and find a way off the Ishimura. To provide more immersion, the developers removed the HUD, incorporated stellar sound design, and relayed all information via real-time holographic video, truly making those of us playing feel like we were really there. With a strong story, scares aplenty, and a rich universe to expand upon, this is one game that deserves to be played again and again.

Now that we have shared our favorites and revealed what cowards we are, it’s time for you to tell us what games frighten the crap out of you. Have a happy Halloween filled with candy, costumes, and lots of virtual scares.