The 10 Scariest Ghosts In Video Game History, Ranked
James Winspear
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What lies beyond the veil of death? It’s a question that has intrigued and tormented humanity since the dawn of time. From books and plays to movies and games, our media is full of spectral beings who’ve come back from beyond the grave. In this list, we’re looking at ten of the scariest ghosts that have haunted our gaming hours. Reader beware: you’re in for a scare!
10. Daughters of Oakville – Ghosthunter
It’s just a fact that creepy little ghost girls in gothic mansions mean you’re going to have a bad time. If you ever need a reminder of this salient point, look no further than SCE Cambridge’s Ghosthunter for the PS2. Encountered in the decaying DeMontford residence, these horrible little blighters look harmless enough from a distance, but don’t let that fool you. Get too close and they’ll transfer their consciousness into their teddy bears, turning into towering beasts of buttons, claws, and moldy stuffing. If that wasn’t bad enough, these paranormal playthings will then use those same girls’ corpses to bludgeon you to death. Yeesh!
9. The Hanged Demon – The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope
Repressed memories? Symbolic monsters? A foggy town?! Hold up, we’re in Silent Hill! While it’s hard not to conclude that Supermassive Games copied Konami’s iconic psychological horror series to a blatant degree here, they at least managed to come up with some suitably scary ghosts while doing so. Probably the scariest of the lot is the Hanged Demon. Dangling from a noose, this tortured soul floats silently above the ground as it pursues the survivors. Its sole aim is to strangle its victims with its blackened, prehensile tongue. French kiss, anyone?
8. Laura – The Evil Within
Bursting onto this list in a shower of blood and claws is this four-armed daughter of perdition. A twisted reincarnation of central antagonist Ruvik’s deceased sister, Laura featured heavily in both the game’s marketing and the game’s campaign. Combining long-haired, Ring-style creepiness with some disturbing body horror, Laura’s bite proves to be just as fearsome as her bark. She’s nigh-invulnerable, can teleport to emerge from nearby corpses, and will happily insta-kill protagonist Sebastian Castellanos’ hapless ass if she manages to get him in her clutches. Her only real weakness is her deathly allergy to fire, so keep those matches close.
7. Invisible Water Monster – Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Putting this one on the list may be a bit of a cheat. Is it a ghost, a poltergeist, or something else entirely? All we know is that it can’t be seen with the naked eye, it wants you dead, and it’s absolutely terrifying. Haunting the watery regions of Brennenburg Castle, any encounter with this aquatic spook makes for some of the scariest moments in an already panic-inducing game. Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, too.
6. Jimmy Stone – Silent Hill 4: The Room
Silent Hill 4 was something of a departure from the norm for the series. Originally, it wasn’t even going to be a Silent Hill game, and it’s often seen as a love-it-or-hate-it title amongst diehard fans of the IP. It was also the first Silent Hill game to feature ghosts as an enemy type. One of the scariest of these phantoms is Victim No. 1, the former Jimmy Stone. Featured prominently on the box art, Jimmy first appears in the flesh (metaphorically speaking) in the game’s prologue, crawling out of the apartment’s walls and dragging the room’s ill-fated occupant to a nameless doom. As the game wears on, Jimmy is encountered both in the Otherworld and as one of the many hauntings afflicting Apartment 302.
5. Ocean House Hotel Ghost – Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines
No list about ghosts would be complete without including the infamous Ocean House Hotel from Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines. In a game where you play as a badass, gun-toting bloodsucker, it’s incredible that the developers still managed to make a level so scary that it has its own Wikipedia page. The Shining-inspired ghost story that unfolds within the hotel’s walls may not be particularly original. But, it’s the masterful use of atmosphere and pacing that sets it apart. Instead of relying on over-the-top spectacle, the level’s terror comes from its silence and sense of isolation. It’s just you, an empty building, and an unquiet spirit that most definitely doesn’t want you there.
4. Shalebridge Cradle – Thief: Deadly Shadows
Part of what makes a haunted house story so unnerving is the uncertainty over where a ghost begins and the place it’s haunting ends. Like the Ocean House Hotel, Shalebridge Cradle is another iconic horror level in a predominantly non-horror game. And boy is it a doozy. It’s not clear if there are any actual spirits in the Cradle, or whether the building itself has developed some sort of malevolent half-consciousness of its own. What is clear is that this abandoned former mental institution and orphanage is one place no one would want to go willingly. Our only advice is to tread lightly and try not to crap yourself.
3. Alma – F.E.A.R.
What happens if you combine the aesthetics of a J-Horror movie with the lobby scene from The Matrix? This must have been the question Monolith Productions asked themselves in 2005 when they developed F.E.A.R. And that’s a good thing. Otherwise, we might not have gotten one of gaming’s most iconic horror antagonists. Not only is this black-haired, ashen-faced little girl just downright disturbing in her own right, but she also has an army of genetically engineered super-soldiers at her disposal. A psychic spirit filled with rage for those who mistreated her in life, suffering, and death awaits those foolish enough to stand in her way.
2. Falling Woman – Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly
Konami’s Fatal Frame series is filled with all manner of horrifying ghosts, and honestly, it’s hard to choose just one to put on this list. But if there’s a strong contender for this spot, it’s got to be the Falling Woman from Fatal Frame II. Encountered as you descend the Clock Hall in Kiryu House, it isn’t just her pa-soiling arrival that makes her so scary, nor the unnatural movements of her bent and twisted form when you encounter her at the bottom of the stairs. It’s the existential horror of her predicament, a fate worse than death that condemns her to plummet to her doom again, and again, and again.
1. Lisa – PT
Speaking of horrible fates, there’s surely a special circle of hell reserved for the exec at Konami who canceled Silent Hills. It’s hard to overstate just how much Silent Hills’ PT—Playable Teaser—revolutionized the survival horror genre, spawning countless imitators and inspiring a new direction for Capcom’s Resident Evil series. As you traversed PT’s endlessly looping corridor, you’d inevitably encounter Lisa, a gaunt, grinning ghost from your worst nightmares. When you did, you’d better have made sure you had a defibrillator to hand. Sadly, there’s no way for gamers to experience PT firsthand anymore, as the demo was pulled from the PlayStation Store shortly after the news leaked that Silent Hills had gotten the chop. So Lisa isn’t just the ghost of a murdered woman: she’s the ghost of what could have been one of the greatest horror games of all time.
Categorized:Editorials
