Fear...what inspires yours?, What gives you the heebee jeebees? Options

[Shaddow]

So It is getting around that time of the year and I am getting in the mood to scare. So that begs the question, What really scares you? This is for games of course, what could happen in a game, specifically RM games that make you jump, cringe, cower or just itch with anticipation? I'd like to see some of these ideas implemented as well, so tell up!

I'll go first: For me, one of the creepiest thing a game can have is music and sound effects, sure jump scares get me and I have anticipation for scares as well, but what sets off that anticipation is good creepy music, or sound effects that are subtle and creepy at the same time.

[PalX]

I've been playing Corpse Party lately. Should be the prime example of a horror game done in RPG Maker (PC-98 version was done with RPG Maker, the PSP remake isn't but still retains the RPGM-ness)

The game did something like what Mutation said in what could possibly be the creepiest part in Chapter 1.

[Show/Hide] Pal's first death in Corpse Party

You reach the ghost school infirmary, your first save point and both of the girls (your characters at this point) decide to rest a little and have a light-hearted conversation about boys and asses. The non-injured girl goes out because they heard someone else. After that you hear a weird noise. There is a cupboard with some scissors in it and a paper on the wall that says "Wash your hands with soap" in the infirmary.

You approach the door and it's closed. Creepy laughs can be heard. The paper on the wall now says "Wash the blood with soap"
You approach the door once again, now it's sealed with black hair covering it. A loud noise can be hear and the sound of a pen writing is heard throughout the room. The scissors in the cupboard are missing, the paper now gives detailed instructions on how to cut someone's tongue (important: close the victim's mouth after cutting it to prevent them from yelling).

The spirit appears, it catches you 3 times. Just as the instructions said, your mouth is kept shut after your tongue is cut to prevent you from screaming. The game plays choking sounds while the spirit holds you.

The contrast with the previous scene and the build-up to what happens is amazing on practice. Sets the perfect atmosphere and creeped the hell out of me.

The game also makes use of long hallways with nothing on them, you easily become paranoid of your surroundings since you know something bad can happen anytime soon. Not to mention the occasional appeareance of spirits that would try to kill you in one touch, setting up tension. Of course, the stinger is the VERY DETAILED descriptions of your deaths, never thought that some fitting sounds and knowing every little detail of how I'm dying could be so creepy.

Nevertheless, I think I prefer being spooked and creeped out than having some monster pop out of nowhere. Give you that "something's wrong here" feeling.