Ever wondered how close your favorite horror games come to real-life nightmares? Brace yourselves, as we unravel eight horror games that are not just figments of imagination, but are rooted in actual, horrifying events.
Five Nights At Freddy’s: The Chuck E. Cheese Nightmare
The uncanny resemblance between the setting of Five Nights at Freddy’s and Chuck E. Cheese is no accident (although typically it is also based on both Chuck E. Cheese and ShowBiz Pizza). There is a dark theory though that the game draws its sinister inspiration from a 1993 murder case in Aurora, Colorado. Four employees were gunned down after hours by a disgruntled former colleague. In the game, you’re the night guard, and your job is to survive the night as animatronics come to life. The game captures the essence of real-life horror, transforming it into a fictional nightmare.
Resident Evil Village: The Real Castle
The latest installment of RE, called Resident Evil Village, takes you into the Castle of Lady Dimitrescu, a place eerily similar to Romania’s Peles Castle (as a Redditor pointed out correctly). So, the castle’s gothic architecture and dark history make it a perfect setting for the game’s vampiric Dimitrescu family. Fans have even visited Peles Castle to draw parallels, proving that sometimes reality can be as haunting as fiction.
Kholat: Where True Crime Meets Supernatural Horror
Kholat takes you on a chilling journey through Russia’s Ural Mountains, echoing the real-life Dyatlov Pass incident. Nine students mysteriously died, and their bodies were found months later under bizarre circumstances. Narrated by Sean Bean, the game introduces shadowy figures that stalk you as you uncover the grim truth, adding a supernatural twist to an already perplexing real-life mystery.
Silent Hill: The Real-Life Ghost Town That Inspired a Nightmare
The first three games’ town drew inspiration from small American towns portrayed in global media. It blended Japanese village planning with elements from two real American towns: Cushing, Maine, and Snoqualmie, Washington. But there is a town that inspired the film adaptation: Centralia, a real-life ghost town in Pennsylvania.. A mine fire that still burns today led to the town’s downfall. While Centralia has no zombie nurses, its tragic story is a fitting backdrop for the game’s nightmarish scenarios. As Explore states, “The town was abandoned in the games due to cults and other religious issues”, and also the art director of the first three games spoke about it on Twitter.
By the way, Silent Hill 2 Remake is in the works, along with other terrifying Horror Games coming in 2023.
The Town of Light: A Journey Through an Infamous Asylum
The Town of Light is set in Italy’s infamous Volterra Psychiatric Hospital. The real hospital was built in 1888 and is known for its abhorrent treatment of patients. You navigate the game through the eyes of a teenage girl, witnessing the horrors that could very well mirror the experiences of actual patients before the hospital’s closure.
Chernobylite: A Haunting Trip to a Radioactive Wasteland
Chernobylite allows you to explore a 3D-scanned environment of the Chernobyl exclusion zone. As a physicist who once worked at the power plant, you must survive both supernatural and human threats in this post-apocalyptic world. It’s as close as you can get to experiencing the aftermath of the disaster without actually being there.
The Dark Pictures: Little Hope | Witch Hunts Reimagined
The Dark Pictures: Little Hope transports you back to the era of witch trials, specifically in Massachusetts, where the infamous Salem and Andover trials took place. The game’s characters have historical doppelgangers who lived through the witch trials, adding a layer of authenticity to the horror.
Outlast: The Terrifying Truth Behind Mind Control Experiments
Outlast takes you to Mount Massive Asylum, a place inspired by real locations and the infamous Project MK Ultra. The game’s Murkoff Corporation continues the government’s mind-control experiments, making it a horrifying journey into the depths of human cruelty.
These eight games prove that sometimes the line between reality and horror gaming is terrifyingly thin. So, the next time you pick up that controller, remember: the true stories behind these games are as horrifying as the games themselves. Are you brave enough to play?
Felt the chills yet? Time to check out The most Cursed Video Games in History.
