The Twin Victims – Silent Hill 4: The Room
A lot of horror rests on the scare power of juxtaposition, and no video game monster is a better example of that than the Twin Victims from Silent Hill 4: The Room. These two figures have placid, almost emotionless faces that contrast sharply with their huge, ape-like arms, which they swing wildly and unpredictably to incapacitate the protagonist. Even scarier, these two monsters are technically children.
The Rat King – The Last of Us 2
Zombies are scary, and rat kings are even more so, so it makes perfect sense that The Last of Us 2’s Rat King monster is pure nightmare fuel that exceeds the fright level of both things individually. This horrifying amalgamation combines all the most frightening parts of the franchise’s stalkers, clickers, and bloaters, and is almost impossible to defeat even if you save up resources to do so.
Lisa – Silent Hills P.T.
The video game landscape is chock-full of tragic ghosts who can terrify the player, and Lisa from Silent Hills P.T. is one of the scariest. Stuck in an endless loop, Lisa limps through the same hallway again and again, wearing one high heel, missing one eye and alternately laughing and screaming. She can even possess the protagonist, who is then forced to share her anguish.
Marguerite Baker – Resident Evil 7
Marguerite Baker might not be the most outwardly terrifying video game monster on this list, but her backstory is certainly chilling. Though she began as a conscientious woman who innocently took in Eveline after a shipwreck, doing so doomed her to becoming infected with Eveline’s signature mould. Unhinged and manic, she turned to kidnap, murder and even cannibalism, all while living in bug-infested squalor.
Pyramid Head – Silent Hill 2
Pyramid Head isn’t just a mainstay of the Silent Hill franchise, he’s also essentially its mascot. Modelled after an old-timey executioner with a ceremonial sword and bloody apron, he represents all the repressed trauma and guilt that the protagonist is feeling. Though Pyramid Head might look a little silly in isolation, he is impossible to outrun or defeat in-game until the end.
Deathclaws – Fallout 4
Fallout 4 is a game that isn’t low on threats, whether you’re watching out for hostile NPCs, other characters betraying you or various environmental hazards. However, easily the scariest foes you’ll face in the game are the deathclaws – genetically engineered, roving monsters that sit at the top of the food chain in the game’s post-apocalyptic world. Can you fight them? Yes, but it’s not for the faint of heart.
Virginia – The Forest
Virginia is a pretty non-threatening name for a monster, and it doesn’t at all match the terrifying image that will eventually confront you if you play The Forest. These cave creatures are mutants comprised of many spider-like legs, a faceless head and many arms sprouting from their torsos. As if their appearance isn’t creepy enough, they also chitter and shriek as they leap at you.
Slenderman – Slender
Slenderman is one of the most legendary monsters to ever come out of the creepypasta genre, so much so that he essentially spawned the concept of digital folklore all by himself. While every Slenderman iteration has its scary moments, except maybe the movie, the lo-fi, low budget game Slender best encapsulates the terror of walking through a dark forest with the suited skeleton in pursuit.
Lisa Trevor – Resident Evil
Lisa Trevor from Resident Evil has a truly pitiful and haunting backstory, having been kept captive and experimented on by mad scientists, who left her looking completely inhuman. Aside from just looking scary, her exposure to the Progenitor virus also gave her supernatural healing and regenerative capabilities, making her difficult to deal with in combat.
Laura – The Evil Within
Beautiful women with monstrous or animalistic elements are a common theme in video game horror, but The Evil Within takes things even further than most. Laura Victoriano’s terrifying reincarnation, known only as Laura, is based on the spider Yokai Jorōgumo, and features many-clawed limbs that flex in impossible ways, in addition to the face of a young girl. Definitely guaranteed to keep you up at night.
