Video Game Monsters That Will Haunt Us For The Rest Of Our Lives

People usually play games for one reason: to have fun.
Of course, everyone has a different idea of just what "fun" means.
And that goes double for the folks who dig horror video games.
To paraphrase the late, great Roger Ebert, if you don’t like being really scared, then
you probably shouldn’t play really scary games — and if you remember these gaming
horrors, then you like being really scared.
See, wasn’t that fun?
Okay, on with the list:
Red Pyramid Thing - Silent Hill series
Silent Hill is basically every Freudian nightmare rolled together, but somehow, the Red Pyramid
Thing manages to stand out for sheer pants-wetting terror.
The murderous monster is the terror of our every waking moment, because — look at it.
Why wouldn’t it be?
When your imagery includes faceless mannequins being violated by a creature who looks like
Goya's depiction of Hell, then you've got us pretty well terrified.
After all, he does follow your character, forever... without stopping.
Psycho Mantis - Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid was one of the defining games of the early 3D video game age.
There's crazy stealth, plot twists galore, and a good many mind-screws, but one of the
most deliciously creepy parts would have to be Psycho Mantis — the telepathic boss who
not only can read Snake's mind, but your mind as well.
At one point, he asks you to put your controller down and he uses his "powers" to shake it.
And then … Psycho Mantis tells you what games you've been playing.
He tells you things that no one could know unless, of course they had read your mind
— or your memory card, and in either event, he’s a total smartass about it.
"Hmm. you have not saved often.
You are somewhat reckless."
Later, he stops Snake from moving unless the player plugs the controller into another port.
You have to physically do things in the real world to beat him.
Even knowing the trick, a villain who can force you to act — coming at you through
the Fourth Wall — is one of the most terrifying baddies ever.
Freddy & the Gang - Five Nights at Freddy's series
When Five Nights at Freddy's was quietly released, sticking players in an even creepier version
of Chuck E. Cheese, most people didn't think much of it… until they played it.
The animatronic animals in the game are … haunted?
Possessed by dead children?
Just flat out evil?
You be the judge, but whatever else they may be, they’re also a fat bag of NOPE.
All you can do is sit in the room, checking different cameras, listening to the horror
that befell all the other people in your line of work.
You hope that maybe tonight the robo-beasts won't move, that maybe tonight they won't
come for you.
Because if somehow, they sneak up on you and catch you unaware, then it's lights out.
Of course, this all leads up to one of the most shocking jump scares you'll ever experience
in your life, because this is a game that might actually want you dead.
Mother Brain - Metroid Series
Mother Brain is an evil AI that's literally just a big-ass brain — but with telepathy
and a single eye that shoots energy beams.
The original was scary enough, but Super Metroid majorly upped the terrifying ante.
First, we get the eeriest boss music ever.
Then, we learn Mother Brain has a body — a grotesque, insectile body that she can use
to stomp the hell out of you before deploying the laser eyes of death.
This distinctly David Lynch-ian boss went from creepy to downright unsettling between
incarnations.
And that makes Mother Brain completely unforgettable and haunting.
Even her wacky cartoon adaptation from the '80s is undeniably creepy:
"I am very real!"
"Mother Brain!"
"Welcome home, Captain N!"
Nemesis - Resident Evil 3
Nemesis is just what he sounds like: the Big Bad of Resident Evil 3.
He's huge, monstrous, and seemingly unstoppable.
He has a black trench coat, a face like old meat, and teeth like a tiger.
In a game filled with terrifying zombies, he's the worst of them.
If you’re really determined, you can defeat him — but even if you do, he comes back.
There's no way to actually finish him off.
As the game progresses, he becomes even more mutated, even more terrifying, and even more
monstrous — as if any of that were necessary.
He even gets a rocket launcher at one point, which really just seems like overkill, but
you can finally get the upper hand by...dropping a nuke.
Then, after you nuke the monster, quit the game, and go to sleep, he comes back again
in your nightmares.
Earthbound - Giygas
Earthbound is one of the most beloved Nintendo games ever — which also happens to have
one of the most bizarre endings.
There's a giant creature called Giygas coming to destroy everything, and you, as the hero,
have to take it on.
Pretty standard so far, right?.
But the last level is a bit … odd.
It kind of, sort of, looks like you're travelling through a human body.
In fact, it sure seems like you're going into the monster's mother's womb, in order to kill
it as a fetus — which is actually exactly what you’re doing.
Which is just... so screwed up.
Even in this fetal state, Giygas is one of the toughest bosses you'll ever face.
The body horror elements combined with the sheer ferocity of this boss battle make it
nerve-jangling as hell, and not for the faint of innards.
Dhaka - Prince of Persia: Warrior Within
In games, unlike life, there's always a way to win.
Even if you fail, just start again.
If you keep at it long enough, you can always beat the villain — unless we’re talking
about the Dhaka.
He's a force unleashed by the hero's actions in the previous game, Prince of Persia: The
Sands of Time, and he's always hunting you.
But wait, you can turn back time!
You can either outrun or destroy anything — except the Dhaka.
There’s no beating him — all you can do is run and run and run, but he’ll catch
up.
Even if you could fight him, he'd still be terrifying.
He looks like Satan got into heavy metal and then somehow got even gnarlier.
Plus, he's literally the repercussions of your character meddling with time.
So, y'know, he doesn't like you.
Tabuu - Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Tabuu is the last enemy in the solo run of Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
He's tougher than almost anyone, and looks like somebody put a black hole and a thunderstorm
in a blender.
All the bad things in the game happen because of this guy.
You fight him in a void, and it's almost impossible to beat him.
But the creepiest thing about him is that he isn't from any Nintendo game.
Unlike the infamous Master Hand, there’s no explanation for his appearance.
He's just something other, from another time and another space, he seems to be able to
control the game itself.
He’s the literal personification of a glitch, wreaking unpredictable havoc and tearing up
the game world.
And what’s scarier than the end of the world?
Not a damn thing, that’s what.
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Video Game Monsters That Will Haunt Us For The Rest Of Our Lives

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