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THE CHOBLOG: Creepy Real World Video Game Locations

I am a MASSIVE video game horror fan. My first foray into the genre was an old PC game called Seventh Guest. You play in first-person as “Ego” and explore the haunted mansion of Henry Stauf, a drifter and murderer who gains success as a doll maker and then retreats into his creepy mansion under mysterious circumstances.

Choblog_7thGuest

This game absolutely terrified me. Until I started playing Doom, which messed with me even more.

Doom was my first shooter experience, as well as the first time I came across such blatant Satanism and gore on a computer monitor. I had to get my Satanic Nazi hunting in on the sly, because I knew I would be in serious trouble if my mother discovered how many afternoons I was dedicating to over-the-top violence. Like with any good horror movie, I both loved and hated Doom all at the same time. I was scared out of my wits over what I was witnessing on screen, nervous about getting caught by my parents, and thrilled with how much the game freaked me out.

The next horror title that really stoked my fire was Konami’s Silent Hill. My love for Silent Hill was overshadowed only by my obsession for Silent Hill 2 (a title I still place within my personal Top Games of All Time list). In fact, I was so engrossed by the Silent Hill mythos I soaked up as as much info on it as I could, scouring both official and non-official posts with theories on where Silent Hill was actually located (this was before Konami came out with any official comment) and how each of the different Silent Hills were tied together.

To this day, if a particular game title captures my attention enough, I usually go above and beyond to find out more about what lies at the center of the game play and storyline. The creepier, the better! I’ve got a few faves that I’ve searched for and read about over the years and now, I share that list with you:

ChoBlog_SilentHillCollection

Silent Hill: Depending on your Google search, Silent Hill’s actual location is given as a town within West Virginia  (the movie) to Maine to Pennsylvania. The official word is that Silent Hill is a fictional town and doesn’t technically live in any one place (or one mind). Interesting Fact: Silent Hills (P.T.) is going to RRRRRAAAAWWWWWKKK!!!!! I hope.

Choblog_MiyakeIsland

Tomb Raider (2013): Although not really “horror” per se, the newest installment to the Tomb Raider franchise takes place on Yamatai island, an island believed to be located within the Dragon’s Triangle. The Dragon’s Triangle (also known as The Devil’s Sea) is the Asian version of the Bermuda triangle. Located off of Japan’s East coast, the Dragon’s Triangle has been accused of swallowing up boats, planes and the humans aboard with no trace. Interesting fact: Miyake Island (one of the islands within the Dragon’s Triangle vicinity) requires its citizens to carry a gas mask with them AT ALL TIMES. The island is at constant risk of volcanic activity and alarms go off regularly depending upon the amount of sulfur within the air.

Choblog_FatalFrame

Fatal Frame: Rumored to be based on the Himuro Mansion murders. The Himuro Mansion itself is a bit of a Japanese urban legend. Located “somewhere outside of Tokyo,” it is said to be the location of a variety of gruesome and cruel murders revolving around an ancient Shinto ritual known as “The Strangling Ritual.” However, the producer of the series said the game’s storyline was based on a variety of Japanese ghost stories and legends and did not mention Himuro Mansion specifically. This, combined with the fact that I wasn’t able to come across any research regarding the Himuro Mansion murders directly that did not reference the Fatal Frame game as the source of its article, leads me to believe that this urban myth is one designed by Tecmo’s PR company. Still.. you never know. I’ve seen weirder things come out of Japan revolving around death.

Choblog_NorthBrotherIsland

DAYLIGHT: (Full disclosure – this is the title I worked on with Zombie Studios.) We based our story’s location on North Brother Island, found  just off of New York City. Located on the island was Riverside Hospital, a smallpox treatment and recovery center. In addition to the creepy isolation of the hospital itself, there was the General Slocum disaster which led to a death toll of over 1,000 people (many women and children) either by burning to death or drowning before the Slocum crashed up onto North Brother Island’s shores. Interesting Fact: After infecting countless people, Typhoid Mary was sent and confined to reside at Riverside Hospital for two decades until her death in 1938.

Choblog_Chernobyl

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl: Chernobyl is not exactly a secret to anyone: a once idyllic city in the Ukraine that was evacuated in an instant when the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant went AWOL. The area is still uninhabitable (although a few elderly people have refused to move), however there are occasional day time tours for the curious.

What are some of your favorite horror games? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter @JessicaChobot!

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Comments

  1. Clcvisions says:

    Excellent list and very nostalgic for me as I am an OLDER Veteran PC gamer. From Seventh Guest, DOOM, to Silenthill 1 and 2 your words are spot on. I have been and always will be a horror fan. I love having the S**t scared out of me or disturb me. And more recently I absolutely loved Amnesia games, DeadSpace, Outlast and very recently and highly recommened Alien Isolation. This game was fun, horrific and will cause you mass stress and possible heart attack like feelings. Fantastic.

    • chris says:

      Oh and I forgot to mention: Silenthill’s inspiration came from here on the eastcoast,  Centralia, Pennsylvania. Look this up and go visit it if your on the eastcoast sometime. Very creepy and cool. Entire town all but abandoned 40 years ago because the coal mines underneath it caught fire and still burn to this day! 

  2. Hungry_H_Kippo says:

    Though not really a horror game, the Shalebridge Cradle level in Thief 3 was some seriously creepy and scary schnitzel!

  3. Max Power says:

    Resident Evil: Code Veronica for the Dreamcast was my first horror game experience and I loved it. Such a great game and console. 
    I would really like to play Silent Hill 1 and 2 whenever I get the chance. What is your take on Dinocrisis Jessica? That’s another game I really wanna play. 
    I have the new Tomb Raider for PS3 and Alien: Isolation for PS4 and The Evil Within for PS4 and I have NOT played any of them yet. I wonder if I’m missing out. Just been occupied with my 3DS and playing an old favorite Zelda: Ocarina of Time. 
    These Choblogs get me feeling nostalgic and wish I had more time to play games. Great work once again, Jessica.
    Do they really have tours of Chernobyl??? Thought that place was uninhabitable for tens of thousands of years cause of the radiation? Craziness!

  4. Taiichi says:

    Siren a.k.a. Forbidden Siren (depending on your geo-regional market), a largely unknown game, is one of my personal favorites for horror VGs. It follows a large cast of characters (w/ 10 playable) trapped in a small Japanese village, trying to escape/survive as the locals have turned into zombielike creatures due to some local ritual gone wrong(?)

    The game introduces a unique “sightjack” mechanic, and levels are played in non-chronological order. Things you do in an area as one character can unlock new possibilities for another character appearing later in the same area.
    The game does a great job tying together local religion into its supernatural plotline, and is, both in visual graphics and in tone, a perfect match to the “Asian Horror genre” of films of the past two decades or so, best typified by the film “Ringu”.

  5. MithrandirPepe says:

    My favorite horror game is by far Fatal Frame 2: Crimson butterflies Director’s Cut for the original Xbox, i have never felt more terrorized with a game. The first person exclusively mode on Xbox was the best experience, the lights turn off and playing at 3 am man!!! Those are good scare memories =D

  6. Barl0we says:

    Aw man, The 7th Guest is one of the first games I remember playing on a PC as a kid! 😀

    You should check out the horror game “Anna” on Steam, it’s inspired by an actual location and legend from the Italian countryside. It’s super creepy 🙂

    • Chobot says:

      I will TOTALLY check Anna out! Thanks for the suggestion. 
      Wouldn’t an updated version of 7th Guest be amazing! Could be SOOOO good if the right team were involved.