20 Classic Old Horror Games That Will Still Give You Goosebumps

Often referred to as one of the scariest franchises of all time, Silent Hill games may share a striking resemblance to the Resident Evil series, but while the latter emphasizes fast-paced gameplay and tension, the former is a slower and more atmospheric, focusing on pathological horror rather than tangible zombie opponents. This thesis was fully realized with Silent Hill 2, giving gamers a masterclass in pure psychological horror. Every path you walk down and ever door you open leads you one step closer to a realization you're too terrified to accept, and really, what more could you ask for in a horror game?

As if the title wasn't enough to strike a sense of dread deep within your soul, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream is cyberpunk horror game from the '90s that channels the insatiable feeling of a coming apocalypse. Being a point-and-click adventure game, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream is based on Harlan Ellison's short story, and features an incredibly rich world with multiple endings.

Inspired by the works of Italian horror director Dario Argento, Clock Tower is an atmospheric point-and-click adventure game focused on a young girl running away from an antagonist named Scissorman who, you guessed it, has a giant pair of scissors. Clock Tower became more well-known among modern gaming audiences in the past few years after it appeared on the popular Let's Play show Game Grumps.

It's impossible to have an old-school horror games list without mentioning the original Resident Evil, and while every classic Resident Evil entry could easily make this list, we decided to go with the original. After all, this was the game that actually created the survival horror genre. Capcom's first outing in Raccoon City featured two playable characters (Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine), great puzzles, and some of the scariest zombies gamers had ever seen before. There have been tons of enhanced ports released throughout the years, but there's still a certain kind of macabre magic you get when you play the original.

Unlike other point-and-click adventure games at the time, Phantasmagoria sported full-motion video, which instantly gave the game a more realistic look (even if that look is terribly outdated today). Combining an engaging storyline with real-time graphics resulted in a more immersive experience, which, when taken up a notch, turned into one of the goriest horror games of the '90s. The game was massive (spanning seven different CD-ROMs), and the death scenes are still pretty scary to this today. Generally praised upon its release, Phantasmagoria has gone on to achieve a more cult-like status, as so many great retro horror games often do.

After awaking from a coma after a fateful car accident, you find yourself trapped in a sanitarium with absolutely no memory of how or why you go there. As you solve puzzles and explore the incredibly creepy world, your memory starts coming back to you, but the more you remember, the more you wish you could forget. As a point-and-click adventure game, Sanitarium isn't overly difficult — or graphic. It is, however, incredibly eerie and does a great job of building suspense. It was one of the first true psychological horror adventure games and is definitely still good for a fright.

Blending RPG, shooting, and horror elements into one terrifying game, System Shock 2 became an instant classic when it was released in 1999, and it launched Ken Levine's career as a famous developer (he would later go on to make Bioshock). While the game features tons of creepy and cool characters, few can compare to the eerie nature of SHODAN (Sentient Hyper-Optimized Data Access Network, an AI unit and the game's central antagonist.

In the same vein as Resident Evil and Silent Hill, Nocturne is an often overlooked 3rd-person survival horror game that takes place during the Great Depression, so you know it's going to be grim. Assuming the role as the Stranger, your job is to investigate all the various creatures in the surrounding area. The story is broken into different acts, each its own mini-story that can be chosen from the start. In addition to featuring sharp graphics, the gameplay is extremely fluid, and when coupled with the engaging (and often creepy) storyline makes for a seriously great horror game. The game received a varied reception during its run, although an official sequel was never made, Blair Witch Volume I: Rustin Parr has been confirmed as a direct crossover.

As an interactive movie/game, D is played through a series of computer-generated full-motion video clips. The player controls Laura, who is looking for her father after he goes on a killing spree in a hospital, and then barricaded himself inside. In a bold design choice, players must also complete D in one sitting, as there is no save or pause feature (this usually takes around two hours). Fortunately, the creepy backdrop and atmospheric setting are more than enough to keep you interested.

Alone in the Dark is yet another survival horror game that draws inspiration from the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, where the player embodies a detective who is investigating a haunted house and a town full of the undead. While dozens of others laid the groundwork for what Alone in the Dark came to be, it is considered to be the first 3D survival horror game ever created. In fact, it was released four years before the first Resident Evil. The game is set inside a creepy mansion (sound familiar?) and players assume the role of Edward Carnby, a private investigator tasked with exploring the mansion. The series has released seven games (in counting); each has its own unique style.

Personal Nightmare is a horror adventure game where, through a combination of text-based commands and interactable objects, the player must rid a town overrun with possessed citizens being controlled by a witch, a vampire, and the Devil himself. To add to the tension, the player must also complete this goal within four days of in-game time. The game was released by developer Horror Soft, who is best known for their Simon the Sorcerer series. The game received plenty of praise during its initial run, but throughout the years its legacy has grown into one of the most important early horror games ever made. The dialogue is great and the graphics just ooze retro goodness. Plus, the plot was unusually complex given the time period.

Dark Seed, like many of its other counterparts in the horror genre, was inspired by work of a famous artist; in this case, it was the artwork of H. R. Giger. As was Giger's demand, the game was run in high resolution (which was 640 x 350 pixels at the time), and was the first point-and-click adventure game to do so. One unique feature of Dark Seed is that while other point-and-click games give the player unlimited time to explore and consider their options, this game placed a time limit on the player, which only added to their sense of dread.

One of the earliest survival horror games, Sweet Home was released in 1989 and was based on a Japanese horror film of the same name. The story follows five filmmakers who are exploring an old mansion and, as these types of things usually go, they awaken the terrors that lie within. Like most role-playing games from this time period, it features many Metrodvania-like gameplay elements. The minimal graphics and dark lighting really help add to the overall creepy vibe, and when a character dies, they're gone for good. As the game that's said to have inspired the Resident Evil series, Sweet Home is still a retro horror classic.

In this point-and-click adventure horror game, the player is tasked with finding their way through an abandoned house in search of their missing sister. The house can be explored in any order the player chooses, and there is even a secret art gallery that the cleverest of players can unlock. Upon release, Uninvited was praised for its graphics and almost universal use of the mouse, as it reportedly cut down on many players' frustrations with the point-and-click genre.

Not only is The 7th Guest a spooky, and somewhat campy, romp through a virtual haunted house, but it's also an important piece of gaming history. It was one of the first games to be released only on CD-ROM, was one of the first games to use live-action video footage as a core gameplay mechanic, and utilized an unprecedented amount of pre-rendered 3D graphics. It was a technical marvel of its time, so half of the fun of playing The 7th Guest today is seeing how far we've come since the early 90s. In addition to being released as various ports over the years, a 25th anniversary edition recently popped up on Steam.

Another Lovecraftian-inspired game, Anchorhead was developed, designed, and self-published by Michael S. Gentry, giving it a wholly original feel. The game takes place in a sleepy New England town and features a wonderfully atmospheric storyline with highly engrossing dialogue. Easily one of the most original games ever made, what makes Anchorhead really work as an interactive horror game is its ever-imposing sense of dread. There are no interactive menus or characters to control; the text-based adventure game relies on an engaging narrative to help set the pace. And because it's crafted so wonderfully, it's a game that stays with you well after you've completed it.

One of the oldest (if not the oldest) horror games ever made, Haunted House is notable for how it used the soundtrack to help amplify the fear level. As you explore certain areas, the music suddenly starts to get more tense, making you feel a bit unnerved as you pan about the screen. While the graphics may be considered rudimentary by today's standards, Haunted House was pretty scary for the early 80s. You play as a pair of eyes (yes, you read that right) exploring the abandoned home of a late Zachary Graves, attempting to recover the pieces of a broken urn.

Created exclusively for the 3DO, a console designed by Trip Hawkins, the founder of Electronic Arts, Escape from Monster Manor is a unique first-person shooter survival horror game. As goes the formula for many horror games, the player must make their way through an abandoned mansion, killing any supernatural enemies that stand in their way. The ultimate goal of the game is to find pieces of a talisman on every floor, and once all twelve floors are cleared, the player can make their escape.

Originally released as an arcade game that paid homage to slasher films and the work of H.P. Lovecraft, Splatterhouse was one of the most popular horror beat 'em ups of the '80s. Due to the extreme gore, violence, and other thematically questionable material, the port of the game was marked by a parental warning, making Splatterhouse fairly controversial in its time. Still, the classic gameplay and side-scrolling action still hold up fairly well today, and mixed with all that 16-bit gory goodness, it's a surprisingly fun horror game. The original game was finally remade in 2010, though it was plauged with issues.

The first self-published project released by Lucasfilm Games, which would later go on to become the legendary studio LucasArts, Maniac Mansion is a point-and-click adventure where you play as Dave, an "average" teenager who's attempting to save his girlfriend from a mad scientist whose mind has been consumed by a sentient meteor. The premise is as fun and off-the-wall as any would expect from LucasArts, and it's easy to see how Maniac Mansion was a precursor for beloved titles like The Secret of Monkey Island. While the game was originally released for Commodore 64, the Nintendo port was significantly censored, which caused a few rifts in the early gaming world