All Hallow’s Eve is upon us, and for many that means seeking out the best scares the holiday has to offer. If you’re one of those brave people who walk unfazed through haunted houses and yawn at the spookiest horror films, then why not try getting your scares at these video game locations?
As with our previous vacationfeatures, we know that you can’t actually go to any of the haunts on this list. In the spirit of the holiday we ask you to suspend your disbelief a little bit and delight at the thought of visiting these morbid hotspots.
All God’s Village (Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly)
Also known as Minakami Village, you can’t find this Japanese settlement unless it wants to find you. The village vanished at the behest of evil forces and only makes itself known to an unlucky few. Located on top of the aptly named Hellish Abyss, All God’s Village is filled with ghosts that certainly don’t have your best interests at heart. They were an unsavory lot when they were alive, too.
As villagers, they routinely participated in sacrificial rituals to appease the nefarious abyss. But nothing good lasts forever, not even tenuous détentes with sentient hell portals. Eventually a sacrifice went awry (as they so often do), and the abyss slaughtered the villagers, shrouding All God’s Village in eternal darkness. Now specters haunt the settlement, looking for a sacrifice to reverse the curse.
Spencer Mansion (Resident Evil)
Coming to you from the minds of deranged millionaire Oswell E. Spencer and architect George Trevor, Spencer Mansion is the most ornate bioweapons manufacturing facility in video games. With its imposing grand staircase, claustrophobic rooms, and labyrinthine halls, this home feels like it was pulled directly from a classic horror film.
This gothic mansion’s size may belie its number of living residents, but that doesn’t mean its many traps and undead inhabitants won’t get the best of you on your moribund tour. The mansion features an eclectic array of bio-organic weapons, nearly all of which are animals that were scary even before they were mutated. You’d do well not to linger for too long; the whole place is rigged to explode by the end of your trip.
Silent Hill (Silent Hill Series)
If you want scares tailor-made for you, then there’s no better place to look than Silent Hill. Whereas Spencer Mansion revels in its own ostentatious package, Silent Hill specializes in a quaint, personalized atmosphere. The denizens of this foggy northeastern town go to great lengths just to make your skin crawl. They warp their appearance – and that of the town – to give form to your repressed guilt and psychosexual desires.
Up next: A ghost town, a park, and an asylum.