Ghosts are a trope in horror, but what makes them a trope that continues to pop up in various art forms is their diversity. Video games use ghosts in a variety of ways. Some serve merely to be there for aesthetic purposes, while some appear as horrifying creatures.
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This list aims to show the ghosts that are some of the mostmemorably terrifyingin their unique way, but the first few are ghosts that are scarier towards younger audiences or when thought about deeply. The list will get substantially more frightening as it progresses.
10Ug - Luigi’s Mansion 3
Ug isn’t traditionally scary like other ghosts players might face in other games. This is because it’s a ghost from Luigi’s Mansion 3. A game can really only get so scary before it gets thrown a rating of T tag, so Nintendo stayed within the realm of making their game accessible to everyone.
None of that takes away from the fact that Ug is one of the most horrifying bosses in the game. His T-rex form is menacing, but players get a good look at the slightly scary caveman ghost Ug when he gets out of that form and shows his true self.
9The Hero’s Shade – The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
This ghost is terrifying in more of an existential dread type of way than anything else, though some young audiences might find him creepy. The Hero’s Shade in The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess is actually a dead alternate timeline Link that’s gone through time to help its descendent become a Hero. The Hero’s Shade is useful, but he is a reminder of Link’s inevitable demise.
The Hero’s Shade is not the scariest ghost on the list but one of the most intriguing as he is the Link that was never remembered for the heroic deeds that he accomplished in his timeline.
8The Sorrow - Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
The Sorrow in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater feels like the player has been taken out of the action-packed stealth game and thrown into a survival horror type of situation. As some later games let players know, The Sorrow cannot take damage because he’s already dead.
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The Sorrow can summon the spirits of all the soldiers that Snake has killed, so this fight can get rough as players continue with the killing. The Sorrow is a spooky, mysterious figure that horrified many who got trapped fighting him after dark.
7Ghost - Dark Souls
The Ghost enemy inDark Soulsis an enemy that will catch the player off guard with its attacks while simultaneously scaring them. A lot of thought went into this character to provide the players with an enemy that needs to be killed strategically. If players run into the New Lando ruins unprepared, these ghosts will take them out.
The players must also be cursed to land some damage to the Ghost. They can also go through and attack through walls, so players must be on the lookout for their long reach.
6Chairman - Ghostbusters: The Video Game
The Chairman’s design is the scariest that the game has to offer despite Ghostbusters: The Video Game playing more like anaction-packed adventure game. This boss, however, feels like it belongs in the Outlast series with its style. The ghost is a large man with giant robes that make him look like the leader of a cult.
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His fight will have him floating over the players, making him a formidable opponent. He will do a lot of attacks based on what looks like souls being summoned to deal damage, and players will also have to micromanage waves of enemies while defeating him.
The Spirit inDead By Daylightlooks like something players could expect in their nightmares or a random sleep paralysis episode. The Spirit is a girl who went by the name Rin Yamaoka and was murdered by her father when he lost his mind. After being brutally murdered, she was fueled by rage and made a pact with whispering darkness.
Her powers make her feel like a real ghost as she can phase walk. In that state, she won’t be able to see players, but she moves quickly, and they won’t be able to see her. Her entire play style is a force to go against and enjoyable to get the hang of.
4Revenant - Phasmophobia
Phasmophobiahas many types of ghosts that players have to deal with, but the Revenant is the magnum opus of the game’s ghost collection as it is the fastest that the game has to offer. The ghost is twice as fast as the players, so there aren’t a lot of ways they can defend against it.
The fact that the game offers different ghost models of the Revenant is what makes this character so horrifying.
3The Hanged Demon - Little Hope
The Hanged Demon is The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope’s most horrific boss in the story because of all the different elements that follow this ghost. The ghost is reminiscent of a lady hanged as a rotting corpse. The scene where she is chasing the players is one of the best in the game.
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The way in which she will kill the players using her long tongue as a noose is also disgustingly dreadful. The death animation from it is not one for those who get queasy easily as it is panic-inducing.
2Alma Wade - F.E.A.R. 2
Alma Wade in F.E.A.R. 2 is one of the weirdest ghosts on this list for reasons soon to be touched upon. She provides some primary scares in the game. She, however, ends up having a not-so PG-13 experience with the game’s main character while also morphing into a malnourished ghost monster. It’s probably one of the most disturbing things in the game, if not the series.
Alma Wade does a good job at being the main antagonist of the series in all the F.E.A.R. games, but she has the most shocking and ominous presence in F.E.A.R. 2.
1Sae Kurosawa - Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly
Sae Kurosawa in Fatal Frame 2: Crimson Butterfly is a ghost that players do not want to be around if they are brave enough to play this game at night. Every encounter with her will remind players of her horrific laugh. The boss fight is full of it as her laugh will echo, and the music chimes will get louder.
The game does a great job with the sound design of the fight and using the combat to show her terrifying smile while the players fight against her. She also tells the revolting story of her death as her fight continues.
