Yup. I had heard about the Cradle before ever playing that game. I had thought I was prepared. Boy, had I been wrong. It didn't give me nightmares, but it put me on edge like crazy. Only System Shock 2 matched the level of tension I felt while exploring the Cradle.

When Bethesda went to steam only since FO:NV? :P

Now Seriously: Elegia Eternum (1&2); these two are very professionally done Neverwinter Nights Modules. Very dark, mature & horror themed.

Will not rule out nostalgica clouds, has been LOTS of years ago when I played them.

Abandoned hotel in Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines. That damn ghost gave me the creeps even though she turned out to be good.

Has nobody here played The Suffering ? :/

Well it wasn't really that scary. But it was great.

I know it was a little too actiony for some, but it had it's share of scary moments.

The ninja in the hallway scene in Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes was horrifyingly violent imo:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yODvbOY5CXk

-STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl's Lab X-18
-The farmhouse in Condemned: Criminal Origins
-The Red Forest in STALKER Clear Sky
-The first encounter with a Chimera in STALKER Call of Pripyat
-Amnesia. Just Amnesia.
-The very end of Penumbra: Overture
-"The building" in Slender
-The first two Marine levels of Aliens vs Predator 2
-The "ladder scare" in FEAR
-The first Garrador battle in Resident Evil 4
-The woods leading to Lisa Trevor in the Resident Evil Remake (so tense!)


I'm sure there are more, but those are a few off the top of my head.

Assuming the horror genre includes both terror and horror games: So is mine. It's not only an excellent game in its own right (with an incredibly good AI), but it has provided terrifying moments which make you realize that they really thought out how to put them in, when and why. Although the type of environments is a bit repetitive, it never stands out as if it doesn't make sense. I also think that the clean and sterile feel of the offices give it a certain creepiness which fits really nicely.

From what I saw, I don't even consider the sequels as games of the same series due to the drastic change in overall quality.

Another game that I must mention (and probably only few people have played) is Dracula: Resurrection. Although it has a static frame-style gameplay, the envolving atmosphere it creates was/is scary. Recently, Amnesia had the same effect on me.

I still can't understand how anyone found FEAR scary. I mean, Monolith has always known how to set up their scares and do them well, and FEAR is no exception. But the pairing of "over-the-top ego shooter" and "Japhorror ghost scares that aren't related to the shooting in any way" really flopped, IMO. They did not compliment each other.

I still love the game, if only for the fantastic shooting. And hey, if you did find it scary, more power to you.

While overall I did not find Dead Space to be particularly scary, there is this one part kind of early in the game that always gets me. I think you get on an elevator, and as it'd descending, this random, horrible, heart-stopping scream rips through the air. Every stinking time I get to that part my heart stops for a minute.

And Amnesia... I dread the sewers. And the Choir. And the area right before the sewers. And the dungeon. And... yeah, Amnesia creeps me out.

Dunno what about others, but I actually figured out why I find FEAR scary: I hate scares. I do love the genuine feeling of dread and horror in a proper horror game, but I do hate scares with passion. I am a very stable person and hate when something jumps out, goes 'wobobobobobo,' give me a slight heart attack and shakes that stability a little for no good reason, it leaves me feeling a bit angry. And so, I'm walking trough the utterly excellent shooter that FEAR is, and am nervous about the next time when game decides to make me angry, again.

Reading the EULAs.

Then I agree with you. Awesome level.

For me?
Everything in Silent Hill 2 ;p

Two weeks ago I visited my friends and we sat in a group of 10 or so people and in turn played Slender on a laptop hooked up to a projector. It was weird. Usually when you watch horrors with friends there's a lot of laughs. But then we were all terrified.

Also, the first encounter with the Controller (or whatever he's called) from STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl scared the crap out of me.