#3. That Drowning Music [Sonic Series]
The drowning music in Sonic is the official theme of childhood trauma. The Sonic series is the furthest thing from a horror game, featuring happy critters bopping around colorful levels filled with harmless robots. Sure, the robots contain forest critters inside, but is there any doubt Sonic and friends will save everyone?
The problems arise when Sonic is stuck below water. As you run out of time, a panic-inducing pulse of music quickly picks up tempo, until it finally reaches a nerve-wracking crescendo at the end. We all hate that music and the fear it brings. Nobody wants to drown with Sonic, and the music is half the reason why. If you just drowned silently, nobody would care about Sonic’s untimely underwater demise.
#4. Shalebridge Cradle [Thief 3]
This might be the scariest thing in our list. It might be the scariest sequence in any video game ever. Shalebridge Cradle is a terrifying diversion — a sudden swerve in Thief 3 that most of us were absolutely not expecting. Thief 3 is a simple stealth game where you break into bad guy houses and rob everything you can.
It’s a dark game, sure, but the darkness is your friend. As the Thief, you’re safe in the dark! And you can always take out the guards. Shalebridge Cradle makes the darkness imposing — when you enter the haunted lair, freakish ghouls covered in metal cages stalk the hallways. You can’t kill them, only avoid them.
This level is so scary, it spawned an entire genre of imitators. Games like Outlast and Amnesia have Thief 3 to thank.
Discover more nightmare-inducing moments in gaming on the next page.
