The top 10 scariest PC games

Posted at: Wednesday 31st October 2007 by Mike Jennings

Too old to get away with trick-or-treating? Then stay indoors with our countdown of the top 10 scariest PC games ever made

Fear is an unusual emotion. It's a mixture of physical and psychological impulses that generate a familiar set of reactions: muscles become flooded with oxygen to prepare for immediate bursts of activity; the extra blood needed generates heat, and small beads of perspiration begin to assemble on your skin; your pupils dilate to allow you to see farther, and you're more inclined to violent, uncharacteristic or erratic behaviour. Fear isn't very nice.

And yet, it's been a part of human consciousness – and human culture – since, well, the beginning of time. Horror films are huge business: the Saw trilogy has grossed over £170 million at the Box Office, and the literary genius of Mary Shelley's ‘Frankenstein’ spawned the entire genre.

It was as natural as fear itself, then, that horror would play a pivotal part in the history of gaming. From the incessant, enigmatic alien beeps in Space Invaders to today's epic survival horror titles that rival Hollywood productions for budget and impact. Which games, though, are the real spine-tinglers? Which titles call for an immediate underwear replacement or send you screaming from the room? Read on, as we discover the top 10 knee-knockingly terrifying PC titles of all time.

Click on the game titles below for all the gory details.