A lot of video games nowadays are centred around one central theme – fear. Whether that’s the fear of unknown entities lurking in a thick mist, or the fear of ravenous zombies determined to make brain tartar out of us, games such as Left For Dead and Resident Evil leave us shaking with terror as we’re playing them.

The majority of antagonists from horror games are nothing more than mindless zombies or beasties that you can easily shoot down and be done with. But let’s take a look at some of the more central foes, and what causes them to leave lasting, terrifying images in our heads.

Crawlers – Dead Space 2

Face that only a mother could love, eh? It’s pretty likely that every monster from the Dead Space franchise could be put on this list, but the Crawlers are easily the creepiest. They’re the reanimated bodies of dead infants whose bodies and torsos are twisted backwards. They have one single purpose in their un-life; to crawl towards you, explode and kill you. Even the mention of a reanimated baby is enough to give anyone the heebie-jeebies, never mind the exploding.

Piggsy – Manhunt

Doesn’t take much to realise just how terrifying this guy is. Piggsy is a deranged and obese mass-murderer with a habit of carrying a chainsaw everywhere he goes, and did I mention that he likes to wear a severed pig’s head over his own? No? Really? Oh right. He likes to wear a severed pig’s head over his own.

Pyramid Head – Silent Hill

Pyramid Head’s design is easily the scariest thing about him. His weapon, the sharp angles of the pyramid helmet he wears and his blood-stained smock thingy he wears are easily enough to creep one out. What’s even creepier about him though, is the fact that the first time you encounter him, he does nothing but watch you, calmly and silently observing your actions. The second time though….well, that’s when you’ll probably need a change of kacks.

Know of anyone else from a game that gives you the willies? Leave us a comment!

-Luke