Jürgen Hubert
First Post
The current US government.
(ducks and runs for cover)
(ducks and runs for cover)
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What Scares You?
- Thread starter blackshirt5
- Start date
AuroraGyps
First Post
Yeah, big spiders that *JUMP* out at ya. Heck, little spider freak me out, but that's another story.
Actually anything that JUMPS out scares me. Evil Dead was torture... especially with my friend spooking me from his perch on his bunkbed. And those little face grabbing things from
Half-Life,
... my ex wouldn't let me watch him play after a while because I kept screaming in his ear.Actually, in a D&D game we came upon a village that had a "plague" (that's what people were calling it). In it every living thing was a zombie and they just kept going about their daily lives. So we came upon a dead woman that just kept washing and hanging her laundry over & over while the kids were playing in he yard. Meanwhile everything is falling apart and deteriorating. Very creepy and unsettling.
Carnies... Circus folk, nomads, you know. Smell like cabbage. Small hands.
Okay, obligatory joke aside, Philip hit the nail on head. The scariest thing is the unknown. From that sound you think you just heard from over there in the dark, to the fact that you just entered a town that should be teaming with people but appears abandoned. The worst part of any horror is simply being caught up in something you don't understand and can't explain.
For myself, I've got pretty active imagination, so it doesn't take a whole lot of anything to set my skin crawling. Seeing a movie like The Ring sets my "scare the crap out of me" section of my brain on overdrive. Ditto with certain books (Stephen King's The Tommyknockers).
Heck, I don't even need a catalyst. Set me in a house, by myself, on a quiet night with nothing to do, and watch the fun. Thankfully, I've got decent self control and a firm grasp on reality, otherwise I'd probably end up bugging the crap out of a friend everytime the electric went off, lol.
Okay, obligatory joke aside, Philip hit the nail on head. The scariest thing is the unknown. From that sound you think you just heard from over there in the dark, to the fact that you just entered a town that should be teaming with people but appears abandoned. The worst part of any horror is simply being caught up in something you don't understand and can't explain.
For myself, I've got pretty active imagination, so it doesn't take a whole lot of anything to set my skin crawling. Seeing a movie like The Ring sets my "scare the crap out of me" section of my brain on overdrive. Ditto with certain books (Stephen King's The Tommyknockers).
Heck, I don't even need a catalyst. Set me in a house, by myself, on a quiet night with nothing to do, and watch the fun. Thankfully, I've got decent self control and a firm grasp on reality, otherwise I'd probably end up bugging the crap out of a friend everytime the electric went off, lol.
Water. Not the water that comes out of the tap, or the water in a swimming pool, but the water of a lake or river. Anything big, natural, dark, filthy-looking. Especially if I can't see the bottom. What really creeps me out is the sound of rushing water (rapids, waterfall, watermill, ...) nearby, even more so when I don't know where it's coming from. One of the freakiest experiences I had during a severe thunderstorm. I was out with my bike and had to go through a tunnel. But the lower part of that tunnel had flooded, and I didn't notice until I was down there. I found a way around, fortunately, and I think I had never raced off that fast before
Big spiders are not on my "all-time favorites" list either...
What can also be scary is if you dream something that so incredibly life-like, and then you suddenly wake up. You're wide awake in an instant, and because of that, you have no idea if it was real or just a dream (especially if the dream took place in the same house where you're sleeping).
Big spiders are not on my "all-time favorites" list either...
What can also be scary is if you dream something that so incredibly life-like, and then you suddenly wake up. You're wide awake in an instant, and because of that, you have no idea if it was real or just a dream (especially if the dream took place in the same house where you're sleeping).
Shadowdancer
First Post
I have to agree with those who have said the unknown. I once started messing with my players' minds when they were out in the woods, a la "The Blair Witch Project" (I had seen it, none of them had). They freaked.
Also, find out what the players fear in real life, and start including that. For example, one of my players is terrified of demonic possession (strict Catholic upbringing). Just hinting that some sort of demonic force might have taken over someone, and she might be next -- she's scared.
Another player is scared of snakes, so I throw snakes at them all the time. Or I drop hints that snakes might be up ahead, and even if it turns out there arent' any, she still gets scared.
Also, find out what the players fear in real life, and start including that. For example, one of my players is terrified of demonic possession (strict Catholic upbringing). Just hinting that some sort of demonic force might have taken over someone, and she might be next -- she's scared.
Another player is scared of snakes, so I throw snakes at them all the time. Or I drop hints that snakes might be up ahead, and even if it turns out there arent' any, she still gets scared.
Argent Silvermage
First Post
Watching helplessly as innocents are slaughtered.
Have an entire planet evacuate to another dimension leaving the PCs to deal with the mess they created. In Avonshar I had the players set loose an ancient evil diety on a colony world. The main city evacuated leaving a total of 30 people on the planet, PCs included. The sense of forboding and the creepieness of the creatures (mostly insect/amphibian hybrids) brings a wonderful scary atmosphere.
Have an entire planet evacuate to another dimension leaving the PCs to deal with the mess they created. In Avonshar I had the players set loose an ancient evil diety on a colony world. The main city evacuated leaving a total of 30 people on the planet, PCs included. The sense of forboding and the creepieness of the creatures (mostly insect/amphibian hybrids) brings a wonderful scary atmosphere.
GreyShadow
Explorer
Not terribly fond of spiders. Dead if I can do anything about them, or at least outside and away from me. An ex-girlfriend of mine used to be mega freaked out by spiders. She never used to be till one day she closed the toilet door, it was there, and then it jumped on her. You'll know if there's a spider on the bin if she takes the garbage out.
Being wrong. Actually I think it's being proven wrong that I'm afraid of.
Last one, of not being in control.
Being wrong. Actually I think it's being proven wrong that I'm afraid of.
Last one, of not being in control.
Crothian's post count
Horrible illness, dying a slow painful death, going blind.
Horrible illness, dying a slow painful death, going blind.
WayneLigon
Adventurer
IRL: Fire (Everything it touches, even flesh, it destroys or twists permanently), Heights, becoming physically disabled in some major way. Old age (no, you dang kids, not 50 or something like that. That span between the point where you can no longer care for yourself and when you finally die).
For gaming: usually when I create a character, one of the questions on a checklist I try to answer is 'what am I really scared of'. It turns out differently each time. The currect character I'm running, he's scared of a lot but has to maintain a 'cool' exterior. He's scared of those more powerful than him (his ultimate boss is an old Mob capo, of the scary 'he's like your favorite granddaddy until you tick him off and he orders you sandblasted to death' type), he's scared of becoming useless to those more powerful than him, he's scared he's going to Hell, etc, etc.
For gaming: usually when I create a character, one of the questions on a checklist I try to answer is 'what am I really scared of'. It turns out differently each time. The currect character I'm running, he's scared of a lot but has to maintain a 'cool' exterior. He's scared of those more powerful than him (his ultimate boss is an old Mob capo, of the scary 'he's like your favorite granddaddy until you tick him off and he orders you sandblasted to death' type), he's scared of becoming useless to those more powerful than him, he's scared he's going to Hell, etc, etc.
howandwhy99
Adventurer
I have to back up Shadowdancer on finding out what your players are afraid of. Knowing any of their irrational fears will really help you play out scenes which you know will get a response.
