Top 10 Scariest Supernatural Creatures In Video Games

“Unforgiving: A Northern Hymn” (2017) The right developer can work horrifying wonders with a smaller budget. Inspired by Swedish folklore, “Unforgiving: A Northern Hymn” places you in a dark forest and tasks you with escaping. Making that harder are twisted creatures itching to keep you there, or worse, take a bite out of you. The most troublesome foe is a towering, one-armed Troll. There’s no way for you to fight back. All you can do is flee, hide, and hope you can complete your objectives without it seeing you. While there are plenty of other scares to be had courtesy of other monsters, the Troll’s relentless pursuit will get your heart racing better than most.

“Assassin’s Creed Valhalla” (2020) Clearly based on tales from Norse mythology, this entry in Ubisoft’s long-running series features a plethora of famous Gods and other figures. However, the boss fight that intimidated us the most was against the gigantic wolf, Fenrir. With a mouth full of supremely sharp teeth and his blood-red eyes fixed directly on you, he’s quite the sight to behold. But the fight shows he has the ferocious combat prowess to back up his bark. You’ll get no indicator for any of his attacks, nor when he burrows underground. So you’ll constantly be on your toes, moving and waiting for the opportune moment to strike. Of course, Fenrir will probably have an easier time of that than you.

“Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” (2019) Although it is set in a fictionalized Japan, “Sekiro” still takes a lot of inspiration from Buddhist mythology. Monkeys and apes are seen in many Japanese folk tales, which unfortunately led to this imposing boss fight. The Guardian Ape may not seem that scary at first. Sure, it’s much larger than you and packs a mighty punch, but the Horror comes in the second phase. After you decapitate it, the Ape rises again to continue the fight. The second round is courtesy of a giant centipede controlling the Ape from the inside. The boss’ writhing body and aggressive tactics are unnerving to say the least, and they certainly weren’t expected.

#7: Lady Alcina Dimitrescu

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“Resident Evil Village” (2021) Prominent throughout European folklore, and pretty much everywhere now, the vampire is one of the world’s most famous monsters. And we don’t think any video game vampire has scared us quite as much as Lady Dimitrescu from “Resident Evil Village.” While the entire internet thirsted over her, actually going up against her and her three daughters was a nightmare. Ethan Winters became trapped in their castle, with every chance at freedom being blocked by the bloodsuckers. It was a thrilling game of cat and mouse with multiple cats. And while they weren’t in the game for very long, facing them had us on the edge of our seats, especially when Lady D transformed into her hellish final form.

“Until Dawn” (2015) The Wendigo of Algonquin Native American folklore has extremely dark origins, especially when viewed through “Until Dawn’s” lens. The interactive Horror game has you control multiple characters as they piece together mysteries and try to survive during a snow storm. Hunting them throughout the night are a group of the hungry, feral Wendigos. Representative of greed and immense hunger, people transform into Wendigos after resorting to cannibalism. While collecting clues and figuring out the history of the mountain and these monsters is fun, dealing with one of them certainly isn’t. They are absolutely vicious, wasting no time in ripping your characters to shreds should you make the wrong choice.

#5: Umi-Bozu

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“Nioh” (2017) Set during the same period as “Sekiro,” Team Ninja’s “Nioh” forces players to confront multiple Yokai, spirits from Japanese folklore. By far the most frightening is Umi-Bozu, a sea spirit who sounds like a real jerk. In folklore, it would appear on a calm day just to turn the ocean violent, wrecking ships in the process. In “Nioh,” it appears mostly made of water until you notice all of the broken ship parts swirling inside it. Still, its design may be simple compared to other yokai. But what it lacks there, it more than makes up for in tactics and the implication of what should happen should it envelop you. Drowning is a terrifying fate, and one that the Umi-Bozu loves to dole out.

“The Quarry” (2022) There have been many versions of werewolves throughout European folk tales. But “The Quarry” shows them at their most frightening, at least in video games. From the same developer behind “Until Dawn,” it follows a group of camp counselors on their final night. There’s a lot for players to contend with, chief among them being the werewolf curse spreading throughout the group. With stronger graphics and a more blood-thirsty creature, Supermassive took the familiar monster and breathed new, petrifying life into it. Any sequence where you must face one will have your hair standing on end. And every death at their hands, or rather mouths, will leave you squirming.

#3: Ghosts

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“Fatal Frame” Series (2001-14) Ghosts are found in a variety of cultures and folk tales. But Japan emphasizes their importance, and downright fear, more than many others, especially in Film. On the gaming side, we have the “Fatal Frame” series, which will have you humming the “Ghostbusters” theme just to keep calm. The original game was released in 2001 and was praised for the Camera Obscura mechanic, having players take pictures of and bring peace to dangerous spirits. You don’t know fear until you’re walking through a seemingly empty room, only to pull up your camera and see it isn’t empty at all. While the series has been quiet since 2014, “Fatal Frame” remains the best gaming series to center on malevolent ghosts.

“Bloodborne” (2015) FromSoftware chose to focus on Lovecraftian mythology for “Bloodborne,” which happened to work wonders in a more Horror-centric game. Many of the Gods and creatures found there already seem the stuff of nightmares, so it was a perfect fit. Ebrietas, Daughter of the Cosmos, may have been based on Cthulhu, as the two share several physical characteristics, including tentacles and huge wings. Regardless, she’ll make you think twice about picking up another Lovecraft book; her gaping face and the way she slithers about the arena is sure to make you a bit squeamish. There’s so much going on in her design that it’s actually hard to take it all in, which just makes things worse.

#1: The Crones

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“The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt” (2015) The witch is another monster that has transcended European folklore, becoming a staple of pop culture. In no video game are we more disgusted or frightened by them than in “The Witcher 3.” Found in the Velen swamps, Brewess, Weavess, and Whispess are nasty pieces of work. They each have disgusting physical characteristics, such as Weavess appearing blind due to a bug infestation in her face. Yuck. Furthermore, they all hold dear the most gruesome practices one would expect from witches, like cursing anyone who displeases them and a proclivity towards eating children. They’re also fought in a huge pool of blood for good measure. The crones are definitely vicious, but also more cunning than other, more animalistic creatures.