Another Spooktober has come and gone, and what a time we had! We came up with four themes – scariest horror subgenre, worst type of scare, scariest enemies, and scariest environments – and offered up our own articles for each. But that wasn’t all. We asked you, our loyal readers and supporters, to lend your voices to this year’s celebration of all things spooky in games and gaming. With the four weekly themes came four polls, and we really appreciate everyone who voted! Last week we posted the results, and we thought it’d be fun to follow up with our reactions to them. If you have any thoughts on our poll results, please leave them in the comments, as they may help determine the routes of future Spooktobers here on Virtual Bastion. With that, let’s get the spook-tacular Spooktober conversation started!

Hatmonster:

Talking about horror is one of my favorite things to do around Halloween time, so I was pretty excited to see how everyone would respond to our polls. To be completely honest though, I was pretty confident that I was going to be able to guess the outcomes accurately. I dunno, I suppose it’s one of those things that I thought I had a good handle on. Anyway that’s not how it went at all! I was certain that “Jumpscare” would take the top spot in the horror subgenre poll since it tends to get the most immediate and visceral reactions out of people. Yet, it was the psychological subgenre that won out! I’m all for that too as I personally think scary ideas trump a quick jolt any day of the week, but still.

Also, I was a bit surprised at how much support “being chased” and “abandoned buildings” got too. I also happen to agree with those, but I figured jumpscares and outright bloody stuff would take the day. As for abandoned buildings, well I guess I’m just not the only one that hates them. (Though I was surprised that confined spaces beat vast ones. I just figured being swallowed up in nothingness would be worse than being confined, but then maybe they’re just two sides of the same coin.)

The Duck of Indeed:

I’m kind of the opposite of Hatmonster, in that I assumed that what scares me would typically differ from everyone else. So that’s why I was a little surprised that the first two polls received the most votes for things that scared me, as well. Psychological horror is also my top pick for the scariest genre, and the top two picks for the most frightening type of scare is also what I would have chosen. I’m especially surprised that so many people are afraid of being chased. I thought I had an unnatural aversion to it. I’d imagine playing tag as a kid would be a much more frightening ordeal than it ought to be. But no, it’s good to see that I’m not the only person who’s terrified of being chased. I just hate it!

As for jumpscares getting fewer votes, I have to wonder if Five Nights at Freddy’s is partially responsible for this. Jumpscares used to work on me fairly well, but after playing or watching others play FNAF over the years, I rarely ever react to them anymore. So maybe FNAF just desensitized most people to jumpscares, as it did me, making them less scary to people.

The other two polls surprised me more. While I often believe that what we don’t see is scarier than what we do, I’m still rather surprised that unseen enemies received the most votes over something with a more physical presence. And I agree with Hatmonster on the fourth poll. I, too, am surprised that claustrophobic spaces beat really open ones. I hate cramped spaces, too, but open water and outer space freak me out more than anything. Space just goes on forever…and seeing dark water beneath my feet that could extend downwards for miles is just too distressing…but I’d rather not think about that any longer.

Cary:

I guess I fall somewhere in the middle with jumpscares. I am surprised that it didn’t get more votes, because they are in and make up a lot of horror games, but I also don’t consider jumpscares to be very scary. In fact, I find them a little annoying, but that’s mostly because I startle easily. Y’know, I’m just minding my business trying to escape from a haunted house or something, and then, BAM!, jumpscare! Yeesh, I could have had a heart attack while trying to stay alive! But, I digress… I get why psychological came out on top. In the middle of trying to escape from that haunted house, the things I don’t see, make up in my mind, or only perceive as real can be far worse than an actual encounter. When that zombie is standing in front of me, I know what I’m dealing with. When my mind tricks me into thinking that there might be a zombie up ahead, and all the signs point to it, but then…nothing happens…that awful feeling of dread still remains. It’s exhausting!

Speaking of exhausting, I also dislike being chased – it’s the theme of some of the worst nightmares I’ve ever had. That sense of inescapability is very frightening, so makes sense it would make the top spot for worst type of scare. And that unseen enemies won for scariest enemies follows in line with the psychological winning the top subgenre spot. Our brains are our worst enemies sometimes! They are too good at imagining the worst, “seeing” things that aren’t there, and conjuring feelings of despair. It’s all the better when a horror game can capitalize on all that, especially when overcoming those fears leads to feeling like a hero, or at least a survivor, at the end.

Of the four polls, the fourth poll’s results surprised me the most, with claustrophobic spaces coming out on top as scariest environment. I really thought abandoned buildings would take first place, because they are just hallmarks in scary games. Then again, maybe that’s why they didn’t, because they are just so prevalent. Being trapped in a small space, well…that’s not just scary, it can be life-threatening! Just think of all the horror situations that focus on someone being buried alive.

Ugh, I really wish I hadn’t just thought of that.