7 most terrifying VR games and experiences just in time for Halloween
Dressing up is certainly one way you can spend Halloween. Some of us prefer to be so scared we start to feel our throats constrict and eyes water. Mix in some virtual reality (VR) or 360-degree video and there's honestly no way to escape the horror of these experiences. A few of the titles here are actually free, short tastes to get your anxious enough before settling in for a longer ride. Others are designed just for VR headsets including Oculus Quest and PlayStation VR. Whatever option you choose, make sure you've double checked the locks on the doors and windows in your home, and maybe keep your back near a wall. The days are getting shorter, and the nights longer. We warned you.
Dreadhalls
A fan favorite, Dreadhalls is finally coming to the Oculus Quest on October 3, 2019 for $9.99. The virtual reality romp takes you through a dungeon, through doors into dimly lit spaces (of course) where you'll likely have to pass a skeleton or two hanging in cages. Is this your fate? Who knows. The game is already available for the Oculus Go for just $4.99 and has been a popular thriller game since 2013.
IT Chapter 2
Here's a nearly six-minute virtual reality nod to Pennywise and his haunting persona, which dropped before the movie, It Chapter 2 actually opened. We're talking about 180-degrees of some pretty terrifying imagery, perfect for screening during a Halloween event too. Thousands have already viewed the video on YouTube, proof that while clowns are the scariest thing on earth, people can't get enough of them. We might argue otherwise. But if clowns are your horror, then this is the jam for you.
Blair Witch
Blair Witch, a game from Steam, built from the 1996 movie which plants you back into the forest where the terrifying happenings started. (Remember those dolls?) Now we're following an officer and his dog, investigating the disappearance of a young boy. The game, on Steam, starts at $29.99, and just launched in August of this year — fresh new imagery just in time for Halloween.
Oculus Quest All-in-one VR Gaming Headset - 64GB
The Inpatient
The Inpatient, built for PlayStation VR, plants you right where you think you'll be, inside a sanatorium, back in the 1950s. It's retro, it's dark and it's going to make you look over your shoulder. You have amnesia in the game, and you can create multiple endings — fitting since you don't even know where you've come from to start. You can download the game for $19.99 or buy a disk for the same price.
Morgue VR
The Morgue is a free VR horror experience that puts you front and center of the creepiest location of them all, a morgue. Now mix in some zombies, and you've got less than five minutes before you'll find yourself in the wrong place, wrong time. Mix in a door that chimes as if you're walking into your neighborhood hardware store, and the tension is pretty spectacular.
Elevator Horror
Not for those who have to ride elevators everyday, this short, free, video, aptly named 360 Elevator Horror, drops you in to an alternate universe from an elevator ride. There's steam, elevator cars that inexplicably flood, and then a figure appears — and vanishes. This is hardly a comfortable video, even for something this short. All we can say is, you'll think twice before riding an elevator alone in a strange building again.
Annabelle Comes Home
This is another play on taking horror films in the movie and creating a terrifying changeling that you can watch as a pre-movie bite. In Annabelle Comes Home, the three-minute 360-degree experience walks you through the room where the possessed doll is. Don't open the door. (Except, you know what is going to happen, don't you.) Terrified? You will be.
Oculus Go Standalone Virtual Reality Headset - 32GB
