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The Essential VR Horror This Halloween

Halloween is nearly upon us…what better way to get your thrills than in full VR immersion? 

It’s no surprise that VR can pack a whole lot of scary punch. After all, some of the most memorable VR experiences are the ones designed to test your limits. We love the energy this brings out in VR creators and enthusiasts, which is why we’ve teamed up with CTRL Collective to make tomorrow’s VR Haunted Carnival a living nightmare in the best possible way, bringing you a healthy mix of some of our favorite VR scares.

Here’s our selections for Halloween 2017, starting with a collection of room-scale horror VR experiences courtesy of our friends at HTC Vive:

HTC VIVE Horror Experiences

When you really want to get your heart pounding, full roomscale immersion is a great place to start. Strap into your HTC Vive and check these out from the “comfort” of your own home.

AFFECTED: The Manor 

Fallen Planet Studios

A wise man once said that “heroes get remembered, but legends never die.” AFFECTED is one of the most notable titles in VR—scaring millions worldwide, racking up over 200 million hits on YouTube—and the first chapter of the trilogy is now available on Steam, completely remastered for 2017. Enter the manor and use your wits to survive…if you dare.

Escape Bloody Mary

Well Told Entertainment

Remember hearing about the legend of “Bloody Mary” growing up? Well, that’s about to get too real. Nothing like a childhood ritual gone terribly wrong to start your Halloween on the right foot! Kill the lights, put the candles out, and utter her name three times into a mirror to see her appear before your very eyes. Once you’ve invoked Mary there’s no turning back; you just have to see if you can escape before she claims your mortal soul.

Manifest 99

Flight School Studio

Step inside an ominous train ride ushering you through the afterlife. But where exactly are you going? Who are you? And who are these travel companions? Find out for yourself in this beautifully crafted, atmospheric journey into the wild unknown.

Don’t Knock Twice

Wales Interactive

“One knock to wake her from her bed, twice to raise her from the dead.” Don’t Knock Twice is a psychological horror not for the faint of heart. Unless you think you have what it takes to make it out alive.

Obscura

Michael Hegemann

This is  a different kind of game, using atmosphere and programmatic storytelling to give you a completely unique experience…literally. Your job is to learn your environment and the tools at your disposal so that you’re as prepared as you can possibly be when it comes time to face the not-quite-invisible entity pursuing you. Rather than rely on jump scares and violence, Obscura brings you something new each time, with fully randomized events inside an environment, so even if you think you know what this experience has in store, you’re only just beginning to understand it; each return visit to the experience draws you deeper “into the dark.”

Raptor Valley

Andrew Stout

Nobody could accuse Mr. Stout of false advertising. In this game, you find yourself all alone in a dark valley. You hear sounds all around you: whipping wind, fluttering grass, buzzing insects. Then: breathing. You scramble to find weapons, but only uncover your flashlight. Survive the night by using light to fend off the raptors who see you as the best imaginable midnight snack.

Mindshow

Mindshow, Inc.

Just in time for Halloween, Mindshow has launched its “Spooky Mansion Playset,” so if you’d rather be the one making the experience, step inside one of the new characters—including a werewolf, skeleton, and ghost—summon your best acting chops, and make spooky stories to your heart’s content.

Crappy Zombie Game

Crappy Zombie Game Studio

Look, we’re all guilty of getting a little bored sometimes. Spice things up with this wave zombie shooter that’s anything but crappy.

Mobile Horror Experiences

The Parksville Murders

Opera On Tap

Sarah and Corrine emerge from sleep to find themselves in a dark world of surreal visuals, inverted time, haunting sounds—and clearly no small dose of evil intent. Masked figures assemble around them. Music escalates. One woman scrambles out…to discover that this world might be even weirder than it already seemed. But who are you exactly? In the twisted universe of The Parksville Murders, you are one of the ‘Watchers.’ Now you have to decide: will you help Sarah escape this ceremony of evil?

Sisters: Faye & Elsa

Otherworld Interactive

Take a trip back to the sweet year of 1993, in Willahauk, Massachusetts. Your Aunt Faye has gone missing, and you’re locked insider her house. In the first episode of this horror-adventure franchise, your job is to solve the puzzles laid out throughout your Aunt’s house to figure out what has happened to her. But even though the house seems empty, don’t go thinking you’re the only entity around…and especially don’t go thinking there isn’t some freaky inter-generational mystery at play here.

Mule

Dark Corner Studios, The Mill

“Buried or cremated?” is not necessarily the question you want to be asked on your deathbed, but look, this isn’t all about you. You’re a drug addict who has overdosed and is on your way to the great beyond. This is your chance to make peace with your life…that is, if you can get past all the horrors you have to watch around you.

The Conjuring 2

Paper Triangles

The breakout experience is now available for your viewing pleasure—and believe us, it conjures more than enough dread. Go deep into the Hodgson’s house and experience every bit of the terror of the Enfield Haunting up close and (very, very) personal.

Memos from Hell

Prologue Immersive

Sometimes, the devil is in the details. This VR film series follows a graduating class of “Tempters,” devils learning how to harvest souls. Join them in their quest for academic excellence in the most ghoulish of endeavors.

VR Haunted Carnival

We’re not calling it a carnival for nothing. In addition to all these VR experiences we just mentioned, there will be live audio-visual performances by an eclectic mix of local legends and VR artists, an open bar, food trucks on site, and yes, even a ferris wheel.

Plus you can jump into Positron’s Voyager for some spooky spins, BlackBoxTV will present outtakes from their widely popular YouTube series “360 Horror” presented in the dome by 360 Dome Pro, and Two Bit Circus is bringing “The Ledge,” an experience that pushes your vertigo to the limit in a skyscraper window-washing job gone very, very wrong. Los Angeles heavyweight Light Sail VR is also bringing a slate of frights, including Paranormal Activity 360 Seance, Haute & Haunted, The Off Season, and the trailer for Speak of the Devil.

And be sure to experience the haunted halls of Rolling Hills Asylum in VR with the world premiere of the second episode of NextVR’s original series Paranormal Evidence.

If you’re interested in feeling good about how you get your evil thrills, we’re thrilled to share that a portion of the proceeds from the event will be donated to CSSSA Foundation (CSSSAF), a nonprofit that raises a diverse array of private sector funds for the California State Summer School for the Arts.

Get the invite for our next event. Sign up for future LA events here.

About the Scout

Jesse Damiani

Jesse Damiani is Editor-at-Large of VRScout and Deputy Director of Emerging Technology at Southern New Hampshire University. He's also Series Editor for Best American Experimental Writing (Wesleyan University Press) and the author of @endless$pectator: The Screens Suite #loliloquy (BlazeVOX, 2017). Other writing can be found on Adweek, Billboard, Forbes, Quartz, and The Verge.

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