Scariest horror game for a non-gamere to try

[Broax]

Hey everyone...

Well, my girlfriend doesn't really like games. She enjoys playing casual games like angry birds and she's really into The Sims but she can't acknowledge value in anything else (you don't imagine how much time I spent trying to explain to her how awesome KSP is).

The thing, she respects my view as she understands games are very important for me and I respect (although am secretly a bit sad for) her lack of fascination for an entire entertainment medium. I honestly just think she's been playing the wrong games and am anticipating Telltale's Game of Thrones game (she loooves GoT) as I think that might slightly change her opinion. But that's all aside from the main point.

The point is: Although she tries to respect games she doesn't believe a game can be scary. I don't believe I can make her like games but I do believe games are at least (if not more) as scary as movies. There's tons of reasons for why I think that so I'm not going into that here...

So we made a bet... If I can introduce her to a game that genuinely frightens her she pays me dinner and acknowledge games as scary... If she's not scared I'll pay dinner... Seems simple, right?

So here is where I need some help: I need help deciding which game she should play. She finds ghost/haunting movies scarier so I wanted a horror game that would focus more on supernatural. Also since she isn't a gamer I would like a game that'd have a simple control scheme so she could quickly forget which keys to press. The third thing that is very important is, she's not going to play the game for 8 hours straight to beat it so it either must be a small(ish) game or a game where the horror escalates pretty quickly and the scarier parts are delivered relatively quickly. Also any suggestion must keep in mind she doesn't exactly "respect" games all that much so we need to think if the game might be considered "silly" to a non-gamer. If she sees a horror trope on a movie she ignores it but if she see's it on a game I think she'll be quick to point it out, laugh and dismiss the rest of the experience as the immersion will be killed.

So, the game must:

• Be about supernatural horror (like Paranormal Activity or The Conjuring) and not about other kinds of horror (zombies, aliens, monsters, psychopaths);
  
• Be small or at least quick to deliver some good scares (she won't play for that long);
  
• The game must avoid things that might be considered "funny" or else she'll disengage of the experience. This includes over the top action sequences and maybe some of the things from the latter silent hill games (giant faces on a room);
  
• Have a simple (as much as possible) control scheme so she can easily get used to it. If she spends a lot of time thinking about the correct keys to press she'll quickly jump out of the immersion.
  
• Not be heavy on action/shooting. Somehow I doubt she'd have the same experience I had from a game like F.E.A.R.
  
• Make her s*** her pants.
  

The person that gives the most helpful answer will win a free prize!

So.. Any good ideas?

EDIT: I forgot one important thing which is the platform! The game can be for PS1, PS2, PS3, xBox360 or PC. If you suggest a game for PC please specify if you'd think it'd be better to play with the keyboard+mouse combo or an xBox360 controller. I'm planing on having her play with headphones and on a dark room.

As for older games please consider if the clunky graphics might be a turn off for her. Remember she's not a gamer so her threshold for graphic fidelity is quite low and she might be quick to disengage from the characters if she can't relate to them.

Edited November 1, 2014 by Broax
Added the platform

[Ikaneko]

Simple answer:

Slender: the eight pages.

Scared the pants off me. (I screamed for about 30 seconds straight when I saw him first)

[Brethern]

Paranormal,

Amnesia

that's all I got.

[Dispatcher]

Penumbra series. You have no weapons and cannot fight. That crowbar is only for breaking barriers.

Amnesia series You still have no weapons and cannot fight.

Clive Barker's Undying From here on out you have (or need) weapons.

System Shock series

Half Life series has its moments.

While the latter are more "science fiction" and less "horror", I'll let you decide for yourself (or she can choose, but the element of surprise is effective). All of these are for PC (some are for Mac too), so I recommend a keyboard/ mouse system of control; mainly because that is my preference and my experience with such control is that it works well.

My girlfriend is not into games much, but the ones she plays are those like the Myst series. However, she loves watching some games being played, and the horror ones above gave her good frights.

Edited November 2, 2014 by Dispatcher

[Krosulhah]

Cry of Fear. scary as hell, and it even comes with a warning that says it may cause depression and suicide. So, With a warning like that, it's gotta be scary. (I personally couldn't play more than 5 minutes of it, because it was too scary for me >.>)

Oh, and it's on PC, and it's free.

[Razor235]

SCP Containment Breach

It combines horror and sci-fi, and is based on the SCP Foundation The game is for PC, and is best played with mouse/keyboard.

Edited November 2, 2014 by Razor235

[ArchmageNydia]

SCP Containment Breach

It combines horror and sci-fi, and is based on the SCP Foundation website. The game is for PC, and is best played with mouse/keyboard.

I agree wholeheartedly, as well as I would like to add Silent Hill. Not especially paranormal, but it has an amazing reputation and is one of the best horror games imo. Go for the less recent ones if you like more ambiance than jumpscares. It's for PS and Xbox iirc.

[Avatu]

Some of my favourites that fit into your criteria would be Amnesia, Penumbra series and SCP. Outlast and Darkness Within 2 might also hit the mark (there is a decent list available here as well).

[mordin86]

Yes - first Amnesia, Penumbra serie and Alien Isolation.

[lajoswinkler]

If she isn't a gamer and basics of computer games are new to her, such as simply walking through a 3D space, etc., then Slender: The Eight Pages.

It's one of those things I've never been able to get used to. It frightens me every time. The key is in simplicity and the terror you create for yourself.

[Daid]

Amnesia works great, if you do it proper. No day light in the room. Headphones, no interacting with her. Let her sit and play.

[Starwhip]

Simple answer:

Slender: the eight pages.

Scared the pants off me. (I screamed for about 30 seconds straight when I saw him first)

SO much yes. This game is quick to play, free to play, and scary as all hell if you get jump-scared at the wrong time.

That building that looks like a bathroom... never, never, ever again. I got a scare so bad (Turned a corner and Slenderman was RIGHT FREAKING THERE, it played the noise and everything ) in that place that it put me off the game for like three months.

[Broax]

Thanks for the ideas everyone... :-) I'm at work right now, I'll try to review the answers more carefully as soon as I get home! :-)

[KerbMav]

Thanks for the ideas everyone... :-) I'm at work right now, I'll try to review the answers more carefully as soon as I get home! :-)

How do I make this not sound awkward - probably more fun this way anyway: Hide a cam in your playroom.

[Broax]

So, the results are in!

So Amnesia was the clear winner but even though I agree it might be one of the scariest I must say it has a rather complicated control scheme... Also I think it takes too much time building up horror (which in part makes it a good choice). The thing is I'm afraid she'll might loose interest by the time something really scary happens.

So we go to our next choice which is a tie between SCP Containment Breach, Penumbra and Slender. Penumbra has the same issues as Amnesia (while I loooved Penumbra). Which leaves us with SCP and Slender... I know Slender is great and very scary and since I have the newer version (Slender: The arrival) we can play that. It's about ghosts (a ghost) it has very simple controls and each playthrough can be very quick. On the other hand I never heard of SCP: Containment Breach. It does look very promising but I'm afraid it might be a bit too much like F.E.A.R. or Dead Space. Even though it's scary I'm afraid she'll be turned off by the sci-fi setting.

Still I'm going to take a closer look at SCP: Containment Breach but for now...

THE WINNER IS: SLENDER!!

For those interested, here's a complete list of results (ranked by votes and alphabetical order):

Amnesia - 5

Penumbra - 3

SCP Containment Breach - 3

Slender - 3

Alien Isolation - 1

Clive Barker's Undying - 1

Cry of Fear - 1

Darkness Within 2 - 1

Half-Life - 1

Paranormal - 1

Outlast - 1

Silent Hill - 1

System Shock - 1

Thanks for the help everyone!

[Broax]

How do I make this not sound awkward - probably more fun this way anyway: Hide a cam in your playroom.

Lol Maybe I'll put my GoPro to good use... But if this works and she gets really scared I'm 99% certain she won't let me show you the footage.