Category: Here Be Monsters

A top-down view of an alien figure in some sort of bed, coffin, or pod. It is unclear if it's living or dead, but something glows within its abdomen.

Can Scorn Get Out From Under the Cosmic Horror Legacy?

By Emma Kostopolus • January 27th, 2023

Scorn and other sci-fi horror games like it rely almost entirely on the horror of the unknown – the unknowable, the inconceivable, and the, well, alien.

Here Be Monsters

The mogwai Gizmo, from the movie Gremlins, with an exaggeratedly sad frown on his face. He's furry with enormous ears and eyes, the definition of "weird but cute."

Going Gremlin Mode

By Emma Kostopolus • January 3rd, 2023

Cuteness and horror.

Here Be Monsters

In a screenshot from the videogame Resident Evil, the player character gazes down at a spookily lit desk, upon which is an old typewriter, some files, and a book on castles.

Limited Inventory and Staggered Saves

By Emma Kostopolus • December 5th, 2022

The rhetoric of classic survival horror.

Here Be Monsters

A screenshot from Resident Evil 2 shows Clare pointing a gun at Mr. X, a huge imposing man in a black leather trench coat

On Being Chased

By Emma Kostopolus • October 31st, 2022

These monsters are more than bundles of code: they are a concrete reminder of the lack of control that we have over our own lives.

Here Be Monsters

A stone frieze depicting a winged figure holding unbalanced scales.

An Introduction and Manifesto

By Emma Kostopolus • October 3rd, 2022

The horror of videogames, and a lot of horror more generally, rests on the fear of time.