Mascot horror has become a subgenre synonymous with low-budget, small-team indie horror games, first popularized by the eponymous Five Nights at Freddy's, which introduced the use of mascots such as animatronics in the world of horror games. FNaF proved to be a great success, and one that was very merchandisable, tempting some indie developers to try for a slice of its success.
However, the term mascot simply does not describe puppets, mascot costumes, or animatronics, but just a notable face that people learn to identify with sports teams, brands, games, or even a genre as a whole. But with that said, what gamers may think of as typical mascots have come to the fore of the horror genre, particularly the indie niche currently thriving on Steam and Itch.io.
10 Baldi – Baldi's Basics In Education And Learning
Developed by Basically Games, Baldi's Basics featured the titular teacher of this pseudo-educational game that quickly morphs into a school of terror. When posed with an impossible question to answer, Baldi quickly grows furious and begins chasing the player down all while rhythmically tapping the long wooden ruler against his hand as an intimidation tactic. As the game progresses, Baldi becomes faster, presenting a more pressing threat.
With his stick-like figure and signature bald head, his design is as basic as his game, yet so easily recognizable among indie horror game fans. Despite the simplicity of his appearance, he still manages to terrify players, proving his design is effective.
9 Slender Man – Slender: The Eight Pages
Slender took the gaming world by storm when it was released back in 2012, featuring the iconic Slender Man: a tall faceless man in a sharp black suit. The game garnered so much fame and acclaim that it inspired many spin-off titles and copycats looking to cash in on its success.
Based on a creepypasta, Slender: The Eight Pages tasks the player with finding eight pages scattered around the map all the while being hunted by the Slender Man. His design seems deceptively simple, a tall man in a suit, but take a closer look and players will notice the more inhuman things about him, such as his featureless face, elongated arms, and even some tentacles writhing from his back.
8 Robbie The Rabbit – Silent Hill 3
While mascot horror grew in popularity over the past decade, that's not to say mascots couldn't be found in earlier horror games. Those who played Silent Hill 3 will undoubtedly remember Robbie the Rabbit from the excellent opening nightmare sequence, in which Heather stumbles through a theme park that is littered with the famed mascot.
Robbie the Rabbit is an unnerving-looking toy; a pink rabbit wearing coveralls but more disturbingly, blood smeared around its mouth. This leads players and Heather to wonder if these mascots are living creatures with a taste for blood rather than just seemingly innocent-looking toys. The Robbie the Rabbot design proved so popular there were plushies available to buy everywhere, with some still being made on Etsy or auctioned off as "authentic" on eBay. Furthermore, the design became a cosmetic that players could purchase on the asymmetrical multiplayer horror game Dead by Daylight, available in four colors for each member of the Legion.
7 Junebug – My Friendly Neighborhood
My Friendly Neighborhood took YouTube by storm with its cutesy, colorful cast of puppets and unique approach to horror, but it definitely seems to take inspiration from other popular indie horror games such as Bendy and the Ink Machine.
That being said, My Friendly Neighborhood holds its own as a unique experience. Players take on the role of a janitor who falls down to the basement and must find a way to escape, but they are not the only sentient being down there. Puppets like Ray, Norman, and Junebug can be encountered through the facility, though Junebug with her loud mouth heard babbling incessantly throughout the game is by far the most iconic of the bunch. While she charges the player in a frenzy of excitement, she gives speeches about responsibility, spouts educational facts, or just rambles nonsense in a way that is simultaneously hilarious and frightening.
6 Charles – Choo Choo Charles
An imaginative and quirky game, Choo Choo Charles tells the tale of a murderous train-like creature ravaging an island that the inhabitants are at the mercy of. The player is invited by one of the islanders to help him put an end to Charles's rampage of terror, only for Charles to put an end to him, leaving the player to fend for themselves.
Charles is a surprisingly terrifying creature, with spider-like limbs, a bloody, toothy maw, and blank, soulless white eyes. With the ability to tank damage while outputting massive amounts himself, he is not one to be taken lightly. To put all these elements of horror and boss stats onto a train of all things is a risky maneuver, but one that paid off well, giving birth to another iconic horror mascot.
5 Huggy Wuggy – Poppy's Playtime
Another game featuring puppet creatures as the monsters, Poppy's Playtime takes a more serious and hardcore approach to its horror. Players take on the role of a small toy-like creature with arms that can stretch to reach objects from afar, and hands reminiscent of the sticky hand toys that adhere to any surface they are slapped upon.
Huggy Wuggy, despite his cute name, is a terrifying creature with blue fur, elongated limbs, and a mouthful of sharp teeth hiding behind an innocent smile. The developers took a simple concept, and a simple monster design yet managed to make it terrifying to encounter, one of gaming's most intense chase sequences. The monster hiding behind the innocence is definitely a clever and novel concept that is slowly becoming more popularized due to how successfully they scare players and become recognizable among horror fans.
4 Bendy – Bendy And The Ink Machine
One of the indie gaming scene's most popular series, Bendy and the Ink Machine boasts a wholly unique art style that takes inspiration from classic early 20th-century cartoons to bring a creative and unique host of characters.
The most recognizable character is the titular Bendy, a small feline-esque creature with a wide toothy grin that seems more unsettling than charming, especially when he's chasing down the player through the labyrinthian halls of the animation studio. Bendy's influence extends outside the game, with his face plastered on t-shirts, mugs, hoodies, and even fully constructible toy sets, as the mascot is highly merchandisable. The concept of taking cartoon characters that look like they are intended for children and warping them is unique, inspired, and definitely effective in creating a memorable character.
3 The Huntress – Dead By Daylight
The hatchet-wielding Huntress has become synonymous with Dead by Daylight, her rabbit-masked face used for nearly all of BHVR's promotional material and merchandise. With her ranking as one of the most popular killers to play, it's not a stretch to think of her as the game's mascot. Dead by Daylight plays host to many iconic killers, even bringing in movie legends such as Michael Myers or Freddy, yet it is their original killers that bring a unique horror flair to this asymmetrical multiplayer game.
The Huntress is one of the most iconic killers not just because of her strength as a killer, but because of her design. With a number of awesome cosmetics that change not only her clothes but also her mask, there are so many fashionable mix-and-match options available to players, making her the most customizable mascot.
2 Freddy Fazbear – Five Nights At Freddy's
Five Nights at Freddy's took the world of gaming by storm. Scott Cawthorn couldn't possibly imagine the heights of the cultural importance his fun, short, independent horror game would reach. It was an extremely simple premise: players take on the role of a night-shift security guard that must observe the rooms of the pizzeria through the camera system, but at night, the animatronics tend to get restless, wandering the halls to the misfortune of anyone else in the pizzeria.
Freddy is the main animatronic with the game and location named after him, and it's safe to say he's not only a mascot to FnaF, but to independent horror as a whole. Though the concept seems derivative of animatronic food joints such as Chucky E. Cheese, Scott created an entire band of unique mascots that only evolved alongside the series, showing the untapped potential in their deceptively simple designs.
1 Pyramid Head – Silent Hill
Pyramid Head, or the Red Pyramid Thing as he is known in Silent Hill 2, is a mysterious entity that is one of the most prominent faces of horror. With a metal pyramid for a head and a large bloody knife he drags behind him, Pyramid Head is a terrifying monster that was the representation of James Sunderland's desire to be punished for the murder of his wife, though only those who dig into the lore will unveil the mystery shrouding this creature.
This faceless monster is the most iconic monster of all from the Silent Hill franchise, resurfacing in Silent Hill: Homecoming, both Silent Hill movies, and joining Cheryl Mason for the Silent Hill chapter for Dead by Daylight. His design, spearheaded by Team Silent's artist Masahiro Ito, is incredibly unique and creative and instills terror in both the character's mystery and design. The large red pyramid sitting atop his shoulders is ingenious as it encourages players to wonder what lies beneath, and what people can imagine is often more terrifying than what exists in reality. But even without the help of the player's imagination, Pyramid Head remains terrifying and iconic in his own right.