Amusement parks, carnivals, fairs, and the like can conjure up images of carefree fun where riding rollercoasters, eating cotton candy, and getting soaked in a water ride bring about joy and excitement. However, there is a darker side to these so-called places of amusement and frivolity. While some people find these magical locations to be lighthearted, others may think of them as spooky and creepy.Amusement parks in video games are some of the more unique and often most intricate locations to explore. This is typically due to there being a diverse set of rides, stalls filled with food and games, and likely some off-putting mascots who just want a hug. The following video games all feature some sort of amusement park, carnival, or fair, and they are downright haunting in most regards. Only the bravest and most courageous should dare enter these places.
7 Atlantic Island Park (The Park)
The Park is a dark and moody first-person horror experience where central protagonist Lorraine must find her missing son Callum who got lost in the Atlantic Island Park at night. This creepy amusement park has a very disturbing side to it, unbeknownst to many visitors of this park during the daytime hours. However, at nighttime, and when Lorraine is searching for her son, the horrors come out to play.
What makes Atlantic Island Park so darn scary is how it intricately weaves exploration with scripted scares. One standout moment is when players ride through an "It's A Small World" adjacent ride while sitting atop a swan. Apart from giving some mysterious backstory to the park's dark past, it also provides a meaty dose of ambiance and atmosphere, both of which set up the rest of the game's many spooks.
6 Carnival Of Horrors (Dark Arcana: The Carnival)
Dark Arcana: The Carnival is a highly overlooked point-and-click adventure game from the minds at Artifex Mundi, one of the most prolific adventure genre teams in the medium. As the game's title clearly points out, the titular carnival is where players spend the majority of their time searching for a lost girl.
Dark Arcana's Carnival of Horrors is something straight out of a nightmare, perhaps feeling right at home in the mind of R.L. Stine or even H.P. Lovecraft. Players must track down a devious carnival master who may or may not have something to do with the disappearance of the young girl. Along the way, budding carnies can expect plenty of tricky puzzles all centered around the horrific carnival theme.
5 Witchyworld (Banjo-Tooie)
Witchyworld, from beloved 3d platformer Banjo-Tooie, isn't scary in the traditional sense, however, it's still an amusement park most people likely wouldn't want to spend a lot of time. Witchyworld is one of the many creative and highly explorable worlds in this follow-up to Banjo-Kazooie and is home to some creepy moments, despite not being outwardly scary.
Witchyworld has a generally macabre sense of style and presence, with ethereal and looming darkness all around it. From the Big Top area to the Wild West area, and even the Space zone, Witchyworld provides a robust 3d playground for Banjo and Kazooie to enjoy. What makes this place truly spine-tingling is the Haunted zone, a location brimming with creepy carnival-type characters.
4 Whispering Oaks (Left 4 Dead 2)
Left 4 Dead 2 is an incredibly tense first-person zombie shooting game that still has many players enjoying its multiplayer offerings over a decade after its release. Valve's iconic zombie game features some truly harrowing enemy designs, intense gunplay, a smart AI system known as The AI Director, and, of course, a host of spectacular locations.
One such location that zombie hunters encounter is Whispering Oaks Amusement Park. This now derelict amusement park features the theme park staples such as wooden rollercoasters, carnival games, and bumper cars. Whispering Oaks gains a spot on this list since it's made of disturbing moments around every corner, most notably, the killer zombie clowns that chase down players relentlessly.
3 Lakeside Amusement Park (Silent Hill 3)
The Silent Hill series is certainly no stranger to disturbing and macabre imagery and locations. Players need look no further than Silent Hill 1's Midwich Elementary School, Silent Hill 2's Woodside apartment complex, and, in this entry's case, the Lakeside Amusement Park from Silent Hill 3. While this iconic location is mentioned all throughout the series, it's the way it's played out in Silent Hill 3 that truly takes the cake.
Silent Hill 3 stars Heather Mason and as the game opens, after the mall scenario, she finds herself locked in the Lakeside Amusement Park. The sense of dread is palpable in this location, mostly down to the series' use of fog and lighting. Players are first greeted by a bloody mascot (Robbie the Rabbit) perched atop a bench. It's a harrowing sight that sets the bar for what's to come in Heather's journey into madness.
2 Carnival Of The Damned (Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge)
Carnival of the Damned is a lesser-known scary location from an otherwise lighthearted adventure game. This location, apart from having a spooky and ominous name, is really not all that extensive. It was constructed by the series' antagonist, LeChuck, a ghostly pirate figurehead who constantly berates Guybrush Threepwood, the game's protagonist.
LeChuck built this macabre theme park in order to seize the treasure that lies nearby. Of course, Guybrush wasn't content to let that happen and LeChuck's plan was ultimately foiled. This unique location from Monkey Island 2 is best known for its rollercoaster, aptly named the Big Whoop Rollercoaster after one of the game's main characters, Big Whoop. The pirate theme and ambiance do lessen the horror somewhat, however, there are still plenty of skulls and skeletons to find lying around.
1 Seagate Amusement Park (Batman: Arkham Knight)
The Batman Arkham series of games aren't horror games in and of themselves, however, most of the titles do feature some sort of scary vibes, or, at the very least, locations. Games such as Arkham Asylum remain great examples of Batman games that feature some horror elements.
In the case of Batman Arkham Knight, it's the Seagate Amusement Park that deserves to be mentioned when discussing scary theme parks. The Seagate Amusement Park is most notable given that it was converted from a now-defunct oil rig. This fact alone makes it a haunting setting. Like many of the darker locations in the Arkham series, Seagate Amusement Park was constructed to house one of Joker's many operations.