Welcome to Spinnaker’s History of Horror. Here we will be taking a look back at everything spooky in both film and video games and analyze how horror has evolved over the last century. Check back at unfspinnaker.com every day for a new installment!

The most famous early horror games like Resident Evil (1996) and Silent Hill (1999) were Japanese-made, while more recent horror games like Dead Space (2008) and Five Nights at Freddy’s (2014) are western titles. However, there’s an obscure Korean-made game I want to talk about; one that scared me more than any other title. That game is White Day: a labyrinth named school.

You play as a nameless boy who sneaks into his high school at night. His goal is to deliver his crush some candy for White Day, a Korean holiday where traditionally boys give girls chocolate. However, when he arrives he’s not only attacked by an insane janitor, but by very spooky ghosts. Indeed, the school is haunted as s**t and you must survive the night trapped inside.

White Day is one of the earliest examples of a horror game where you have no means of defending yourself. When you see the janitor, you have to run and hide in a dark room so he can’t see you. The problem is, staying in the dark too long can make ghosts appear. So you’re between a rock and a hard place the entire duration of the game.

There are several ghosts to worry about. The first one you encounter is the floating head of a woman. She is always following you, but when you see her you may not even realize what it was. She appears and disappears to quickly that at first you may think it was your imagination. However, you’ll know for sure if you hear tearing or ripping sounds in your ear.

There’s another ghost that appears in front of a window, hanging from a noose. The noose snaps and she begins crawling towards you. What happens next scared me and my friend so bad that he jumped into my arms and we got out of the room like Scooby Doo and Shaggy.

White Day was recently remade with completely new graphics and about a dozen new ghosts. It’s the complete package I’ve always wanted.

Both the original and the remake make me more nervous and fill me with a bigger sense of dread than any other horror game. It may not be as scary to watch, but play it for yourself and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

The remake is available on PS4 for $30. If you are any kind of horror fan, you need to try this game. It could very well stretch the limits of your fear threshold.

—
For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact editor@unfspinnaker.com.