As we roll into August, the dark and horror gamer part of myself starts to peek out from the shadows. Peering out to see if it’s her time to parade around the blog and other social media outlets to speak about dark fairytales, creepy characters, terrifying novels, and nightmare fuel games. Welcome to the side of Gray’s Otome and Visual Novel Corner that focuses on both VN and Cozy Nook aspects of Gray’s Otome & VN Corner.
Where suspense, thrillers, and horror games take over. While some otome games meet the creepy aspect of the horror criteria, it’s rare… depending on what game you’ve gotten into your hands. Before we proceeded, I’d like to say thanks to Kelly from Another Book in the Wall Blog for making these Halloween themed prompts!
Now…
Reader beware, these visual novels aren’t for those who want romance flair, these are for those who dare to face their darkest nightmares.
If you aren’t a horror fan please check out my other blogs! Otherwise, if you like terror and creepy stuff…
CARRY ON~!
★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・
‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾ TOPIC ☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙
-ˏˋ♥̩͙♥̩̩̥͙♥̩̥̩ ⑅ What Makes Reading ⑅ ♥̩̥̩♥̩̩̥͙♥̩͙ˊˎ
-ˏˋ♥̩͙♥̩̩̥͙♥̩̥̩ ⑅ And Gaming ⑅ ♥̩̥̩♥̩̩̥͙♥̩͙ˊˎ
-ˏˋ♥̩͙♥̩̩̥͙♥̩̥̩ ⑅ in the Dark so Scary? ⑅ ♥̩̥̩♥̩̩̥͙♥̩͙ˊˎ
★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・
Reading in the dark isn’t as scary as finding out from your doctor your eyesight got worse because you’re reading too much. However, I think it also depends on the story you happen to be reading in those dark hours of the night when the shadows cast from your nightlight suddenly start to dance rather than stay static. I’m a dark romance, dark fairytale, horror, and mystery type of gal–even with games, I tend to go towards darker related themes.
To be honest, reading in the dark was a sport to me, a game where I would think, “how many chapters can I get in before I get caught by my mother?” As I got older, that line of questioning turned into, “how many more chapters can I get in before work?” Until it finally transformed into:
“Who wishes to forfeit all their hours of sleep tonight to play games and read, and be a complete babbling pool of nonsense for the next day?”
Inhaling words under the dim light of a candle or a flashlight seems more of a magical gig to me rather than something to fear. Albeit you can make your own little blanket fort and bring snacks with you under the covers as the rain from outside continues to barrel against your window. Yet, listening to the tinkering rain or the sounds of the night birds crooning to their lovers in the dark, reading in the dark is more whimsical and intriguing than scary.
I believe that when you read at night your imagination is more heightened than normal and it’s easier to fall into the depths of the universe you’re reading. Bedtime spooks and boogie men would have a hard time scaring you for shits and giggles when you’re trying to finish a book that keeps leaving every chapter at a cliffhanger. I could imagine trying to finish a mystery novel and being on the chapter where the reveal of the murderer is about to take place and the boogie man taps my shoulder, and I’d possibly be like:
I’d probably get killed after saying that but getting caught by my mom at night was more terrifying than the boogie man to be honest LOL.
★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・
.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ BOOKS TO READ IN THE DARK ﾟ+..｡*ﾟ+
★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・
☆○o。INITIATE READING MODE。o○☆
LOADING…
LOADING…
LOADING COMPLETE…
[SELECT DESIRED READING LEVEL]
★
★
★
.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ [ADVANCED MODE] ﾟ+..｡*ﾟ+
(Amazon Page)
Stephen King is truly a wizard at crafting horror fiction and scaring the living daylights out of someone with his novels. While ‘IT’ could be a top pick for scary books to read in the dark for adult audiences, ‘Pet Sematary’ takes the cake for me. When I got ahold of this book I was scared for a long while those dead animals were going to come back to life and kill me, then drag my body to their grave, and then I’ll reincarnate into something eviler. Call it my overactive imagination but I was a child then, and this book terrified me at night (but I still read it in the dark LMAO). Also, it didn’t help my cause when I watched the movie adaptation as a kid a few weeks later when one of the old TV channels was doing a marathon of horror flicks.
★
★
★
.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ [INTERMEDIATE MODE] ﾟ+..｡*ﾟ+
(Amazon Page)
I love Asian based horror, and Rin Chupeco delivers in this horrifically amazing retelling of Okiku. The original story of the ghost Okiku is a little different from the one presented in this book, but the fear factor still echoes inside the pages of the novel. A masterpiece of terror written at a similar pace to Stephen King, the story of The Girl from the Well will leave you with full-body chills yet not completely terrorize your bedtime. This book left me turning pages into the wee hours of the night and is currently free to read with Kindle Unlimited! This book is recommended for those who want to go a bit lighter on the fear factor and ghostly scares, and just want to still be able to turn out the lights without picturing something crawling up your bedsheets.
★
★
★
.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ [CASUAL MODE] ﾟ+..｡*ﾟ+
(Amazon Page)
First of all, I’d like to thank R.L. Stine for creating such amazing horror stories that shaped my childhood and made me clean out underneath the sink in fear of scary potatoes coming to life. Also, I want to say one thing about this book, even if it is a casual read for children, this book besides Night of the Living Dummy–F**K YOU! LMAO. This book made it hard for me to look at scarecrows in cornfields and at Halloween for years as a kid. Good lord it terrified me, and JFC when they aired the episode for this book on Kid’s WB, I think I didn’t sleep for a while. If you’re looking to read something that isn’t scary, and want to enjoy reading aloud to your kids. Tell them this story, and to beware going to the farmhouse at night.
To be honest, gaming in the dark is a lot scarier than reading a novel, as depending on the game you’re playing–the jump scares or the atmospheric noise will get under your skin. Unless ya know, you’ve got a thick skin and nothing can scare you in a horror game and stuff… See, my gaming setup is in my room and when I game late into the night, I put on my headphones to not disturb my husband. However, the whole point of me gaming with headphones on becomes moot when a game manages to make me scream or jump and bang into something... Waking my husband up, who will then check if I went into shock or need a cookie to assuage my toe stubbing agony.
★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・
.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ GAMES TO PLAY IN THE DARK ﾟ+..｡*ﾟ+
★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★★・・・・・・★・・・・・・★・・・・・
☆○o。INITIATE GAMER MODE。o○☆
LOADING…
LOADING…
LOADING COMPLETE…
[SELECT DESIRED GAMER LEVEL]
★
★
★
.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ [ADVANCED MODE] ﾟ+..｡*ﾟ+
(STEAM)
Okay… So when I played this game I decided the smart thing to do was play it at night and with low expectations that this game would scare me. My nephew was also in the room when I decided to start the game, and while the first half of the prologue wasn’t scary. The instant I found myself hanging upside down in a butcher shop with mangled dead bodies and then triggering that tripwire shit, I was screaming my head off OMG LMAO.
Escaping the butcher was the most terrifying opening, and I swear I was in shock that I actually made it to the damn elevator in one go. I have to pat myself on the back for playing Batman Arkham Asylum and being pretty good with stealth maneuvers, but F**K YOU BUTCHER LOL!
★
★
★
.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ [INTERMEDIATE MODE] ﾟ+..｡*ﾟ+
(Itch.io)
Who is Mike is an indie developed game by Fervent, the story follows the main protagonist named Mike who isn’t quite sure of what is going on. When you wake up in the game and follow the story you meet another man who looks exactly like you and claims that you’re a fake, and he’s the real ‘Mike Jansen.” The game is a complete mindfuck and has plenty of twists and turns, it’s a playthrough that you won’t want to take breaks for. As the compelling plot drives you into the heart of psychological horror and mystery, with over 9 different endings and a quick game to accomplish. Better get the snacks ready and some drinks, this game is going to take you for one hell of a ride.
★
★
★
.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ [INTERMEDIATE 2 MODE] ﾟ+..｡*ﾟ+
(STEAM)
Do not let this cutely designed cover picture of pretty boys fool you into thinking that this game is anything close to innocent. The characters of this game can go from cute to very yandere in a heartbeat and the bad endings are certain to make you sit there at your chair and contemplate life choices. Now… I’m an avid fan of NOT LIKING SCARY DOLLS in horror, but they take it to a new level here. This is an otome game, and it does have romance but I do advise that you don’t take the premise of the story lightly.
Nameless is on my list of games that can get under your skin with certain elements in the story, even if these pretty ‘dolls’ have beautiful faces. It’s usually the pretty things in life that hide the deadliest sin.
★
★
★
.｡*ﾟ+.*.｡ [CASUAL MODE] ﾟ+..｡*ﾟ+
(Mangagamer|Steam)
For anyone looking to not deal with figuring out answers to get a good end or bad end, I introduce the number one go-to series for visual novels. Higurashi When They Cry series, this still is, by far, one of the games that left me chaotically reduced into shambles because I couldn’t stop reading. With a powerful narrative to invoke readers into a leisure reading spree, the novel transforms into the stuff of psychological horrors; leaving you in disarray at the ending of the first chapter.
For any newcomer looking to break into visual novels without having to process too much into game guides and going crazy to find clues. Look no further than this series and be prepared to stay up all night because of it.
‧͙⁺˚*･༓☾GRAY’S CORNER☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙
What makes gaming and reading in the dark so terrifying? Just your imagination, unless you know you live in a haunted house with uninvited entities. While these recommendations are just from my own experience of reading and playing, there are plenty of other media out there that will soon come to light following the next few posts. August may mean the end of summer for most, but it means the beginning of the supernatural and paranormal elements to invade my domain.
Do you feel that reading or playing games in the dark is scary? Let me know in the comments!
As always, thanks for visiting my corner of the blogosphere, and see you on the gaming side~!
Gray's Cozy Nook 
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