There is something inherently fascinating and entertaining about a spooky urban legend, especially one that is shrouded in mystery. Perhaps it stems from our innate nature to find thrills in being scared, like going on that particularly intimidating roller coaster ride or sitting through a heart-pounding thriller movie. Maybe it’s the forbidden or mysterious nature of these tales, beckoning a curiosity based on our desire to explore and unearth cryptic secrets they might contain. It seems like the less we know about a myth, the more drawn to it we are, especially when said myth is tinged with a degree of fear or danger.
Whatever the reason for their appealing nature, we seem to be drawn to unsettling, creepy legends and myths, and it’s become increasingly apparent that video games are an excellent avenue for this. Unlike movies, games can contain a massive and complex virtual space to explore and interact with, inviting the potential for spooky encounters, easter eggs to discover, and rumors to flourish and grow. They allow for imaginative gamers to run wild with thought-provoking theories, whether by branching from a grain of truth, or through completely fictional stories. With games susceptible to things like glitches, hidden secrets, and dark themes, one could see how gamers can run with stories regarding in-game hauntings, secret sinister messages, game curses, and so on.
With this list, we will venture into the dark and vast depths of gaming mythology, and explore some of the spooky urban gaming legends that have grown and mutated over the years, taking on a life of their own. Whether loosely based off of real-life events, in-game encounters, or merely fabricated gaming folklore, these stories are sure to make for a sufficiently unsettling read. You may want to keep the lights on for this one!
23 A Possessed Copy Of The Legend Of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask already contains some spooky undertones and themes, but this supposedly cursed copy of the game takes things to a new level. The story goes that a game cartridge owned by a child named Ben, who perished at the hands of a lake, is still haunted by the boy.
Things get increasingly strange if a player tries deleting their file, and an ominous message “you shouldn’t have done that” appears.
When playing his save file, a player who picked up this copy reported seeing eerie images of figures, dark, glitchy environments, and Link inexplicably bursting into flames before collapsing to the ground. The player reported that he’s slowly losing his mind, as Ben looms over and stalks the gamer, first in-game, then in real life.
22 Pokémon Creepy Black
This tale involves a bootlegged version of Pokémon Red which comes in a solid black cartridge. In it, you fight with a ghostly Pokémon appropriately named “Ghost,” who freezes its opponents in fear and uses a curse move on them.
The game would eventually fast-forward you into a much older version of yourself. Here, you found yourself alone, surrounded by nothing but the tombstones of vanquished foes of cursed trainers. The Pokémon you had cursed flash before you, and you soon run into your old Pokémon, Ghost, who would finish you and delete your file for good by using the curse on the player.
21 The Madden Curse
Take the mysterious qualities of gaming myths and combine them with the superstitions often found in sports, and you end up with this significant urban legend - which is seemingly backed up with some supporting evidence.
Much like the Sports Illustrated curse, gamers and football pundits alike began to notice players which appear on the cover of a Madden title often end up with some sort of significant injury, misfortune, or poor performance on the field. See the devastating injuries of Garrison Hearst, Rob Gronkowski, and the abnormally poor performance of Daunte Culpepper for just a few of the several examples.
20 Pokémon Snap Haunting
One Creepypasta tale involves an old, stored-away cartridge of the typically light-hearted N64 game, Pokémon Snap. When one user dug up an old, dusty copy of the game, it quickly became clear this was no normal copy of Pokémon Snap.
The game was wrought with off-putting purple streaks, and a disturbing image of Professor Oak sporting soulless, black eyes. Many of the Pokémon also took on this creepy appearance. The player was soon coaxed into entering the volcano stage, at which point sounds of screaming Pokémon could be heard. The player was then tormented and defeated by a vengeful Electrode. After, the game showed disturbing images of the player himself submerged in lava.
19 The Creepy Corrupted Sonic Game
Our favorite charming blue hedgehog suddenly becomes a bit more unsettling while sporting bloody demonic black eyes and razor-sharp fangs. This Creepypasta gets a little over-the-top, with talks of a crazed Sonic that drags people into his game, along with a tormented Knuckles and Tails. Though, what’s neat about this urban legend is that there is a real, playable .exe file that can be experienced by anyone.
The brief experience essentially plays like a glitchy, dark, and twisted version of the original Sonic The Hedgehog. You play as Tales, Knuckles, and even Dr. Robotnik, as you trek across a handful of environments, while a dark figure of Sonic creeps on you. Give it a try if you’re feeling bold, as it’s certainly good for some jump scares.
18 Polybius: The Mind-Controlling Game Released By The Government
Fuse a gaming Creepypasta with a government conspiracy theory, and you’ve got yourself a sufficiently eerie and imaginative tale that invokes plenty of paranoia.
The story goes that the government used the hypnotic visuals and subliminal messages of this odd vector-based puzzle-shooter to put kids and teens under a sort of controllable trance, from which they could gather data and even control aspects of their mind. What little evidence of the Polybius cabinet even existing is sketchy. Still, there have been cases of games inducing seizures and migraines, so a mind-altering game isn’t outside the realm of possibility.
17 A Dark (Almost) Never Played Mario 64 Sequel
Everybody remembers the GameCube era Mario title as a light and kid-friendly adventure into a colorfully tropical landscape, but legend has it that one of the early builds of a concept sequel to Super Mario 64 was far darker.
The story goes that remnants of this darker-tinged Mario ended up in Luigi’s Mansion.
One supposed player of this game talks of the early build containing some dark city environments, and a sinister house that Mario enters only to find a version of Bowser whose appearance is larger and more menacing than ever. In this game demo, the beast defeats the frightened plumber in a rather strange manner.
16 A Text-Based Game That Reveals Coordinates To A Troubling Site
This tale doesn’t rely on the flashy imagery of its graphics for its scare-factor, as it’s merely a simple text-based adventure that ends with a frightening revelation. Throughout the game, you move your character through a forest using simple commands, holding a shovel as well as a rope.
During your journey, you’re followed by the ominous “Pale Luna,” who frequently “smiles wide” when completing certain actions.
The game ends after you’ve used your shovel to dig at a certain location, at which point the game spits out a seemingly random series of numbers. Though it’s said that one curious player discovered them to be coordinates which led him to the real crime scene of a previously missing little girl.
15 An Eerie And Unexplained Morrowind Mod
This urban legend brings an extra layer of creepiness, as it comes in the form of an actual, playable mod of The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind. As you walk around and explore, you’ll notice that many of the game’s NPCs have perished, lying motionless on the ground. The few that remain hauntingly stare into space, informing you to “watch the sky,” which looks eerily similar to the real night sky.
People who’ve played the mod report seeing brief glimpses of a shadowy figure lurking and following them from just out of sight. But what’s more unsettling is that some who have claimed to play for prolonged periods of time swear they’ve seen this figure lurking near them in real life.
14 The Haunted NES Godzilla Game
Godzilla: Monster of Monsters for the NES apparently comes with a haunting tale as epic as its title, which makes for a classic. The story is so long is that it’s segmented into several chapters on Creepypasta, but we’ll cut to the meat of the story for the sake of brevity.
One stage in this haunted copy of Godzilla contains naught but a fiery background, and the word “RUN”.
The story follows a kid named Zack, who reported having experienced a number of strange and scary glitches, starting at the game’s first boss. These glitches include pixelated, distorted red fragments, floating red eyes, erratically behaving AI, and a devilish creature that stalks Godzilla.
13 Eerie Premonitions Over The Radio In Fallout 3
The gritty and desolate atmosphere of Fallout 3 seems like a fitting place for one of our most intriguing and eerie gaming legends. Apparently, if you put an end to radio DJ Three Dog, you can pick up a droning voice at certain locations, who rattles off a series of seemingly random numbers, followed by what sounds like morse code.
Fans soon discovered many the numbers to be dates, and according to legend, one player deciphered the morse code and translated them into messages of theoretical futuristic events that corresponded to these dates. These included an Oscar prediction for Brittany Spears in 2023, but far more eerie; predicted the passing of Gary Coleman and the BP oil spill.
12 The Herobrine Haunting Of Minecraft
In a game featuring skeletons, exploding green monsters, and even the lingering threat of Slender Man, it seems fitting that it would become the subject of one of our creepy gaming urban legends.
Herobrine, hoax or in-game haunting?
While creator Notch has denied his existence, many have claimed to have seen a lurking image of a ghost named Herobrine in the distance, wielding a pickaxe and staring blankly at the player with glowing white eyes. He would then vanish as soon as the player looked at him at length.
11 Atari’s Berserk Provoked Medical Emergencies And Altercations
Games have been spoken among some circles as causing violence or corruption in the youth, but rarely do you hear about a game causing unfortunate accidents, outside of an occasional seizure.
Unfortunately, that is the case with this old-school Atari shooter. While there were supposedly 3 morbid and violent “incidents” involving a few people playing this game, only one can really be verified. Supposedly, one player had a heart attack when playing for a prolonged period, though the culprit is likely a combination of his preexisting condition, massive doses of caffeine, as well as sleep deprivation.
10 The Demonic Children Of Goldshire In World Of Warcraft
Players of the hit MMO World of Warcraft have reportedly spotted groups of 6 NPC kids, appropriately referred to as the “Creepy Children,” standing around at various locations in the town of Goldshire and Elwynn. It’s unsettling enough that these kids always pop up at different places, and seem to be standing in the shape of a pentagram. Yet, some have even claimed to have heard ominous noises like screams, growls, and crying while standing in the middle of this formation. Is this merely an easter egg? A cheeky reference to the Diablo franchise? Or something more sinister?
9 The Looming Shadow People Of Super Mario Galaxy 2
In Super Mario Galaxy 2’s Shiverburn Galaxy, there is a certain point where you can look up at the mountain range, and if you look hard enough, you’ll see 3 small, ambiguously creepy silhouettes looming over the cliff, staring down at you.
So what are these ominous little guys?
Apparently, one fan did some digging and found that the game’s official files label these things as “Hell Valley Sky Trees,” which sounds quite creepy for a Nintendo title. What’s more bizarre is that Nintendo has made no comment regarding them, nor is their lore alluded to elsewhere in the game.
8 Bigfoot Sightings In GTA: San Andreas
Yes, even in the virtual realm of video games, the legend of Bigfoot lives - or at least when it comes to GTA: San Andreas.
Terry Donovan, the co-founder of Rockstar Games, was quoted saying in this game “there is no Bigfoot, just like real life, but there is something in the woods…”
While any visual proof of this creature can almost certainly be attributed to modders having a bit of fun, there have, in fact, been reports of virtual Bigfoot sightings from some gamers wandering the forests of the San Andreas countrysides at night. He’s usually only seen from a distance and flees when a player scrambles to get a closer look. This makes verification difficult, which only adds to the mysterious qualities of this legend.
7 Unexplained Ghosts Popping Up In Halo
Nope, we’re not talking about the Covenant’s purple assault vehicles, but strange in-game ghostly Spartans online. There have been talks of some players of Halo 2, 3, and Reach’s online sessions seeing avatar manifestations popping up. These odd avatars reportedly behave erratically, have no scoreboard or Gamertag identification, and can even attack a curious player if provoked.
These strange appearances are likely modders messing around and/or in-game glitches during a heated online battle. Still, it’s quite eerie and gets the imagination churning. A gaming rendition of the movie Unfriended comes to mind…
6 There’s A Dimension In Diablo Full Of Axe-Wielding Cows
While Blizzard eventually turned this myth into a reality with their bizarre cow levels in Diablo II and III, the origins of this urban legend can be traced back to the original game, which such a strange parallel universe only existed in the imagination of fans.
This rumor reached meme status with Blizzard often referring back to it, even using a StarCraft code, “there is no cow level.”
One area of the original Diablo is populated by strange looking cows wielding axes. As the cows seemed to behave differently the more they were struck, some gamers speculated that if you hit the animals enough, it would open up a sort of parallel dimension to a realm populated entirely by them.
5 Luigi’s Mansion Actually Takes Place In Luigi’s Nightmare
There are red flags throughout this title starring Mario’s brother and sidekick that suggest something may not be quite right here. Aside from the ghostly themes, there are moments throughout hinting that this experience might be a sort of hallucination, nightmare, or even purgatory for Luigi.
This is an oddly spooky experience coming from Nintendo…
You’ve got the fact that Luigi doesn’t sport a shadow throughout, for one. You’ve also got lapses in logic, such as a ringing phone inside a mansion that’s clearly been zapped of any power source. There is even a scene in which a flash of lightning reveals an ominous hanging shadowy figure that resembles Luigi.
4 Pokémon Red/Blue’s Lavender Town Music Drove Children To Madness
Who would have thought such a light-hearted game containing cute little monsters could contain one of our most spooky gaming urban legends?
The original Japanese version of Pokémon Red/Blue contained some music in its ghostly village, Lavender Town, which proved both creepy and harsh on the ears, to the point where the music was toned down for its Western release. Supposedly, some Japanese kids who listened were driven to madness - or worse. While this is almost assuredly a myth, the unusually high-pitched frequencies of the tones can, and likely did at least cause some headaches if listened to loudly enough.
