Horror at the gaming table, part 1: Why doesn't it work?

[macmoyer]

I've been reflecting recently that I've never really played a horror RPG that felt like horror. That's led me to consider what the horror genre is, what makes it feel like horror, and why that's hard to translate into an RPG.

Comments

[macmoyer]

When I wrote, "some of the most popular and successful RPGs published are horror," I was thinking specifically of Call of Cthulhu. CoC uses an investigation structure in which the building action involves the PCs learning more about what the evil did to someone else. There may be minor threats to the PCs along the way, but for the most part they're separated from the evil force while they learn about how dangerous it is, and gain information they need to oppose it... gradually moving toward a confrontation with it.
This is a very valid way to create suspense, and it sets very high stakes, but it's not a very common structure in horror fiction. The Ring is an exception... it follows the CoC investigation structure very closely, and I think for the same reason: the evil force is so powerful, so inevitably fatal, that confronting it directly multiple times throughout the story just isn't an option.
Your anecdote about the kidnapped PC and the cultists is very interesting. It sets up a pattern of knowledge about the stakes that the players have, heightening the suspense, but it doesn't help them. Very Silence of the Lambs.
This technique hinges on the players genuinely caring about the person in danger. Constantly kidnapping a PC (and rendering her unplayable for a whole session at a time) to be that person isn't a technique I think you'd want to use over and over.
It may well be that running a good horror game is more about having a variety of unexpected story techniques in your pocket, things that work great but can't be often repeated.

[gwyd]

Oh, I wouldn't over use it, but it did instantly raise the stakes and create an atmosphere of general suspense knowing really bad stuff could happen.