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Folklore horror games

In these games the monsters come from old stories: Norse draugar and hidden folk, Thai ghosts, a Welsh ballad, an alpine devil, steppe legends and the beliefs of a small village. You walk into places where those tales are still believed, read the lore you find, and learn the rules of what hunts you. The fear is that the old story turns out to be true.

The top 30 of 62 folklore horror games, ranked by player and critic scores

The 30 best, 2026

  1. The Children of Clay key art: the title in pink letters above the pale carved face of the clay figure on a black, worn cover Puzzle horrorThe Children of ClayThe store lists lore inspired by Hungarian mythology, which you research keyword by keyword in your books 99% on Steam (4,090 reviews)about 15 minFreePC, Linux
  2. Firework key art: orange silhouetted figures, one with an umbrella, stand on a dark ember-lit ridge under a grey misty sky, above the title FIREWORK PsychologicalFireworkFuneral rites, a family altar of paper figures and an ink-drawn toad muttering a spell 98% on Steam (44,554 reviews)about 3.5 hPaidPC, Switch
  3. Raging Loop key art: Haruaki, a frightened girl in a green jacket reaching out and a white-haired woman, with a black wolf's head with a red eye behind them PsychologicalRaging LoopIts makers call it a tribute to Japanese folklore; the wolves are said to be the dead risen to be purged 96% on Steam (11,565 reviews)26 h or morePaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
  4. Detention key art: a schoolgirl in a white shirt and necklace holds a picture frame as stools, a chalkboard, papers and a paper plane fly around her PsychologicalDetentionIts ghosts and rites come from Taiwanese culture, Chinese mythology, Taoism and Buddhism. 96% on Steam (11,903 reviews)about 3 hPaidPC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Switch, iPhone, Android
  5. CARIMARA key art: a heron stands in a moonlit pond at the end of an overgrown garden path, with a stone frog and red water lilies in the foreground MysteryCARIMARA: Beneath the forlorn limbsThe maker drew the setting from dark fantasy novels and the folklore of Normandy. 96% on Steam (3,072 reviews)about 1 hPaidPC, Mac
  6. Key art of the cast posed over the sea, half underwater beside a mermaid's tail, with the PARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid's Curse logo PsychologicalPARANORMASIGHT: The Mermaid's CurseBuilt on the mermaid legends of Ise-Shima, introduced by a masked Storyteller. 95% on Steam (2,760 reviews)12 h or morePaidPC, Switch, iPhone, Android
  7. Tales of the Black Forest key art: three anime girls, one white-haired in a kimono, one in school uniform, one with fox ears, before a dark pixel-art station 2D horrorTales of the Black ForestThe town is full of yokai and gentle kami, and each chapter centres on a yokai girl and a Japanese urban legend. 96% on Steam (1,080 reviews)about 3.5 hPaidPC
  8. Paper Bride key art: a white-haired ghost in a white robe faces a bride in a red veil and robe who reaches toward it, grey family figures behind her among drifting paper Puzzle horrorPaper BrideThe makers built it from traditional Chinese folk stories: paper figures blocking the way, marching underworld spirits, ghost traps 94% on Google Play (60,400 ratings)about 3.5 hPaidPC, iPhone, Android
  9. Paper Bride 2 key art: a hooded figure in red hangs from a wooden frame in a lantern-lit forest under a huge red moon, beside a many-armed statue Puzzle horrorPaper Bride 2 Zangling VillageThe Paper Bride series is based on Chinese folklore, and its puzzles draw on Taoist charms and folk customs. 94% on Google Play (27,900 ratings)about 4 hPaidPC, iPhone, Android
  10. Banebush key art: the white hand-painted title over a dark forest of tree trunks in blood red and black Multiple endingsBanebushVillagers recount old beliefs, such as wreaths floated on water to show where a bride's betrothed would come from. 94% on Steam (2,175 reviews)PaidPC, Mac, Linux
  11. Key art of a flooded basement corridor in green and red light, with a lift on floor B2 glowing red and a girl's silhouette in its doorway SurvivalThe Bridge Curse 2: The ExtricationThe university is known in Taiwan for its ghost tales and folklore, and the night draws on local ghost stories. 94% on Steam (3,375 reviews)about 4 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
  12. Penumbra: Black Plague key art: a lone figure with a red backpack stands in a snowstorm between two snow-covered roofs, beside a frozen post hung with charms PsychologicalPenumbra: Black PlagueThe organisation came to Greenland hunting the Tuurngait, ancient spirits of Inuit mythology. 94% on Steam (3,007 reviews)about 8 hPaidPC, Mac, Linux
  13. Paper Bride 3 key art: a red-veiled bride seated beside a cracked mirror that shows a ghostly woman, as a hand holds out a burning talisman Puzzle horrorPaper Bride 3 Unresolved LoveIts scares come from Chinese folk belief: paper brides, talismans and shrines to local spirits 93% on Google Play (29,438 ratings)about 6 hPaidPC, iPhone, Android
  14. One-Eyed Likho key art in black and white: three winged, robed skeletal figures with white halos, the middle one with a single glowing eye, beside a dark spruce forest Puzzle horrorOne-Eyed LikhoBased on the Slavic folk tale One-Eyed Likho, recorded in the 19th century in the Voronezh province, as the maker's page says 94% on Steam (1,317 reviews)about 4.5 hPaidPC
  15. The Scourge key art: a red-lit kitchen strung with red thread and hanging photographs, a dark figure on the left and a glowing glass-block window PsychologicalThe Scourge | Tai ƯơngThe makers weave Vietnamese folklore, altars and spiritual rituals through the game world. 93% on Steam (1,216 reviews)about 4.5 hPaidPC
  16. Pathologic 2 key art: two thin dark figures with stitched torsos and blank white masks with small black eyes stand against a blood-red background PsychologicalPathologic 2Steppe legends such as the Shabnak-adyr and the ways of the Kin, the people your father led, shape the plot. 92% on Steam (12,269 reviews)28 h or morePaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox
  17. Painted art of Thomasina Bateman at a rain-streaked window, her reflection in the glass, looking out at a moor where cracks of pink light spread from a stone barrow PsychologicalThe Excavation of Hob's BarrowThe makers say the story weaves in real English folklore. 92% on Steam (3,459 reviews)about 7 hPaidPC, Mac, Linux, Switch
  18. Labyrinth Of The Demon King key art: a hulking grey painted demon against a red-brown cloudy sky, under the Japanese and English title in red and white SurvivalLabyrinth Of The Demon KingIts enemies are yokai from Japanese myth, such as the akaname, and scrolls describe the Buddhist Eight Hells 92% on Steam (1,557 reviews)about 7 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
  19. Hollow Cocoon key art: a pale long-haired figure with dark markings on her bare back stands among red ropes and paper talismans in a green-lit room Multiple endingsHollow CocoonThe village's old beliefs and a silkworm saying sit at the heart of the mystery. 92% on Steam (945 reviews)about 3.5 hPaidPC, Switch
  20. Creepy Tale: Some Other Place key art: a boy in a flat cap walks through a dark forest toward a giant toothy skull face with glowing eyes 2D horrorCreepy Tale: Some Other PlaceIts creatures come from Slavic folk tales: scarecrow-like leshy, dwarfish miners and an old witch 94% on Steam (667 reviews)about 3 hPaidPC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
  21. Pomberito key art: an inked black-and-white hairy creature in a wide-brimmed hat with glowing eyes, beside the red title and a woven pattern band Multiple endingsPomberitoBuilt on South American folklore and the tales of the Pombero told in rural north-eastern Argentina. 93% on Steam (431 reviews)about 3 hPaidPC
  22. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice key art: Senua in silhouette stands among wildflowers before a great tree lit by golden sunlight and falling leaves PsychologicalHellblade: Senua's SacrificeThe journey is built on Norse myth, told through lorestones Senua finds along the way. 90% on Steam (76,810 reviews)about 7.5 hPaidPC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
  23. Shadow Corridor key art: a huge pale mask-like face beside a dark wooden house, with red spider lilies behind the cracked white title SurvivalShadow CorridorIts story draws on Japanese spirituality and stories about Japanese spirits, with magatama beads as talismans 90% on Steam (2,210 reviews)PaidPC, Switch, PlayStation
  24. Skinwalker Hunt key art: the black silhouette of a long-armed, antlered creature on a hill among pines against a blood-red sky, with the title below Action horrorSkinwalker HuntYou play a Native American monster hunter who uses traps, a tomahawk and Indigenous magic against a creature of legend 91% on Steam (876 reviews)about 2 hPaidPC
  25. Our Bad Ending key art: a red-lit, red-haired woman leans over a black-haired woman in a white apron dress among dark jungle leaves, beside the title in red brush letters PsychologicalOur Bad EndingIts maker calls it a Southeast Asian horror, built around a banana tree spirit that may have heard a childhood wish. 100% on Steam (79 reviews)about 20 minFreePC, Mac, Linux
  26. Ginkgo key art: a skeletal woman with a pale face and dark hair crawls through a red-lit Japanese room of painted screens, framed by ginkgo leaves Puzzle horrorGinkgoYou meet yokai from East Asian folklore, some that help you and one that hunts you. 91% on Steam (343 reviews)about 30 minFreePC
  27. Year Walk key art: a small cabin silhouetted among tall dark trees in a night forest PsychologicalYear WalkCreatures of Swedish folklore appear, such as the Huldra, the Brook Horse and the Myling, explained in an encyclopedia. 90% on Steam (2,019 reviews)about 3 hPaidPC, Mac, iPhone, Switch
  28. Spirit Hunter: NG key art: Akira, a young man in a dark jacket and choker, beside a girl in a black dress and bow on a deserted night street by Kissouji station PsychologicalSpirit Hunter: NGThe central mystery draws on Shinto traditions and the urban legends told about them 91% on the PlayStation Store (366 ratings)15 h or morePaidPC, PlayStation, Switch
  29. The Not-Deer Stew key art: a black deer-like head with blank white eyes rises from a cauldron of stew in a snowy night forest, under the glowing title PS1The Not-Deer StewThe maker sets it in a folk horror world full of strange phenomena, built around the creature of the woods. 92% on itch.io (256 ratings)about 15 minPay what you wantPC
  30. Hellblade II: Senua's Saga key art: Senua's grim, dirt-streaked face surrounded by many hands reaching from the darkness to touch her head PsychologicalHellblade II: Senua's SagaIts draugar, giants and hidden folk come from Norse myth and Icelandic lore. 87% on Steam (10,221 reviews)about 7 hPaidPC, Xbox, PlayStation

Short enough for one evening

Done in an hour or so

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10 games

Every game of the kind

More picks

Scores are those players and critics give on the stores and sites named; each game's page says where.

More kinds of horror

  1. Short horror games621
  2. Psychological horror games530
  3. Horror games with multiple endings417
  4. Horror puzzle games341
  5. Survival horror games259
  6. 2D horror games254
  7. PS1 horror games233
  8. Stealth horror games180
  9. Horror escape games164
  10. Surreal horror games145
  11. Horror visual novels137
  12. Anime horror games132
  13. Haunted house games131
  14. Mystery and detective horror games127
Every genre

Where you play

  1. Steam horror games1009
  2. Epic horror games97
  3. GOG horror games270
  4. itch.io horror games592
  5. PC horror games1337
  6. Mac horror games391
  7. Linux horror games261
  8. PlayStation horror games404
  9. Xbox horror games367
  10. Switch horror games317
  11. Mobile horror games188
  12. VR horror games69
  13. Browser horror games236
  1. Scary games1456
  2. Free horror games561
Every game, A to Z