History Main / BackstoryHorror

* ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''. On the surface, it's a puzzle game with the player as a tester of a CoolGun. Beneath the layers though shows an incredibly twisted place caused by {{Mad Scientist}}s, the player had her entire life robbed from them, many were murdered ForScience - there's no way of knowing ''how'' many people have died in the facility before you, the entire situation with Cave Johnson, and that the A.I. that guides the player through each test area unfolds throughout the first game as rather homicidal with a fatally cavalier approach to human life. (And this is in the same universe as ''VideoGame/HalfLife'', with the Combine's AlienInvasion and subsequent dictatorship over all Earth where people are slaughtered en-masse regularly, so all of ''that'' happened too.) This is made more explicit in ''VideoGame/Portal2'', balanced by a [[RetCon more wacky view of the Aperture Science backstory,]] but parts of it are even bleaker than the original. Like the fate of [[spoiler:[[BrainUploading poor Caroline,]]]] for an example.

* Although they were never harmless, the demons of ''Series/{{Supernatural}}'' were nothing more than hated, powerful monsters for the first couple of seasons. Then the protagonists are gifted with the revelation that nearly every single demon [[WasOnceAMan was once human]], [[BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil tortured in Hell]] until they became twisted shells of their former selves. Since even sympathetic characters can go to Hell for ambiguous crimes like being tricked into a [[DealWithTheDevil demon deal]] or ''accidentally'' worshipping a demon while performing supposedly harmless magic, this significantly ramped up the FridgeHorror for the ''Supernatural'' universe and laid out darker implications for God even before it came out that [[HaveYouSeenMyGod He abandoned Heaven]], leaving the angels confused and with [[DisappearedDad severe]] DaddyIssues.

* During the ''Franchise/{{Daredevil}}'' miniseries, ''Daredevil: Father'', Creator/JoeQuesada retconned that the old man Matt saved (in the accident that blinded Matt as a kid and gave him his radar sense) was molesting his own daughter. That's right, Matt's crappy luck didn't just start with the accident that blinded him, but the good deed he was trying to do ended up saving a monster.

** [[CuteMonsterGirl Marceline]] is a "radical dame who likes to play games" and a good contender for having the worst life out of anyone in the show. This includes a monster ([[{{Satan}} literally]]) of an inattentive father, a MissingMom, living through the aftermath of aforementioned Mushroom War as a child, losing the ParentalSubstitute that got her through part of it, being abused by a boyfriend, and spending [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld 1000 years]] with almost no friends until [[AllLovingHero Finn]] came along. On top of that, she had a violent falling out with her ex-girlfriend, though the series thankfully ends with them on good terms [[spoiler:and rekindling their relationship]].

** [[CuteMonsterGirl Marceline]] is a "radical dame who likes to play games" and a good contender for having the worst life out of anyone in the show. This includes a monster ([[{{Satan}} literally]]) of a inattentive father, a MissingMom, living through the aftermath of aforementioned Mushroom War as a child, losing the ParentalSubstitute that got her through part of it, being abused by a boyfriend, and spending [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld 1000 years]] with almost no friends until [[AllLovingHero Finn]] came along. On top of that, she had a violent falling out with her ex-girlfriend, though the series thankfully ends with them on good terms [[spoiler:and rekindling their relationship]].

** The show is mostly about Steven going on fun adventures with his [[{{Magitek}} magical]] [[StarfishAliens alien]] [[HasTwoMommies guardians]]. We soon learn that two of those are the last survivors of an army that [[DefectorFromDecadence rebelled against their homeworld]], their allies either [[DeaderThanDead shattered]] or [[WasOnceAMan corrupted into the monsters they spend most of the show fighting]]. And who arrived on Earth in the first place because they were part of an invasion force that planned to [[PlanetLooters devastate Earth in the process of creating new gem armies]]. The third and youngest of his guardians, Amethyst, is one of the products of this.

** The show is mostly about Steven going on fun adventures with his [[{{Magitek}} magical]] [[StarfishAliens alien]] [[HasTwoMommies guardians]]. Who we soon learn that two of which are the last survivors of an army that [[DefectorFromDecadence rebelled against their homeworld]], their allies either [[DeaderThanDead shattered]] or [[WasOnceAMan corrupted into the monsters they spend most of the show fighting]]. And who arrived on Earth in the first place because they were part of an invasion force that planned to [[PlanetLooters devastate Earth in the process of creating new gem armies]]. The third and youngest of his guardians, Amethyst, is one of the products of this.

[[folder:Film - Animated]]

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]

* One of the more quiet and slow-paced scenes in ''Film/{{Gremlins}}'' has Kate telling Billy just what happened to make her hate Christmas: Her father tried to enter the house's chimney dressed as Santa when she was a kid, but broke his neck in a fall and got stuck. They thought he was missing for a few days, until they smelled something awful in the fireplace. In a horror comedy that already has plenty of NightmareFuel, this scene especially seems to stick with viewers.

* During the ''Franchise/{{Daredevil}}'' miniseries, ''Daredevil: Father'', Creator/JoeQuesada retconned that the old man Matt saved (in the accident that blinded Matt as a kid and gave him his radar sense) was molesting his own daughter.

Backstory Horror can lead to FridgeHorror, but the two are not the same; one's {{canon}}ical by way of WordOfGod or AllThereInTheManual, while the other only exists in the audience's head as a result of thinking heavily about the implications the work presented. Related to SurpriseCreepy and CerebusRetcon. Compare and contrast DarkAndTroubledPast. It can lead to a CrapsaccharineWorld.

* Duskull, if "it finds bad children who won't listen to their parents, it will spirit them away--or so it's said, and "loves the crying of children."

* In ‘‘Fanfic/ZumasFear’’, Zuma once had an excellent life, only to be sabotaged by [[SpannerInTheWorks just]] ‘‘[[TheSociopath one]]’’ [[MagnificentBastard person]], by killing his family. Technically averted for the rest of the fic as it undergoes a CerebusSyndrome, though.

* Over the course of ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon|1}}'', you can find secret documents that detail the history and culture of the Inklings, the anthropomorphized squid creatures that serve as the playable characters. Some of the documents, however, reveal that [[spoiler:the series takes place AfterTheEnd. Global warming caused the ice caps to melt and sea levels to rise, driving humans and all other mammals to extinction. Afterwards, sea life evolved to the point where it started walking on land and became sapient, beginning civilization anew.]] This goes on to become [[LateArrivalSpoiler a major plot point in following installlments]].

* Over the course of ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'', you can find secret documents that detail the history and culture of the Inklings, the anthropomorphized squid creatures that serve as the playable characters. Some of the documents, however, reveal that [[spoiler:the series takes place AfterTheEnd. Global warming caused the ice caps to melt and sea levels to rise, driving humans and all other mammals to extinction. Afterwards, sea life evolved to the point where it started walking on land and became sapient, beginning civilization anew.]]

* In ''Fanfic/EmpathTheLuckiestSmurf'', it's amazing how most of the Smurfs under Papa Smurf's care live happy, carefree lives like in [[WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs the cartoon show]], given that the parents who were the Smurfs of Papa Smurf's generation have all died in ThePlague that is OnlyFatalToAdults back when the Smurfs were just little Smurflings. And of course, there's Papa Smurf subjecting [[spoiler:his only begotten son]] Empath to 150 years of living in Psychelia with a group of xenophobic emotionless telepaths whose leader had {{Mind Rape}}d him as an infant.

* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' has the [[WorldSundering Keyblade War]], an [[ApocalypseHow apocalyptic]] GreatOffscreenWar that led to the current era setting. It is described in the Seekers Of Darkness arc to be a conflict caused by evil and greedy Keyblade wielders who wanted to own the Light of [[{{God}} Kingdom Hearts]], and took to using Darkness to take it by force. In the prequels ''Union Cross'' and ''X'' we finally get to see at least part of it and like many cases of UnseenEvil, it's left as ymmv whatever it lives up to the built up or if it comes across as an AntiClimax. [[spoiler: Although according to the Master Of Masters, who used the conflict as part of his GambitRoulette, the war has been going on for a while even ''before'' [[UpToEleven the prequels]].]]

* The ''Franchise/MonsterHunter'' series has a historical backstory of dubious canonicity told in companion books. The Ancient Civilization was an extremely advanced society which kept Elder Dragons as slaves and would even slaughter them by the hundreds to build towers from their materials. Eventually they committed the Forbidden Act: The sacrifice of hundreds of dragons to create a new lifeform, the Equal Dragon Weapon. In response, Elder Dragons rose up and fought the Ancients in a war which left both sides nearly extinct. The Hunters are descendants of supersoldiers created to fight during the war while Elder Dragons still hate humanity for their ancestors' actions.

* ''Anime/MonsterRancher'''s backstory has humans who grew proud and destructive, creating Monsters for anything that would suit their wants. Eventually they created Moo in an attempt to end the last war, which ended up nearly destroying the entire planet until they created the Phoenix to stop him--and what it took to defeat Moo involved destroying virtually everything. Enough humans were left to rebuild civilization, but far less advanced than it had been before.

* ''Music/TheSlimShadyLP'' is a comedy rap ConceptAlbum about the antics of an over-the-top {{Toon}} HeroicComedicSociopath and his HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood, but it is also a LifeEmbellished version of the life of the real Music/{{Eminem}}, whose extremely unfunny DarkAndTroubledPast of childhood abuse, poverty and suicidality is similar to that of the character. Although he talked about this in interviews (and some of the songs), this was lost on a certain number of listeners, who viewed it as an annoying, squeaky-voiced novelty album -- or a malign influence on the youth of America. Later Eminem albums would incorporate more literally autobiographical and confessional elements that would make his real life backstory into the main event.

** [[CuteMonsterGirl Marceline]] is a "radical dame who likes to play games" and a good contender for having the worst life out of anyone in the show. This includes a monster ([[{{Satan}} literally]]) of a inattentive father, a MissingMom, living through the aftermath of aforementioned Mushroom War as a child, losing the ParentalSubstitute that got her through part of it, being abused by a BastardBoyfriend, and spending [[ReallySevenHundredYearsOld 1000 years]] with almost no friends until [[AllLovingHero Finn]] came along. On top of that, she had a violent falling out with her ex-girlfriend, though the series thankfully ends with them on good terms [[spoiler:and rekindling their relationship]].

* [[http://www.gamesradar.com/f/the-most-disturbing-pokemon-of-all-time/a-2010042210464734011 Alakazam]] "Its brain cells multiply continually until it dies. As a result, it remembers everything." In short, they all die of brain hemorrhages if their heads don't explode. [[NightmareRetardant Another way to interpret this]], though, is that it continues to produce neurons throughout its lifespan, like a tree continues to grow throughout its lifespan. The cells keep multiplying, but they aren't necessarily the cause of death.

* ''Black 2 and White 2'' has an abandoned house at the outskirts of Lentimas Town at the base of Reversal Mountain called Strange House. In this house you'll find a ghost, who rearranges the furniture, and eventually gives you the Lunar Wing. This ghost also appears in "Black and White" at the Marvelous Bridge. An old woman explain in "Black and White" that she used to play with her Abra on the bridge. In "Black 2 and White 2" you can directly interact with the ghost girl, before she gives you the Lunar Wing and disappears. Her dialogue implies that she was caught in nightmares by Darkrai, her parents tried to help her using Cresselia's Lunar Wing, but it didn't work. She eventually died, and her family and Abra may have died as well, though no evidence of that is provided. She was on the Marvelous Bridge to return the Lunar Wing, and if you have a Lunar Wing with you in ''Black and White'', you actually do encounter Cresselia. Other human ghosts have appeared in Pokemon, with a butler ghost and a little girl ghost in the Old Chateau in Gen 4. It's not said what killed them, but a notebook in "Platinum" has odd writing in it, most likely referring to Rotom.