History NightmareFuel / DeanKoontz

Everything else:

* Bruno's punishment in ''Literature/{{Whispers}}''. See the AlasPoorVillain entry on the Creator/DeanKoontz page. ''Shudder''.

* Lindsay's hypothermia-induced hallucinations at the beginning of ''Hideaway''. She plays fetch with her dog and the ball turns into a torn-out human heart; she finds herself sharing the dance floor with animated rotting corpses at her high school prom; a nurse gives her her newborn son and he's just a baby skeleton wrapped in a blanket.

While the works of DeanKoontz usually sit on the idealistic end of the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism, that doesn't mean they can't be scary...

* Bruno's punishment in ''Literature/{{Whispers}}''. See the BrokenBird entry on the Creator/DeanKoontz page. ''Shudder''.

* NightmareFuel/FalseMemory
* NightmareFuel/OddThomas
* NightmareFuel/TwilightEyes

* On a very similar note, the [[OurGoblinsAreDifferent goblins]] from ''TwilightEyes'': not quite reptile, not quite canine things with [[GlowingEyesOfDoom luminous]] [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]], capable of VoluntaryShapeshifting to blend perfectly into human society, that basically ''feed'' on human misery. They're not just going to kill you, no, they're going to kill your loved ones first and [[ForcedToWatch force you to watch]], then they're going to kill you, [[ColdBloodedTorture very very slowly]], all the while drinking in your fear and anguish. Their backstory ([[spoiler:genetically engineered [[SuperSoldier super soldiers]] made by {{Precursors}}; they [[GoneHorriblyRight did]] [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters their]] [[ApocalypseHow job]] [[PrecursorKillers well]]]]) makes it even worse.
* The plot of ''FalseMemory'' in general, and its villain in particular. The premise is ParanoiaFuel on its own -- how easy could it be, for you to be brainwashed and have no idea? The protagonists are regularly [[MindRape mind raped]], and for a long time have ''no idea'', only figuring it out when too many small things cease adding up. And the BigBad is someone an authority figure people ought to be able to trust. Not only is he screwing with people's minds, he does it for his [[ForTheEvulz own entertainment]]. One of the characters is a happy, successful real estate agent until she sells him his house. He decides she's beautiful and that he wants to [[{{Squick}} keep her]], so he implants agoraphobia in her mind and slowly destroys her psyche over the course of eighteen months. He also regularly hypnotizes and rapes her, leaving her with no memory of the assault but with...[[{{Squick}} evidence]], leading her to believe she really is losing her mind. [[spoiler:When she finally figures out it's him, and looks like she'll be able to get her life back, he catches on and [[DrivenToSuicide drives her to suicide.]]]] And he was doing this to people for two decades before he paid for it, destroying dozens of lives just because he could.

* The ''bodachs'' from the Odd Thomas books. The idea that these shadowy creatures appear at scenes of violence and death is bad enough, but then you learn that they show up because watching people in torment is ''exciting''. Not only is someone coming after you with a chainsaw, but there are ''things'' watching it happen and cheering it on because they feed off your fear. Yeesh.