History NightmareFuel / KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep

** The Hunter of the Dark boss from the secret episode is fought in total darkness. It stalks Aqua from the darkness when it appears, only its red eyes visible, before the camera shifts to its perspective as it attempts to pounce.

* The fate of Cinderella's evil [[WickedStepmother stepmother]] and [[CainAndAbel stepsisters]] harkens back to fairytales of old as their crimes are punishable by a ([[MoralEventHorizon deserved]]) [[DeathByAdaptation fiery death]] at the hands of the Cursed Coach. The camera cuts away before we see anything, but judging by the look on Cinderella's face, the result wasn't pretty.
** The music that plays in the cutscenes and resulting boss battle, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuJMuVtUGqg Extreme Encounters]]", doesn't help. It has a tone of urgency and telling Aqua via the Grand Duke to reach Cinderella before her monster stepfamily murders her in hatred. And when we see the family, they're laughing in sadism with {{Slasher Smile}}s on their faces. The music screams MoralEventHorizon!

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Birth By Sleep]]
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/maxresdefault_3_6.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: The Realm of Darkness takes DarknessEqualsDeath UpToEleven]]

** Yes, there does need to be a balance between light and dark. [[spoiler:So that the x-Blade can be forged.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Birth By Sleep 0.2: A Fragmentary Passage]]
As this game takes place primarily takes place within the Realm of Darkness, there's guaranteed to be some moments that'll have you dropping your controller in terror.

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b2_07_fix.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350: [[BringMyBrownPants Well...]]]]

* You know how in ''Birth By Sleep'', Aqua didn't have a specified EvilCounterpart of her own like Terra and Ventus? Well this game decides to rectify that. Enter Phantom Aqua: A malevolent manifestation of all of Aqua's fears and doubts created by the Realm of Darkness. Willa Holland manages to take her usual Dull Surprise and turn it into something genuinely creepy. Her [[CreepyMonotone monotonous voice]], occasional EvilLaugh, icy, pale blue eyes, and a psychotic and sinister arraignment of Aqua's own {{Leitmotif}} (Which would not sound too out of place in a horror film) makes for quite the unnerving boss fight to say the least. And even when you're not fighting her, that doesn't make her any less terrifying as all throughout the World Within you'll be subjected to Phantom Aqua's constant mockery as she throws a slew of nihilistic jeers at you.
-->''You'll never see the Realm of Light again.''
-->''Is there any point in continuing this fight?''
-->''No one can save you, and no one wants to.''
-->''Are you really worthy of being a Keyblade Master?''
-->''You're a failure.''
-->''Just let go of everything and fade into the darkness.''
* The Dwarf Woodland area is astoundingly unsettling, especially the warping stones area. Not helping is if you fall down the bottomless pits, [[spoiler:a monotone version of Aqua's voice starts talking, telling Aqua she's a failure. The entire area is alive, and it's trying to break her will]].
** The last part of Enchanted Dominion, featuring [[spoiler:a veritable ''swarm'' of Darksides]].
* Dying has always been startling in the series, but this time Aqua lets out a scream when she's defeated that may genuinely [[JumpScare kick a player's twitch reaction]] if you're taken down without warning. And if that wasn't enough, death by Heartless has always meant one losing their Heart ([[BloodlessCarnage albeit usually by floating away rather than anything truly disturbing]]), but this is the first time in the series you get to ''see it fly out of you mid-death.''
[[/folder]]
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/xehanort_and_ventus.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350: Master Xehanort subjecting [[WouldHurtAChild Ventus]] to a AndIMustScream Fate...Imagine [[BigBrotherInstinct Terra and Aqua's]] [[AdultFear reaction]]]]

[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hqdefault_645.jpg]]

[[caption-width-right:350: [[CompleteMonster Master Xehanort]] subjecting [[WouldHurtAChild Ventus]] to a AndIMustScream Fate...Imagine [[BigBrotherInstinct Terra and Aqua's]] [[AdultFear reaction]]]]

[[caption-width-right:350: Nothing says "creepy" Like a destroyed battleground [[FieldOfBlades full of Keyblades]] where countless [[WeaponTombstone warriors lost their lives]] in the ultimate battle.]]

[[caption-width-right:350: Nothing says Creepy Like a Destroyed Battleground [[FieldOfBlades Full of Keyblades]] where Countless of [[WeaponTombstone Warriors Lost their Lives]] in the Ultimate Battle.]]

* You know how in ''Birth By Sleep'', Aqua didn't have a specified EvilCounterpart of her own like Terra and Ventus? Well this game decides to rectify that. Enter Phantom Aqua: A malevolent manifestation of all of Aqua's fears and doubts created by the Realm of Darkness. Willa Holland manages to take her usual Dull Surprise and turn it into something genuinely creepy. Her [[CreepyMonotone monotonous voice]], occasional EvilLaugh, icy, pale blue eyes, and a psychotic and sinister arraignment of Aqua's own {{Leitmotif}} makes for quite the unnerving boss fight to say the least. And even when you're not fighting her, that doesn't make her any less terrifying as all throughout the World Within you'll be subjected to Phantom Aqua's constant mockery as she throws a slew of nihilistic jeers at you.

[[caption-width-right:350: Nothing says Creepy Like a Destroyed Battleground [[FieldOfBlades Full of Keyblades]] where Countless of [[WeaponTombstone Warriors Lost their Lives]] in the Ultimate Battle]]

* The fate of Cinderella's evil [[EvilStepmother stepmother]] and [[CainAndAbel stepsisters]] harkens back to fairytales of old as their crimes are punishable by a ([[MoralEventHorizon deserved]]) [[DeathByAdaptation fiery death]] at the hands of the Cursed Coach. The camera cuts away before we see anything, but judging by the look on Cinderella's face, the result wasn't pretty.

* Vanitas. Sure, he doesn't seem so scary at first, but then when you see what his mask has been hiding. [[spoiler: ''Vanitas looks just like Sora.'' He has the same face, and the same voice. This troper didn't even realize it. When Sora speaks, his voice is full of hope and light. But Vanitas... he just sounds so... ''evil.'' As if his voice is dripping with darkness.]]

* In the first trailer for ''BirthBySleep'', Ventus' NoHoldsBarredBeatdown at the hands of Master Xehanort ended with the former being frozen alive [[AndIMustScream and aware of it]]. Then he falls off a cliff, parts of his Keyblade and armor shattering as he collides with the cliff's face. If Aqua didn't catch him, he could have shattered like glass.

* Vanitas is both sadistic and insane at the same time. The fact [[spoiler: he looks and sounds exactly like Sora if he had black hair and yellow eyes]] makes it a thousand times worse.

* The [[spoiler: ruins of the [[DoomedHometown Land Of Departure]]]] are quite creepy, especially if you run into them in Ven or Aqua's story first and have no idea how it got that way.
** And then there's the very real possibility of [[spoiler: getting ambushed by the [[BonusBoss Mysterious Figure]]]] on the way there, if you don't know that visiting that world at that particular time is the way to trigger the battle.
* The secret ending of ''[[VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep Birth by Sleep]] Final Mix''. After an entire secret episode spent in isolation in [[spoiler:the Realm of Darkness fighting Heartless]], Aqua runs into something rather startling -- [[spoiler: the [[Disney/{{Cinderella}} Castle of Dreams]], corrupted by the darkness and surrounded by evil-looking clouds]]. It doesn't help that a somewhat distorted version of Destati starts up at that exact moment.

** Especially because, before ''Birth By Sleep'' originally was released, fans had discussed different theories as to how these characters related to the "modern-day" characters of the series, with one extremely popular (and [[AndIMustScream very disturbing]]) theory being that [[spoiler: Master Xehanort commits GrandTheftMe on Terra to become the modern-day Xehanort]]. When you hear Master Xehanort say these words, your worst fears become verified.

* The final boss of Aqua's story, [[spoiler: Venitas. He speaks with both Ven's and Vanitas' voices and looks as if Ven's head has been crudely photoshopped onto Vanitas' body, [[UncannyValley which lends an unnatural, disturbing quality to him.]]]]
* Aqua [[spoiler: being strangled in the final story. Not only is it unnerving to see one of the main characters have this happen to them; another level of horror is added when one realizes that it is essentially ''Terra'' doing this to her.]]

** Of course, it's not any better when the Heartless ''do'' show up. The first time you see the Heartless, it's in a flashback where [[spoiler: Ventus is nearly killed by Neoshadows and Xehanort decides to create Vanitas]]. They show up again in [[spoiler: Final Mix, where Aqua has to constantly battle against Heartless as she wanders the Realm of Darkness. Not only are these Heartless composed of the terrifying Pureblood Heartless, they are extremely powerful and can kill Aqua rather easily.]]
* Vanitas speaks [[spoiler:with his own voice and Ven's]] at the end of Aqua's story.

** Yes, Vanitas is Ventus' darkness given form. [[spoiler: Xehanort tore the darkness right out.]]
** Yes, there does need to be a balance between light and dark. [[spoiler: So that the x-Blade can be forged.]]

* As the Keyblade Graveyard is a FieldOfBlades in which each blade represents a Keyblade wielder's heart, it's essentially [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a graveyard for Keyblade wielders.]] The number of lives that must have been lost in that place is staggering.

* The fate of Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters harkens back to fairytales of old as their crimes are punishable by fiery death at the hands of the Unversed. The camera cuts away before we see anything, but judging by the look on Cinderella's face, the result wasn't pretty.

* The Magic Mirror in Disney's ''Disney/SnowWhite'' wasn't very noteworthy. However, his ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep'' incarnation is pretty damn creepy. Watching that [[UncannyValley soulless, eyeless floating mask fully rendered in 3D]] is pretty self-explanatory. Getting to fight it as a boss is even worse due to the illusions it creates.

* Heartless aren't as widespread in this game as they are later. People losing hearts isn't that much of a problem. Then, when you first get a game over, it hits you, unlike the standard lifeless body with floating heart implying you became a heartless of later games, there's just a lifeless body. That's right, you're not facing being turned into TheHeartless with a chance, however slim, of coming back, you outright die.