History NightmareFuel / NancyDrew

* In the climax of the game, you find out that the "Black Cat" is none other than [[spoiler: Corine. She was after one of the founders' treasure.]] [[spoiler: Her reaction to the exposure? Trapping you in a hidden room and setting a giant pendulum guillotine to slowly descend and eventually slice you if you don't escape.]]

* Richard Topham can be this if he catches you snooping around. The lights behind his head give him a very menacing look.

* Arriving at the trashed campsite and discovering the tape recorder that caught the roaring and grunting of whatever did it. [[spoiler: Even if you find out it was actually just Dr. Craven, it's still an unsettling thing to begin the game with.]]
* The eerie whispering that you hear occasionally when moving to another area in the island. [[spoiler: It ends up being just bugs, but still.]]

* You can literally fall into LAVA in Kapu Cave too if you choose a precarious place to jump to.

* By far, the constant threat of hypothermia outside is one of the most unnerving things about this game. You have a temperature meter, which gradually goes down. If you get too cold, hypothermia will happen and Nancy sometimes whispers ominously; "All i want to do is... Lie down..." Followed by a thump. This paranoia is especially prominent when you're deeper in the snowy outdoors.

* What [[FridgeHorror compounds]] all of the above is the identity of the culprit...[[spoiler: Anja. She's a WomanScorned who's so determined to destroy her former boyfriend's life that she's willing to do unspeakable things. That fire in the public courtyard that could have easily burned down several people's homes? She started it. Those clothes you found ripped to pieces on your bed? She did that, likely with her bare hands (it needed to look like a humanoid monster was behind it). Lukas, the boy she kidnapped? [[WouldHurtAChild That's her own nephew, and she's using him as live bait]]. Then, when you confront her in the endgame, she sounds [[SlasherSmile positively delighted]] at the prospect of causing a "deadly accident"--that is, killing you. She's almost [[TheSociopath sociopathic]] in her desire to get revenge--all she cares about are her own goals, and she will hurt or kill anyone who gets in her way.]]

** The fact that [[spoiler: Clara can die in the same manner if Nancy chooses not to save her. Judging by her behavior when Nancy ''does'' try to help her and the extreme guilt she feels over her role in Charlotte's death, [[DriventoSuicide she's fine with that.]]

* One of the [[NonStandardGameOver Non-Standard Game Overs]] in the climax really deserves a mention. When you finally find [[spoiler: Jessalyn Thornton]], you have the opportunity to threaten them with telling everybody where they hide. [[spoiler: Her voice momentarily becomes trembling and scared. Then she sics Charlotte's ghost on you]]. The worst thing is that if you choose the other conversation option, this person appears completely normal, if understandably very scared and frustrated. You'll spend the rest of the game knowing what they are capable of. Sweet dreams.

* Even the more "mundane" aspects of the game are unnerving. For example, the explanation for the hauntings: [[spoiler:Nancy and company were unknowingly inhaling constant lungfuls of carbon monoxide due to Thornton Hall's faulty furnace.]] If you're a hypochondriac, have a good time obsessing over that idea.
** And, according to WordOfGod, [[spoiler: that carbon monoxide was giving you ''hallucinations.'' That's their explanation for most of the seemingly supernatural stuff that took place in-game. And these hallucinations, coupled with the gas-induced drowsiness, could shock you badly enough to ''cause a heart attack.'' That's how they explain said supernatural stuff sometimes sending you to the Second Chance screen. So, yeah. Have fun replaying the game and wondering how much of it is real and how much is the fevered rantings of the hallucinating protagonist... who thinks she's perfectly sane and it's ''everyone else'' who's crazy.]]
* Special mention goes to the end of the game,[[spoiler:when the house catches on fire. At that point, you have [[MultipleEndings several different options,]] depending on which characters you choose to save. In two of the three possible endings, if you choose not to save Clara, Nancy will state in her letter afterwards that she still hasn't been found. If you saved Jessalyn and Harper without going back for Clara, Nancy will also mention that a girl in town told her she swore she saw the figures of two women floating in the smoke above the island. Yes, the game developers did just give you the chance of leaving someone to die.]]

* Nancy gets shot at. And the shots are heard again in one of her last flashbacks. [[spoiler:The shooting was faked, but it's still terrifying.]]
* The first time you visit Moira.

* The ending of this game definitely needs a mention. [[spoiler: The villain locks you in a TV studio, gives you a really long rant about how life is a soap opera, and then murders you. With his bare hands. Laughing. With red lights and random screaming in the background from his other victim.]]

* The attic and [[spoiler:the secret rooms behind the library fireplace and behind the saloon mirror]] are some of the most genuinely unnerving areas in the game, and funnily enough are some of the few areas in the game where no haunting events happen, but the attic takes the cake. You're stuck in a dark, cluttered room, with an unblinking baby doll's head at one end of the room undercut by the tensest theme in the game. It doesn't help that [[spoiler:when you first try to leave, the handle snaps off, leaving you trapped in the room until you find a crowbar]].

* Nancy's deaths in the elevator shaft. If she tries to jump to the ladder, she'll fall to her death. If she's on the shaft's floor for too long, the elevator will crush her.
* Nancy being locked outside of the hotel when she looks for the green medallion. Imagine the fear of being trapped in the freezing cold and not knowing what to do. [[spoiler:It's especially frightening once you learn that ''[[BitchInSheepsClothing Lisa]]'' set Nancy up, possibly intending to kill her for the diamond.]]

* Everything about Maya's abduction falls under AdultFear. Your daughter has been kidnapped and may be hidden somewhere in a building scheduled for demolition in a few days. You have no leads of where she may be and you could never see her ever again.
* The electrified gate Nancy encounters on the second day.
* The music can get pretty dark-sided. The intro to the song "Theater", "Lobby" or the "Danger" songs for example contribute to the creepy atmosphere already created by the paranoia of the kidnapping/demolition and the dusty redness of the theater.
* The climax. [[spoiler:Nancy has a limited amount of time before the theatre is torn apart. What's more is that Joseph has her locked in the projectionist's room and blocks her path to the marquee lights. Unless you select the correct choice, Nancy, Joseph and Maya will all die.]]

* The entire endgame sequence [[spoiler: wherein you are trapped inside an airtight monolith with a corpse. And if you think ''that'' sounds bad, you also [[FromBadToWorse only have a limited time to figure out how to get out, because if you don't, you'll suffocate]] (a fact Nancy helpfully reminds you of fairly often). Oh, and it's pitch black, so you have to use a tiny green glowstick to see. Have fun!]]

* Pawprints are on the crypt of Mickey Malone!

* About halfway through the game you can visit [[spoiler:Dry Creek, the local ghost town.]] Of course, it's [[spoiler:not really a ghost town the first time you arrive,]] as there are random shadows drifting through [[spoiler:the worn, crumbling buildings]] and the occasional noise of rocks falling or birds fluttering.

* At the end, when you're chased by the culprit [[spoiler:Shorty and fail to stop him, he'll pop his head around the corner and cheerfully say [[Film/TheShining "Heeeeeeeerre's SHORTY!"]]]].

* In one area you horseride to, you find an old grave a cowboy made for his dead mule.

* The suit of armor [[spoiler:in the secret passageways]] always seems to be watching you...

* Dolls. Rows and rows of dolls. One says 'Mama' in a creepy voice when you pick it up. One has literally two left feet. Another has a cracked face that even the husband of the doll collector thought was creepy.

** Though it's not nearly as creepy if you read up on the in-game backstory of the train.

* The swimming in the tunnels is very paranoia-inducing. You of course have limited air, and you can potentially get stuck in an underwater fan contraption.

* If you look closely, there's a little bit of ParanoiaFuel in the gumbo van. [[spoiler:The avatar used for the gumbo seller is exactly the same as Shorty's from ''Shadow Ranch''.]] It's probably just laziness on the developer's parts, but it's still creepy.

* This game's atmosphere in general is uneasy and dread-inducing, taking place in Louisiana entirely at night. Macabre reminders of mortality and death are scattered throughout the game, with a cemetery in the backyard, and main puzzles that rely on hunting dismembered eyeballs in order to uncover the eponymous Crystal Skull, which the deceased Bruno Bolet owned out of fear of death.

* Over the game you learn about Bruno Bolet's induction into the Jolly Rogers Krewe, a defunct Mardi Gras planning society that teetered the fine edge between {{Cult}} and, well, a BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats [[spoiler:considering they all dress in skeleton costumes]]. Eventually, you have to get Bess to listen in on one of their meetings, which leads to her being caught by her cellphone and getting taken hostage by the Krewe! The fact that a secret society mainly focused on petitions and Mardi Gras festivities, no matter how secretive, was willing to kidnap someone is shocking as is, and the fact that [[spoiler:if their leader, Doctor Buford, didn't know Bess Marvin already and if she didn't threaten to let slip about his attempted graverobbing expedition]] it's never made clear what would have happened to her.
** Later, when Bess is explainin everything to Nancy via phone, she lets slip that [[spoiler:she may have told Doctor Buford how close Nancy was getting and that he never went back to the Jolly Rogers meeting]]. Just as Nancy's about to reassure Bess that she'll be okay, lightning strikes and the connection is instantly cut, leaving the player to [[ParanoiaFuel be on the lookout for someone lurking in the shadows for some time]].
*** [[spoiler:However, it turns out Doctor Buford was making his way to the Bolet house, but only to apologise and offer Bess and Nancy a tour of the best spots in New Orleans as penance for his misdeeds.]]

* The BGM ranges from pretty Irish music to outright disturbing music.

* When you discover the truth about the banshee; [[spoiler: sure, she's not a supernatural entity, but it's still pretty frightening to turn around and find a feral old woman right behind you while you're in her shack. As Nancy tries to explain herself she doesn't say a word, just advances on her to push her down a trap door.]]

* In the climax of the game, you find out that the "Black Cat" is none other than [[spoiler: Corine. She was after one of the founders' treasure. Her reaction to the exposure? She traps you in the room, and sets a giant pendulum guillotine to slowly descend to slice you.]]
* The 2 "pranks" mentioned are pretty darn disturbing. A claustrophobic girl was locked in a closet for an entire night and had a breakdown as a result while another girl was slipped [[TamperingWithFoodAndDrink food tainted]] [[PlotAllergy with something she was allergic to]] and had to be rushed to the hospital.

* The first freaky moment happens when Nancy goes to sleep the first night. She wakes up early in the morning, and sees a floating shadow of a girl going across her window. When Nancy opens the door, she sees nothing...
** The second freaky moment involving "the ghost" is when Nancy is about to take a bath at the ryokan. She then walks to the mirror, and sees a girl facing down in the reflection. Scared, Nancy turns around and sees nothing, but turns around to see the ghost holding her arms up, mouth gaping open and wide eyes, crawl as fast as if she was teleporting, crash her hands into the mirror and shatter it.
** Third freaky moment is when Nancy is heading down a hall, only to see the lights flickering and the doors slamming.
** During the mandatory moment in the series when Nancy is trapped and has to escape for her life in this game, the ghost traps Nancy in one of the bedrooms, and she has to decipher the puzzle before getting a large wooden support slammed on her head.

** The fourth and last freaky moment is the end, when discovering the puzzle in the [[spoiler:hidden bath where Kasumi died]]. After solving the puzzle, Nancy opens the safe, reads the letter, and finds a sword...[[spoiler:only to turn around and see the ghost face to face, still wide-eyed and gaping-mouthed as the ghost pins Nancy in the water and attempts to drown her. After solving the puzzle, though, it's discovered she was a robot.]]

* The soundtrack of the game is most likely the most unsettling of the series. Only a handful of the BGM is nice, the rest? Unsettling BGM of distorted traditional shamisen music, a BGM that almost sounds like metal grinding against metal and more.

* That scary cat. It looks like a freaking demon cat!

** And, according to WordOfGod, [[spoiler:that carbon monoxide was giving you ''hallucinations.'' That's their explanation for most of the seemingly supernatural stuff that took place in-game. And these hallucinations, coupled with the gas-induced drowsiness, could shock you badly enough to ''cause a heart attack.'' That's how they explain said supernatural stuff sometimes sending you to the Second Chance screen. So, yeah. Have fun replaying the game and wondering how much of it is real and how much is the fevered rantings of the hallucinating protagonist... who thinks she's perfectly sane and it's ''everyone else'' who's crazy.]]

** [[spoiler: If you scour the game enough, you realize most of these are faked by Abby and occasionally Louis, but some like the parlor swan, the flowers, the red chair and the dining room candles are never really explained.]]

* One optional creepy moment being woken up at midnight by the sound of your room's [[ParanoiaFuel doorknob being rattled]]. It suggests obviously that someone was trying to get in. When you check your door later, there are scratch marks, like that of a wolf.

* In one area you horseride to, you find an old grave a cowboy made for his dead horse.

** And, according to WordOfGod, [[spoiler:that monoxide was giving you ''hallucinations.'' That's their explanation for most of the seemingly supernatural stuff in-game. And these hallucinations, coupled with the gas-induced drowsiness, could shock you badly enough to CAUSE A HEART ATTACK. That's how they explain said supernatural stuff sometimes sending you to the 'You have made a fatal error' screen. So, yeah. Have fun replaying the game and wondering how much of it is real and how much is the fevered rantings of the hallucinating protagonist...who thinks she's perfectly sane and it's ''everyone else'' who's crazy.]]

** In addition to that, [[spoiler: if you don't get Nancy out in time, you get to hear her [[SoundOnlyDeath gasping for breath]] [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath slowly runs out of air.]] Afterwards, the game shows a newspaper article from [[TheFuture 700 years into the future,]] saying that scientists were baffled at finding ''two'' mummies in the monolith - ''one of them being Nancy.'' Yes, we finally get to see what the famous Nancy Drew looks like...[[NightmareFace ''as a decayed and]][[EyelessFace mummified corpse.'']]

** In addition to that, [[spoiler: if you don't get Nancy out in time, you get to hear her gasping for breath as she slowly runs out of air. Afterwards, the game shows a newspaper article from 700 years into the future, saying that scientists were baffled at finding ''two'' mummies in the monolith - ''one of them being Nancy.'' Yes, we finally get to see what the famous Nancy Drew looks like... ''as a decayed and mummified corpse.'']]

* Some of the GameOver sequences can function this way as well. Drowning, falling, suffocating, burning, [[StuffBlowingUp getting blown up,]] [[HighVoltageDeath getting electrocuted,]] getting crushed by heavy objects, getting caught snooping, [[MurderIsTheBestSolution getting murdered]] [[MakeItLookLikeAnAccident by the]] [[OffingTheAnnoyance culprit...]]

* Special mention goes to the end of the game,[[spoiler:when the house catches on fire. At that point, you have [[MultipleEndings several different options,]] depending on which characters you choose to save. In two of the three possible endings, if you choose not to save Clara, Nancy will state in her letter afterwards that she still hasn't been found. If you saved Jessalyn and Harper before, Nancy will also mention that a girl in town told her she swore she saw the figures of two women floating in the smoke above the island. Yes, the game developers did just give you the chance of leaving someone to die.]]

* Without giving too much away, [[spoiler: At the end of the game, when the house catches on fire, you have the choice of saving Clara; not choosing to save her alters the epilogue with Nancy stating that they have yet to find Clara, and that a woman watching could swear she saw two woman descending from the house. Yes, the game developers did just give you the chance of letting someone die.]]

** In addition to that, [[spoiler: if you ''don't'' get Nancy out in time, you get to hear her gasping for breath as she runs out of air. Afterwards, the game shows a newspaper article from 700 years into the future, saying that ''two'' mummies were unearthed from the monolith - ''complete with a photograph.'']]

* After Nancy photographs the red-tailed hawk for Red Knott, she's immediately knocked out by the culprit and wakes up in the shed, which is ON FIRE.

* Late in the game, when Nancy is finally freed from jail, she's talking with George in her house...and someone throws a rock through her patio door, completely shattering it. There's a nasty note attached. There are two layers of FridgeHorror here: not only could Nancy or George have been seriously hurt, some of the citizens of River Heights--which for twenty-five games has been viewed as the picture of an ideal American small town--are willing to hurt the girl detective who they've loved for so long.
* In nearly every other game (''Ransom of the Seven Ships'' being the only exception, as the villain is [[spoiler: an old enemy]]), the culprit has been one of the various people Nancy meets when she stumbles onto a mystery. Sometimes they're mean, sometimes they [[BitchInSheepsClothing pretend to be nice]], but even when they try to harm her, it's only because she's in the way of their achieving their (criminal) goals. But in ''Alibi,'' the one behind it all committed a potentially fatal case of arson--because that person ''hates Nancy that much.'' During the game's MotiveRant, the villain outright says that the whole point of the crime was to either kill or discredit the girl detective. There's something horrifying about a person with that much hatred.
* Building on the above, this is probably the most grounded game in the series (and notably, it comes right in the middle of a stretch of games that focus on the supernatural). The suspects are all complex and realistic; the mystery is about an extremely recent crime as opposed to an ancient legend or possible haunting; and it all takes place in a realistic American town as opposed to an exotic location. So the fear is more subtle--it's about how horrible your own neighbors can be, and how there are people in the world who will stop at nothing to destroy their rivals, even if it means lying, cheating, or other criminal activities.

* One of the [[NonStandardGameOver Non-Standard Game Overs]] in the climax really deserves a mention. When you finally find [[spoiler: Jessalyn Thornton]], you have the opportunity to threaten him/her with telling everybody where they hide. [[spoiler: Her voice momentarily becomes trembling and scared. Then she sics Charlotte's ghost on you]]. The worst thing is that if you choose the other conversation option, this person appears completely normal, if understandably very scared and frustrated. You'll spend the rest of the game knowing what they are capable of. Sweet dreams.

* One of the tombstones in Thornton's family cemetery bears Nancy's name.

** Not only that, but at the end of the game [[spoiler: Thanos escaped prosecutions using his Mafia connections, and while he's more of a PsychoForHire and likely wouldn't be out for vengeance, the fact that one of the most menacing and brutal villains in the series is out on the loose does not bode well for anyone]].

!!#12 Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon

* This game's atmosphere in general is uneasy and dread-inducing, taking place in Louisiana entirely at night. Macabre reminders of mortality and death are scattered throughout the game, with a cemetery in the backyard, and main puzzles that rely on hunting dismembered eyeballs in order to uncover the eponymous Crystal Skull, which the deceased Bruno Bolet owned out of fear of death. Not to mention the first five minutes of the game have you getting [[JumpScare up close and personal with a skeleton man who knocks you out with hoodoo powder]].

* Going into Renee Amande's room, you'll see an empty rocking chair in front of the bed. On going and getting a [=KoKo=] Kringle bar and backing out, you'll see the rocking chair start to move, and when you turn to face it, you're faced with a creepy doll sitting there now. In fact, it's one of the dolls from Blue Moon Canyon. Funnily enough, it's not the only UncannyValley doll in the game.
* The other doll that has heaping helpings of UncannyValley is a pirate animatronic in Bruno's secret room. This animatronic is responsible for the [[HellIsThatNoise demonic sounds that Renee had been hearing from her bedroom]] which is important to solving a puzzle, a puzzle that involves pressing buttons and having the pirate open its eye and speak a string of syllables in a dead, flat tone. That said, it also doubles as nightmare retardant as you can make it say funnier strings of syllables, like [[SpeakingSimlish "Wah bah zah loo ah"]], although it eventually careens back into nightmare fuel on solving the puzzle since you have to [[EyeScream take its eye]].
* Over the game you learn about Bruno Bolet's induction into the Jolly Rogers Krewe, a defunct Mardi Gras planning society that teetered the fine edge between {{Cult}} and, well, a BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats [[spoiler:considering they all dress in skeleton costumes]]. Eventually, you have to get Bess to listen in on one of their meetings, which leads to her being caught by her cellphone and getting taken in via the BagOfKidnapping by the Krewe [[spoiler:and their leader, Doctor Buford, who is, by the way, the skeleton who knocked Nancy out in the beginning of the game and was hunting for the Skull, which makes him technically the main albeit-repentant culprit of the story before Renee proves to be far more AxCrazy than she looks]]. The fact that a secret society mainly focused on petitions and Mardi Gras festivities, no matter how secretive, was willing to kidnap someone is shocking as is, and the fact that [[spoiler:if Doctor Buford didn't know Bess Marvin already and if she didn't threaten to let slip about his attempted graverobbing expedition]] it's never made clear what would have happened to her.
** Also, instantly after this scene, Bess is in the middle of explaining everything to Nancy via phone, when she lets slip that [[spoiler:she may have told Doctor Buford how close Nancy was getting and that he never went back to the Jolly Rogers meeting]], and begins worrying about whether or not she just endangered Nancy's life. Just as Nancy's about to reassure Bess, convenient lightning strikes and the connection is instantly cut, leaving the player to [[ParanoiaFuel be on the lookout for someone lurking in the shadows for some time]]. [[spoiler:However, it turns out Doctor Buford was making his way to the Bolet house, but only to apologise and offer Bess and Nancy a tour of the best spots in New Orleans as penance for his misdeeds.]]

* The endgame and the true culprit's motivations and [[spoiler:just how they "killed" Dr. Bolet]] lead themselves to a lot of subtle fridge horror. [[spoiler:After freeing herself from the Skull chamber and confronting Renee at the bayou, the thoroughly AxCrazy Renee reveals via MotiveRant she didn't kill Dr. Bolet, but accidentally committed manslaughter by breaking the [[YourMindMakesItReal power of suggestion his belief in the skull gave on his lifespan by forging a document saying the Skull was a fake when it wasn't]] and inducing a heart attack in probably the most realistic example of NoOntologicalInertia ever in a video game]]. Of course, the fact that Bruno Bolet's extended lifespan most likely came from subconscious suggestion and willpower via belief didn't factor for [[spoiler:Renee, as she genuinely believes that the skull belongs to her and that she'll reunite all the skulls and learn the secrets man was not meant to know]]. Between one of the most genuinely deluded villains in the series, the existential undertones of the Skull and game entirely, and the fact that you never find out what the Skull really is capable of other than the fact that it's perfectly crafted for having not made by modern tools in the last few centuries makes it probably the most unsettling endings to a horror-centric Nancy Drew game, likely the most unsettling one until Ghost of Thornton Hall.

* This game's atmosphere in general for this game is uneasy and dread-inducing, taking place in Louisiana entirely at night. Macabre reminders of mortality and death are scattered throughout the game, with a cemetery in the backyard, and main puzzles that rely on hunting dismembered eyeballs in order to uncover the eponymous Crystal Skull, which the deceased Bruno Bolet owned out of fear of death. Not to mention the first five minutes of the game have you getting [[JumpScare up close and personal with a skeleton man who knocks you out with hoodoo powder]].

** Also, in the east passageway, there's a secret viewing compartment where you can spy in on Linda's room, right behind her nightstand. Cue JumpScare as ou see her hand extend to grab a mirror, a hand that's completely covered in fur, followed by an eerie shriek of dread from Linda as she sees herself in the mirror. Not only is it nightmare fuel of the highest sort but it shows just how absolutely and completely devastating the toll of the curse is on Linda. [[spoiler:Eventually it turns out Jane was just sneaking hair growth treatments into the lotion also on Linda's nightstand.]]

* Over the game you learn about Bruno Bolet's indnuction into the Jolly Rogers Krewe, a defunct Mardi Gras planning society that teetered the fine edge between {{Cult}} and, well, a BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats [[spoiler:considering they all dress in skeleton costumes]]. Eventually, you have to get Bess to listen in on one of their meetings, which leads to her being caught by her cellphone and getting taken in via the BagOfKidnapping by the Krewe [[spoiler:and their leader, Doctor Buford, who is, by the way, the skeleton who knocked Nancy out in the beginning of the game and was hunting for the Skull, which makes him technically the main albeit-repentant culprit of the story before Renee proves to be far more AxCrazy than she looks]]. The fact that a secret society mainly focused on petitions and Mardi Gras festivities, no matter how secretive, was willing to kidnap someone is shocking as is, and the fact that [[spoiler:if Doctor Buford didn't know Bess Marvin already and if she didn't threaten to let slip about his attempted graverobbing expedition]] it's never made clear what would have happened to her.
** Also, instantly after this scene, Bess is in the middle of explaining everything to Nancy via phone, when she lets slip that [[spoiler:she may have told Doctor Buford how close Nancy was getting and that he never went back to the Jolly Rogers meeting]], and begins worrying about whether or not she just endangered Nancy's life. Just as Nancy's about to reassure Bess, ocnvenient lightning strikes and the connection is instantly cut, leaving the player to [[ParanoiaFuel be on the lookout for someone lurking in the shadows for some time]]. [[spoiler:However, it turns out Doctor Buford was making his way to the Bolet house, but only to apologise and offer Bess and Nancy a tour of the best spots in New Orleans as penance for his misdeeds.]]

* The 2 "pranks" mentioned by the principal are pretty darn disturbing. A claustrophobic girl was locked in a closet for an entire night and had a breakdown as a result while another girl was slipped [[TamperingWithFoodAndDrink food tainted]] [[PlotAllergy with something she was allergic to]] and had to be rushed to the hospital.

** Also [[spoiler:at the very end, you've essentially successfully managed to become the new target of her vengeance, as she vows that she and Nancy will meet again. Considering this was only four games after RAN featured the return of an AxCrazy earlier culprit, and the game afterwards being a vengeance plot, likelihood is Nancy has not seen the last of Anja]].

* Late in the game, when Nancy is finally freed from jail, she's talking with George in her house..and someone throws a rock through her patio door, completely shattering it. There's a nasty note attached. There are two layers of FridgeHorror here: not only could Nancy or George have been seriously hurt, some of the citizens of River Heights--which for twenty-five games has been viewed as the picture of an ideal American small town--are willing to hurt the girl detective who they've loved for so long.

* One of the [[NonStandardGameOver Non-Standard Game Overs]] in the climax really deserves a mention. When you finally find [[spoiler: Jessalyn Thornton]], you have the opportunity to threaten him/her with telling everybody where they hide. [[spoiler: Her voice momentally becomes trembling and scared. Then she sics Charlotte's ghost on you]]. The worst thing is that if you choose the other conversation option, this person appears completely normal, if understandably very scared and frustrated. You'll spend the rest of the game knowing what they are capable of. Sweet dreams.
* Even the easter eggs in the game are terrifying. One of them [[spoiler: is found in a skeleton's eye-socket]], and when you find all of them, you get a poem that reads like something out of ''The Flowers of Evil''.

* Even the more "mundane" aspects of the game are unnerving. For example, the explanation for the hauntings: [[spoiler:Nancy and company were unknowingly inhaling constant lungfuls of carbon monoxide due to Thornton Hall's faulty furnace.]] If you're a hypochrondriac, have a good time obsessing over that idea.

* Without giving too much away, [[spoiler: At the end of the game, when the house catches on fire, you have the choice of saving Clara, not choosing to save her alters the epilogue with Nancy stating that they have yet to find Clara, and that a woman watching could swear she saw two woman descending from the house. Yes, the game developers did just give you the chance of letting someone die.]]

* The gradual revelation of [[spoiler:Thanos]] as an AxCrazy mafia member, which reaches a climax when Nancy finds a letter written by [[spoiler:Grigor]], confessing to the plot [[spoiler:because he fully expects to be killed by Thanos after the art heist is complete]].
** [[spoiler:Thanos]] isn't even the BigBad. The real mastermind has a chilling monologue, coupled with WhamLine, after shackling Nancy to the throne room in Tartarus.

-->'''[[spoiler:Xenia]]:''' Of course I'm not. I'm smarter. I've got [[spoiler:Niobe]] under my thumb, [[spoiler:Thanos]] wrapped around my finger, and my heel on your throat.
* After Nancy imprisons [[spoiler:Thanos]] in the underground cage, you have to leave the room to find something. When you come back, the cage is empty...and he could be hiding ''anywhere'', waiting to jump out at you.
** Not only that, but at the end of the game [[spoiler:Thanos escaped prosecutions using his Mafia connections, and while he's more of a PsychoForHire and likely wouldn't be out for vengeance, the fact that one of the most menacing and brutal villains in the series is out on the loose does not bode well for anyone]].

* The climax. [[spoiler:Nancy has a limited amount of time before the theatre is torn apart. What's more is that Joseph has her locked in the projectionist's room and blocks her path to the marquis lights. Unless you select the correct choice, Nancy, Joseph and Maya will all die.]]