History NightmareFuel / SuperMarioBros

* In Super Mario Strikers, we have Bowser, who is protrayed as a giant [[ImplacableMan implacable koopa]] who wreaks major havoc on the field with shells and bombs whenever the "Bowser Attack" options is on instead of comic relief. When that occurs, his entrance would be accompanied with a short, gritty rock n' roll riff or a ScareChord. Worse is that [[ParanoiaFuel you don't whether when or if he will ambush anybody in his way.]] Also, one of Peach's screams when she is eletricuted sounds like a realistic interpretation (i.e. screaming bloody murder) of feeling that type of excruciating pain in contrast to some of the other screams. Think about how she and the others feel in a more realistic way after that.

** According to ''TheAdventuresofSuperMarioBros3'' they're just hats the Mushroom Retainers wear. Going by this theory this is NightmareRetardent.

** According to ''TheAdventuresofSuperMarioBros.3'' they're just hats the Mushroom Retainers wear. Going by this theory this is NightmareRetardent.

* THAT FUCKING GIGANTIC UNAGI. To those unfamiliar, it was a huge eel with a freaky face, topped with the fact that he doesn't look quite that big at first.

* The entry to LethalLavaLand (remember, that [[http://lister.vg.no/lists/img/2009-02/18564/238611_640px.jpg flaming face painting]]?) was frightening enough to scare you out of the room.

!! ''Super Mario Bros. 2''

* In ''Mario Power Tennis'', when Yoshi wins a trophy, there's an animation in which Luigi brings it to him. [[MeatOVision Things go awry]], and in the end Yoshi has swallowed Luigi. He doesn't get spit out. There isn't even an egg. [[TethercatPrinciple He never escapes.]]

''VideoGame/PaperMario'' has [[NightmareFuel/PaperMario its own page]].

!! ''Luigi's Mansion'' Duology

* The scariest part probably was when lightning struck the mansion and cut the power off. So every ''single'' previously safe haven was now a miniature hell hole of never ending ghosts and could only be stopped by finding a special ghost looking at himself in a mirror and you're never told which one. A little over half of the rooms of the mansion have mirrors!
* The game itself is one thing, but the [[http://www.mariowiki.com/File:Luigis14.jpg game over screen from the beta version]] is quite another, due to Luigi looking literally scared to death.
** How about the other ending pic? It's a bit less creepy, but Luigi looks just as terrified [[http://www.mariowiki.com/images/8/86/LM-Endingbad.png see here]]
* Trying to capture Luggs, the huge ghost in the dining room, was terrifying. The fact that this enormous ghost is spitting fireballs, then calmly going back to his meal once the candles are relit, is just disturbing.
* There is a lighting oddity [[spoiler:in which Luigi's shadow appears as if he were dangling from a rafter by a noose.]] It's mostly the fact that it's an almost unnoticeable effect that appears for only a split second that makes it scary.
* What about Bogmire? Seriously, the guy didn't even have any features that defined if he was alive or not, he looks more like a monster than a ghost, and don't get me started about the shadows...
* The [[spoiler:painting of the helpless Mario]]? Seeing him banging his fists while King Boo laughing in the background was terrifying.
** How Luigi was [[spoiler:sucked into Mario's painting]] for the final boss fight, as it [[spoiler:transformed into Bowser?]]
* [[spoiler:Bowser's head going off his body when Luigi throws a bomb at him. Both scary AND unexpected in a Mario game.]]
* Any scene with the Boos. King Boo gets [[NightmareFuel special]] [[CompleteMonster recognition]], though.
* What about the music? It may be [[EarWorm extremely catchy]] but it's the icing of ''Luigi's Mansion''.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNmUoUrGrBY Boolossus' theme.]] *shudder*
* The first encounter with a ghost. You walk into a dark mansion on a stormy night, greeted by a pitch black room with only a few candles. You turn on your flashlight and walk up the stairs, and try the double doors. you find that they're locked and then suddenly ''a demented giggle'' comes from downstairs. You head down, and an orange floating orb holding a key appears and floats back and forth while ''bells sound in the background''. Then it notices you, makes a little squeaky gasp noise, dropping the key, and floats up the stair and into the double doors, mysteriously putting out every candle just by the ghost being close to it, and then explodes into little orange clouds on contact with the door. A little finisher to the scene is a zoom in on the key on the ground, with a little jingle.
* Dying in ''Luigi's Mansion'' is pretty creepy as well. Luigi falls to the floor while the screen goes black and white, and then the words "Good Night..." appear on bloody red letters. Which slowly go black and white themselves.
** Probably better than the aforementioned beta GameOver screen, though.
* What about the room with taxidermy animal heads? At first they're fine, like any you've seen in your life, but nothing happens in the room so you vacuum everything. But when you get to those heads, '''they start nodding! Just... nodding!''' It doesn't sound so bad but it looks disturbing.
* Apparantly, In the Safari Room, there was originally supposed to be a Portrait Ghost in this room, but was removed in the final version because it was deemed too scary to be in the game. It was supposed to resemble an Australian hunter that would shoot the player.
* After you capture the ghost Lydia, a cutscene happens where the camera zooms in on a door whilst a baby's crying can be heard along with a creepy music box tune...*shivers*.
** It doesn't help that the baby is crying since you technically KILLED his mother and father, and then plan on murdering him.
* The Observatory Room. Maybe it's the fact that it seems like you're actually '''in''' space, the fact that there is '''actually''' a fake moon in there, and that the outside music actually '''plays''' in the room, pretty much confirming that your in a space of sorts.
* The pause menu too, it has a door with Luigi's shadow hanging on it, creepily.

* Have we forgotten about the Gooper Blooper battles from ''Super Mario Sunshine''? Think about it: You're fighting a giant squid who uses his tentacles and ink that summons slimy enemies to attack. The method of defeating him: Jump on each of his tentacles and '''''pull them off ONE BY ONE by sheer force'''''! It does not help that each of them wriggle frantically after you do so before disappearing.

!! ''SuperMario3DLand''

* In the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1l5Je3eFrk final battle]], where Baby Bowser, in an eerily designed toy room, attempts to ride (and therefore injure) Yoshi. After he has been defeated, Kamek turns him into Big Bowser. Big, meaning the castle he had occupied is completely destroyed by his transformation, and he could probably crush Yoshi with a single finger/claw. The transformation and battle is accompanied by rather horrifying music,[[hottip:*:though {{YMMV}} on the music; many consider it [[AwesomeMusic/SuperMarioBros the most epic track in the entire game]], if not the entire ''series'',]] and the battle is pretty much Yoshi trying to hit him with large eggs to push him back, while he is slowly coming towards you. When he is hit, he is indeed pushed back, only to then run at full speed towards Yoshi, who is standing on a small ledge (which is being destroyed by the boulders that fly in the air from Bowser's roars). If Bowser comes close enough, his stomach ''obliterates'' the ledge, leaving Yoshi unable to do anything but plummet to his death. This can be extremely scary when one is desperately trying to get him further back, knowing that he will run at full speed afterwards.

* Gee, Let me think, how about the fact that the king's been turned into a giant pile of mucus!
* Or the fact that TOAD, one of the 'nice' characters, gets de-evolved in what looks like the most painful ways possible.
* I'm not even gonna mention what happens to Koopa at the end. [[spoiler: He MELTS!]]

** Couldn't it just be a rather large, silly hat?
** He could be born part mushroom.

** You mean? "DUEL!"

* Remember what happened when you ran into a door when you didn't have enough stars to open it? DAH DAH DAAAAAAAH NAH! BWOAR WOAR! HAR! HAR! HAR!

* Speaking of chase scenes, in the final level, there is an optional chase where a large spiked undefeatable enemy is chasing Yoshi across a rocky, lava filled area, as the screen ever so slowly moves to allow him more area to move. It doesn't help that before entering this chase, if the player wants to receive helpful information, all they get is "RUN AWAY!!!" in dramatically huge font.

Even [[SuperMarioBros Mario]] has run into [[AccidentalNightmareFuel his share of frights]], as these examples will attest to.

* Mentioning the Eel without [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjL5MtmnNHk&feature=related Mario's drowning animation]] in general? Drown and ''Mario 64'' suddenly feels far more graphic than most {{Gorn}} games, with Mario desperately struggling and seemingly making failed attempts to gasp for air in blind panic and agony, with the game fading out as Mario's corpse is going limp. The poison gas death (the area mentioned above) is no better, with Mario grabbing for his throat, then falling on the floor with the screen fading out as he lies twitching (apparently still alive) in his final moments on the floor. These things pretty much go right into HighOctaneNightmareFuel too... What the hell Nintendo? The toxic area was really the worst in that, as anytime you are breathing it Mario would cough and slowly choke as if struggling for air.

* Any scene with the Boos. King Boo gets [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel special]] [[CompleteMonster recognition]], though.

* Between them, Mario and Bowser wind up destroying the universe. [[IGotBetter It gets better]], but still...

*** It was even creepier in the original ''Doki Doki Panic'', where it was some sort of tribal mask. [[http://www.nesmaps.com/maps/DokiDokiPanic/sprites/DokiDokiPanicSprites.html Look for it here, labeled (rather accurately) as "Evil Door."]]

*** And don't forget that the Phantos in the American version have creepier faces.
*** [[http://www.destructoid.com/phanto-the-scariest-videogame-character-of-all-time-151258.phtml This page says all]]
*** Phanto was also in a KIRBY GAME!! Talk about nightmare fuel in a kiddy game...although it also has some [[NightmareFuel/{{Kirby}} notable examples]] of NightmareFuel. And besides, it didn't even appear as an enemy. Or even a character. It was one of the many [[ShoutOut treasures]] Kirby finds in the Great Cave Offensive.
*** That enemy, Two-Face, started out as a peaceful-looking mask, similar to the Doki Doki Panic version of Phanto, but when you got near enough, it flipped around and became a demonic mask that looks nearly identical to the Phanto we all know and "love" before chasing you around the room. It's practically an {{Expy}} and just as horrifying.

** This Troper never could take those hands seriously as the first time he saw them was while playing with his older cousin, who called the hand a "Chancla" (a type of sandal). Since then, this troper has always called them that.

** The Mode7 scaling effect of the clown face coming toward the screen wasn't that bad (although given that it was the first use of depth in a Mario game, I thought it was simply growing huge the first time I saw that and ran to the corners of the screen to escape it), it's how the third/final form of the clown face gets an EvilMakeover, with its cartoonish eyes turning into evil angular orange eyes that fit way too many eyeball tropes to be linked to all at once. And the [[CrossPoppingVeins popping vein]]. Don't forget the popping vein. Or, rather, the "anger cross". It's commonly used in anime and other cartoons (as well as comic strips and numerous other media) to indicate that a character is [[UnstoppableRage totally pissed off]].
*** The little version of this car for Bowser Jr. has a certain NarmCharm to it, even with angry eyes. This is probably because its mouth is not a full SlasherSmile, but a simple bemused smirk.
** What got to some was Mario/Luigi's death sprite. Maybe they went [[BlueWithShock red/]][[PaletteSwap green with shock,]] but to some, they just looked... odd.
** The big green bubbles in the Vanilla Ghost House freaked many out a bit. They were large, invincible, and always got in the way, and if even two closed in on you you were screwed.
*** Then here's a little free Nightmare Retardant for you. My siblings and I always interpreted the green blobs as "Ghost Poop." Whether it was what the ghost poops out or the ghost of poop we weren't sure, but it was ghost poop.
**** And to further the retardant, I always imagined those as being bubbles from a bubble wand that a ghost blew. Which makes them more silly than anything.
*** Another bit of retardant. The blobs aren't as invincible as they seem. Hilariously, you can actually kill those things by butt-sliding into them down staircases. It still doesn't prevent them from being rather freaky when first encountered, though.
*** Also, if there are no staircases handy, you can still get away most of the time by spin-jumping onto them. It doesn't kill them, but you bounce around on top of the thing without getting hurt.
** This troper is creeped out by nearly everything in ''Super Mario World'', and has been familiar with almost since the day he was born. Specifically, the one part that continues to scare the troper to this day is the secret keyholes. The way they grow so huge and then swallow up Mario is just plain freaky. The accompanying music only makes this worse.
*** It always reminded me of Viacom music, sort of a cross between the V of Doom and the 1990s "wigga wigga", although for some that may be additional AccidentalNightmareFuel.
** The Big Boos from ''Super Mario World'' gave me some fright as a kid, but the Mega Moles... '''oh GOD'''!

** Good to know I'm not the only one that thought the sound when Mario died was him getting his eye gouged out. Although I was such a sick minded kid that I'd regularly write stories as a kid on the typewriter that featured eye scream, drowning in lava, murder, people's organs being removed. And did I mention that I thought all of this up before age 9?
** Most of said NightmareFuel can be offset be downloading ''Super Mario World Redrawn''.
* Another ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' example: the [[UpdatedRerelease GBA version]] starts with a {{Nightmare Fuel}}-ish intro that ends with a LastNoteNightmare, as seen [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGUjSFSgv3M here]]; however, if you beat the game, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQDKJu71pMY the result]] [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments makes up for it]]. Doubles as AndTheAdventureContinues.

* NightmareRetardant for those terrified of the Castle theme: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugbPDDZSd2k It's not Roy's one!]]

** "Ghosts...don't...DIE! Can you get out of here...alive?"
** [[http://www.mariowiki.com/images/e/ea/Piano.png ...''the piano''...]]

* The endless staircase at the end of the game, with its [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nspVzeKWqxQ chromatic xylophone scales]] '''OF DOOM'''. Try listening to it [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nhwBjRwuPo&feature=response_watch backwards]] for extra "fun".

* Our friend the eel comes back again on ''[[http://www.mariowiki.com/images/8/8e/Megaeel.jpg New Super Mario Bros.]]'' This time you must flee from it. It's a damn frenzy stage.

* Mentioning the Eel without [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjL5MtmnNHk&feature=related Mario's drowning animation]] in general? Drown and ''Mario 64'' suddenly feels far more graphic than most {{Gorn}} games, with Mario desperately struggling and seemingly making failed attempts to gasp for air in blind panic and agony, with the game fading out as Mario's corpse is going limp. The poison gas death (the area mentioned above) is no better, with Mario grabbing for his throat, then falling on the floor with the screen fading out as he lies twitching (apparently still alive) in his final moments on the floor. These things pretty much go right into HighOctaneNightmareFuel too... What the hell Nintendo? The toxic area was really the worst in that, as anytime you are breathing it Mario would cough and slowly choke as if struggling for air.
* There's another video there [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of2Yy1busbk&feature=related which makes it worse]] by adding disturbingly dramatic music to the moments before Mario drowns, making it [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel even scarier]].

* Hey, remember when you got the Power Star from atop Bowser's submarine, the sub disappeared from Dire Dire Docks for stars 2-6? And that Bowser door opened underwater....becoming a big black hole that SUCKED YOU IN if you got near it??? To this troper, ''that'' was the scariest thing in this game....
** It doesn't suck you in. The scary part about it is that Bowser's sub would've exited the harbor through it. If you go through it, '''''IT COMES OUT RIGHT OUTSIDE THE CASTLE!!!''''' Also, while on the subject of sucking in, the whirlpool was what made this troper resort to the Action Replay to get the rest of Dire, Dire Docks' stars. I could never complete The Manta Ray's Reward. Dear GOD.

** You mean [[http://bowserdeath.ytmnd.com/ this?]]
** And then Mario goes "That's-a so nice!" ''What... the... hell...''
** This Troper found the later battle with [[spoiler:Dry Bowser]] to be NightmareRetardant.
** But guess what kids? [[VideoGame/MarioAndSonicAtTheOlympicGames Now you can watch Bowser compete in the Vancouver Olympics against his own corpse!]] [[spoiler:Dry Bowser appears as a Rival in the sequel.]]
** Bowser's death [[spoiler:and Dry Bowser's creation]] [[ItGotWorse is even worse]] if you [[FridgeHorror think about]] how it affects Bowser Junior. He's had to experience his father's death at the hands of [[TheHero the man responsible for the deaths of countless members of his kingdom]], [[AChildShallLeadThem and presumably has to lead Bowser's entire kingdom in his place.]] Sure, [[spoiler:StayingAlive Bowser inexplicably comes back]], but the subsequent fight ensures [[spoiler: that Bowser is KilledOffForReal]]. Bowser Jr. is very young, and has grown up spoiled, and spoiled children rely on their Parents. He is completely unprepared to rule a kingdom, or deal with his father's death, either emotionally or [[AvengingTheVillain physically.]] [[spoiler:BackFromTheDead But then Junior revives him. However, bringing your dead father back to life is an emotionally traumatic event in itself, especially since he's been StrippedToTheBone]]. Admittedly, Bowser Jr. [[ItsAllAboutMe doesn't really seem like he cares all that much]], but he's most likely just hiding his pain. And while one might say that [[TheVonTropeFamily Ludwig]] is the oldest, and is therefore the rightful heir, but the fact that [[AChildShallLeadThem Junior is the one in charge of everything in the game]] from that point on contradicts that.

** Those are probably less scary if you played ''Super Mario World'' first. (Their debut game, if I'm not mistaken.)
*** No, those are Wigglers. They appear in ''Super Mario Galaxy'', but they look just like normal. The giant caterpillar is much different from the Wigglers.
** Speaking of ''Galaxy'', how freaking disturbing it is to see Mario's hand rise up when he sinks in sand or toxic waste, all while hearing him drown?

*** I'll never get over the nightmare of watching my childhood hero ''slowly die before my goddamn eyes, and I couldn't do a thing.''

*** [[NightmareRetardant A rather comically-proportioned skeleton.]]
*** Still, its a bit [[JustForPun shocking]] to see that, considering that never happened to Mario in the past games when he died from electrocution.
**** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPKlQmMpmVk Here is a video of a few of Mario's ''Galaxy'' deaths.]]
** The Gringills in the Beach Bowl Galaxy. The giant ones with googly eyes and teeth almost as long as their head. This troper didn't see them while she watched her brother play, but she saw them when she played it herself and screamed.
** What about those hovering, screeching Cluckbooms? There is just something vaguely disturbing about them...
** Believe it or not, Rosalina's stupid ''storybook'' did it for this troper. It wasn't the TearJerker moment that did it, it was the sudden MoodWhiplash that accompanied it. The normal storybook music goes dead silent as the text says "And...", and then out of absolutely nowhere a sad version of the tune plays as Rosalina breaks down crying in the story and TheReveal [[WhamLine is made about her mother.]] I could not sleep after seeing it!
** The Bonefin Galaxy, home to the giant skeletal shark known as [[http://www.mariowiki.com/Kingfin Kingfin]].
** Nobody else was bothered by the giant jellyfish? Sure, there were only two, but each one was in an rather off-putting location: the first in the Bigmouth Galaxy, where more and more ghosts kept popping out of nowhere underwater, and the second in the Deep Dark Galaxy, where you HAD to swim RIGHT PAST IT because it took up most of a certain passage. (Oh, and both galaxies had some of the most ominous-sounding music in the game.) I'm so glad all they did was float there. I totally preferred Kingfin over them.
** This troper was unnerved by them. And the Bigmouth Galaxy whirlpools.
*** However, in ''SuperMarioGalaxy2'', it's located in the a corner of a large, non-scary (even peaceful) area in Cosmic Cove Galaxy, surrounding with green shells to kill it... [[VillainDecay erm?]]
** Also in the Deep Dark Galaxy is a planet accessible by a cannon, which is [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfUFJLWYxfM&hd=1#t=8m32s basically a tiny version of the first planet in Gateway Galaxy]]. It's kind of odd in the first place to come across something like this, but if you jump on a nearby screw and spin around, ''the planet will deflate like a giant beach ball''. It even ''rewards'' you for doing this with coins!
*** [[NightmareRetardant You can orbit around it if you long-jump, though.]]
** Also, between them, Mario and Bowser wind up destroying the universe. [[IGotBetter It gets better]], but still...
*** Bowser ''planned'' on destroying the universe all along... [[AGodAmI so that he could remake it as his own glorious empire.]] ''Damn''. So much for VillainDecay.
** The music that plays when you wake up the Dino Pirahna is very unsettling, as is the fact that you are on a small planet with the possibility of being plowed into by a giant, blind beast. The Dino Pirahna itself is no better, especially when you get it angry. And when you defeat it, the idea of having just killed a baby doesn't sit right either.

* ADMIT IT, you were scared when [[spoiler:the universe was destroyed.]] If you understood the GainaxEnding quickly enough for the repercussions to take you by surprise, that is. Also, YMMV anyway.

** [[{{Narm}} Didn't scare this troper.]]

* That gigantic ElectricJellyfish you first see ''above your head'' while trying to swim up and around it.

*** Oh, and if you get hit by one, all the ones chasing you [[NightmareRetardant comically fall over after you do.]]
** In several late levels, giant lava monsters suddenly rise up from out of nowhere and engulf your platform in their mouths. The last one is particularly memorable.
** There's something disturbing about watching giant skeletal mouths devour the ground in front of you.
** In one galaxy, a group of penguins are out swimming, watched over by a couple of larger penguins. To get the non-secret star in that stage, you must hit a switch that causes the entire area to freeze solid. It's not just the surface; you can see them under the ice, frozen in midstroke.
** In the Shiverburn Galaxy, if you change the camera to first-person mode and look toward the cliffs above you, there seems to be three mysterious shadowy figures on the cliff, watching you, and following you. You can read about it [[http://gonintendo.com/viewstory.php?id=126769 here]].
*** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xu0vtkU02uM This shit. This shit right here.]]
*** They're supposed to be trees. It doesn't help though, because they don't look at all like trees. And they have glowing eyes. Brrr.
*** The file names? ''"[=BeyondHellValleySky=]'' is where they reside, and ''[=HellValleySkyTree=]'' is the names, the ominousness of the trees were enough, but ''those names'' make them worse.
** The swirling spirits in the background in the ghost levels.
** Magmaarghs (a much larger version of Blarggs from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld''). They're huge, hideous creatures made of lava who look incredibly deranged, with strange eyes and huge mouths, and when they try to collapse into Mario or Luigi, they make a very disturbing roar until they lose their form in the lava.

** More like annoying! God I just want to kill that dismembered head now.
** Oddly enough, this troper, being the one that added the ''Super Mario 64'' example, had no problem with ''Mario Teaches Typing 2''. Probably because you can't stretch his face around.
** This troper first saw the Mario head in this [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjWQIEhFoqQ Youtube Poop]] and got freaked out just by its sudden appearance. IMMA GONNA FLY FOR YOU!!! VROOM!!! VROOM!!! VROOM!!!

** There are [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAfOX4Jv9xw three different "death" tracks]] in the game's BGM. The current (at the time of this writing) comment for the linked video states "Lemme guess, the first is for getting hit by an enemy or obstacle, the second is for running out of time and the third is for falling from a really high place". Which is ''partially'' true, but there's more to it. While the first two apply for "standard" deaths (the second, if I recall correctly, is used for getting burnt by lava), the third is used for the most horrifyingly painful and gruesome (for Mario standards, that is) death animations, such as getting squished by a Thwomp, falling from a high place (with Mario falling ''on his head'' as a result) and, last but not least, getting ''electrocuted to death''. In fact, you can tell the various deaths apart by listening to the different pitches of Mario's variants of his classic "Mamma mia!". The first is "standard", the second is "exhausted", and the third is "a mixture of pain and horror".

* The end of ''VideoGame/{{Mario Is Missing}}'', when Bowser is defeated, used to creep this troper out as a seven year old. You don't fight him, he comes out of nowhere and is shot out of a canon, innocent enough. It's cartoony. Then he falls into the ice, freezes up, is covered in snow, then shatters. At that age I was thinking "Why couldn't he just have fallen in the lava pit and disappeared?"
* In Super Mario Strikers, we have Bowser, who is protrayed as a giant [[ImplacableMan implacable koopa]] who wreaks major havoc on the field with shells and bombs whenever the "Bowser Attack" options is on instead of comic relief. When that occurs, his entrance would be accompanied with a short, gritty rock n' roll riff or a ScareChord. Worse is that [[ParanoiaFuel you don't whether when or if he will ambush anybody in his way.]] Also, one of Peach's screams when she is eletricuted sounds like a realistic interpretation (i.e. screaming bloody murder) of feeling that type of excruciating pain in contrast to some of the other screams. Think about how she and the others feel in a more realistic way after that.

** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSki-BSrkR4&feature=relmfu See this video for further details (at about 10:00).]]

** The theme of Shroob Castle.... God it's horrifying...
** The Elder Princess Shroob: she is a giant, mutant with numerous tentacles for legs and for arms, and a hideous face, and attacks by even shooting down her own men... Also, her battle music is a strike in "SoundtrackDissonance".
** Oh dear god, Toadwood Forest and the Vim Factory was what frightened this troper, The Shroobs are using Toad BLOOD To power their spaceships. Also, after defeating the Swiggler you can still find Toads strapped to the trees!

** This troper gets chills sent up his spine by the song played in Fawful's Castle from ''Bowser's Inside Story''.
** The [[spoiler:Dark Star]] in general is creepy - it is literally an embodiment of evil that can absorb other beings to use as a source of power as it does to Fawful! Not to mention he turns into an [[spoiler:evil version of Bowser sporting a mohawk]]! Oh yeah...'' '''IT SHRIEKS.''' ''
*** Yeah.. [[{{Supermariofan}} This Troper]] was playing this game with earphones under the covers at night, hiding from his parents, when he got to the part where the Dark Star... turns into [[RedEyesTakeWarning HUGE GIANT RED EYES!!]] Then it lets out ''Exorcist''-like screams. And ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFTZDvy8YyA THIS]]'' was playing the whole time! Luckily the boss music makes it all better.
*** The cutscene where the Dark Star chokes the Mario Bros. with its dark energy could be seen as this, but Luigi's LargeHam tendencies towards the end of the scene sort of [[NightmareRetardant make up for it.]]

** This Troper was once playing this under the cover at night while hiding from his parents (-_-), and I was going through a lava place when all of a sudden the game crashed and made horrible noises. Needless to say, he immediately shut it off and played a Kirby game.
*** Not like a Kirby game would always [[CosmicHorror help]], [[NightmareFuel/{{Kirby}} though]].
** If Yoshi is hit, Baby Mario is suddenly caught in a flying bubble, wailing desperately, as the player tries to get him back before the enemies catch him and fly away with him.
** The threat of being eaten occurs quite a bit. Not only is there a boss battle that occurs in a frog's throat, but there are a few chase scenes in which a gigantic Chain Chomp is out to eat Yoshi.
** Speaking of chase scenes, in the final level, there is an optional chase where a large spiked undefeatable enemy is chasing Yoshi across a rocky, lava filled area, as the screen ever so slowly moves to allow him more area to move. It doesn't help that before entering this chase, if the player wants to receive helpful information, all they get is "RUN AWAY!!!" in dramatically huge font.
*** What arguably makes this even worse is that you're being chased by a boss that's nigh-invulnerable, and is large enough that you can hear the ground quaking from every step that it takes. Oh sure, your eggs manage to stun it, but that's about it. Not even it falling down a hole to its doom can stop it; it just springs forth like a proverbial bat out of Hell, and continues to chase you, its smile almost taunting you.
*** Optional? Ehhh... it's 1 out of 4 paths that you have to take. You only have to take 1 of them to get to the end, thankfully, but to pick your path, you have to throw an egg at 4 rotating doors to knock one down. If you hit the one with the number "3" on it... well, just restart the level unless you don't plan to sleep that night.
** Kamek would [[MakeMyMonsterGrow enlarge small creatures in the boss battles]]. The transformations were complete with [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMSKYa71pMk 'Time to Die!'-esque music]].
** In the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1l5Je3eFrk final battle]], where Baby Bowser, in an eerily designed toy room, attempts to ride (and therefore injure) Yoshi. After he has been defeated, Kamek turns him into Big Bowser. Big, meaning the castle he had occupied is completely destroyed by his transformation, and he could probably crush Yoshi with a single finger/claw. The transformation and battle is accompanied by rather horrifying music,[[hottip:*:though {{YMMV}} on the music; many consider it [[AwesomeMusic/SuperMarioBros the most epic track in the entire game]], if not the entire ''series'',]] and the battle is pretty much Yoshi trying to hit him with large eggs to push him back, while he is slowly coming towards you. When he is hit, he is indeed pushed back, only to then run at full speed towards Yoshi, who is standing on a small ledge (which is being destroyed by the boulders that fly in the air from Bowser's roars). If Bowser comes close enough, his stomach ''obliterates'' the ledge, leaving Yoshi unable to do anything but plummet to his death. This can be extremely scary when one is desperately trying to get him further back, knowing that he will run at full speed afterwards.
*** All the fun of taking on Godzilla all by yourself.
*** What makes this even worse? When he has one hit left, he'll continue to run towards you, and will not stop until he collides with Baby Mario and Yoshi.
*** By the way, we have a picture of this. It's on BackgroundBoss. Sweet dreams.
** "Touch Fuzzy, Get Dizzy."
*** Everybody must get ''stoned''...
** Your primary method of attack in this game is that you ''eat'' your enemies, and then ''transform their digested corpses into ammunition'', which you then ''throw'' at their comrades, who no doubt just watched you consume their friends seconds earlier. If that's not just a ''little'' bit disturbing...
*** Consider that this ammo is ''eggs''. Yoshis use their ''unborn young'' as ammo.
*** Those could be unfertilized eggs, like the ones chickens lay that we eat. Of course, that makes it ''a Yoshi's menstruation'' that you fight with. Just a different variety of NightmareFuel, really.
*** Actually, Yoshi just moves the enemies he's eaten into the eggs. But that means, usually, they die after hitting the target. ([[AndIMustScream And that they're stuck in the egg until Yoshi throws it.]])
** The sound of the [[http://www.mariowiki.com/Lunge_Fish Lunge Fish]] is one of the most terrifying sounds in video games.
*** The Lunge Fish itself. First time I got eaten by it I wasn't expecting it, and refused to play the game for a while.
** Those giant Chain Chomp heads that fall from the sky. Not only the fear of getting hit and falling into the holes they leave, but those ''faces''.
** Gargantuan Blargg and Nep-Enut can be pretty scary for kids too, with this giant red/blue thing popping out of the lava/water out of nowhere, especially if you don't realize there are eyes there.
** This troper got the GBA version for his 7th birthday. If anyone I know has wondered why I have seldom lost the game (as in neglecting to retrieve Baby Mario well past the time limit), it is because the image just before you are given the option to continue, or game over for good, consists of the Toadies carrying Baby Mario away against a black background. Actually, it's not the image that bothered this troper so much, it was this weird noise they made. Thank goodness I always collected 1-ups and tried very hard to keep Mario within reach.
*** On that note, the "Game Over" screen deserves a mention here. It shows "GAME OVER" in a deranged font zooming in and rotating in random directions. The same animation repeats itself several times afterward until you either continue the game or shut it off. The depressing piano ditty that plays under it and the fact that SNES games with pre-rendered 3D graphics were in their relative infancy only make this worse.

* ''[[VideoGame/YoshisStory Yoshi's Story]]'' was probably the happiest game of this troper's childhood... Until the day she FINALLY unlocked the final level of the final world, "Magma Castle." Inside the Magma Castle lurks an enemy not found anywhere else in the game--the Attacky Sack, a colorful, patchwork ball with OH MY GOD, RAZOR SHARP TEETH, IT'S FLYING RIGHT AT ME, OH MY GOD, OH MY GOD, MOMMY, MAKE IT STOP! Cue this troper whimpering in a corner. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=We0pnqX4MQA# t=2m30s Watch this,]] and be enlightened.

** Oh, God, ''[[VideoGame/YoshisStory Yoshi's Story]].'' Two words: "Blargg's Boiler." Everything in that lava-filled hellhole gave me the heebie-jeebies, whether it was the giant monsters with GAPING MOUTHS that jump out of the lava and ROAR AT YOU or the lava-ghost things... the noise they make... that SHRIEK...

** This troper was scared shitless as a kid by the Cheep Cheeps in the jungle levels-at 16, I'm still scared of them, though now I'm freaked out by the Neurons, even though they help you.

*** Big Blurp. This troper has always been scared of enemies that can eat you. And it comes in two flavors! The red one who jumps out of the water and the blue one who spits water to try and throw you in. Trying to get all the fruits possible in the previous section is a normal practice here.

** The other ''Wario Land'' examples have nothing on the Really Final Stage of ''Wario Land II''. This troper didn't actually play it when she was young, and is glad for that fact because of [[spoiler:the enemies petrified inside bubble gum with disembodied, realistic eyes, ears and mouths everywhere.]] It's like the inspiration for one of the rooms in YumeNikki.

* Let this troper start out by saying that in ''Wario Land 3'', [[NighInvulnerability nothing can kill you]]. Being hit by enemy attacks causes some kind of inconvenience, such as knockback or a status effect (being set on fire, for example, causes Wario to run uncontrollably until he touches water or until the fire envelops him, giving you a short time to walk around, invincible and able to use the fire to solve certain puzzles, at least until it reduces him to a pile of cinders. Which he walks out of completely unharmed, being indestructible). After retrieving the PlotCoupons, you return to the temple holding the being that has advised you over the course of your quest to find out that, [[spoiler:on top of simultaneously being the TreacherousAdvisor, the BigBad, and an EvilClown, he is the only thing in the game that can kill Wario. First of all, this troper lost because the clown, while not quite Nightmare Fuel, was still pretty scary.]] Secondly, as a child who took games a bit too seriously, seeing the Game Over screen almost broke this troper's fragile little mind, rendering him unable to finish the game.
* That ghost thing in The Vast Plains, anyone? It does not look harmful, but if you get close enough to it, it actually zooms down on top of you and makes the screen around Wario and the ghost all black, all the while closed-eye grinning. And the only way to reverse it is to bump into a wall or something similar. This troper was bothered by that ghost when he was around 5, it's just the way that ghost harms you that's so unnerving.
* How about the snakes in some of the levels. It's just that, after the snakes rise from their urns, their heads turn red, make [[HellIsThatNoise the most cacophonic hissing this troper's ever heard in a video game]] and spew fire from their mouths. Thank god it's only temporary. It's the noise that gets to me.

* Can I be the only one afraid of the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PM7z_oEzk68 Golden Diva]] from ''Wario Land 4''?
** Eww, the faces. She goes from the UncannyValley to just plain scary.
*** And the fact that she [[spoiler:absorbs the black cat (who is actually Princess Shokora)]] when it attempts to oppose her.
* In general, most of the audio and sound effects in ''Wario Land 4'' are incredibly bizarre at times. [[spoiler:Then, there's the "HURRY UP" tune.]]

* To [[{{Tropers/Maniette}} this troper]], the minigames in ''Mario Party 8'' are, in all actuality, incredibly sadistic. Seriously, think about it. Half of the minigames only have one winner, meaning the others [[http://www.mariowiki.com/Treacherous_Tightrope fall into ravines]], [[http://www.mariowiki.com/Lava_or_Leave_%27Em get burned by Podoboos and fall into lava]], [[http://www.mariowiki.com/Mario_Matrix get trapped inside computers]], [[http://www.mariowiki.com/Eyebrawl captured by Mr I]]... it may just be me, but this game is not for those who care too deeply about what happens to the losers.
** But then, this is [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential the draw to some]], especially when [[VitriolicBestbuds playing with friends.]]

*** To say nothing of Bowser's Big Blast from ''VideoGame/MarioParty 2[=/=]4'', and Cut From The Team from ''Mario Party 8''. D8 The tension alone makes the heart race in fear. Who will die first? Will it be you, or your friends? You're at the mercy of Lady Luck as you slowly step forward and meet destiny... My sisters and I cant even play Cut From The Team anymore, it's way too tense and scary.
** The entire ''Mario Party'' series is accidental nightmare fuel, especially the first ones. Any of the minigames involving Boos eating the losers was creepy.
*** When you think too much about it, hell yeah. There was Ghost Guess in the first ''MP'' where you had to guess which was the leader of a pack of Boos (a dozen or so) circling you. The game gives you the tip: the first one to start their dances is the leader. But then again, it's pretty hard to figure out which of them does it. And when you pick the wrong one... [[spoiler:''All the Boos converge on you and take you to God-knows-where.'' As soon as they're gone, ''so are you''.]] Shudder.
*** And then there's Pedal Power, one of the games that used the infamous ScrappyMechanic of "spin your Control Stick around like there's no tomorrow". You have to pedal a stationary bike to light up a lamp behind you before the Boo gets you. And that minigame is ''[[ThatOneLevel so freaking hard]]'', I have '''never''' seen the CPU players pull it off in all the times I played ''[=MP1=]''. '''Never'''. With just a sliver left to light up the bulb (as if it wasn't lit enough), the Boo always catches up and drags the poor guy away. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Nice job breaking our sanity, Hudson.]]
**** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LVKfwcxvsQ The tension-inducing music does little to help matters.]]
*** Oh God, how I hated the mini-games where you rotated the analog stick. The tug-of-war minigame from the original Mario Party was my personal nightmare. The only thing I ever got for winning that game was a giant blister on my palm. And it HURT.
** Speaking of the original, I used to find the Options House ''terrifying''! Mainly because of the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR9cor0HpyQ freaky background music]], but also the process that you go through to delete your save data feels like you're activating a ''nuclear missile!''

* Not many folks could possibly have been scared playing ''[[VideoGame/LuigisMansion Luigi's Mansion]]'', but at least one troper was.
** The only time this troper was particularly scared of that game was when lightning struck the mansion and cut the power off. So every ''single'' previously safe haven was now a miniature hell hole of never ending ghosts and could only be stopped by finding a special ghost looking at himself in a mirror and you're never told which one. A little over half of the rooms of the mansion have mirrors!
** The game itself is one thing, but the game over screen from the beta version gave this troper insomnia, due to Luigi looking literally scared to death.
*** Make that two. This troper got it on launch day, and it scared him out of his mind playing at midnight. (He was also 8...)
*** Is [[http://www.mariowiki.com/File:Luigis14.jpg this]] what you're talking about? If so, don't worry, I'll let you beat me up for bringing it up. Either way, yep, that's fucking disturbing.
*** How about the other ending pic? It's a bit less creepy, but Luigi looks just as terrified [[http://www.mariowiki.com/images/8/86/LM-Endingbad.png see here]]
** Trying to capture Luggs, the huge ghost in the dining room, was terrifying. The fact that this enormous ghost is spitting fireballs, then calmly going back to his meal once the candles are relit, just disturbs this troper.
** This troper jumped at the Easter egg in the Telephone Room [[spoiler:in which Luigi's shadow appears as if he were dangling from a rafter by a noose.]] It's mostly the fact that it's an almost unnoticeable effect that appears for only a split second that makes it scary. That, and the fact that actual horror elements seem totally out of place in ''Luigi's Mansion''.
*** Don't worry, that's a glitch. But it's still unsettling.
** What about Bogmire? Seriously, the guy didn't even have any features that defined if he was alive or not, he looks more like a monster than a ghost, and don't get me started about the shadows...
** What about the [[spoiler:painting of the helpless Mario]]? Seeing him banging his fists while King Boo laughing in the background was terrifying.
*** Or what about how Luigi was [[spoiler:sucked into Mario's painting]] for the final boss fight, as it [[spoiler:transformed into Bowser?]]
**** [[spoiler:Bowser's head going off his body when Luigi throws a bomb at him. Both scary AND unexpected in a Mario game.]]
** Any scene with the Boos. King Boo gets [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel special]] [[CompleteMonster recognition]], though.
** What about the music? It may be [[EarWorm extremely catchy]] but it's the icing of ''Luigi's Mansion''.
*** [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNmUoUrGrBY Boolossus' theme.]] *shudder*
** All this talk about ''Luigi's Mansion'', and nobody has said anything about the first encounter with a ghost? You walk into a dark mansion on a stormy night, greeted by a pitch black room with only a few candles. You turn on your flashlight and walk up the stairs, and try the double doors. you find that they're locked and then suddenly ''a demented giggle'' comes from downstairs. You head down, and an orange floating orb holding a key appears and floats back and forth while ''bells sound in the background''. Then it notices you, makes a little squeaky gasp noise, dropping the key, and floats up the stair and into the double doors, mysteriously putting out every candle just by the ghost being close to it, and then explodes into little orange clouds on contact with the door. A little finisher to the scene is a zoom in on the key on the ground, with a little jingle. If there's not something unsettling about that, I'll eat my shoes, regurgitate them, and eat them again.
** This troper finds dying in ''Luigi's Mansion'' to be pretty creepy as well. Luigi falls to the floor while the screen goes black and white, and then the words "Good Night..." appear on bloody red letters. Which slowly go black and white themselves.
*** Probably better than the aforementioned beta GameOver screen, though.

** Apparantly, In the Safari Room, there was originally supposed to be a Portrait Ghost in this room, but was removed in the final version because it was deemed too scary to be in the game. It was supposed to resemble an Australian hunter that would shoot the player.
* A small part of the game that always gives this tropher the chills is the bit where, after you capture the ghost Lydia, a cutscene happens where the camera zooms in on a door whilst a baby's crying can be heard along with a creepy music box tune...*shivers*.

* The Observatory Room. I never liked that room. Maybe it's the fact that it seems like you're actually '''in''' space, the fact that there is '''actually''' a fake moon in there, and that the outside music actually '''plays''' in the room, pretty much confirming that your in a space of sorts!!! [[YourMilageMayVary YMMV]] of course, but since I'm scared of space, that room is terrifying for me...
** It's definitely ''not'' [[WatchItStoned better on drugs]], [[OrSoIveHeard not that I would know]].
* DID NOT LIKE THE PAUSE MENU. This troper got rid of the game because the pause menu creeped him out (he was young then!) A door with Luigi's shadow hanging on it... or is that slenderman's shadow?

* This troper recalls a [[SuperMario Mario]] image that was quite disturbing. While he was CGI-ed(?) in the ever known Mario style, it had realistic skin textures, facial hair, and other creepy details. It ''was'' the definition of UncannyValley.
** Ah, [[http://pixeloo.blogspot.com/2008/03/super-real-mario-world.html this one.]] In case you want to see worse, from the same author are the ''[[http://pixeloo.blogspot.com/2008/03/homer-simpson-untooned.html realistic]] [[TheSimpsons Homer Simpson]], [[http://pixeloo.blogspot.com/2008/05/stewie-griffin-untooned.html realistic]] [[FamilyGuy Stewie Griffin]]'' and '''[[http://pixeloo.blogspot.com/2008/04/hand-eye-coordination.html THIS]]'''.
** If you thought the Realistic Mario Head was frightening as a Picture, then wait till you see it animated... That's right[[http://boundless.fileburst.com/mario.html SOMEONE ANIMATED IT.]] You can also make it talk, but Instead of Mario's cheerful, jolly voice you get a creepy robotic voice saying "Wanna get scared out of your mind?"

* This troper has a crippling fear of heights as well as death by falling-which makes playing ''Mario Galaxy'' and ''Mario 64'' terrifying sometimes.
* ''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!'' episode "Count Koopula" featured pretty creepy looking and sounding GiantSpiders that wore [[GasMaskMooks Snifit]] masks.
* Cracked has compiled [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19148_6-bizarrely-creepy-moments-from-mario-universe.html a list of various Nightmare Fueling things in the Mario games.]]

[[folder:Boos (yes, they get their own folder)]]

* This troper knows a guy who is fucking terrified - to the point of quivering and becoming physically ill - at the sight of Boos. Full fucking stop. Wanna see him really flip his lid? Wait for them to do the raspberry face. He's literally incapable of playing any Mario game because of this.
** This troper is deathly afraid of Boos (especially Big Boos) to this day because of the fact that once you turn away, they give chase and try to kill you. This prevented him from playing Mario games for ''years'', and even now, it takes a personal act of courage to go through the Boo Castles.
** [[Tropers/RobinFiredrake This Troper]] has surmised that Boos are evolved versions of [[Series/DoctorWho Weeping Angels]]. Why evolved? ''You can't freak them out by tricking them into looking at each other.''
* While Boos aren't usually scary from a player's perspective, if you think about it, in reality they would be ''terrifying''. You think you hear a noise behind you, you look... Nothing. You keep on going, and hear it again, but when you look... Nothing. You think it's just you... and then your spine gets bitten off.
** This troper realized this when a Boo showed up in a tabletop RPG she plays every Friday, unnamed and out of context. It remained unidentified until after the session, when she was told "That was actually a Boo, you know, from Mario?".
** Also, in ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros.'', when ever you're in a ghost house, the usual indicator of how far you are from the end screen at the touch screen is replaced by two Boos laughing at you, which implies that Boos have intercepted your map device. OH MY GOD THEY CAN JAM RADAR.
* This troper was afraid of Boos in ''Super Mario Bros. 3''. Combine that with the dungeon music, and the fact that he was 5-6 when it came out, and you can see how afraid I was. Also in ''Super Mario World'', I swear there was a moment where, for one split second, I saw a Big Boo in the Forest Ghost House looking at me with his eyes open and a sad face before going into his scary face. That was creepy.
** [[http://www.smwiki.net/images/0/08/Big_boo_boss.png That sad face]] is initially loaded by the game for some reason but immediately switches to the standard one. Unnerving.
** It's actually the face it hides under its hands when you are looking at it.
* Boos. Imagine, if you will, a creature that only moves when no human eyes can see it. And in ''Super Mario 64'', some Boos come out of a Boo painting. ''An image of a Boo becomes a Boo''. [[HeroicBSOD Gah]].
** So... You're telling me Boos are [[Series/DoctorWho WEEPING ANGELS]]?! [[GoMadFromTheRevelation *gibber*]]
*** Well, this troper no longer fears Weeping Angels.
* For extra fun, imagine the Boos that appear in ''Luigi's Mansion''. Apparently, these ghosts have conquered their fear of looking people straight in the eye, as they all look at both Mario and Luigi face-to-face countless times and rather than hide, they either attack or give sinister, threatening words. Pair this together with the fact that many of the Boos like to hide in random objects in the room and only pop out once you interact with said object. Imagine one night, you open your dresser, and this BIG HONKING GHOST HEAD just pops out and stares you in the face. Hope your vacuum cleaner's close by.
* ''Super Mario 64''. Imagine being in the main lobby of the castle, and you open a door. You close it behind you, turn around, and HOLY CRAP THERE'S A GIANT BOO STARING AT ME!!!!!!!!!!!
** Not to mention if you follow said Giant Boo past the door it floats through, you're taken to a small garden...filled with Boos...who inch toward you ever closer.....(Note that this is also where the entrance of Big Boo's Haunt is)
* The Boo mansions, with their creepy atmosphere, and AlienGeometries. Especially the ones in NewSuperMarioBros, in which there's incredibly creepy laughter every time you find a powerup.
* This troper has always found Boos adorable...but upon finding out that they ''kidnapped Mario and trapped him in a painting'' in Luigi's Mansion, he suffered a minor FreakOut. The cute little ghosts with the crazy laughs kidnapped Mario?!? NOOOOOOOOO!
* All this is bad, but think about this: Luigi's Mansion proves that they can pool their powers and become incredibly strong. The fifty Boos (+king) from said Mansion combine their powers and become stronger than ''MARIO''. If that's just fifty-one, imagine 100. Or 1000. Or more. They'd be bordering on CosmicHorror by that point.
** If you link this game with the second PaperMario, then Mario appears to have overcome this: The Atomic Boo, a BonusBoss, is made up of hundreds of Boos. Yet you (thus Mario) can easily beat it with some skill.
[[/folder]]