[[quoteright:320:[[{{Terminator}} http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/terminator_in_flames.jpg]]]]
[[caption-width-right:320:A real nightmare from the mind of JamesCameron!]]

->''"Listen, if [[AmericanGods a book]] is going to give me night terrors right out of a Freud textbook involving me running through a Stockholm red-light district being chased by ravenous [[VaginaDentata toothed genitalia]] all wanting me to pay them for the privilege of devouring me alive, '''you have to fucking tell me'''."''
->—-'''Lothar Hex''' on NeilGaiman's ''AmericanGods'', in ''ExterminatusNow''

->''"Sometimes fear is the appropriate response."''
->--'''1''' on dealing with horrific steampunk nightmares in a post-apocalyptic Earth in ''[[{{Main/Ptitle1d5irnza}} 9]]''.

There's NightmareFuel. And there's ''this''... The high-octane variety, for that extra "oomph". It's not just TheSameButMore though; even the adults are frightened of this stuff. Unlike normal NightmareFuel, which can be unintentionally scary, these scares are often deliberate.

For most {{horror}} films, that's the whole point. For [[HollywoodPsych some reason]], many of us like to be scared on purpose, there may be a euphoria generated by surviving something that seems scary, or maybe we know that fiction can't hurt us and the idea of choosing to be scared without the danger is fun. In any case, this is normal. Others are [[NightmareFetishist fascinated by the very things that others avoid]]. Occasionally, it overlaps with {{Squick}}.


'''Specific types of High Octane Nightmare Fuel include:'''
* Surreal sequences, usually [[DerangedAnimation animated]].
* [[{{Gorn}} Extreme violence]] and deaths which cross the line.
* {{Public Service Announcement}}s which employ terrifying imagery in a [[ScareEmStraight misguided attempt to keep people's heads on straight]].
* NightmareDreams, dream sequences and hallucinations straight out of nightmare.
* Spawn of UncannyValley, anything that has crawled out of the valley.
* ParanoiaFuel, when things that should be harmless, or on your side, turn nasty.
* {{Primal Fear}}s: possibly the most universally frightening of the mix; the dark, snakes, being buried alive with rats gnawing on your toes...the last part, being an aspect of cannibalism/being eaten alive, something in turn existing as potential addendum to extreme violence. Stuff your entire species gets the creeps from.
* {{Adult Fear}}s. Those things children seldom worry about: economic failure, romantic failure, watching helplessly as your children die, or possibly even TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt.
* TransformationTrauma, {{Transformation Sequence}}s with plenty of BodyHorror, including {{Chest Burster}}s. Nothing like people exploding as monsters emerge.
* Corpses... DEAD ROTTING CORPSES. Remember kids, it's not [[ZombieApocalypse the zombies]] that scare us, it's what they are.
* Viruses. Even the name is frightening.


In short, if a work is A. not intended specifically for children, B. intended to be scary, and C. it turned out to be scarier than planned, then it's HighOctaneNightmareFuel.

For unintentionally terrifying work targeted for children, see NightmareFuel. If it is meant to scare but fails to deliver, and [[{{Narm}} becomes hilarious instead]], it devolves into NightmareRetardant.

Just like its cousins, High Octane Nightmare Fuel can be broken up into several categories. Only the brave dare go on...
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[[folder: Examples, by Medium ]]


* HighOctaneNightmareFuel/{{Advertising}}
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel/{{Anime}}
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/AlienNine
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/{{Berserk}}
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/{{Bleach}}
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/DGrayMan
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/ElfenLied
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/HigurashiNoNakuKoroNi
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/{{Monster}}
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/{{Naruto}}
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/NeonGenesisEvangelion
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/PerfectBlue
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/SerialExperimentsLain
%% No italics,it breaks the indexing
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel/ComicBooks
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel/{{Film}}
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel/{{Literature}}
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/{{IT}}
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/RoaldDahl
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel/LiveActionTV
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/DoctorWho
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/{{Oz}}
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel/{{Music}}
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel/{{MusicVideos}}
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel/{{Other}}
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/SCPFoundation
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel/RealLife
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/{{Animals}}
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel/TabletopGames
** ''HighOctaneNightmareFuel/{{Warhammer 40000}}''
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel/TVTropes
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel/VideoGames
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/FinalFantasy
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/HalfLife
* HighOctaneNightmareFuel/WesternAnimation
** HighOctaneNightmareFuel/{{Disney}}

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