History NightmareFuel / Diablo

!!The first game

''VideoGame/DiabloII'' and ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' have [[NightmareFuel/DiabloII their]] [[NightmareFuel/DiabloIII own]] pages.

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* Sure the creepy dark seems pretty standard dungeon-crawler fare, but when you start reading into the lore of the world, and asking about some of the quests...
* The Zakarum Cathedral of Tristram, dark and endless and full of all kinds of monstrosities.
* Load the disc in, and the splash screen gives you a full-body shot of Diablo himself, and plays EvilLaughter to boot.
* The [[http://www.diablowiki.net/Diablo_I_Manual#The_Darkening_of_Tristram Darkening of Tristram]] as described in the ''Librarius Ex Horadrim'' from the Diablo I Manual, particularly the vivid description of the possession of young Prince Albrecht by Diablo himself, and the horrific effects it has upon both the poor kid and the surrounding vicinity of the labyrinth. ''VideoGame/DiabloIII''s {{retcon}} of Archbishop Lazarus into a demon worshipper who knew what was down there actually makes it '''less''' scary, because in the original game he was a devout follower of the Zakarum faith who was nonetheless corrupted by Diablo's mere '''presence''', [[PeoplePuppets losing control of his own body]] and [[AndIMustScream forced to watch in silent horror]] as it moved on its own to release the Prime Evil sealed beneath Tristram.
* Special mention goes to "The Butcher", a huge, fat demon who has made his residence in Tristram's church. In a tiny room completely filled wall-to-wall with corpses [[BeefGate on the second floor of the dungeons]]. It's a nasty surprise if you decided to investigate this innocuous-looking room (from the outside). He killed a fairly large regiment of soldiers by himself, and [[ThatOneBoss he'll probably kill you without a problem, too]].
** "Ah! Fresh meat!"
*** [[WebVideo/SomeCallMeJohnny Fresh meat! Fresh meat! Fresh meat!]]
** There is a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GZ5LPZuwjU cut introductory cinematic of the Butcher]], which showed him hacking the human body and hooking it onto the wall. As you can see, there was a good reason to not include the video into the final version of the game.
* Hell itself full stop, it's a horrifying BleakLevel where walls, stairs, and corridors consist of bones, oceans of blood, and is littered with corpses either impaled or hanging on walls. This [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9pqRt38ms0 level theme]] doesn't help as it's quite devoid of actual music -- being more of a mixture of oppressive drumbeats, incessant scratching, and a DroneOfDread. Welcome to hell, indeed. It's rather telling that the version seen in ''II'', while no less nightmarish, is not as morbid (and visceral) like the first game.
* As does [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RRM5EW66Ac this]]. One can feel an incoming doom from the darkness.
* When it's time to finally confront the Lord of Terror, the final floor is simply called Diablo -- and then the loading screen shows a pentagram surrounded by the flames of Hell, and the shadow of the Prime Evil. He knows you're coming, and he's ready to kill you and merely holding back HellOnEarth for the pleasure of doing so.
* Of course there's the ending too, although in particular when you defeat Diablo as a Rogue. Her scream in the final FMV sequence is nothing short of genuinely chilling. It's even more hopeless when you learn that Diablo [[ShaggyDogStory has possessed your character]].
** Even worse, your victory over Diablo may feel a bit hollow when you realize he's possessing Albrecht -- weakened, far from his greatest power, and not much of a host. Who is now pale, drained of life and now [[DeathOfAChild little more than a corpse]] on your screen with a gored hole in the front of his head where the Soulstone laid. And he still has enough in him, either by a twisted possession or his body giving out, to have one last breath and stare at you before you jam Diablo's prison in your own head.
** While ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' does spell out how little your victory amounted to, even within the game the tone of the closing narration is far from optimistic, as it somberly establishes that you're already suffering from SanitySlippage and your decision to undertake a pilgrimage is essentially an act of desperation. The way the game just ends after this narration is likely to leave you with a pit of dread in your stomach even if you don't know how things turn out in the sequels.
* The manual tells how [[BarrierMaiden Tal]] [[SealedEvilInAPerson Rasha]], the leader of the Horadrim, sacrificed himself to contain the soulstone of Baal (which had been shattered, meaning that Baal's essence would eventually be able to escape). Tal Rasha had the shard driven into his heart, and his companions [[AndIMustScream sealed him inside a tomb to wrestle with the spirit of Baal for eternity.]]
* This poem just reeks of ParanoiaFuel:
-->I can see what you see not—
-->Vision milky, [[EyeScream then eyes rot]].
-->When you turn, they will be gone,
-->Whispering their hidden song.
-->Then you see what cannot be—
-->Shadows move where light should be.
-->Out of darkness, out of mind,
-->Cast down into the Halls of the Blind.

!!Diablo IV
* The trailer. You'd think the ''Diablo'' universe was out of demons after three games of DemonSlaying, but no, [[spoiler:Lilith, Mephisto's daughter]] is still alive and kicking. The summoning ritual is performed by three "cultists" who are sacrificed and their blood flows into the air to weave a cloak for [[spoiler: Lilith]] as the last "cultist" gets nightmarish glimpses of the demon's home dimension. All accompanied by a soundtrack that is the cross between InfernalChoir, OneWomanWail and DroneOfDread. [[spoiler: After completing the campaign for ''IV'', you then realise that the three were ''not'' cultists, but adventurers/mercenaries tricked by Elias into joining him.]]
* Continuing from ''III'', even after decades have passed, Alcarnus is still a place of depravity. [[spoiler:This time, it's become the laboratory of a deranged Necromancer researching immortality]].
* To learn how Elias [[spoiler:became immortal]], the player climbs into a coffin on a reef. The coffin shuts and then slides into the water and sinks. This wouldn't be so bad, except you can hear your character's panicked breathing then choking as water quickly fills the coffin and seemingly drowns them. A similar situation occurs as the end of the quest, where water begins to rise as you make a mad dash to escape, only to inevitably drown.
* The Season of Blood update added a postgame questline where an elderly priest offers to help cleanse Lilith's blood from you. After procuring the necessary materials and meeting him at the exorcism site, he begins the ritual, but something goes ''horribly'' wrong. A rain of blood, the same rain of blood that fell during the Sacking of Caldeum, suddenly begins falling despite the ritual happening not only indoors, but within ''Inarius' former seat of power''. Then your character suddenly begins vomiting blood petals before blacking out. When you come to, the knights who were in the chamber with you all lie dead, blood covering the chamber, with the priest the only survivor as he desperately ''begs'' you to just leave. Lilith may be gone, but her mark on you still remains...

* Hell itself full stop, it's a horrifying BleakLevel where walls, stairs, and corridors consist of bones, oceans of blood, and is littered with corpses either impaled or hanging on walls. This [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9pqRt38ms0 level theme]] doesn't help as it's quite devoid of actual music -- being more of a mixture of oppressive drumbeats, incessant scratching, and a DroneOfDread. Welcome to hell, indeed.

* The Season of Blood update added a postgame questline where an elderly priest offers to help cleanse Lilith's blood from you. After procuring the necessary materials and meeting him at the exorcism site, he begins the ritual, but something goes ''horribly'' wrong. A rain of blood, the same rain of blood that fell during the Sacking of Caldeum, suddenly begins falling despite the ritual happening not only indoors, but within ''Inarius' former seat of power''. Then your character suddenly begins vomiting blood petals before blacking out. When you come to, the knights who were in the chamber with you all lie dead, blood covering the chambering, with the priest the only survivor as he desperately ''begs'' you to just leave. Lilith may be gone, but her mark on you still remains...

* To learn how Elias [[spoiler:became immortal]], the player climbs into a coffin on a reef. The coffin shuts and then slides into the water and sinks. This wouldn't be so bad, except you can hear your character's panicked breathing then choking as water quickly fills the coffin and seemingly drowns them. A similar situation occurs as the end of the quest, where water begins to rise as you make a mad dash to escape, only to inevitably drown.

* To learn how Elias [[spoiler:became immortal]], the player climbs into a coffin on a reef. The coffin shuts and then slides into the water and sinks. This wouldn't be so bad, except you can hear your character's panicked breathing and the water quickly fills the coffin and seemingly drowns them. A similar situation occurs as the end of the quest, where water begins to rise as you make a mad dash to escape, only to inevitably drown.

* Continuing from ''III'', even after decades have passed, Alcarnus is still a place of depravity. [[spoiler:This time, it's become the laboratory of a deranged Necromancer researching immortality]].

* The trailer. You'd think the ''Diablo'' universe was out of demons after three games of DemonSlaying, but no, [[spoiler:Lilith, Mephisto's daughter]] is still alive and kicking. The summoning ritual is performed by three "cultists" who are sacrificed and their blood flows into the air to weave a cloak for [[spoiler: Lilith]] as the last "cultist" gets nightmarish glimpses of the demon's home dimension. All accompanied by a soundtrack that is the cross between InfernalChoir, OneWomanWail and DroneOfDread. [[spoiler: After completing the campaign for ''IV'', you then realise that the three were ''not'' cultists, but adventurers/mercenaries tricked by Elias into joining him.]]

* The trailer. You'd think the ''Diablo'' universe was out of demons after three games of DemonSlaying, but no, [[spoiler:Lilith, Mephisto's daughter]] is still alive is kicking. The summoning ritual is performed by three "cultists" who are sacrificed and their blood flows into the air to weave a cloak for [[spoiler: Lilith]] as the last "cultist" gets nightmarish glimpses of the demon's home dimension. All accompanied by a soundtrack that is the cross between InfernalChoir, OneWomanWail and DroneOfDread. [[spoiler: After completing the campaign for ''IV'', you then realise that the three were ''not'' cultists, but adventurers/mercenaries tricked by Elias into joining him.]]

* The trailer. You'd think the ''Diablo'' universe was out of demons after three games of DemonSlaying, but no, [[spoiler:Lilith, Mephisto's daughter]] is still alive is kicking. The summoning ritual is performed by three cultists who are sacrificed and their blood flows into the air to weave a cloak for [[spoiler: Lilith]] as the last cultist gets nightmarish glimpses of the demon's home dimension. All accompanied by a soundtrack that is the cross between InfernalChoir, OneWomanWail and DroneOfDread.

** There is a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLhgkhuwnO4 cut introductory cinematic of the Butcher]], which showed him hacking the human body and hooking it onto the wall. As you can see, there was a good reason to not include the video into the final version of the game.

* Of course there's [[spoiler:the ending too]], although in particular when you [[spoiler:defeat Diablo as a Rogue. Her scream in the final FMV sequence is nothing short of genuinely chilling. It's even more hopeless when you learn that Diablo [[ShaggyDogStory has possessed your character]].]]
** Even worse, [[spoiler:your victory over Diablo may feel a bit hollow when you realize he's possessing Albrecht -- weakened, far from his greatest power, and not much of a host. Who is now pale, drained of life and now [[DeathOfAChild little more than a corpse]] on your screen with a gored hole in the front of his head where the Soulstone laid. And he still has enough in him, either by a twisted possession or his body giving out, to have one last breath and stare at you before you jam Diablo's prison in your own head.]]

* When it's time to finally confront the Lord of Terror, the final floor is simply called Diablo -- and then the loading screen shows a pentagram surrounded by the flames of Hell and the shadow of the Prime Evil. He knows you're coming, and he's ready to kill you and merely holding back HellOnEarth for the pleasure of doing so.