Your sacrifice is not yet complete...
For what is ostensibly not a horror game or survival horror game, the first intsallment of Thief offered some of the scariest atmosphere and scariest levels in any late 1990s first person perspective game.
- The title cards themselves, using unnerving ambient sound and occasional backmasking of dialogue. For example, the Chapter 17 title
after Garrett's Wham Episode. - The beginning of the second mission, Cragscleft Prison. Traveling through haunted tunnels, groping around pitch darkness, trying to find the elevator...the zombies who can't be killed except with the all-too-rare holy water, shambling about somewhere nearby, groaning...you never know quite where they are until they're RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR FACE. At which point you realize that no matter how many times you frantically flail at them with your sword, they'll just keep getting up. If you make the mistake of going down to the bottom level of the mine, you'll be assualted by giant spiders that may make you realize you suffer arachnophobia.
- In the later levels of the first game, the player will often come in contact with the various demons summoned by the Trickster. The Apebeasts are only marginally scary, but the mantis-like Bugbeasts are incredible nightmare fuel. They move about in a hideous, jerky parody of a human walking, and make cooing noises that sound disturbingly like a human baby or a soft feminine voice. Plus, they spit out clouds of flies into your face, which does really awful things to your health bar, not to mention their screams when you killed them is reminiscent to that of a pig's squeal.
- Just, the noises you'll hear echoing throughout the corridors and inside the walls of the third floor of Constantine's mansion. Are they behind you? Who's watching? What's following me? Nothing at all.
- Combined with the Bizarrchitecture, this level is generally unnerving.
- All the cellar doors in the mansion are also completely locked. And considering the man who owns said house... What by the Builder could be contained down there...?
- "The Haunted Cathedral" mission was spooky and dark enough. But that's not the last you've seen of it, oh no ! After several missions down the line, you revisit the location in "Return to the Cathedral" mission. And things start getting really weird. And there are Hammer Haunts. Oh Builder, the Haunts. The game is more than 15 years old, the graphics are very old, but that level is still such a massive bit of creepy Mind Screw... Playing the mission is most effective at night, with headphones on. Scary, despite the fact that the Hammer Haunts can be harmed.
- On that note, the fact that the corporeal Hammer Haunts are, from the rear, entirely indistinguishable from normal Hammerites - in some cases right up until you attempt to blackjack them - makes it infinitely worse. Many players also found the whispers of the Haunts extraordinarily creepy.
- "Return to the Cathedral" was a highly atmospheric scarefest, but just wait until you see the cutscene that follows it... If you were hoping for a bit of a reprieve from Garrett's strange recent experiences, that Hope Spot will be quickly dashed.
- Pretty much anything to do with the the Eye qualifies, from the way it speaks menacingly to you to the way it ends up being permanently integrated with one of your EYES!.
- ''Viktoria, are you prepared to give Mr. Garrett his... compensation?''. Eye Scream, you scream, we all scream for Squick. (shudder)
- Also Constantine's Slasher Smile when he reveals himself as The Trickster.
- Seeing Garrett absolutely terrified counts, normally unflappable, he's reduced to whimpering until he passes out.
- ''Viktoria, are you prepared to give Mr. Garrett his... compensation?''
- "Down in the Bonehoard" can be pretty harrowing unless you don't mind being constantly chased by 6 or 7 zombies all the time, but the one positively terrifying thing was the flaming spectre that appears only in a puzzle room exclusive to Thief Gold. He's ostensibly there to provide extra fire arrows and not allow the player to become permanently stuck, but he is also completely batshit terrifying. After being doused with water arrows, he'll drop some fire crystals, go apeshit, speed up drastically, and start sprinting around the room in the most unnatural way possible, bouncing off the walls like a nightmare pinball before finding the door and disappearing into the bowels of the level. The worst part? He's not dead, can't die, and will come back to get you later, somewhere else, ANYWHERE else, now that you've shooed him out of his little hidey-hole. And since the Bonehorde is a long, long, looooong level, especially if you've selected the difficulty setting that requires you to meet him in the first place, he'll have plenty of time to do it. Brrrrr.
- You can also find a diary entry next to the corpse of one of the treasure hunting party that came before you, who decided to go back up once two of the crew were lost. His last words in the entry are wanting to sleep and saying he's "sure he picked a spot where none of the zombies can get to him". But if a zombie couldn't get to him, then why is he dead? Exiting the hidden room where he's located nets you a surprise encounter with a zombie, just cementing that there's no real place in the Bonehoard that you're really safe.
- Just for shits and giggles, take a look at the ominous intro of this first installment... If you dare...
- During the tutorial level and first proper mission, there are no indications that supernatural stuff actually exists in the gameworld. Therefore, most players probably laughed at the superstitious people who, according to Garrett in the briefing to the second mission, believe the lower mine shafts of Cragscleft are haunted... Only for the players to then stumble across their first zombie.
