History Fridge / Bloodborne

** It's more than just the Alcohol. The whore you meet in the game implies that she sells her own blood instead of sex. If drinking blood gave the people of Yharnam the same thrill as lovemaking, it paints a nasty picture of what the city must have been like even before the plague.

* Laurence being a BonusBoss doesn't just keep up Soulsborne tradition, it makes lore sense. The Hunter's Nightmare is an IronicHell for people associated with Byrgenwerth and the Healing Church for their atrocities against the Fishing Hamlet and later Yharnam. Laurence is also the least innocent of all the DLC's bosses; Ludwig was a KnightInShiningArmor who just wanted to protect the city, the Living Failures are unfortunate test subjects, Maria participated in the massacre but regretted it to the point of renouncing the Hunt and eventually suicide, and the Orphan of Kos is just a baby. The player will [[MercyKill free these ones from the Nightmare]] as a matter of course, but the guy who started the Scourge in the first place can rot in the Nightmare unless you decide to take mercy on him.

* Perhaps counting as both a bit of horror and hope is the sheer power that humans can wield in this setting. Think about it; for all the might the Great Ones supposedly wield, it's you, a human, that the Moon Presence sets against the others. Humans ''enslaved'' the Brain of Mensis. Humans are so ''unfathomable'' to the Great Ones they can barely figure out what we want from them. Humans are so powerful that Kos, one of the most powerful Great Ones, gives her life to spawn a single being ''in our image'' and it is by far the mightiest ''and most violent'' of its kin. For all their supposed strength, the Great Ones hide or lurk in shadows, for as soon as a human wielding any real power sets sights on an Great One, it inevitably ends up dead (temporarily or otherwise). Some of them even end up seeming downright ''pathetic'' once forced into an actual battle despite their eldritch powers. The only one of their kind to escape unscathed is Formless Oedon, and if he ever bothered to show up, you can bet your blood that he'd end up dead too one day, by the hands of a Hunter. The real horror of this story isn't that there are unfathomable beings hiding beyond our sight, it's that '''[[HumansAreTheRealMonsters we are the monsters]] [[HumansAreCthulhu they are hiding from]].'''

** In conclusion, I spent the whole game [[NothingIsScarier anticipating an encounter with a vampire]], only to realize in hindsight [[TomatoInTheMirror that I may have BEEN one]].

*** Which would seem to set up a neat little FurAgainstFang situation as you fight your way through the beasts of Yharnam... until you begin to recall that the plague makes things much more complicated than that. I'll use a bit of fridge from ''Franchise/FullmetalAlchemist'' to contextualize my answer here: in ''FMA'', the villains all fell into horror archetypes. The Homunculi, with their soul-sucking lack of humanity, representation of human sin, and near immortality, were vampires. Human chimera, with their ability to become animistic, were werewolves. The soul constructs were zombies. The military high command were the government conspiracy. And Father was the alien EldritchAbomination. These archetypes carry over to ''Bloodborne'': Sane Hunters are vampires, insane Hunters are zombies, beasts are werewolves, the Healing Church is our conspiracy, and the Great Ones are the aliens. Sounds good now that you know what you're up against, right? Well, remember: due to the nature of the plague, and the player's ability to replace Gehrman or the Moon Presence, you are effectively party to ''[[TomatoInTheMirror all five]]'' [[TomatoInTheMirror categories]]. [[DissonantSerenity Happy Hunting!]]

* At first, Micolash's presence as a boss battle in the game confused me, since it seems to come out of nowhere, despite his presence in the lore. Then it hit me. Micolash is the Nightmare of Mensis' equivalent of Gehrman. Gehrman formed a pact with the Moon Presence to create the Hunter's Dream, as Micolash struck a deal with another great one (either Mergo or the Brain of Mensis) to create the Nightmare of Mensis. Hence his title "Host of the Nightmare".
** Looking at them closely, you can even see that the two are opposites of each other. While Gehrman is old and weary of the dream, Micolash is young and absolutely loves it, never wanting to leave. Gehrman is a Hunter while Micolash is an academic. Gehrman fights you head-on with his trick weapon and physical strength, while Micolash runs from you for the most part and resorts to magic. Finally, Gehrman's trapped in a dream, while Mikolash dwells in a nightmare.

* What's so special about Gehrman's sleeping spot in the Hunter's Dream's garden? Why would we find Gehrman sleeping there of all places? It was a big mystery for the longest time to me. I carefully looked at the ground around the area where Gehrman can be found sleeping, but I found nothing except for a few flowers of the same kind that grows all over the Dream. I looked out over the edge, but couldn't see anything interesting. I tried to peer into the area within the waking world, only to find that, unlike most things in the Hunter's Dream, that little corner doesn't exist at all in the waking world. And so the mystery just kept thickening: I just couldn't figure out what was so special about the spot where Gehrman would be found sleeping... until I stopped examining the spot, looked the other way, and realized that what makes Gehrman's favorite sleeping spot so special is the fact that there is absolutely nothing special about it at all: That spot is the only place in the Hunter's Dream that allows you to turn your back to the rest of the Dream... That is the spot Gehrman goes to when he simply cannot stomach so much as looking at the Dream any longer.
* What is Eileen doing in the rafters where you can first meet her in Central Yharnam? It seems a strangely remote and secretive location for a Hunter of Hunters to spend so much time in, especially since she doesn't mind ''you'' discovering it at all. That is, until you look at the map and see what she is actually looking over: the sewers below (leading to the aqueduct and the Tomb of Oeden) and ''Gascogne's house'' almost exactly across from her location. In other words, she is there because she is [[TheStakeout staking out Gascogne's place]] and the most likely route for him to return home! The idea that Father Gascogne is her first potential mark is further supported by her dialogue after you help her kill Henryk: "You must have killed Gascoigne as well then. He was falling apart... I'm sure it had to be done." She sounds like she wasn't sure if Gascoigne succumbed to the Scourge when he first left for the Tomb, and probably waited to see if he would return ''with'' Viola (indicating he kept his sanity) or without her (meaning that he was too far gone). After she sees you go to the Tomb and not return, she follows and catches up with you by the Oedon Chapel.

** Just want to withdraw from the affairs of men and gods and be left alone? The Mother Brain was completely passive when Mensis found and enslaved her, and was still utterly passive when you dropped her down a pit, climbed into said pit, and proceeded to hack her to bits. She's only a threat to you because her mere presence increased your frenzy, and there is no indication that this was intentional. Even if you try to be as benign as possible in your post-human state, those humans will still find you, bind you, research you, and go crazy from your presence, only for you to be butchered by those sent to clean up the mess when the crap inevitably hits the fan.

* It's incredible that [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Vampires]] don't make a single appearance throughout the game, even though it's a setting they should thrive in (rampant Blood consumption, pervasive Gothic architecture, grand elegance amidst decay, ect). Yet when you take a closer look at the people of Yharnam, you may notice [[TownWithADarkSecret some alarming quirks that set them apart from your average human]]:

* It's incredible that [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Vampires]] don't make a single appearance throughout the game, even though it's a setting they should thrive in (rampant Blood consumption, pervasive Gothic architecture, grand elegance amidst decay, ect). Yet when you take a closer look at the people of Yharnam, you may notice [[TownWithADarkSecret some alarming quirks that set them apart from your average human]];

* Speaking of babies and childhood: At first it probably seems random and arbitrary that Rom the Vacuous Spider's transition from human to kin resulted in the destruction of her consciousness ([[EmptyShell hence the "Vacuous" part]]) when other formerly human Great Ones, such as the Celestial Emissary, only ever saw their consciousnesses expand from the transition... until you remember that 1) Rom was an adult, learned scholar of Byrgenwerth, and 2) the entire reason the Orphanage exists is to foster children and infants into potential kin because their young and flexible minds won't be [[GoMadFromTheRevelation shattered by the process]] - unlike the brittle minds of adults, who are more susceptible to going mad the more learned and therefore biased their minds are...

** Not to mention the other IntendedAudienceReaction is to have someone, ANYONE, around who gives a crap about you. Aside from Gilbert, everyone's really hostile in Yharnam...

** The runes are the language of the great Old Ones, it's entirely possible it is not even aware you make use of these runes and directly asking for a mercy kill in a language you don't understand.

* Looking at the three nightmares (Frontier, Mensis, and Hunter), you begin noticing similarities between them. From the odd-looking terrain, to Frontier and Mensis sharing similar enemies (The Silverbeasts, the Lost Children, and the Winter Lanterns), and finally, if you look carefully in the Frontier, you can see the masts of ships in the distance, exactly like the ships in the Fishing Hamlet. All three nightmares are connected. You're not just going into three different nightmares. It's all one big nightmare!

* Most of the more hammy and energetic gestures elicit an applause from the Plain Doll. The one labeled "Joy," however, only gets the QuizzicalTilt from her. Considering she only learns about the emotion of joy after you give her the hair ornament, it's only fitting that this motion would confuse her.

* Mined content revealed that the FinalBoss, Mergo's Wet Nurse, was originally named "Succubus" before the final version of the game. While just a place-holder name, it makes a lot of sense: despite being known as sexually charged tempters and temptresses in the modern day, in the Middle Ages the terms were also applied to demons who caused ''nightmares'', which is perfect for the being that may be the root cause of the Nightmare, or at least the being sustaining this one. That fact would fly over most casual players' heads today, however, likely leading to the reason it was changed.

* The ritual to Curse a Chalice Dungeon requires the Bastard of Loran, stated to be the remains of a child who died from plague in Ailing Loran. Curses are said to be the anger of the Great Ones, and it's ''also'' said that each Great One loses their child- not just 'can't have a child', but they've all had a child die on them. It's no wonder that [[DeathOfAChild dead children]] is a touchy subject with them, and a ritual to get their attention that ''involves'' the remains of a child is going to piss them off.

** Want to wipe out the Great Ones, forever freeing humanity from their influence and machinations? The Moon Presence was way ahead of you. In fact, if it hadn't been for the Moon Presence, the Hunt would never have existed, and you would have been dead meat within minutes of starting the game. [[TheFarmerAndTheViper It helped kill its fellow Great Ones for the sake of humanity, and humanity killed it in return]]. Of course, this does imply that just cooperating with it via the "Yharnam Sunrise" ending can get you a good enough result.

* Perhaps counting as both a bit of horror and hope is the sheer power that humans can wield in this setting. Think about it; for all the might the Great Ones supposedly wield, it's you, a human, that the Moon Presence sets against the others. Humans ''enslaved'' the Brain of Mensis. Humans are so ''unfathomable'' to the Great Ones they can barely figure out what we want from them. Humans are so powerful that Kos, one of the most powerful Great Ones, gives her life to spawn a single being ''in our image'' and it is by far the mightiest ''and most violent'' of its kin. For all their supposed strength, the Great Ones hide or lurk in shadows, for as soon as a human wielding any real power sets sights on an Great One, it inevitably ends up dead (temporarily or otherwise). Some of them even end up seeming downright ''pathetic'' once forced into an actual battle despite their eldritch powers. The only one of their kind to escape unscathed is Formless Oedon, and if he ever bothered to show up, you can bet your blood that he'd end up dead too one day, by the hands of a Hunter. The real horror of this story isn't that there are unfathomable beings hiding beyond our sight, it's that '''[[HumansAreTheRealMonsters we are the monsters they are hiding from]].'''

* Perhaps counting as both a bit of horror and hope is the sheer power that humans can wield in this setting. Think about it; for all the might the Great Ones supposedly wield, it's you, a human, that the Moon Presence sets against the others. Humans ''enslaved'' the Brain of Mensis. Humans are so ''unfathomable'' to the Great Ones they can barely figure out what we want from them. Humans are so powerful that Kos, one of the most powerful Great Ones, gives her life to spawn a single being ''in our image'' and it is by far the mightiest ''and most violent'' of its kin. For all their supposed strength, the Great Ones hide or lurk in shadows, for as soon as a human wielding any real power sets sights on an Great One, it inevitably ends up dead. Some of them even end up seeming downright ''pathetic'' once forced into an actual battle despite their eldritch powers. The only one of their kind to escape unscathed is Oedon, and if he ever bothered to show up, you can bet your blood he'd end up dead too. The real horror of this story isn't that there are unfathomable beings hiding beyond our sight, it's that '''[[HumansAreTheRealMonsters we are the monsters they are hiding from]].'''

* The Pthumerians were a PrecursorRace that live in the Chalice Dungeons/Tomb of the Gods beneath Yharnam. They look rather frightening, no? [[BlackEyesOfEvil Big bulging black eyes]] and deathly pale skin. These kinds of traits are typically reserved for creatures who adjust to live underground. It's likely that they looked very different long ago before whatever misfortune led to them relocating below the surface.

** Want to crate a legacy that will outlast you? Good luck with that; all Great Ones are sterile, and the disastrous attempts to subvert this shortcoming is one of the central causes of all the death and misery you see throughout the game. Only Kos ever succeeded in birthing a child... and she gave her own life in order to accomplish this. They went to such great lengths to create their own protégés that most would have willingly cashed in their immense powers to start a family (something Kos herself put into action in the end).