History NightmareFuel / DontStarve

* For Halloween, a total conversion mod, called "The Screecher", was added right to the main menu. It turns the game's into an outright SurvivalHorror story, and [[UpToEleven is far, far scarier than anything in the base game.]]

* Failing the Gorge. If your team is unable to reactivate the portal quickly enough, your character is stricken with the plague of the Gnaw. And then you get to see the horrifying results as your team is transformed into [[FishPeople Merms]]]].

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAjbOJBfk5U The trailer for "A New Reign"]]. Wilson is trapped in the Nightmare Throne, with the Shadows literally strapping him to the chair]] when sweet ol' Charlie arrives to rescue him! [[HopeSpot Then]], Charlie's sadistic, monstrous side emerges, and proceeds to both magically beat the crap out of Wilson, and drop him back through a portal into the outside world.

** And the whole cinematic screams [[NothingIsScarier Nothing Is Scarier]] from every scene: why did Bernie have the power to protect Willow even back then? What happened inside that closet? Why did that Terrorbeak try to kill [[ChildrenAreInnocent an innocent child]] and ''how'' did he manage to get out from the Constant to do that]]? And most importantly, did accidents like that one happen again before Willow reached the Constant? If it happened more than once then is no freaking wonder for [[InnocenceLost Willow]] being [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Willow]].

* How Wilson came into the ''Don't Starve'' world - [[spoiler:He was a scientist who was completely lacking inspiration for experiments, which made him desperate and gullible enough to listen to the instructions of a strange man talking to him via radio. Never trust the words of strangers...]]
* Maxwell is a ManipulativeBastard [[spoiler:who was responsible for getting just about every character into the bleak ''Don't Starve'' world by giving them what they desired most]], for one reason only - [[spoiler:he had been trapped on the Nightmare Throne for possibly years, with only the company of the Shadows and a gramophone that kept playing ragtime music, and was willing to make the player character sit on the Nightmare Throne if it means a sure chance of freedom. The original game had Maxwell ''age rapidly and crumble to dust'' upon being freed until that was retconned]].
** Maxwell's VillainousBreakdown. [[spoiler:As the player character gets further in Adventure Mode, he starts looking more haggard and unhinged, not believing that the player character manages to succeed. By the time the end is near, he starts resembling an animal than the dapper, smug man he is, with a NightmareFace to boot]].
* Charlie was Maxwell's beloved stage assistant until Maxwell got his hands on the Codex Umbra, and his messing with forbidden magic trapped Charlie in a bleak, treacherous world and transformed her into the monstrous [[FanNickname Grue]]. [[spoiler:As the Night Monster, Charlie ended up developing a sadistic monster alter-ego due to the Shadows' influence, which shows up by beating the crap out of a trapped Wilson when her good side comes to rescue him from the Nightmare Throne. And when Charlie reconciles both sides of her personality, the result is a threateningly elegant whole that serves as a vessel for the Shadows, gathering power and toying with the player characters for her own amusement]].
** Charlie's monster form [[spoiler:looks like a demonic woman covered in black flames, scary black eyes with white pupils and black sclera, facial markings, and an utterly monstrous right hand/arm that looks eldritch in nature. And she has an absolutely sadistic SlasherSmile when she gets in the mood. Sweet Jesus]].
** It's also implied that [[spoiler:Charlie is absolutely (though understandably) bent on revenge for what Maxwell has done to her. This is why she attacks Maxwell at night after he becomes a player character, and why she willingly gives herself up to become a vessel for the Shadows when she ascends to the Nightmare Throne in "A New Reign", becoming a bigger threat than Maxwell had ever been during his reign. She is willing to do anything for a chance to spite Maxwell, no matter how many innocent people get pulled into the bleak world of survival thanks to her actions]].

* [[AndIMustScream The Nightmare Throne]]. [[spoiler: As seen in the end of Adventure Mode, whoever takes Maxwell's place becomes a prisoner for the Shadows, and is forced to live through decades of horror and madness. The only way to get out of it is to "invite" someone else into their world and have them take their place]].
* The story of the Ancients, introduced in the ''A New Reign'' expansion. [[spoiler:They were once were a civilization of insect-like people who lived in misery and squalor until they discovered Nightmare Fuel, which made them evolve into a technologically-advanced race. But Maxwell reveals that the overuse of Nightmare Fuel eventually led to their downfall, as long-term exposure to it twisted the Ancients into... something else, as shown with the Ancient Guardian. This is why a lot of Nightmare Fuel can be found in the Ruins]].
* [[EldritchAbomination Them]]. As of so far, we have seen three separate characters, all quite powerful in their own right, mention Them with a mixture of fear, respect, and frustration at being unable to slow down Their advance. Just who, and what, are They, and what do They want?
--->'''Battlemaster Pugna:''' ... They destroy all They touch. Yet They Themselves are untouchable. [[TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow Unkno]][[GoMadFromTheRevelation wable]].
** Worse yet, our survivors are being told that they're making the situation even grimmer with their meddling. Is it just a psychological attack, or are our heroes actually (and unwittingly) '''helping''' Them?

* There are a couple of things in the ''A New Reign'' expansion's series of updates for ''Don't Starve Together'' that just go to show how unhinged things have become [[spoiler:after Charlie ascends to the Nightmare Throne and becomes the Shadow Queen:]]

** The stagehand, a fancy-looking end table with a rose on it that seems out of place in the wilderness...[[spoiler: Until night falls, and it gets up on shadowy legs in search of a light source... [[OhCrap like your campfire]]]].
** There's also Klaus, who appears to be the King of the Krampii. If the [[MouthStitchedShut stitched-shut mouth and eyes]] weren't enough, after you kill him the first time, he resurrects himself with a Life-Giving Amulet. It results in his chains unlocking and falling away to reveal an enormous and ravenous BellyMouth. The kicker? [[spoiler: '''Neither Maxwell nor Charlie created him.''']]

* Failing the Gorge. If your team is unable to reactivate the portal quickly enough, your character is stricken with the plague of the Gnaw. [[spoiler: And then you get to see the horrifying results as your team is transformed into [[FishPeople Merms]]]].

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAjbOJBfk5U The trailer for "A New Reign"]]. Wilson is trapped [[spoiler:in the Nightmare Throne, with the Shadows literally strapping him to the chair]] when sweet ol' Charlie arrives to rescue him! [[HopeSpot Then]], [[spoiler:Charlie's sadistic, monstrous side emerges, and proceeds to both magically beat the crap out of Wilson, and drop him back through a portal into the outside world]].
** [[spoiler:Charlie's internal struggle isn't pretty either. As she tries to renovate the threadbare-looking Nightmare Throne room with her [[RealityWarper powers]], her monstrous side gets into a vicious fight with her good human side, with both sides trying to take over and resulting in the room alternating between a malevolent draconic design with dragon heads on the throne, and an elegant, angelic one with cherub statues. Eventually, Charlie ''forces'' both sides of her personality to reconcile, resulting in her fully ascending to the Nightmare Throne and becoming the all-powerful, threateningly elegant Shadow Queen, sitting in a room that combines the decorations that both sides want]].
** At the very end, [[spoiler:there is a JumpScare where Charlie looks at the viewer(s) with a SlasherSmile and demonic eyes, while still being the Shadow Queen]].
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKKXXKtFiQw Willow's origin cinematic]] is Nightmare Fuel mixed to Tear Jerker. [[HeartwarmingOrphan Sweet little Willow]] is sleeping in her bed in a orphanage [[spoiler:when [[UnexpectedCharacter a Terrorbeak]] suddenly attacks her with the clear intent [[HarmfulToMinors to kill]], forcing her to run for her life... but the door is locked and Willow can't open it. Desperate, the little girl raises her teddy bear Bernie and finds out it has the power to keep the Shadow Creatures away, causing the Terrorbeak to fall back.]] When she thinks she is finally safe, the orphanage nurses arrive because of the commotion and find only Willow to blame for all of that. [[KickTheDog She gets separated from Bernie]] and closed inside a closet. [[spoiler:[[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown The Terrorbeak tries to get Willow]] now that she is all alone and defenseless, but it can't because]] [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane something happens]] and the room explodes with a portion of the orphanage, [[TheDogBitesBack killing the evil nurses in the process]]. Willow emerges from the flames [[BloodSplatteredInnocents unscratched yet covered in soot]], takes the now ruined Bernie with her and leaves the orphanage behind for the fire to consume. She had [[MortonsFork very good reasons]] for doing what she did, but ''jeez!''
** And the whole cinematic screams [[NothingIsScarier Nothing Is Scarier]] from every scene: why did Bernie have the power to protect Willow even back then? What happened inside that closet? [[spoiler: Why did that Terrorbeak try to kill [[ChildrenAreInnocent an innocent child]] and ''how'' did he manage to get out from the Constant to do that]]? And most importantly, did accidents like that one happen again before Willow reached the Constant? If it happened more than once then is no freaking wonder for [[InnocenceLost Willow]] [[BreakTheCutie being]] [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Willow]].

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKKXXKtFiQw Willow's origin cinematic]] is Nightmare Fuel mixed to Tear Jerker. [[HeartwarmingOrphan Sweet little Willow]] is sleeping in her bed in a orphanage [[spoiler:when [[UnexpectedCharacter a Terrorbeak]] suddenly attacks her with the clear intent [[HarmfulToMinors to kill]], forcing her to run for her life... [[RealityEnsues but the door is locked and Willow can't open it]]. Desperate, the little girl raises her teddy bear Bernie and finds out it has the power to keep the Shadow Creatures away, causing the Terrorbeak to fall back.]] When she thinks she is finally safe, the orphanage nurses arrive because of the commotion and find only Willow to blame for all of that. [[KickTheDog She gets separated from Bernie]] and closed inside a closet. [[spoiler:[[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown The Terrorbeak tries to get Willow]] now that she is all alone and defenseless, but it can't because]] [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane something happens]] and the room explodes with a portion of the orphanage, [[TheDogBitesBack killing the evil nurses in the process]]. Willow emerges from the flames [[BloodSplatteredInnocents unscratched yet covered in soot]], takes the now ruined Bernie with her and leaves the orphanage behind for the fire to consume. She had [[MortonsFork very good reasons]] for doing what she did, but ''jeez!''

* As if the Deerclops weren't scary enough; the Winter’s Feast 2017 event gives them a pretty terrifying reskin for - their snow-white fur is replaced by a shadowy black coat, and its cyclops eye is replaced by a pupil-less red orb, that casts an eerie red glow over the surrounding area and also ''[[FrickinLaserBeams shoots lasers]]''.

** The stagehand, a fancy-looking endtable with a rose on it that seems out of place in the wilderness...[[spoiler: Until night falls, and it gets up on shadowy legs in search of a light source... [[OhCrap like your campfire]]]].

* The ''Hamlet'' DLC has the Roc, a Kaiju sized giant bird, it's so huge only its legs, tail and head are visible onscreen.

** On the same note, Moonrock Pengulls. They're basically some bones and internal organs encased in a ice block. Oh, and unlike neutral regular Pengulls, they're hostile.

*** The Shadow Knight takes the cake - at level 1, it resembles a vaguely HumanoidAbomination with no arms and a slouching posture, but at level 2, it starts growing arms and its back starts getting spiky, and its face has an anguished expression with a mouth that has MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily. At level 3, the spikes become more pronounced, and it gains a SlasherSmile that's eerily reminiscent of ComicBook/Venom.

* The Hamlet has the Roc, a Kaiju sized giant bird, it's so huge only its legs, tail and head are visible onscreen.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKKXXKtFiQw Willow's origin cinematic]]. [[HeartwarmingOrphan Sweet little Willow]] is sleeping in her bed in a orphanage [[spoiler:when [[UnexpectedCharacter a Terrorbeak]] suddenly attacks her with the clear intent [[HarmfulToMinors to kill]], forcing her to run for her life... [[RealityEnsues but the door is locked and Willow can't open it]]. Desperate, the little girl raises her teddy bear Bernie and finds out it has the power to keep the Shadow Creatures away, causing the Terrorbeak to fall back.]] When she thinks she is finally safe, the orphanage nurses arrive because of the commotion and find only Willow to blame for all of that. [[KickTheDog She gets separated from Bernie]] and closed inside a closet. [[spoiler:[[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown The Terrorbeak tries to get Willow]] now that she is all alone and defenseless, but it can't because]] [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane something happens]] and the room explodes with a portion of the orphanage, [[TheDogBitesBack killing the evil nurses in the process]]. Willow emerges from the flames [[BloodSplatteredInnocents unscratched yet covered in soot]], takes the now ruined Bernie with her and leaves the orphanage behind for the fire to consume. She had [[MortonsFork very good reasons]] for doing what she did, but ''jeez!''
** And the whole cinematic screams [[NothingIsScarier Nothing Is Scarier]] from every scene: why did Bernie have the power to protect Willow even back then? What happened inside that closet? And most importantly, [[spoiler: why did that Terrorbeak try to kill [[ChildrenAreInnocent an innocent child]] and ''how'' did he manage to get out from the Constant to do that]]? And most importantly, did accidents like that one happen again before Willow reached the Constant? If it happened more than once then is no freaking wonder for [[InnocenceLost Willow]] [[BreakTheCutie being]] [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Willow]].

* The Hamlet has the Roc, a Kaiju sized giant bird, it's so huge only it's legs, tail and head are visible onscreen.

** The "A New Reign" trailer cements the fact that [[spoiler:whoever sits on the Nightmare Throne becomes a human host for the Shadows - Wilson, because of his genius intelligence, was able to last as long as he could, and the Shadows literally had to ''strap him into the chair'' in order to control him. But those who gave in to the Shadows like Maxwell and Charlie get unimaginable power, but they're ultimately just pawns]].

* ''[[{{OminousMusicBoxTune}} The Hands]].

''VideoGame/DontStarve'' is a SurvivalHorror game that takes you to a world full of untold horrors and forces you to figure out ways on how to sustain and protect yourself.