History NightmareFuel / HouseOfAshes

* Rachel's fate in the "Lost in Time" ending. Being placed in a stasis cocoon to avert her transformation is the only way to save her life if Eric isn't both alive and aware of the vampires' weakness to UV light. If no one else survives to share that she's been left behind, though, she'll remain trapped down there for millennia. Given that the only other human we see coated in the stasis fluid [[AndIMustScream is still conscious over 4,000 years later]], this is [[AFateWorseThanDeath probably a worse outcome than if the game ended with no survivors]].

** The vampires didn't fill the pit. Remember the Iraqi shepherds encountered early in the game? They're cultists who worship the vampires, and routinely throw travelers down to avoid being hunted themselves. That pit is a sacrificial larder maintained by ''[[HumansAreTheRealMonsters unturned human beings.]]''

** The vampires didn't fill the pit. Remember the Iraqi shepherds encountered elsewhere in the game? They're cultists who worship the vampires. That pit is a sacrificial larder maintained by ''[[HumansAreTheRealMonsters unturned human beings.]]''

* Clarice's transformation. Her skin takes on an awful pallor, she makes almost inhuman screams, and you can see her skin stretch to accommodate vampiric height.

Despite what little is known, it's clear House of Ashes has a lot more horror than the previous games.

* Late into the game, when Salim and Jason make their way into the sprawling, inhuman underground caverns inhabited by the vampires, they find what they initially identify as the corpse of either Balathu or Kurum, determined by which character died first in the prologue. However, upon closer investigation, they see that not only is the corpse merely partially skeletonized, but through some horrible fate brought upon him by the vampires, the man is [[AndIMustScream still alive]] despite half of his body having decayed. With Kurum and Balathu's segments being set in 2231 BC, that means that whoever they find has been paralyzed hundreds of feet below the earth in an inhuman cavern for over ''4000 years'', Salim naturally decides to take the poor sod out of his misery, putting to rest a life that has been conscious since the Akkadian Empire. What's worse is that the scientists that investigated the temple in the 40s identified that the creatures [[EmotionEater feed on fear]] and acquire adrenaline through fear they inflict, so it's likely that the vampires were keeping Balathu/Kurum alive for 4 millennia to subsist on his sheer horror.

* Late into the game, when Salim and Jason make their way into the sprawling, inhuman underground caverns inhabited by the vampires, they find what they initially identify as the corpse of either Balathu or Kurum, determined by which character died first in the prologue. However, upon closer investigation, they see that not only is the corpse merely partially skeletonized, but through some horrible fate brought upon him by the vampires, the man is [[AndIMustScream still alive]] despite half of his body having decayed. With Kurum and Balathu's segments being set in 2231 BC, that means that whoever they find has been paralyzed hundreds of feet below the earth in an inhuman cavern for over ''4000 years'', Salim naturally decides to take the poor sod out of his misery, putting to rest a life that has been conscious since the Akkadian Empire. What's worse is that the scientists that investigated the temple in the 40s identified that the creatures [[EmotionEater feed on fear]] and acquire adrenaline through fear they inflict, so it's likely that the vampires were keeping Balathu/Kurum alive for 4 millennia to subsist on his sheer horror.
* The FridgeHorror of what potentially awaits fan-favorite Salim, even if he survives and the player gets the best possible ending. After all, [[spoiler: Salim is still a captured enemy combatant and now HeKnowsTooMuch. The government agents state the incident "never happened", so Salim will likely be labeled a possible "terrorist" and shuffled off to one of several infamous military prisons]].
** [[spoiler: Thankfully, this only happens if you ask the reinforcements choppers to stay close during the briefing close to the beginning of the game and/or keep Merwin alive long enough for him to fix the old radio. If you don't, the rescue choppers will come five hours after the final battle, long enough for Salim to leave on foot and escape that fate, with the CIA agents showing little interest in tracking him down despite knowing about him.]]

** [[spoiler: Thankfully, this only happens if you ask the reinforcements choppers to stay close during the briefing close to the beginning of the game. If you don't, the rescue choppers will come five hours after the final battle, long enough for Salim to leave on foot and escape that fate, with the CIA agents showing little interest in tracking him down despite knowing about him.]]

** [[spoiler: Thankfully, this happens if you ask the reinforcements choppers to stay close during the briefing close to the beginning of the game. If you don't, the rescue choppers will come five hours after the final battle, long enough for Salim to leave on foot and escape that fate.]]

* The FridgeHorror of what potentially awaits fan-favorite Salim, even if he survives and the player gets the best possible ending. After all, [[spoiler: Salim is still a captured enemy combatant and now HeKnowsTooMuch. The government agents state the incident "never happened", so Salim will likely be labeled a possible "terrorist" and shuffled off to one of several infamous military prisons]].

* Late into the game, when Salim and Jason make their way into the sprawling, inhuman underground caverns inhabited by the vampires, they find what they initially identify as the corpse of either Balathu or Kurum, determined by which character died first in the prologue. However, upon closer investigation, they see that not only is the corpse merely partially skeletonized, but through some horrible fate brought upon him by the vampires, the man is [[AndIMustScream still alive]] despite half of his body having decayed. With Kurum and Balathu's segments being set in 2231 BC, that means that whoever they find has been paralyzed hundreds of feet below the earth in an inhuman cavern for over ''4000 years'', Salim naturally decides to take the poor sod out of his misery, putting to rest a life that has been conscious since the Akkadian Empire. What's worse is that the scientists that investigated the temple in the 40s identified that the creatures [[EmotionEater feed on fear]] and acquire adrenaline through fear they inflict, so it's likely that the vampires were keeping Balathu/Kurum alive for 4 millennia to subsist on his sheer horror.

* Late into the game, when Salim and Jason make their way into the sprawling, inhuman underground caverns inhabited by the vampires, they find what they initially identify as the corpse of either Balathu or Kurum, determined by which character died first in the prologue. However, upon closer investigation, they see that not only is the corpse merely partially skeletonized, but through some horrible fate brought upon him by the vampires, the man is [[AndIMustScream still alive]] despite half of his body having decayed,. With Kurum and Balathu's segments being set in 2231 BC, that means that whoever they find has been paralyzed hundreds of feet below the earth in an inhuman cavern for over ''4000 years'', Salim naturally decides to take the poor sod out of his misery, putting to rest a life that has been conscious since the Akkadian Empire. What's worse is that the scientists that investigated the temple in the 40s identified that the creatures [[EmotionEater feed on fear]] and acquire adrenaline through fear they inflict, so it's likely that the vampires were keeping Balathu/Kurum alive for 4 millennia to subsist on his sheer horror.

* The first sightings of what appears to be [[RealAfterAll real monsters]]. Nick catches a glimpse of one while walking through the tunnel, and while they're trying to treat Merwin, Clarice is dragged into the darkness by one. And as the others wonder what happened, the monsters begin to [[HellIsThatNoise scream]] as the survivors try and get away. Regardless of the truth, it seems like real monsters are here...and hungry.