History NightmareFuel / Portal

* The fake test that [=GlaDOS=] builds when you try to escape. If you go in, the Companion Cube that is pressing the button gets fizzled, and the (presumably fake) door to outside is locked, and she fills the chamber with neurotoxin.

* The entire first chapter has an oppressive, ominous feel to it. All those familiar old test chambers have been made much more eerie thanks to the ravages of time, there's the implication that, out of 10,000 test subjects at Aperture Science, you're the only one left alive, and of course, there's the other implication that an entire apocalypse has happened on the outside world. However, nothing seems quite as creepy as the moment where you meet [=GlaDOS=] again. Yeah, that scene seems harmless enough from what we saw in the trailers, right? We're all familiar with the humorous bit with Wheatley trying to hack the password, that ever-quotable "You Monster!" line, etc. Well, those trailers left a few little details out of that scene: the ominous music that plays as you re-enter the chamber, [=GLaDOS=] using a giant claw from the ceiling to pick you up and casually crush Wheatley, slowly lowering you towards that all-too-familiar incinerator... (okay, it doesn't work anymore, but you don't know that until she drops you in).
* As much as a moron as Wheatley is, him screaming, "What?! ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?" is scary as all get-out. The idiotic, silly Wheatley now furious he couldn't kill you is pretty freaky.
-->''"Now we're all gonna pay the price. Because now we're ALL GOING TO BLOODY DIE!"''
* During the testing sequence with [=GLaDOS=], before Wheatley manages to make contact, you can catch at least two glimpses of Wheatley watching you before wallpanels hurried to obscure the sight. It's a little creepy without knowing what the heck he's doing.

** Once you leave the hidden chamber, the opening closes, and so does the door to the office looking over your test chamber. [[ParanoiaFuel It's almost like someone watching you.]] Additionally, with some careful shooting, when you get the Hard Light Bridge to lead you to the observation room, you can get a portal into the hallway; go in and there is ''no one there''. There's also a door that leads to the Rattman den, and you can't get it to open from either side. And when you're in the den, you can still hear his voice. (The soundtrack calls the audio "Ghost of Rattman", giving the whole area a bit of a haunted vibe. Possibly literally, given that Ratman should be long dead by this point...)

* The core transfer scene. Hearing [=GLaDOS=] scream in pain as ''her face gets ripped off'' is horrifying. The imagery of the transfer device pit as a portal into {{Hell}} with fifty little claws and devices reaching up at her doesn't help, especially as the sound file for [=GLaDOS=]' scream is called "sp_a2_core_drag_to_hell01.wav."

* The fake test that GlaDOS builds when you try to escape. If you go in, the Companion Cube that is pressing the button gets fizzled, and the (presumably fake) door to outside is locked, and she fills the chamber with neurotoxin.

* The entire first chapter has an oppressive, ominous feel to it. All those familiar old test chambers have been made much more eerie thanks to the ravages of time, there's the implication that, out of 10,000 test subjects at Aperture Science, you're the only one left alive, and of course, there's the other implication that an entire apocalypse has happened on the outside world. However, nothing seems quite as creepy as the moment where you meet GlaDOS again. Yeah, that scene seems harmless enough from what we saw in the trailers, right? We're all familiar with the humorous bit with Wheatley trying to hack the password, that ever-quotable "You Monster!" line, etc. Well, those trailers left a few little details out of that scene: the ominous music that plays as you re-enter the chamber, GLaDOS using a giant claw from the ceiling to pick you up and casually crush Wheatley, slowly lowering you towards that all-too-familiar incinerator... (okay, it doesn't work anymore, but you don't know that until she drops you in).

Now we're all gonna pay the price. Because now we're ALL GOING TO BLOODY DIE!
* During the testing sequence with GLaDOS, before Wheatley manages to make contact, you can catch at least two glimpses of Wheatley watching you before wallpanels hurried to obscure the sight. It's a little creepy without knowing what the heck he's doing.

* Wheatley succumbing to [=GLaDOS=]'s mainframe programming. At first, you may believe his FaceHeelTurn is just his true nature coming out, or the nature of power corrupting him. But as [=GLaDOS=] explains, her body is ''literally'' corrupting Wheatley, turning him into an egotistical, vengeful bastard driven to test or else experience withdrawal symptoms. He has no real choice in the matter, and his idiotic nature makes it difficult for him to overcome the programming. When he is floating in space, he is genuinely remorseful and upset over his behavior, but were his terrible actions really all him, or was it the programming making him do? If it's the latter, then it's horrifying to imagine friendly, sweet Wheatley forced to become a monster by a system designed to oversee Aperture itself...

* In Chapter 3, Testchamber 17 you can discover a hidden chamber: "Fear the turret for it is knell, that summons to heaven or to hell." There's a picture of Chell sleeping there, but she looks dead. Then once you leave the hidden chamber, the opening closes, and so does the door to the office looking over your test chamber. It's almost like someone watching you. Additionally with some careful shooting, when you get the Hard Light Bridge to lead you to the observation room, you can get a portal into the hallway. Go in and there is no one there. There's also a door that leads to the Rattman den and you can't get it to open from either side. And when you're in the den, you can still hear his voice (the soundtrack calls the "Ghost of Rattman", giving the whole area a bit of a haunted vibe.
* At one point, Wheatley tells you a ghost story about a manager who lost his mind and chopped up his entire staff (of robots, of course), and that you can still hear the screams... of their replicas. At first, it's funny until he notes that they have no memory of the incident, and thus there should be no feasible reason for them to be screaming.

* The core transfer scene. Hearing [=GLaDOS=] scream in pain as ''her face gets ripped off'' is horrifying. The imagery of the transfer device pit as a portal into hell with fifty little claws and devices reaching up at her didn't help, especially as the sound file for [=GLaDOS=]' scream is called "sp_a2_core_drag_to_hell01.wav."

* One of Rattman's murals shows a woman, screaming with the most horrifically drawn face, as several scientists die around her. The woman is implied to be Caroline. To make it worse, you can also see in the lower right corner of the mural what seems to be Rattmann begging for mercy or hiding behind a companion cube.

* Speaking of space, Wheatley must now spend the rest of his lifespan (depending on how long he can last without a power source) floating through outer space, never being able to make up for his mistakes, never being able to escape what he did to Chell and the rest of Aperture. Forever living in an existential hell.

* Wheatley succumbing to [=GLaDOS=]'s mainframe programming. At first, you may believe his Face-HeelTurn is just his true nature coming out, or the nature of power corrupting him. But as [=GLaDOS=] explains, her body is ''literally'' corrupting Wheatley, turning him into an egotistical, vengeful bastard driven to test or else experience withdrawal symptoms. He has no real choice in the matter, and his idiotic nature makes it difficult for him to overcome the programming. When he is floating in space, he is genuinely remorseful and upset over his behavior, but were his terrible actions really all him, or was it the programming making him do? If it's the latter, then it's horrifying to imagine friendly, sweet Wheatley forced to become a monster by a system designed to oversee Aperture itself...

* Wheatley succumbing to [=GLaDOS=]'s mainframe programming. At first, you may believe his Face-Heel Turn is just his true nature coming out, or the nature of power corrupting him. But as [=GLaDOS=] explains, her body is ''literally'' corrupting Wheatley, turning him into an egotistical, vengeful bastard driven to test or else experience withdrawal symptoms. He has no real choice in the matter, and his idiotic nature makes it difficult for him to overcome the programming. When he is floating in space, he is genuinely remorseful and upset over his behavior, but were his terrible actions really all him, or was it the programming making him do? If it's the latter, then it's horrifying to imagine friendly, sweet Wheatley forced to become a monster by a system designed to oversee Aperture itself...

* Wheatley succumbing to [=GLaDOS=]'s mainframe programming. At first, you may believe his StartofDarkness is just his true nature coming out, or the nature of power corrupting him. But as [=GLaDOS=] explains, her body is ''literally'' corrupting Wheatley, turning him into an egotistical, vengeful bastard driven to test or else experience withdrawal symptoms. He has no real choice in the matter, and his idiotic nature makes it difficult for him to overcome the programming. When he is floating in space, he is genuinely remorseful and upset over his behavior, but were his terrible actions really all him, or was it the programming making him do? If it's the latter, then it's horrifying to imagine friendly, sweet Wheatley forced to become a monster by a system designed to oversee Aperture itself...

* The core transfer scene. Hearing [=GLaDOS=] scream in pain as ''her face gets ripped off'' is horrifying, and then Wheatley slowly succumbing to the chassis's power... The imagery of the transfer device pit as a portal into hell with fifty little claws and devices reaching up at her didn't help, especially as the sound file for [=GLaDOS=]' scream is called "sp_a2_core_drag_to_hell01.wav."

* When [=GladOs=] first wakes up and the first thing she says is "Oh, it's ''you,''" in the coldest, most hate-filled tone she ''ever'' speaks throughout the two games.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portal_glados.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[AC:"Your entire life has been a mathematical error. A mathematical error I'm ''about to correct''." ]]]]

----

* The core transfer scene. Hearing [=GLaDOS=] scream in pain as ''her face gets ripped off'' is horrifying, [[spoiler:and then Wheatley slowly succumbing to the chassis's power...]] The imagery of the transfer device pit as a portal into hell with fifty little claws and devices reaching up at her didn't help, especially as the sound file for [=GLaDOS=]' scream is called "sp_a2_core_drag_to_hell01.wav."
* Although some interpreted it as a MercyKill, some players found it creepy [[spoiler:when [=GLaDOS=] coldly deletes Caroline right after admitting that she's the voice of her conscience.]] Not helped by the fact that a flatline can almost be heard after the deed is done.

* One of Rattman's murals shows a woman, screaming with the most horrifically drawn face, as several scientists die around her. [[spoiler:The woman is implied to be Caroline.]] To make it worse, you can also see in the lower right corner of the mural what seems to be Rattmann begging for mercy or hiding behind a companion cube.

* ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' almost completely takes place in a series of brightly lit rooms, which are all white and very clean. There are even opaque windows to observation rooms, but you soon realize that the entire facility seems to be completely deserted, except for you and a slightly malfunctioning AI. Of course, things get worse. Later on, you can climb into the machinery behind the movable walls.
** To wit, despite spawning a very popular meme, the areas behind the platforms when you go off the rails and see the scribblings of former employee Doug Rattmann become unnerving, this guy has [[SanitySlippage clearly slipped into insanity]], and he even knows that at the end, you'll just be met with an agonizing death by burning, and to top it all off, you can see exits just out of reach, and nightmarish music plays in the background.
* The first time you encounter turrets is the first time you can duck out of the testing chamber into the maintenance areas and see scrawled gibberish on the walls, along with scattered food cans, which some creepy ambient music is played. This is the point, as you hear turrets trying to kill you ask plaintively "[=ARe yOU StiLL tHEre=]?", that you know that everything has gone ''catastrophically'' '''wrong''' and you cannot escape from it.
** The developer commentary states that the turrets were intended to lull you into a false sense of security.
** Try using a turret as body armor against the other turrets. It SCREAMS.
-->'''Turret''': Hey! It's me! Stop shooting-Critical Error.
** The turrets are also the first things that can spill your blood, and unlike in nearly every other video game ever made, the blood you lose doesn't disappear. It's still spattered viscerally on the walls, even when you come back from death.
* [=GLaDOS=]'s aggression core. The snarling. It IS Music/MikePatton voicing the thing.
* Try carrying a turret through a technology emancipation field: there's one just before each lift at the end of a level. ''They scream.''
* What's REALLY freaky was the last three levels of the game. The dim, occasionally flashy lighting, the occasional turrets, the writing on the walls... All fit very well with the games 'hilariously creepy' style.
* You know those emancipation grills you pass through after every portal? According to [=GLaDOS=], they might emancipate your teeth. While you might think this is just her screwing with you, that theory flies out the window when the announcer mentions how the emancipation grills also might emancipate your inner ear.
* The ending theme, "Still Alive", manages to be both cutesy and very disturbing. "We do what we must - because we can. For the good of all of us. Except the ones who are dead..." Yeah...
** The cheerful description of "doing science for the people who are still alive" ("[making] a neat gun" for them) is bad enough, but then there's the line near the end where it becomes "[doing science] ''on'' the people who are still alive".
* Also from the soundtrack: the "Self Esteem Fund" and "Android Hell" are pretty creepy. But "No Cake For You" stands out as both the best and creepiest ambient music in the entire game.
* The update for ''Portal''. Nothing but cryptic messages and content added into the game, including incredibly creepy sounding noises in the data files (which are bad enough until you notice "GET ME OUT OF HERE!") which, when converted into images show some very ominous scenes...
* A humorous and mildly creepy BlackComedy suddenly becomes mindbendingly creepy when it's revealed to be happening in the same continuity as ''VideoGame/HalfLife''. This game becomes much more uncomfortable to laugh at when you realize that, in the context of its universe, it's ''dead serious'' -- as amusing as [=GLaDOS=] is, imagine meeting her or someone like her in real life. Not quite so funny now, is it?
* The glowing red fade-offs behind things such as fans, vents, pipes, and shafts. The sharp contrast of glowy red against dead, dark colors gives a feeling of being in the belly of the beast (which, you kind of are). The glowing red especially makes you feel like, even though you escaped the incinerator, it's still somewhere just around the corner. And maybe others have died there before you. Try looking at the first set of glowing red vents just past the incinerator and thinking about that.
* "Thank you for assuming the party escort submission position..." The idea of thinking it's all over then being dragged back in....
* "Your entire life has been a mathematical error. A mathematical error I'm '''''about to correct'''''."
** "You're curious about what happens after you die, right? Guess what? ''I know.''"
*** Made downright chilling after playing ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' when you realize [[spoiler:Caroline's mind was forcefully put into the [=GLaDOS=] ... [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment OS]] at the orders of her dying, poisioned, increasingly mentally-unstable boss. [[MoodWhiplash Voiced by]] [[Funny/{{Portal 2}} J.K. Simmons]].]]
* [=GLaDOS=] is a supercomputer, one of the fastest and smartest minds around, who gained self-awareness milliseconds after coming online. With that realization, this particular dying statement of hers became absolutely ''terrifying.''
--> [[AC:"Are you trying to escape?"]] *high pitched laughing sound* [[AC: Things have ''changed'' since the last time you left the building. What's going on out there will make you wish you were back in here. ''I have an infinite capacity for knowledge, and even I'm not sure what's going on outside.'' All I know is I'm the only thing standing between us, and them. Well, I '''was'''.]]
** Especially creepy when you remember this is the ''Half-Life'' universe directly after the resonance cascade. The scary part is, at this point you really are better off in there, where the aliens and inter-dimensional baddies can't get you.
** Kill [=GLaDOS=] with the right timing of her dialogue, and the aforementioned laugh can get pitched down and slowed enough to become extremely menacing and ominous.
* The beginning of the boss fight with [=GLaDOS=]. She drops a spherical object from her body, claims ignorance on what it does, and you drop it in the incinerator. What happens afterward is really disturbing: Her voice becomes garbled, then you hear what sounds like quiet laughter. Then she speaks again, only now her voice, which had been previously very computerized and robotic, has become much more human-like and ''evilly seductive''. And then she informs you of a rather interesting fact:
--> '''[=GLaDOS=]''': [[AC:Good news: I figured out what that thing you just incinerated did. It was a morality core they installed after I flooded the Enrichment Center with a deadly neurotoxin to make me stop flooding the Enrichment Center with a deadly neurotoxin. So get comfortable while I warm up the neurotoxin emitters...]]
** Her whole boss fight could be said to be pretty creepy. The shrieking of the cores[=/=][=GLaDOS=] as you throw ''bits of her'' into the incinerator, her beginning to malfunction, the fact that, as you ''slowly rip pieces off of her'' she gets more and more vicious and starts trying to convince you to just roll over and die. Any of her quotes!
---> ''[on neurotoxins]'' When I said "deadly neurotoxins", the deadly was in massive sarcasm quotes. I could take a bath in this stuff. Put in on cereal, rub it right into my eyes. Honestly, it's not deadly at all. ''To me''.
---> I let you survive this long, because I was curious about your behaviour. Well, you've managed to destroy that part of me.
---> This isn't brave. It's murder.
*** Her emphasis on how you're murdering her. Oh, and then if you go over the time limit, the way that Chell just drops like a lead weight.
*** Oh yeah, and also, having to destroy the Curiosity Core.
---> '''Curiosity Core:''' Where are we going? EWW, what's wrong with your legs? What's that thing? Ooh, that thing has numbers on it! Hey! You're the lady from the test! Hi! Are you coming back? Do you smell something burning?
--> ''Blood-curdling shriek as the core is destroyed.''
** "I'd just like to point out that you were given every opportunity to succeed. There was even going to be a party for you. A big party that all your friends were invited to. I invited your best friend the Companion Cube. Of course, he couldn't come because you murdered him. All your other friends couldn't come either because you don't have any other friends. Because of how unlikable you are. It says so here in your personnel file: Unlikable. Liked by no one. A bitter, unlikable loner whose passing shall not be mourned. '''Shall not be mourned.''' " As silly as some of her lines are when she's trying to psyche you out, things like that can really strike a chord. Which is exactly what she wanted.
** "[=RRRrrr=]. I HATE YOU!"
** The first dialogue directly after incinerating the Morality Core. In under 10 seconds you get MoodWhiplash like you wouldn't believe once you realize you fell for the ShmuckBait:
---> "You are kidding me. Did you just throw that Aperture Science thing we-don't-know-what-it-does into an Aperture Science Emergency Intelligence Incinerator? That has got to be the dumbest thing I whoa- ''whoa''- '''''whoa'''''..."
*** And then she laughs- a tiny, high-pitched, SCARY laugh that fades with a sort of rattle. And then she says this:
---> "''Good news.'' I figured out what that thing you just incinerated did."
* [=GLaDOS=] apparently has a backup file of you that should you die she can resurrect you from, in the final battle she deletes it. Who's to say the Rattmann isn't just one of your earlier tries? And all those times you were crushed or fell into acid? Those actually happened, you just don't remember it.
* The ''crunch'' when a metal moving part crushes you.
* Messing around with the portals a bit can show you Chell's face, which looks fairly disturbed by all that's happening.
* ''Portal 1'' had several lines of dialogue in the regular test-chambers that become scary as hell when you replay the game. The first great example is during her explanation of the Aperture Science Material Emancipation Grid, "which may, in semi-rare cases, emancipate dental fillings, crowns, tooth enamel and teeth." Semi-rare cases. As in it's not unlikely that it'll happen to you! And just how many of those do you pass through through out the game? Enough to be pretty sure your teeth are gone by the end of the game.
** "Cake, and grief-counseling, will be available at the conclusion of the test."
** "The Enrichment Center is required to inform you that in the end, you will be baked [garbled] cake." This is what the subtitles say, which would make this line more scary. The voice-file just outright spoils it by saying "In the end you will be baked, and then there will be cake."
** An early version featured some hidden dialogue in Testchamber 05. Disabling one of the cameras and throwing it through the door to the small room with a glass-ceiling would cause [=GLaDOS=] to say: "You're not a good person. You know that, right?." In her psychotic late-game murderous-computer-voice. This has later been fixed, but hearing the voice who helps you say that during your first play-through was really unnerving!
*** Subverted in that the line still plays; but it's for the most deliberate act of trapping yourself one is able to perform in the game.
** "To ensure the safe performance of all authorized activities, do not destroy Testing Apparatus." The apparatus isn't really that important, since it's just a few surveillance cameras that nobody's looking at, but the first time you play the game, it makes you wonder if you really ought to destroy them or leave them in place.
** "When the testing is over, you will be... missed."
** In one of the last testchambers, [=GLaDOS=]' dialogue (or lack there off) when you reach the exit: [computerized, monotone voice] "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee-". If this doesn't just hint that something's horribly wrong, what does? The lights flickering like they're about to go out when that happens doesn't help at all.
** "[Worried voice]What are you doing? Stop. I... I... I... [Voice changes to a much more monotone, computer-like voice]Weeeeee are pleased that you made it through this final challenge, where we pretended we were going to murder you."

* The preview videos for ''Portal 2'' look funny and cool, especially repulsion gel and propulsion gel. Wowee, can't wait to try those out! What does that tiny tiny text on the screen say? These were originally developed as [[LethalChef diet pudding]] foodstuffs. And they didn't work because they stuck to the stomach lining, causing food to ''bounce out.'' What makes it worse is this wasn't an unintended side-effect of the products, that was how they were designed to function, in order to prevent the stomach from having time to take calories from the food. The fact that apparently no-one at Aperture thought about what effect this might have on the human body reflects how utterly crazy the place was.
* The entire testing section of the complex can be reshaped at any time at the will of a deranged AI. While you're inside it.
* [=GLaDOS=]' warning to the co-op players.
-->[[AC:Don't disappoint me. Or I'll make you ''wish'' you could die.]]
* The entire first chapter has an oppressive, ominous feel to it. All those familiar old test chambers have been made much more eerie thanks to the ravages of time, there's the implication that, out of ''10,000'' test subjects at Aperture Science, you're the only one left alive, and of course, there's the other implication that an ''entire apocalypse'' has happened on the outside world. However, nothing seems quite as creepy as the moment where you meet [=GlaDOS=] again. Yeah, that scene seems harmless enough from what we saw in the trailers, right? We're all familiar with the humorous bit with Wheatley trying to hack the password, that ever-quotable "YouMonster" line, etc. Well, those trailers left a few little details out of that scene: the ominous music that plays as you re-enter the chamber, [=GLaDOS=] using a giant claw from the ceiling to pick you up and casually crush Wheatley, slowly lowering you towards that all-too-familiar incinerator... (okay, it doesn't work anymore, but you don't know that until she drops you in)
* After the opening, you're shoved right back into testing under [=GlaDOS=] again. This time, it's a lot more awkward. [[TranquilFury She may not be showing it,]] as much as she could at least as a computer, but you can tell: She is mad at you killing her, and she has every intention of making you suffer for it.
** "Oh, it's you. [[SarcasmMode It's been a long time, how have you been?]] I've been ''really'' busy being dead. You know, after you ''murdered'' me?" While the line isn't frightening in and of itself, Ellen [=McLain's=] delivery takes it from the typical acerbic sarcasm [=GLaDOS=] is known for right into nightmare fuel territory, thanks to the sheer raw amount of hatred oozing from her voice.

* The official tie-in Potato Science Kit includes information about the fateful Bring Your Daughter To Work Day and about the young Chell. The revelation that her father was an Aperture Employee does not seem horrifying at first ... until you recall how [=GLaDOS=] flooded the Enrichment Center with [[DeadlyGas deadly neurotoxin]]. In essence, [[YouKilledMyFather [=GLaDOS=] might have killed Chell's parents]]. [=GLaDOS=] constantly [[KicktheDog making fun of the fact that Chell has no parents]] comes off as downright sadistic in this case.
* The core transfer scene. Hearing [=GLaDOS=] scream in pain as ''her face gets ripped off'' is horrifying, [[spoiler:and then Wheatley slowly succumbing to the chassis's power...]] The imagery of the transfer device pit as a portal into hell with fifty little claws and devices reaching up at her didn't help, especially as the sound file for [=GLaDOS=]' scream is called "sp_a2_core_drag_to_hell01.wav".
** It's overlooked easily, [[spoiler:but ''Wheatley'' screams too. And it's completely human. [=GLaDOS=], at least, can resist. But Wheatley? You have no idea what happened to him when he was under the floor.]]
* Wheatley's [[spoiler: FaceHeelTurn WhamLine. He starts out fairly innocent, simply geeking out over everything his new body can do... and then he starts talking about how small you are compared to him, and seems a little too forgetful about the plan to escape...]]
-->'''Wheatley:''' This body's ''amazing'', seriously! I can't get over how small you are! But I'm ''huge''! Hehehehehe! [[spoiler:[[EvilLaugh Hahahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!]] Hehe... actually... [[WhamLine why do we have to leave right now?]]]]
* Cave Johnson's decision to basically [[spoiler: upload Caroline's mind, his former right hand/lover into Aperture's systems, regardless of whether she wants to or not, after his death. Dummied out lines make it worse by showing her pleading with Cave and insisting that she didn't want this, with Ellen [=McLain=]'s voice acting delivering it in a very disturbing manner.]]
* The cube-turret hybrid [[spoiler: Wheatley pumps out]] in ''The Itch'':
** Two turrets mashed together inside a cube? Not so bad. Realizing their original purpose was to stand in one place and shoot, and now they can't shoot and are forced to walk for the first time? Frightening. All of that coupled with that miserable chirping sound they make, as if [[ICannotSelfTerminate they're begging for the incinerator]]? Horrifying.
** When you pick one of these things up, they withdraw into their cubes a bit and tremble. Their eyes blink on and off, too. [[AndIMustScream And while normally talkative, they cannot even scream out in pain now.]]
** When you first see them, [[spoiler: [=PotatOS=] attempts to paradox Wheatley]]; while [[spoiler: Wheatley]] is [[TooDumbToFool too dumb to fall for [=GLaDOS=]'s paradox]], you can see the Frankenturrets spark a little. That's right; those things are smarter than [[spoiler:Wheatley]].

* "And now I'm onto all your little tricks. So there's nothing to stop us from testing for the rest of your life. After that, who knows? I might take up a hobby. Reanimating the dead, for instance."

* The extremely giddy tone [=GLaDOS=] gets as you near the second "surprise". Evil AIs shouldn't be allowed to sound that giddy about murdering someone.
--> "I've got another surprise waiting for you after this test. And not a tragic surprise like last time. A ''reeeeal'' surprise. With ''tragic'' consequences. And ''real'' confetti this time, the good stuff."
* As much as a moron as Wheatley is, [[spoiler: him screaming, "What?! ARE YOU STILL ALIVE?" is scary as all get-out. The idiotic, silly Wheatley now furious he couldn't kill you is pretty freaky.]]
--> [[spoiler: Now we're ''all'' gonna pay the price. Because now we're ALL GOING TO BLOODY DIE!]]
* The scene where [[spoiler:Wheatley's trying to kill you with the crusher. His "STAY ''STILL'', PLEASE"; his voice is so full of rage and you can just hear him snarling it through gritted teeth.]]
* Almost all of Chapter 6, but especially the first part (before you make your way into the sealed chambers, and thus have Cave Johnson's deranged ramblings to keep you company). You're miles below the surface, absolutely no idea where to go, and most of all: [=GLaDOS=] gets carried off, and for once you go without her constant attempts to "assist" and "encourage" you. You're completely alone, more than you've ever been, in a decaying structure that could collapse on you at any time.
* In his recordings Cave Johnson casually mentions that one of the test groups volunteered to be injected with praying mantis DNA, only to end up having to fight "mantis men" when the first batch of tests [[GoneHorriblyWrong went horribly wrong]]. During an interview, Erik Wolpaw hinted that [[spoiler: some of the Mantis Men may still be alive and well--and living in the bowels of Aperture.]] Have fun thinking about that.

* When [=GLaDOS=] hums ''For He's a Jolly Good Fellow'', it's enough to make your skin crawl.
* [[spoiler: The four turrets you meet right after [=GLaDOS=] sends you off]] can give you a jump if you aren't expecting them.
* The Turret Disposal Area just before the neurotoxin tank, where all the rejected turrets get sent to be ground up by giant crusher wheels... [[spoiler: except, because of what you and Wheatley did, the rejected turrets are now actually the good turrets]]. The ''obvious'' terror in their otherwise-cute voices is horrifying enough. Then Wheatley tells you in the most offhanded manner possible that [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman they can feel pain.]]
* The fake test that [=GlaDOS=] builds when you try to escape. If you go in, the Companion Cube that is pressing the button gets fizzled, and the (presumably fake) door to outside is locked, ''and'' she fills the chamber with neurotoxin.
* [[spoiler: Wheatley's]] fate at the end of the game, [[spoiler: being stranded in space forever and ever]] is very unsettling. Worse, he seems to show genuine remorse for what he's put the player through. Since he can't die, he has nothing to think about but his transgressions.
* If you play with commentary on, there's at least one commentary node in at least one Rattman Den. If you activate it, [[spoiler:it's a startlingly loud SSTV signal]].
** [[spoiler:It decodes into a non-scary infograph on the ARG.]]
* One of the first things [=GLaDOS=] tells you upon being woken up is that she has a feature she never knew about until you killed her: A black box. For however long you've been away- a conservative estimate is 200 years- she has been forced to relive the last two minutes of her runtime, over and over again. That is, you killing her. Over and over again. You were the last thing she saw as she was violently ripped apart, and you were the first thing she saw after the endlessly repeating fifteen minute experience of it ended. The only real consolation is that [=GLaDOS=] is [[UnreliableNarrator a pathological liar]], so she ''may'' have made it up.
-->"You know, if you'd done that to somebody else, they might devote their existence to exacting '''revenge.''' Luckily I'm a bigger person than that. I'm happy to put this all behind us and get back to work. After all, we've got a lot to do, and only sixty more years to do it." 
* During the testing sequence with [=GLaDOS=], before Wheatley manages to make contact, you can catch at least two glimpses of Wheatley ''watching'' you before wallpanels hurried to obscure the sight. It's a little creepy without knowing what the heck he's doing.
* One of Rattman's murals shows a woman, screaming with the most horrifically drawn face, as several scientists die around her. [[spoiler:The woman is implied to be Caroline.]] To make it worse, you can also see in the lower right corner of the mural what seems to be Rattmann begging for mercy or hiding behind a companion cube... *shudder* *shudder*
* In ''Portal 2'', [=GLaDOS=] tells us exactly what it's like to be plugged into the mainframe body with other cores; it's like hearing voices incessantly babbling in your head, all at once.
* From ''Aperture Science: A History'':
-->"The untested AI is activated for the first time as one of the planned activities on Aperture’s first annual bring-your-daughter-to-work day. In many ways, the initial test goes well: Within one picosecond of being switched on, [=GLaDOS=] becomes self-aware. The "going well" phase lasts for two more picoseconds, at which point [=GLaDOS=] takes control of the facility, locks everyone inside, and begins a permanent cycle of testing. Her goal: beat the hated Black Mesa in the race to develop a functioning portal technology. Days later, that race is lost when Black Mesa successfully deploys an interdimensional gate through which an alien race emerges and effectively ends the outside world."
** If the fact that [[spoiler:Caroline was forced into being [=GLaDOS=] is to be believed, then it would seem that she did all of this out of spite and revenge against the people who imprisoned her. Certainly is jarring to think you heard this girl say stuff like [[TheDitz "Goodbye, Caroline"]] a mere few levels ago.]]
* [[AlmostDeadGuy Cave Johnson dying of moon rock poisoning.]]
** So, how much of the surfaces that you can portal to are because of this deadly poison? Fine, you're not ingesting it -- ''maybe''; this stuff ''does'' gush out in places after you turn it on -- but who knows whether you have to ingest it to be poisoned by it?
* Most of Cave Johnson's quotes are pretty horrifying, even if they're funny in-context:
** "Now, maybe you don't have any tumors. Well, don't worry. If you sat on a folding chair in the lobby and weren't wearing lead underpants we took care of that for you."
** "The average human male is about 60% water. Far as we're concerned, that's a bit extravagant. So if you feel a bit dehydrated in this next test, that's normal. We're gonna hit you with some jet engines and see if we can't get you down to 20 or 30%."
** "Alright, we're working on a little teleportation experiment. Now, this doesn't work with all skin types, so try to remember which skin is yours and if it doesn't teleport along with you we'll do what we can to [[BodyHorror sew you right back into it."]]
** "Great job, astronaut, war hero, and/or olympian! With your help, we're gonna (distorted, sped up) CHANGE THE WORLD!"
* During the Courtesy Call sequence, you are banged into several other containers, identical to the one you're in. Wheatley ends up knocking a good few of them into the chasm below. You then see that all of the containers are identical to yours. With beds. Wheatley himself makes no attempt at hiding the fact that the entire warehouse is now filled with corpses. The horror part, however, comes in after you read the ''Lab Rat'' comic, learning that when Chell killed [=GLaDOS=] in the first game, she inadvertently shut off all power to the facility, leaving only the essential systems on backup power. The only way she survived was because Rattmann was able to plug her room into the backup system. Oops.
* Cave Johnson gave his test subjects coffee laced with a chemical that actually solidifies the brain. Visualizing it while under stress triggers it.
* The scene where Wheatley receives some, erm, "discouragement" from [[spoiler: helping you solve his tests. It sounds like he's being electrocuted - he at least feels enough pain to cause an AI incapable of breathing to emit the sound of pained panting.]] Sure, the part where [[spoiler: [=GLaDOS=] tricks him into getting shocked again]] is actually pretty funny - unless [[spoiler: you happen to be watching him on one of his screens when this is happening to him. It looks like his body is being forcibly pulled apart.]]
* This line was DummiedOut when testers thought that it would be too much:
-->[[AC:[=GLaDOS=]: Why do I hate you so much? Did you ever stop to wonder that? I'm brilliant. I'm not bragging. It's an objective fact. I'm the most massive collection of wisdom the world has known. And I ''HATE'' you. It can't be for no reason.]]
* The condemned Aperture Labs can scare anyone with a fear of heights just by existing. The place is full of catwalks that just end or with missing railings over bottomless pits. And they certainly don't ''look'' very sturdy. The possibility that at any moment the metal grid you're walking on could break away underneath you will put you on pins and needles.
* The alternate Aperture realities. One of them, Cave died in the mantis-man breakout. Another, everyone is a giant mantis and the experiment was to create Man-mantises. Yet in another, Cave and Greg are watching you, always. Incidentally, the mantis-Cave's voice is ''horrifying''.
** The way the sentient cloud kills people - he leeches your skin off.
** "I seeeee you. I seeee your little feet. I'm gonna cut off your hair and put it on your feet and eat your little hair and feet." Holy ''shit'', Cave.
* Those thousands of test subjects [=GLaDOS=] finds at the end of the co-op campaign? [[spoiler: She kills them all in one week]].
* [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Early in the game's development]], Wheatley (back when he was called Pendleton) would tell Chell that "...a man with a brief-case was just here to see you!" (a reference to G-Man) This raises a lot of questions about what's been going on in Aperture and why exactly G-Man wanted to visit Chell.
* Wheatley's line during the climax, when you're [[spoiler: getting ready to fight him and he tells you, "Let the games begin!"]] It's creepy in delivery, and moreso because we've heard the line before. When you reach the [[spoiler:neurotoxin generator with him, Wheatley cheerfully says "let the games begin!" before attempting to "hack" the computer by pretending to be a neurotoxin inspector.]] The effect is light-hearted, silly and endearing, as Wheatley can often be. However, the second time he says it, it's issued in a deeper and more ominous tone of voice than you'd believe silly little Wheatley was capable of.
* The things [[spoiler:Wheatley]] says during the final boss battle are a mixture of TearJerker and Nightmare Fuel, but if you let [[spoiler:him]] talk long enough before breaking the Conversion Gel tube, [[spoiler:he]] says this:
-->"Am I being too vague here? I despise you! I loathe you! You bossy, smugly quiet, MONSTER of a woman! This place would have been a TRIUMPH if it weren't for you!"
** Not only does it show that [[spoiler:Wheatley]] has completely gone off the deep end, the use of the word 'monster' and the phrase 'this would have been a triumph' sounds extremely similar to [[spoiler:how [=GLaDOS=] talked.]]
* For the final battle, [[spoiler: Wheatley was]] originally going to look like a freakish amalgamation of turrets.
* "Are you still there?" and "I don't hate you..." are creepy enough when said in the turrets' robotic-yet-childlike voices...but the line "There you are." is spoken in such a way that it doesn't sound quite like the turrets. It sounds more like [=GLaDOS=].
* Remember the boss battle where [[spoiler: Wheatley]] tells you that six other test subjects died trying to get the portal gun? Commentary reveals that he's telling the truth.
* The sheer number of dangerous experiments and equipment that existed in early Aperture. Dozens that could give you tumors (including folding chairs in the lobby), an invisible laser that turns your blood into gasoline without your knowledge, some sort of experiment that causes you to excrete coal, another transforming experiment that changes your blood into peanut water and can trigger allergic reactions, a cranial microchip implant that can hit 500 degrees under certain circumstances, fluorescent calcium to track neurological activity which vitrifies the frontal lobe when under stress if you visualize it, a teleporter that fails to properly teleport certain skin types, and a test that could result in the whole of time being wiped out.
* The concept of an intelligence dampening sphere is pretty disturbing when you think about it. Imagine something literally designed to excrete bad idea after bad idea clinging to your brain like a cancerous growth, forcefully integrating these ideas into your mind [[StupidityInducingAttack to lower your intelligence.]] It's also TruthInTelevision, considering intrusive thoughts.
----
->[[AC:''Beep.'']]

->[[AC:''She's watching you.'']]

** "RRRrrr. I HATE YOU!"

* After the opening, you're shoved right back into testing under [=GlaDOS=] again. This time, it's a lot more awkward. [[TranquilFury She may not be showing it,]] as much as she could at least as a computer, but you can tell: She is mad at you killing her, and she has every intention of making you suffer for it. If Wheatley hadn't survived the events of Chapter 1, Chell likely would've been trapped indefinitely by [=GlaDOS=], forced to do test after agonizing test again... and again... and again...

* After the opening, you're shoved right back into testing under [=GlaDOS=] again. This time, it's a lot more awkward. [[TranquilFury She may not be showing it,]] as much as she could at least as a computer, but you can tell: She is mad at you killing her, and she has every intention of making you suffer for it. If Wheatley hadn't returned, Chell likely would've been trapped indefinitely by [=GlaDOS=], forced to do test after agonizing test again... and again... and again...