History YMMV / SpookysJumpScareMansion

** The true Specimen 10: It has an extremely annoying gimmick that when you move away from it to where it can't directly see you, it transforms into a weaker, yet much faster, form that can quickly bum rush you. And since the game up to this point, aside from Specimen 6, has conditioned players to sprint whenever a monster spawns, Specimen 10 is likely going to get at least one hit off. This forces you to keep at a certain pace with it. It also does a fair bit of damage and causes some mildly annoying InterfaceScrew when you get damaged by it. In the ''HD Renovation'', both forms do the same amount of damage (45), making it absolutely necessary to stick close to it. Worse, it can be paired with Specimens ''faster'' than it is and can't be hit, such as Monster 2, forcing you to sprint regardless.

** Lisa from Endless mode is basically Specimen 6 on '''even more''' steroids. It inflicts a lot more damage and she can move even when you're looking at her - and she's faster than your regular walk. Worst of all, her main gimmick is that she forces you into a loop of rooms where she doesn't ''ever'' stop chasing you. And your only means of escape is a GuideDangIt ([[spoiler:you have to proceed until the room numbers start repeating themselves, and then work your way ''backwards'' to the "beginning" of the loop]]). Luckily, ''HD Renovation'' turned down her damage output significantly, but she's still a very annoying specimen to deal with.

* DemonicSpiders:
** Specimen 4 is normally quite simple, but her endless variant introduces heavy InterfaceScrew in the form of a dome of static that encloses around the player before resetting on a cycle. It's extremely disorienting, much more so than most other specimens, not helped by the specimen herself moving quite fast. She slows down a bit when looked at, but that just makes navigation even more difficult.
** Specimen 10 can be very deadly in endless mode when combined with other specimens. It's normally not too difficult to slow down for it, but when other specimens are also chasing you, you usually aren't afforded the same luxury. When paired with fast moving specimens like Monster 2, you're basically guaranteed to take damage in longer rooms.
** Monster 6 similarly forces you to slow down for her by randomly spawning at the exit door and moving towards you for a few seconds before disappearing. This gives any other specimens chasing you plenty of time to catch up if you aren't willing to tank the hit from her.
** Unknown Specimen 3 is notorious for its bad combos. On its own it's a LuckBasedMission, since it's random how much health you lose from vomiting, sometimes too much to escape. With other specimens, the vomiting isn't present, but its health drain means any lost health won't regenerate until Unknown Specimen 3's (quite long) chase ends. With specimens that are good at getting in frequent cheap shots, like Unknown Specimen 1 or the aforementioned endless version of Specimen 4, there's very little room for error.

* PolishedPort: The ''HD Renovation'' is generally considered this, with the only sore points being the [[HaveANiceDeath death screens]] having less polish to them.

** [[AnimalisticAbomination Specimen 8]] is widely considered by the community to be among the coolest Specimen in the game when it comes to its design, area, chase theme, death screen... but the chase itself, disappointingly, is an '''easier''' version of Specimen 4's, as 8 moves more slowly '''and''' deals less damage, with no real gimmicks to compensate. You're more likely to get killed by the far more aggressive deer {{mooks}} in the area. Basically your only risk of dying comes from the temptation of trying to kill the Specimen with the new axe you received in the same area, as it is immune to the weapon. Glaringly, while many other Specimen have been buffed since release (10 being replaced altogether, 3 becoming '''much''' faster in ''HD'', 5 becoming slightly faster, 6 gaining the ability to teleport out of sight, and the Old Man gaining the ability to sprint), 8 never got '''any''' buffs to make it more formidable in gameplay. As of the October 2021 Update for the HD Renovation, it '''finally''' moved out of this trope, as it now teleports to the player via a wormhole if its view of them is obstructed by a wall. This makes it significantly more deadly, especially if you get a room that consists of tightly connected corridors or turns.

* DemonicSpiders: The Violent Deer in Specimen 8's area. They're fast, can hit fairly hard and are absolutely [[GoddamnedBats everywhere]].

* GoddamnedBats: The actual [[JumpScare jump scares of the title]], Specimen 1, are completely harmless in and of themselves and easily maneuvered around, but when you're running from something else, they can appear and obstruct your path at any time. For a split second, they make your character stop, likely surprised by the jump scare themselves. This is not helpful when running from something.

** [[AnimalisticAbomination Specimen 8]] is widely considered by the community to be among the coolest Specimen in the game when it comes to its design, area, chase theme, death screen... but the chase itself, disappointingly, is an '''easier''' version of Specimen 4's, as 8 moves more slowly '''and''' deals less damage, with no real gimmicks to compensate. You're more likely to get killed by the far more aggressive deer {{mooks}} in the area. Basically your only risk of dying comes from the temptation of trying to kill the Specimen with the new axe you received in the same area, as it is immune to the weapon. Glaringly, while many other Specimen have been buffed since release (10 being replaced altogether, 3 becoming '''much''' faster in ''HD'', 5 becoming slightly faster, 6 gaining the ability to teleport out of sight, and the Old Man gaining the ability to sprint), 8 never got '''any''' buffs to make it more formidable in gameplay. However, as of the October 2021 Update for the HD Renovation, this is a SubvertedTrope, as Specimen 8 now teleports to you via a wormhole if it's view of the player is obstructed by a wall. This makes it significantly more deadly, especially if you get a room that consists of tightly connected corridors or turns.
** Specimen 13, for being the dead last Specimen you can encounter in the base game, is arguably rather underwhelming. Once you understand her gimmick, it's really easy to take basically no damage from her. Even if you do, unlike every other chase, there is nothing stopping you from sitting on top of a crate to regenerate your health (unlike Specimen 6, 13 has no way of dealing with stall tactics). Like Specimen 8, she was never really buffed (in ''HD Renovation'', her claw damage was brought to 45, but her attack cooldown also increased, making her previous DeathOfAThousandCuts tactics unviable, she was also inexplicably made slower).

** The true Specimen 10: It has an extremely annoying gimmick that when you move away from it to where it can't directly see you, it transforms into a weaker, yet much faster, form that can quickly bum rush you. And since the game up to this point, aside from Specimen 6, has conditioned players to sprint whenever a monster spawns, Specimen 10 is likely going to get at least one hit off. This forces you to keep at a certain pace with it. It also does a fair bit of damage and causes some mildly annoying InterfaceScrew when you get damaged by it.

** Lisa from Endless mode is basically Specimen 6 on '''even more''' steroids. It inflicts a lot more damage and she can move even when you're looking at her - and she's faster than your regular walk. Worst of all, her main gimmick is that she forces you into a loop of rooms where she doesn't ''ever'' stop chasing you. And your only means of escape is a GuideDangIt ([[spoiler:you have to proceed until the room numbers start repeating themselves, and then work your way ''backwards'' to the "beginning" of the loop]]).

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** After the lackluster reception of the original Specimen 10, the developers decided to replace it with a much more dangerous and terrifying Specimen. There is even a little TakeThat to the previous Specimen 10 by the new one [[MakeWayForTheNewVillains literally bursting out of its head when the old one tries to attack you]]. WordOfGod admitted that the original design of Specimen 10 was the result of them running out of ideas.
** Specimen 8 is considered one of the best specimens in terms of its design and theme, but was rather disappointing in gameplay due to its [[MightyGlacier slow speed]]. The Halloween 2021 update gave it the ability to use portals to warp directly to you if you lose its line of sight, making it much easier for Specimen 8 to catch up to you.

CrossesTheLineTwice: Specimen 9 can be pretty terrifying if you're unfortunate to waste too much time, but the fact that it's possible for the game to seemingly get an error for no reason that changes to a strange scene showing lights slowly turning on, and revealing a door that opens...only for it to be charging at you anyways can be so absurd it's actually kinda funny.

* MagnificentBitch: [[CuteIsEvil Spooky]] is a ghost that schemes to be seen as scary, having been seen as "too cute" when she was alive. To achieve this, she has the Specimens of GL Labs scattered around her mansion, which was renovated to resemble a maze, so that she can create the ultimate HauntedHouse and lure in curious travelers. Hiding its true purpose, Spooky recruits the spirits of those who died in the house into her secret ghost army, planning to them to [[TakeOverTheWorld overtake the world with]]. Even if the PlayerCharacter makes it to the end, [[TheBadGuyWins Spooky still manages to benefit from it]], either recruiting them should they die after the fight or turning them into a Specimen if they survive.

* UncannyValley: Specimen 5, the new Specimen 10, Specimen 12 and the Monsters by a good margin. This was likely intentional.

** Specimen 10 is considered one of the best specimens in terms of its design and theme, but was rather disappointing in gameplay due to its [[MightyGlacier slow speed]]. The Halloween 2021 update gave it the ability to use portals to warp directly to you if you lose its line of sight, making it much easier for Specimen 8 to catch up to you.

* AuthorsSavingThrow: After the lackluster reception of the original Specimen 10, the developers decided to replace it with a much more dangerous and terrifying Specimen. There is even a little TakeThat to the previous Specimen 10 by the new one [[MakeWayForTheNewVillains literally bursting out of its head when the old one tries to attack you]]. WordOfGod admitted that the original design of Specimen 10 was the result of them running out of ideas.

** Specimen 8 is generally known as the "[[{{Pun}} Deer God]]".

* EnsembleDarkhorse:

* TearJerker: [[spoiler:Spooky's death]], as mentioned in AlternateCharacterInterpretation. [[spoiler:All she wanted was to scare someone, and the person she happened to be scaring suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and shot her by accident. She got her wish, but is now roaming as a ghost after it's implied her parents used arcane spells to try to speak to her again.]]
** In ''The Dollhouse'' we [[spoiler: finally get further elaboration on her death near the end. During a sequence where the player has to pick up a rifle and shoot through demonic enemies in a house with beer bottles stranded on the ground, they finally find the devil that has been haunting them. That "devil" actually being Spooky back when she was alive, getting shot, and with just a befuddled look of surprise feels her bleeding wound and collapses. And then the player is treated to a scene where their POV plants the gun on a hobo on a bench. After this vision they find a corpse of a scientist whose note essentially states that he is Spooky's dad, and very likely her real killer, who planted the gun on the hobo that was blamed. And then decided to consort demonic rituals to try to bring her back, leading to the mess the house is in]].

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:

* MemeticLoser: Meanwhile, the original Specimen 10 has become this ever since it's replacement.

** Some of the Specimens and Monsters are good examples. In Specimen 10's case, it seems to think it's doing you a favor in [[AssimilationPlot assimilating you]] when you're killed by it, as the text implies it's easier than to think and experience human concepts, all while calling the player just an animal. Yet a translated set of binary code tells the player that they're more than that, to use the brain they were given and to take responsibility in their actions. Is this a case of Specimen 10's BlueAndOrangeMorality at work, a direct message to [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou the player themselves]], or something else entirely?

** ''Karamari Hospital'' elaborates on this. [[spoiler: It heavily implies that Spooky became a ghost when she tried to scare someone with an obscuring costume and fireworks. What she didn't realize was that her victim was suffering from PTSD, and shot her out of fear in self-defense]].

** [[AnimalisticAbomination Specimen 8]] is widely considered by the community to be among the coolest Specimen in the game when it comes to its design, area, chase theme, death screen... but the chase itself, disappointingly, is an '''easier''' version of Specimen 4's, as 8 moves more slowly '''and''' deals less damage, with no real gimmicks to compensate. You're more likely to get killed by the far more aggressive deer {{mooks}} in the area. Basically your only risk of dying comes from the temptation of trying to kill the Specimen with the new axe you received in the same area, as it is immune to the weapon. Glaringly, while many other Specimen have been buffed since release (10 being replaced altogether, 3 becoming '''much''' faster in ''HD'', 5 becoming slightly faster, 6 gaining the ability to teleport out of sight, and the Old Man gaining the ability to sprint), 8 never got '''any''' buffs to make it more formidable in gameplay.

* MagnificentBitch: The [[AntagonistTitle titular Spooky]] was once an innocent girl who wanted to scare people, after being killed by a ShellShockedVeteran she scared, and brought back as a ghost by her grieving father, she becomes something much more ruthless. Creating and funding [=GL=] Labs, Spooky has scientists create and capture dozen of creatures known as Specimens, having them placed in her Jumpscare Mansion so they can slaughter people for her plans, [[BadBoss completely uncaring of her own employees being killed by these creatures]]. When the unnamed PlayerCharacter arrives at her Mansion, Spooky cheerfully greets them, and spends the entire game hampering their progress. When the player successfully gets through all 1,000 rooms, Spooky is momentarily irritated, but perks back up when she sends Specimen 9 to kill the player. No matter what the player does, [[TheBadGuyWins Spooky will always win]], whether it's turning them into a specimen, or killing them to become a ghost in her army, determined more then ever to prove she isn't cute.

* AntiClimaxBoss: A few specimens can be like this, but the original version Specimen 10 had it the worst. One reason was that this specimen was so late in the game, after a couple very dangerous specimens. Another reason was that its design can be dull to some. Just a white eel with a somewhat unnerving face that really has no gimmick at all. This came after a huge, atmospheric, buildup. The developers have acknowledged this, ultimately replacing it with a ''[[NightmareFuelStationAttendant much]]'' [[BodyHorror more]] [[MakeWayForTheNewVillains intimidating]] [[ThatOneBoss monster]].

* SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments: When you really think about it, Spooky including Lisa from P.T. can count as one, because it essentially means she gave an abandoned and unappreciated horror villain a new home to scare audiences. In similar vein, Spooky adopting [[VideoGame/ImScared White Face]] in meant that [[EarnYourHappyEnding he finally has a place to call his own with willing people wanting to "play" with him.]]

* HilariousInHindsight: One of the rooms contains an anime-styled dating sim that eventually starts to glitch into something much darker. Then came ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub''...

* PopularWithFurries: Not the game itself, but Specimen 8 seems to be pretty popular with furry artists. Most of their popularity seems to come from [[{{SelfFanservice}} Self-Fanservice]].

* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Everything about Specimen 7, from the room preluding it with a weird cat that gives [[CrypticConversation Cryptic Conversations]] to the actual chase itself. Especially since, unlike the other Specimens in the game, [[PutOnABus it actually doesn't reappear after the area it is introduced in and it's not included in Endless Mode.]]