The Best Horror Games Set In A School

Schools have the potential to be a site of terror for a multitude of reasons. While for some the horrors of school lie in endless classes and work or the strict, unlikeable teachers, for others it is the apprehension surrounding bullies and the torture they dish out. Even the very building itself can become overwhelming, with its maze of hallways and claustrophobic classrooms, especially when it's all empty after dark.

It is no surprise, then, that schools are a fairly established location for many horror games. Many feature school as a section or level, like Silent Hill and F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin s, for exmaple. While these are particularly frightening zones, the following horror games fully embrace the backdrop to revolve entirely around a school setting.

11 White Day: A Labyrinth Named School

Survival Horror With A Range Of Interesting Spirits

Originally a 2001 PC game, but has since been remade for mobile and consoles with updated graphics and gameplay, White Day: A Labyrinth Named School is a survival horror game. The player controls student Hee-Min Lee, who has snuck into Yeondu High School after hours to return his lover's diary with a box of chocolate as part of the White Day tradition.

After being trapped inside with ghosts and a killer cleaner, they must try to escape by solving puzzles. There are 10 endings, shaped by interactions with other students, five difficulties, and collectible notes with hints and ghost stories. The puzzles are randomized, so the game doesn't lose its appeal on replay.

10 Hide And Shriek

Fun & Competitive Jumpscare Based Multiplayer Horror

Hide and Shriek is an online PvP horror game. Playing as magic students sneaking into school, players must attempt to gather the most points in order to win. Points can be earned by collecting and casting runes to set traps that jumpscare the other player or plunge them into darkness.

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Players can also return orbs to their respective podium to complete a ritual, but this will reveal their location, leaving them open to being caught by their opponent. With a Halloween backdrop, Hide and Shriek is a fun free-to-play horror experience to tackle with friends.

9 Corpse Party (2021)

A Very Gruesome 16-bit Exploration Horror

Corpse Party begins with a group of friends telling scary stories at school after dark on their last day together. After completing the "Sachiko Ever After" ritual, the ground opens up, and they find themselves in the cursed Heavenly Host Elementary School, full of dead students and vengeful spirits.

The player must find their friends and escape by exploring the school and solving puzzles. Much of the horror comes from the narrative and atmosphere rather than directly from scares. There are five well paced chapters in the main storyline, 16 bonus chapters, and multiple endings, as well as collectibles. Corpse Party is a dark and explicit game, not to be played by those with weak stomachs.

8 Detention

Puzzle-Based Horror With A Touching Story

• Top Critic Rating: 81

Detention is set in 1960s Taiwan, and follows students Wei and Rey, who find themselves trapped at Greenwood High School after falling asleep and waking to a typhoon warning. As they decide to camp at the school and split up to find supplies, the school transforms into an otherworldly reality, and they must try to escape.

Detention has a grim and moody atmosphere with a unique hand drawn, grainy aesthetic, reflecting the unraveling tragic story under a backdrop of persecution and oppression. The player follows Rey as she comes to terms with her past in a series of haunting encounters with Taiwanese spirits and point and click puzzles that make up the bulk of the game.

7 Harthorn

A Very Creepy Security Guard Simulator

In Harthorn, the player takes on the role of a newbie security guard. After being called to investigate when an alarm goes off at the school, they must follow clues to find who or what caused it. Guided by a dispatcher, April, the player will discover whether the rumors about the abandoned basement are true.

While this game has a lot of clichés, like mannequin jumpscares and keys in obscure locations, these are addressed in dialogue which makes the events feel more realistic. Overall, Hawthorn has a great story, setting, and sound design, with puzzles that aren't too complex, making it great for casual or entry-level horror gamers.

6 Lunch Lady

Co-Op Horror Game With Extremely Tense Gameplay

• Steam User Rating: 87%

In Lunch Lady, the player is a student who has broken into school after hours to find and steal ten pages of test answers in order to cheat on their final exams. However, they are not the only one roaming the halls, as they are being hunted down by the grotesque frying pan-wielding lunch lady.

While the stealth find-and-collect horror game formula is not uncommon, this game has a variety of unique features. Items (med-kits, pages, and keys) spawn in different places on every playthrough, and there is a leveling system to unlock new characters. Lunch Lady can also be played with up to three other players.

5 Doki Doki Literature Club!

Deceptively Innocent Looking Visual Novel

• Top Critic Rating: 87

Doki Doki Literature Club! Is a visual novel slash dating simulator that disguises a much more sinister narrative. The game follows a high school student who has been persuaded to join a literature club, with the chance to romance one of three characters. When tragedy strikes at the end of Act 1, the game reveals its true nature as a psychological horror.

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Despite its cute marketing, DDLC! Has a disturbing, gradually unfolding plot, filled with unexpected twists. The player can make different choices and replay to alter the outcome of the game. However, not every decision has a good consequence. The meta references, uncanny sound design, and dark themes contribute to an extremely unsettling experience with plenty of underlying social commentaries.

4 The Classrooms

Backrooms-Inspired Found Footage Experience

The Classrooms is a found-footage horror game inspired by the backrooms Creepypasta and SCP Containment Breach. The player takes on the role of Robert, investigating the disappearance of his sister and other students. However, upon entering the school, he is met with endless, inescapable classrooms and corridors that are full of dangers.

This game can pick up on mic activity, with loud real-world noises alerting the terrifying roaming entities, a mechanic which can be a hindrance or a help depending on the player's strategy. The layout of the school is also randomly generated for a unique experience every time, giving The Classrooms great replay value.

3 Saiko No Sutoka

A Genuinely Terrifying Find-And-Use-Object Style Game

Saiko No Sutoka is a survival horror game. Waking up in school after being drugged and tied up by Saiko, the player (as Akira) must find items to obtain the key and escape. The game is based on the Japanese archetype of "yandere" where the character is so in love they become violent and obsessive. As such, Saiko switches between hostile and friendly throughout.

Despite being a relatively simple object finding concept, the relentless unpredictable behavior of Saiko is terrifying compared to the likes of Granny or Hello Neighbor, especially as the player can only run or hide. Depending on the difficulty chosen, the player can reveal different story elements and endings.

2 Kindergarten

A Dark Pixel Horror Game With Multiple Story Paths

Kindergarten is an adventure puzzle game that, despite the pixel graphics, has some very disturbing scenes. The player controls a student in Kindergarten, completing missions or storylines for each character in order to unlock items and get hints in the form of "monstermon cards". With each Monday they will uncover the dark motives of students and staff, and piece together what happened to the missing student, Billy.

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By  Harry Ted Sprinks

This game can be time-consuming, and potentially frustrating, having to repeatedly restart to figure out the many pathways and combinations of events to progress. However, Kindergarten is perfect for gamers who love problem-solving, offering a rewarding and brain-exercising gameplay experience without too much hand-holding.