Happy Goat Horror

Ghosts and technology are two things that maybe don’t quite go together – it’s no coincidence that the golden age of the ghost story happened at a time of burgeoning developments rather than the full-blown, ubiquitous world of tech that we live in right now. In the world of supernatural fiction, phones, computers and the internet can be anathema to the haunting qualities and sense of isolation we want our characters to experience. Efforts to meld the two together in film and books have presented mixed
success, and for every Ringu we seem to have a handful of duds alongside.

However one area where ghosts and technology marry together well is the realm of video games, and there have been many impeccably spooky entries over the years. If you’re a gamer you might already be familiar with great titles like Fatal Frame, F.E.A.R and Phasmaphobia bringing supernatural dread to your consoles of choice. A bit more comical, perhaps, but I’ve also always loved the Luigi’s Mansion games too – though you won’t find many hardcore scares there.

But for today I want to talk about a game that became a ghost in itself, something that threatened to take shape but left us with the barest hint and suggestion of its existence – I’m talking, of course, about P.T.

If this is new to you, P.T. was released in 2014 on PlayStation 4 as a playable demo, and quite literally an abbreviation of ‘Playable Teaser’. This was a taster for a new instalment in the acclaimed Silent Hill series, which was to be called Silent Hills. And the crew behind this one was very notable, with gaming legend Hideo Kojima (Metal Gear Solid) pairing up with none other than Guillermo Del Toro on the creative side, along with Norman Reedus depicting the protagonist within the demo. When this one came out, I was buzzing, having played many of the Silent Hill games in the past, and I certainly wasn’t alone on this one. The demo was downloaded a million times in its first month, which obviously built plenty of anticipation.

The demo itself is a masterclass in unease and ghostly dread, with you as the protagonist wandering the same series of haunted corridors a number of times, with subtle and not-so-subtle changes each time around. There are dark stories of homicide on the radio, a crying foetus laying in a ruined sink, not to mention a terrifying apparition that haunts many of your ongoing circles around the spooky tenement. There is a sense of things being connected, and the game leans far more on mood and atmosphere than it does the jumpscares that so often inhabit the video game medium. The play experience is not long, but left a deep impression with those who experienced it for sure. And yes, I am deliberately not giving you lots of details and I don’t want to spoil the experience!

Silent Hills was initially due for release in 2015, but due to a falling out between Hideo Kojima and Konami Studios the full version would never see the light of day. But its legacy still remains strong, with fan games, fan films and much more remaining behind to testify to the popularity of this truly chilling and haunted experience. The Silent Hill series has moved on, and we did finally get the Kojima, Del Toro and Reedus collaboration in 2019’s epic Death Stranding.

It remains well worth watching a playthrough – check this one out at Silent Hills P.T. Complete Walkthrough with Ending – but P.T. is ultimately an experience that never quite made it to corporeality, and Silent Hills still sits as one of the biggest missed opportunities in video game history – and one of the best examples of ghosts and technology clicking together in perfect harmony.

And we’ll have ghost stories and technology together once more with the latest online running of the UK GHOST STORY FESTIVAL, where we’ll be bringing the spirits to your computer screen with three days of author interviews, talks and workshops. With headline speakers including Delilah S Dawson, Adam S Leslie, Andrew McGrath, Laura Purcell and AC Wise, this is the ideal way to embrace the ghost in the machine!

For more information, and to book tickets, visit UK Ghost Story Festival event tickets from TicketSource.