what scares you?

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Mostly sounds and general atmosphere. Seeing a glimpse of the monster in the distance or hearing it walk past my hiding spot...stuff like that. Also, very rare(!) jumpscares (please no pointless ones like flying jesus ) with long sections of atmospheric buildup inbetween them.
Constantly expecting something to happen without having it actually happen can really drive me crazy...
I'm also quite easily scared by claustrophobic environments. Narrow corridors with a lot of bends or rooms with a lot of stuff that's blocking my view and dark corners where something could be hiding are way scarier than big, empty halls.

Good, moody lighting also helps a lot. Pure, pitch-black darkness isn't always the best choice for horror but an interesting contrast between light and dark areas is. A dim boxlight can also create this nice effect of mistaking distant silhouettes of harmless objects for something scary!


On the other hand what quickly kills the scaryness for me are:

1. Seeing the monster face-to-face or, even worse, being forced to exploit its AI flaws to escape. Because, let's face it - Amnesia monsters are actually rather derpy once you "get to know them".

2. Being killed often - a section that I've played before isn't scary anymore when I have to replay it for the third time.

3. Unfairness - being insta-killed by a monster that was hiding in a cupboard or walking into a dead end and having a monster spawn behind me isn't scary, it's just annoying. If you want me to immerse myself, you have to at least give me a chance to "play along" and flee or hide from the threat.

4. A ridiculous, grammar mistake- and typo-ridden or just lazily written story. I'd rather have no story at all than read notes containing what I can only classify as kindergarden-level writing - it totally kills the horror atmosphere.

Hope the feedback helps and good luck with your project!