So...where 're all the "Danger is near" music ?

[MrSteve]

I was thinking more about this, and something came to mind.

It also depends on the direction of where you want the player to be in the game.

If the game has music and more specifically 'Monster' music, you're telling a story to the player. What I mean by this, is you have predetermined what they player should experience, or at least predict what the player will experience. There's almost this removal of the free will aspect at that point in the game. We want you to know this portion is danger and thus you're feeding them the environment.

If you have a situation with no music, you are not leading the player to a situation. Yes, you could argue that said monster showing up at a timed point is also telling the game as a sort of story, but at least with no music the reaction would be up to the player to experience at whatever point of discovery.

The lack of music also leaves the player feeling exposed and less supported. There are no que's as to when they should or should not start to tense up on an impending scenario.

Surprise generates a more realistic horror.

Music starting before a baddie turns up in a game is like a horror movie where the bad guy starts stomping his feed on the floor ten seconds before turning up, to let you know they're there. It wouldn't work