Weapons or no weapons in horror games?

[Cranky Old Man]

I'm not American, so I don't own a gun, so I can't relate to protagonists that use guns. The closer I can relate to my character, the more immersed I can be in the game. I prefer a silent protagonist too.
...but I guess I'm a dying breed.

This is an interesting perspective; out of curiosity, would you consider yourself able to relate to a protagonist with something like a cricket bat or pipe for a weapon?

Well, I do own a bat to keep intruders away, but I don't have any experience with actually using it, so I can't relate to that, but it's much better than shooting guns. It's less alien to me.
...but there's also the reason that being armed in any way, means that you're much less vulnerable, and you focus on if you can fight instead of fleeing and hiding. It just isn't horror for me. Horror and fighting are on the complete opposite sides of the gaming genre spectrum.
Also, I feel that if PewDiePie can screw around with a horror game, then it just isn't dangerous ENOUGH.
I would like to see instant deaths if you miss cues. The robot banging on the door in the beginning of SOMA is a start, but even more subtle warnings should lead to death as punishment, so that these LPers need to THINK about what they're doing.
For instance,
(SOMA spoilers: )

Spoiler below!

it would have been great if the abyss spider tunnels had a giant MOTHER spider that rushed out from the darkness and ate you, if you strayed from the glowstick lit path. ...or maybe the tunnel could open up into a large cavern FULL of small spiders, and at the back of THAT cave the mother spider could be, so that it chasing you up and killing you wouldn't be a sudden jump scare.

...or if you listened carefully next to doors, you could hear faint steps of a monster on the other side, in which case you wouldn't open it.
...or maybe you would need to stay away from visibly contaminated areas, because those areas could indicate monsters. ...or stay away from door openings with blood leading into it.
If you pay attention to things that spell danger in real life, then the game would actually require SENSE from the player. It could be a new player skill, and avoiding these paths would at the same time toy with the players imagination, since he wouldn't get to see what would have lurked there if he stayed away from it.
That's a good alternative to weapons: Make these games MORE challenging - not easier.