Things that would have made Amnesia scarier

[Peanuckle]

I'd like to build on a few ideas I read in this thread.

Having a monster peek through the door to try to see you would be unnerving, but it could be even better. You're in the prisons, and a monster starts chasing you. If you go into a room with a wooden door, it bashes it down and kills you. However, there's a metal door that you can close and lock behind you. The monster bangs and claws at the door to no effect, and then tries pushing his claws through the grate. No luck.

So the player watches as the monster walks into the dark cell across the hall, and stops moving. It is now invisible, except for two tiny spots of light that mark its eyes as it watches your cell door, waiting for you to open it. Occasionally the dots move, blink in and out of sight, then disappear altogether. After a few seconds for the player to feel safe, the dots appear again, peeking around the corner as if playing hide and seek. If the player rustles the door in any way, the monster leaps out and slams into the door, trying to gut the player again. After failing this time, it walks away for real.

Would have to be a scripted event, but goddamn if it wouldn't wet a few pants.

Second one: The chained monster with the loot item near him, then you have to escape before he frees himself. Wonderful stuff, it'd be even better for a "time attack" kind of event. The monster's chains are loosened by the collapse, and with a loud "ping" he frees one arm. Player starts throwing rocks around trying to clear the exit, while monster rips at restraints. Each time he gets one loose, there's another ping and the music gets more intense. The debris should be thick enough so that the player can't remove it all before all but one restraint is removed, and more often than not the monster gets free just as the last rock is moved.

So scary it's delicious.