What is ‘More Scary Wallpaper Please’?
MSWPlz is a series of blog posts analysing the audio in Horror Games and Horror Films. I am a huge fan of the horror genre, and an audio nut. Audio is such a crucial element in horror which often makes or breaks a narrative. When done well, the narrative often follows you out of the screen through the experience of audio. This experience stays with you whether you’re conscious of it or not, in my opinion. You have survived the tale.
Why Scary Wallpaper?
This is a reference from the film ‘The Haunting’ (1963), specifically this creepy scene where the focus was on the wallpaper. The scene itself is really subtle with lights dimming over it and plays with the shadows made by the texture on the wall. What really upped the creep factor was the audio and how your mind starts fearing the unknown. What is behind the wall and making the noise? Why are we forced to focused on the wallpaper? The shadows looks like a face in the wallpaper, but it’s only wallpaper…or is it? This questioning and fear of the unknown doesn’t rely on jump scares and this is the kind of fear which I love! Also who knew that wallpaper would be so scary. Jump scares have been overused a lot in the horror medium recently, so I would generally like More Scary Wallpaper Plz.
BTW, SPOILERS / CONTENT WARNING
Just in case I haven’t made this clear, my analysis will contain A LOT of spoilers. If you desperately want to avoid spoilers to a game or film then proceed no further!
Content warnings always go hand in hand with horror. I’ll try my best to keep things objective and not show or describe anything over the top. However this may become impossible when I analyse certain games or films. Please look out for m warning tags before continuing if there are certain topics that make you uncomfortable.
Why do you sometimes stand still during games / why do you keep doing certain actions in games?
I would’ve most likely heard something interesting in the audio and wanted to just focus on listening to it.
If I repeat an action (opening and closing doors or running up and down a hallway multiple times) it’s most likely because I was listening to the audio transitions and/or the variables in the audio.
Thoughts / Comments / Suggestions / Hashtags?
Absolutely! You can contact me here:
Email: hello@JDWasabi.com
Twitter: @JDWasabi
Twitter #: #mswplz
I’m always open to suggestions, so feel free to drop me a message! I’ll do my best to watch the #MSWPlz hashtag too.
That’s it! For now…
I’ll probably think up of more general things to write when they come up. I hope you enjoy my ramblings either way!
-Jade