It’s October, and many gamers will play or stream horror games to celebrate the Halloween season. Pumpkins have been carved, and decorations of skeletons and spiders are draped over lawns across the country–so why not get festive and play spooky games? The horror genre appears clear cut from a distance, but when I saw Xbox Game Pass’ “Shocktober” list, I was surprised by a few there such as Batman: Arkham Knight, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, Hollow Knight, and What Remains of Edith Finch.

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What is “horror”? Its simplest definition could be seen as generating the feeling of fear. We can see how titles such as Resident Evil 7, Silent Hill, Dead Space, and The Medium easily fall into this bucket. However, I do appreciate that the “Shocktober” list included games that aren’t…