midwinter spooktacular

It's spooky season!!! (I would argue)

Dec 23, 2025

We all know October as the official Spooky Szn™ because of Halloween and because the days get shorter, but is it the spookiest season? If you’re in the northern hemisphere like I am, the shortest day and therefore longest and darkest night of the year is in December. It’s also cold out, which is spooky, and it’s a time for self reflection, which can be downright terrifying.1 Some of my favorite films are winter horrors like The Shining and Black Swan. It’s also the season of Krampus! And the season to send a series of ghosts to disturb capitalists in the night!

I declare myself the winner of this debate, but as a consolation prize, I’m happy to offer you the following list of some spooky-ass games to give you something to do until it warms up again in 5 months. Maybe you’re going through a dark night of the soul but don’t feel like playing Dark Souls. Ergo, you need

some mystery/puzzle games with a paranormal twist

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (2010, remastered 2023)

Nintendo DS, mobile, Switch, PS4, Windows, XBOX One

Screencapture from Ghost Trick. A blue hitman with a rifle shouts "Who's there?" after being startled by a ghost trick.

From genius Shu Takumi, creator of Ace Attorney series and director of the first four games. Obviously, this is the paragon of the genre. You play as a recently deceased ghost who has the special power of doing ghost tricks - you can possess and manipulate objects! Which is great, because you’ve lost your memories, so you will need this skill and more if you want to be able to solve your own murder. I don’t want to say anything else because the less you know going into this, the better. I laughed, I cried, the soundtrack slaps. The ghost trick mechanic does get a little repetitive at times, but Shu Takumi is a master of telling complex and compelling stories that require the video game medium in order to do them justice. I promise it’s worth it.

Jenny LeClue: Detectivu (2019)

PC, iOS, Switch

Jenny LeClue, a redheaded girl with glasses, and a dialogue box that reads "Gasp! Perfect pitch?! The hallmark of a serial killer!"

An important caveat: if you want a game to have a satisfying ending, give this one a miss. I try to avoid spoilers for the most part, but I don’t think it’s fair to not warn you about that part. It ends on a cliffhanger, and I haven’t heard any sequel news yet, although everyone is absolutely rabid for one. Besides all that, this game is a really imaginative and well-told point-and-click narrative that tells the story of an author who is writing the latest installment in his book series about youth detective Jenny LeClue, but with a mandate to make the next book grittier and darker or the series will be cancelled. So he writes a murder. I don’t actually think there’s any ghost shit in this one? But I remember it being sort of science fiction-y enough that I’m going to include it on the list.

The Darkside Detective (2017)

PC, iOS, Switch, PS 4&5, XBOX

Pixel-art nighttime scene in the rain outside a house. A uniformed police officer stands on the left, and a detective in a brown coat stands near a police car with flashing red-and-blue lights on the right. The front door of the house is centered behind them. A dialogue box at the top shows a portrait labeled “Officer Dooley” with the text: “After you, Detective. You know, whenever standing in this rain stops being fun for you…”

This game has never and will never take itself seriously, and I respect that. It’s a fun point-and-click pixel art game that constantly breaks the fourth wall. You play as Detective Francis McQueen, head of the Darkside Division, which investigates crimes related to the Darkside, a kind of netherworld reflection of the real world. Along with partner Dooley, you solve all kinds of short, lighthearted cases that draw heavily on pop culture references and satire. I went into this game knowing almost nothing about it, so that’s all I’m giving you for now.

Nelson Tethers: Puzzle Agent (2010)

and Puzzle Agent 2 (2011) - PC, iOS, PS3

Cartoon-style scene of a detective in a long brown coat and winter hat standing in the snow beside a damaged wooden fence. The fence boards are broken and chewed, with splintered wood visible. The detective holds a phone or radio and speaks in a speech bubble that reads: “Discovered a fence. Board’s all chewed up. Something terrible.”

I played this game (and its sequel, which I’ll bundle together with this one since it’s a continuation of the story) a few years ago, so my memory of it is not the sharpest. It is more grounded in reality than most of the entries on this list (which isn’t saying much), but I remember there being some freaky shit with gnomes, so it deserves its place. You play as Nelson Tethers, a simple 2D FBI agent from the Puzzle Research Division on his first field assignment, solving lots of plot-integrated puzzles along the way. Puzzles are wrapped in the story following the Professor Layton school of thought but feel a bit less shoehorned here. The Minnesota accents are premium and there is, of course, hot dish! For fans of Fargo, Twin Peaks, and the episode of Psych where they do the Twin Peaks thing.

Nancy Drew: The Haunting of Castle Malloy (2008)

Windows

"A man with a cap and vest stands behind a wooden door with a lion-shaped knocker, gesturing with his hand. He says, 'The wedding's been called off. So go on back to where you come from.'"

Nancy Drew games famously are not paranormal because even the really spooky ones (Curse of Blackmoor Manor, Shadow at the Water’s Edge, Ghost of Thornton Hall)2 have explanations for any of the freakier goings-on. Nancy is famously a logical queen who does not believe in ghosts. Arguably, she does not belong on this list at all. However, this game’s plot is so absolutely batshit cuckoo bananas and requires such an intense suspension of disbelief that I have to include it. The “real world explanation” is nothing of the sort. This entry in the series sees Nancy going to visit a never-before-mentioned friend named Kyler at a castle in Ireland. It’s Kyler’s wedding, and Nancy is going to be the Maid of Honor (and is the only bridesmaid, and possibly the only guest; it’s unclear). Kyler’s husband-to-be Matt is missing, but he’s a prankster, so maybe he’s just hiding? Or could it be…a banshee? Play to find out! Plus: World War II technology, sleeping on a cot in a castle with an entire side of it missing, sheep, a fucking JET PACK, playing barmaid at a tavern that does not serve alcohol but does serve more than one mixed drink containing milk. And more!

The Room Three (2015)

Mobile, Windows

Dimly lit, atmospheric room viewed from inside, looking out through a large bay window at night. Red curtains frame the window, and outside a tall lighthouse glows against a starry sky. On the windowsill and desk are stacks of old books, loose papers, and a mechanical puzzle device with metal parts and cables. The glass panes are cracked in places, adding a mysterious, eerie mood, and subtle game interface elements appear along the edges of the screen.

The beloved puzzle box game is back! I think my favorite installment in the Room series is the original, but the third one is longer and has all sorts of Eldritch weirdness. It’s kind of a cheat to include this one because I’m going to insist you play the preceding two first, so I’m really including all three. This one has multiple endings, and you know I sat there and repeated the ending until I got all of them and started to hate the game.

Master Detective Archives: RAIN CODE (2023)

Switch, PS5, Xbox X/S, Windows

"A character named Yuma Kokohead, wearing a blue hat and cape, stands in a futuristic city street with neon lights. Yuma is speaking to a person in a dark jacket, asking, 'Pardon me, but it seems like something happened at the clocktower. Do you know anything about it?'" — Looks like there’s blood…on this clocktower **puts on aviators** YEEEAAAAAHHHHHH

From the people who brought you teenage murderfest Danganronpa comes MDA: RAIN CODE, a fully voice-acted and visually nauseating take on the investigation/high-speed deduction genre (also known as the best genre). You play as Yuma Kokohead3, who has amnesia because every single game I play has a character who has amnesia. In this universe, Master Detectives each have a “Forensic Forte”, which can range from being able to talk to animals to disguise to the extremely shitty and useless power of being able to project, from memory, an image onto a piece of technology such as phone, but the image only lasts a few minutes, when just having a phone is probably better. You, as Yuma, travel to the isolated Kanai Ward as a master detective-in-training to uncover a sinister secret and solve murders with the help a death god named Shinigami4 (they can’t all have cool names like Ryuk, I guess - but never fear! This game also has all your favorite hits, including characters named Zange Eraser, Halara Nightmare, and Yomi Hellsmile).5

This particular take on the format sees some side quests and plot stuff, followed by a murder and subsequent investigation (and getting to use your fellow detectives’ Forensic Fortes in different ways each time) and then traveling to the Mystery Labyrinth to work out the truth of the case. I started playing this game immediately after turning in my first promotion portfolio and while having Covid. The whole experience was a fever dream. I highly recommend it, minus the having Covid.

even more mystery/puzzle games with a paranormal twist

I would love to recommend these games to you, but I can’t because they’re still in my backlog, eagerly awaiting to be played. I am adding them here because I think they’re going to be good but have absolutely no way of backing this up.

The Darkside Detective: A Fumble in the Dark6
The Darkside Detective: Backside of the Moon7
The Seance of Blake Manor
Foolish Mortals

What’s your go-to spooky game? And if I don’t talk to you before then, have a happy new year!

I don’t really mean this. The other side of me, the woo-woo one, is meditating on a tarot card pull right now

These games I listed are also infinitely better than the one I am ultimately recommending

A name that really says, “this guy fucks”

I know, I know. But how many monotheistic religions just call their god “God”?

These names remind me of a very specific time in MySpace history - and please please someone tell me you remember this - where all the scene queens had display names like Mariana Mayhem™ and Davey Diabolical™ and Kassie Konniption™

This one is currently in progress and I am enjoying it, so I can maybe half back it up

This was announced, like, 45 seconds ago, but I’m willing to take the gamble

phair-weather friend

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