History NightmareFuel / FTLFasterThanLight

* The Rebel Fleet is ''always'' advancing towards you, and their encroachment takes the form of an ever-expanding circle that takes over the current sector from left to right; they can claim multiple nodes at a time. Given that you're using the eponymous FasterThanLightTravel, it's implied that they're taking over multiple ''star systems'' every time you jump. That friendly colony of miners you were just helping? That shopkeeper you were just buying vital supplies from? ''Gone'', and in their place is a powerful Elite Fighter with orders to tear your ship to shreds and offers nothing of value besides a single fuel cell. Are the Rebels part-[[Franchise/StarTrek Borg]] or something?

* There is an Out of Fuel event in which a large piece of debris, identified as a derelict Rock frigate, drifts by your ship. If you choose to send an away team to investigate it, one of the possible outcomes is an insane Rockman on the frigate will suddenly appear take one of your crewmembers hostage and demand scrap from you. Should you [[WhatTheHellHero choose]] [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential to]] [[KickTheDog refuse]] and you also happen to have a clone bay, the text will explicitly state that there is no sign of activity in the bay, leaving the fate of the abandoned (but still living) crewmember ambiguous...

* There's an event where you can encounter a Mantis cruiser lined with the dismembered remains of Rockmen. Sure, a bunch of rocks on the hull of a ship might not seem that gory at first, but imagine if it were ''human'' remains instead and you get an idea as to why the blue option for Rock cruisers in response to this event is written as "[[RammingAlwaysWorks Ram]] the '''[[PrecisionFStrike bastards]]'''."

* An event that involves boarding a station going through an epidemic is freaky in itself. Some versions of the event have the stationers breaking under the stress and lynching the leaders of the colony that are trying to save them. You get to see first hand how the end started for those poor people.
* Then there's another disturbing event where you go to a distress beacon for a Federation base. There's no one alive on board the station and the living quarters and only the living quarters have blood stains. There's no mention of what happened to the bodies if they are even still there or the people aboard besides that the Rebels did it. You crew just silently turns off the distress beacon and leave.

* Some of the "uneventful" beacons. There are quite a few beacons where you find abandoned mines and no life signs are detected, with no clues given as to why they're completely empty. And then there's the event where "a rudimentary automated planetary defense system is looping its message into space: "Warning! Quarantine Level 5 in effect under FHA Act 22, article 11.2. Warning! Quarantine Level 5..." - [[NothingIsScarier Just what is going on there?]]

* There's an event where you can encounter a Mantis cruiser lined with the dismembered remains of Rockmen. Sure, a bunch of rocks on the hull of a ship might not seem that gory at first, but imagine if it were ''human'' remains and you get an idea as to why the blue option for Rock cruisers in response to this event is written as "[[RammingAlwaysWorks Ram]] the '''[[PrecisionFStrike bastards]]'''."

* There's an event where you can encounter a Mantis cruiser lined with the dismembered remains of Rockmen. Sure, a bunch of rocks on a ship might not seem that gory at first, but imagine if it were ''human'' remains and you get an idea as to why the blue option for Rock cruisers in response to this event is written as "[[RammingAlwaysWorks Ram]] the '''[[PrecisionFStrike bastards]]'''."

* Some of the "uneventful" beacons. There are quite a few beacons where you find abandoned mines and no life signs are detected, with no clues given as to why they're completely empty. And then there's the event where "a rudimentary automated planetary defense system is looping its message into space: "Warning! Quarantine Level 5 in effect under FHA Act 22, article 11.2. Warning! Quarantine Level 5..." - [[NothingIsScarier Just what is going on there?]]

** Hell, the fact that a similar involves boarding a station going through a similar epidemic is freaky in itself. Some versions of the event have the stationers breaking under the stress and lynching the leaders of the colony that are trying to save them. You get to see first hand how the end started for those poor people.
** Then there's another disturbing event where you go to a distress beacon for a Federation base. There's no one alive on board the station and the living quarters and only the living quarters have blood stains. There's no mention of what happened to the bodies if they are even still there or the people aboard besides that the Rebels did it. You crew just silently turns off the distress beacon and leave.
* The Mantis's sprite resembles that of a spider. Imagine you're just merrily jumping from sector to sector when all of a sudden, the alarms go off and there are six of these insectoid creatures after your blood.
* In an event you can find in Zoltan sectors, one of your crew members undergoes [[RapidAging rapid]] [[FountainOfYouth reverse aging]] until they disappear.
* Nebula sectors can be frightening due to [[NothingIsScarier the empty-sounding explore music]]. With every jump, there comes the risk of enemy ships, which doesn't sound too bad, or a BoardingParty that you may have trouble locating due to your sensors being unusuable. If you aren't paying attention to the narration, the sudden "INTRUDERS DETECTED" warning can come off as a JumpScare. The worst part about boarding parties is that unlike ships, which are marked on the map if you have updated map data or Long-Range Scanners, there's no way of telling if your next jump will dump you into boarder territory.
** Ion Storms can come as a JumpScare by playing the loud thunder noises as soon as you jump into one.
** Slug ships in Slug-controlled nebulas can shut off your oxygen. We hope you like asphixation!

* The event of finding weird horse like creatures. Don't try to sell them to slavery.

* When you fight an enemy ship, the game will reward you with extra loot if you manage to wipe out its crew without destroying it. This normally requires a boarding action and brutal fight to the finish, but [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential there's other options]]:
** Disable or destroy their life support systems and wait as [[CruelAndUnusualDeath all the oxygen leaks out of the air and they suffocate to death]]. This takes an especially horrific aspect if you find yourself [[YankTheDogsChain blasting the oxygen and/or medibay compartments every time your desperate opponents manage -- briefly -- to get them operational again.]]
** [[KillItWithFire Use fire weapons to set fire to their entire ship.]]
*** Combine the two to give the enemy the choice between burning to death or suffocation!
** Lanius can teleport into the enemy O2 bay and start draining oxygen immediately as well as blowing it up. Without an immediate overwhelming attack, this can result in the Lanius standing in an oxygen-deprived O2 room laughing as the enemy crew run around knowing their oxygen will slowly move from room to room and their only chance will be to charge into an airless room to fight a metal man who doesn't need oxygen to survive.
*** Combine that with a Hacking Drone targetting the same O2 bay. Cackle maniacally about the ensuing result.
** The [[PhlebotinumBomb Anti-bio beam]], a weapon that deals damage only to crew, works too. Imagine your comrades at arms suddenly dropping dead around you mid-battle, like puppets with their strings cut.
* ''Advanced Edition'' introduces the Lanius race. What do they do? They not only can survive without oxygen, but they ''absorb it'' from whatever rooms they're in. Their presence on an enemy ship means bye-bye to the victims' air supplies.
* Hacking the medbay doesn't just deactivate it, it hurts anyone who's unlucky enough to be in it at the time. Since hacking a room also seals the doors, anyone in there is probably going to die. Since the medbay works by pumping people full of healing nanomachines, they're going to die a [[DeathOfAThousandCuts death of a trillion cuts]] frantically trying to force a door open as the room that was supposed to heal them tears them apart.
* There was a "Ghost" race and ghosts ships planned, as mentioned on the main ''FTL'' page. The AI that takes over the [[FinalBoss Rebel Flagship]] if you kill off its crew is, by the game's coding, actually an invisible, invincible ghost. One way to interpret it is the ship becoming haunted if you kill off the crew.

* Some of the "uneventful" beacons. There are quite a few beacons where you find abandoned mines and no life signs are detected, with no clues given as to why they're completely empty. And then there's the event where "a rudimentary automated planetary defense system is looping its message into space: "Warning! Quarantine Level 5 in effect under FHA Act 22, article 11.2. Warning! Quarantine Level 5..." - [[NothingIsScarier Just what is going on there?]]
* The Crystal race have a power called lockdown, which surrounds a room in crystals, preventing anyone getting in our out. There is an achievement for doing this to four enemies at once. Its called 'No escape'.
* Using the mind control system on enemies, turning them against their crewmates. Imagine some one you've know for years suddenly trying to kill you. It gets worse with upgrades as those controlled have increased health and damage.
** Combining this with the teleporter allows you to abduct an enemy crew member every 20 seconds. Imagine being taken over, fighting your friends then regaining control, only to find yourself on any enemy ship surrounded by hostile forces.

* Some of the "uneventful" beacons. There are quite a few beacons where you find abandoned mines and no life signs are detected, with no clues given as to why they're completely empty. And then there's the event where "a rudimentary automated planetary defense system is looping its message into space: "Warning! Quarantine Level 5 in effect under FHA Act 22, article 11.2. Warning! Quarantine Level 5..."" - [[NothingIsScarier Just what is going on there?]]

* There was a "Ghost" race and ghosts ships planned, as mentioned on the main ''FTL'' page. The AI that takes over the [[FinalBoss Rebel Flagship]] if you kill of its crew is, by the game's coding, actually an invisible, invincible ghost. One way to interpret it is the ship becoming haunted if you kill off the crew.

*** Combine that with an Hacking Drone targetting the same O2 bay. Cackle maniacally about the ensuing result.

* The Crystal race have a power called lockdown, which surrounds a room in crystals, preventing anyone getting in our out. There is an achievement for doing this to four enemies at once. Its called 'No escape'.

* Some of the "uneventful" beacons. There are quite a few beacons where you find abandoned mines and no life signs are detected, with no clues given as to why they're completely empty. And then there's the event where "a rudimentary automated planetary defense system is looping its message into space: "Warning! Quarantine Level 5 in effect under FHA Act 22, article 11.2. Warning! Quarantine Level 5..."" - [[NothingIsScarier Just what is going on there?]]

* Nebulas sectors can be frightening due to [[NothingIsScarier the empty-sounding explore music]]. With every jump, there comes the risk of enemy ships, which doesn't sound too bad, or a BoardingParty that you may have trouble locating due to your sensors being unusuable. If you aren't paying attention to the narration, the sudden "INTRUDERS DETECTED" warning can come off as a JumpScare. The worst part about boarding parties is that unlike ships, which are marked when you have updated map data or Long-Range Scanners, there's no way of telling if your next jump will dump you into boarder territory.
** Ion Storms can come as a JumpScare by playing the loud thunder noises each time you jump into one.

* The Damaged and Dilapidated Space Station RandomEvent. The whole place is filled with corpses and the stench of death and decay. If you're unlucky, one of your crew members can contract the fatal disease that wiped out the station, and not even a Cloning Bay will save them (An Improved Medbay will, though).

''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight'' is thankfully light on graphic depictions of violence and horror, but it still has its eerie moments.

* For those fighting the Flagship's second phase for the first time, the distinct "'''WARNING''' -- POWER SURGE DETECTED" klaxon gives you that dreadful feeling that something very, ''very'' bad is about to happen to your ship.

-> ''"This was supposed to be for use in Nebulas and other, more creepy areas, but listen to the thing! ''FTL'' is not a psychological horror game, and this track was way too freaky and claustrophobic. Still [[AwesomeMusic pretty cool]], though."''

* For those fighting the Flagship's second phase for the first time, the distinct "'''WARNING''' -- POWER SURGE DETECTED" klaxon gives you [[ThisIsGonnaSuck that dreadful feeling that something very, VERY bad is about to happen to your ship]].

* For those fighting the Flagship's second phase for the first time, the distict "'''WARNING''' -- POWER SURGE DETECTED" klaxon gives you [[ThisIsGonnaSuck that dreadful feeling that something very, VERY bad is about to happen to your ship]].

* There was a "Ghost" race and ghosts ships planned, as mentioned on the main ''FTL'' page. The AI that takes over the [[FinalBoss Rebel Flagship]] if you kill of its crew is, by the game's coding, actually an invisible, invincible ghost. One way to interpret it is the ship becoming haunted if you kill off the crew.

** Use fire weapons to set fire to their entire ship.

*** Combine the two to give the enemy the option between burning to death of suffocation!
** Lanius can teleport into the enemy O2 bay and start draining oxygen immediately & blowing it up. Without an immediate overwhelming attack, this can result in the Lanius standing in an oxygen deprived O2 room laughing as the enemy crew run around knowing their oxygen will slowly move from room to room and their only chance will be to charge into an airless room to fight a metal man who doesn't need oxygen to survive.

* There was a "Ghost" race and ghosts ships planned, as mentioned on the main ''FTL'' page. The AI that takes over the [[FinalBoss Rebel Flagship]] if you kill of its crew is, by the game's coding, actually an invisible, invincible ghost.

* Hacking the medbay doesn't just deactivate it, it hurts anyone who's unlucky enough to be in it at the time. Since hacking a room also seals the doors, anyone in there is probably going to die. Since the medbay works by pumping people full of healing nanomachines, they're going to die a [[DeathOfAThousandCuts death of a trillion cuts]] frantically trying to force a door open as the room that was supposed to heal them tears them apart.