History NightmareFuel / SonicTheHedgehog

** Fall down the drain during that boss battle, and Sonic falls to an area where he is hanging mere feet from a lava cauldron by a chain. The game gives you no instruction on how to escape the trap, so if you haven't encountered it before or read a guide before-hand, you're forced to figure out the right button combination in a high-stress situation, hoping you don't make the wrong move, all before the 5 second countdown expires.

* Death by getting crushed is one of the most common and feared ways of dying after drowning, due to the fact that ''nothing'' protects against it. You can be Super Sonic with 300 Rings remaining and still be paranoid around platforming sections because something could unexpectedly come down upon you or a moving platform you're on could push you up into the ceiling or a bed of upside-down spikes.

* The Tails Doll. Even though fans "made him creepy," an UncannyValley CreepyDoll based off Tails that has a '''''''BLOOD-RED''''''' gem dangling over his head is rather creepy enough already.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/tails_doll77_0.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[CreepyDoll The face that launched a million horror stories...]]]]

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/evilmetalsonicmi4.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''"[[VideoGame/SonicHeroes See me as I am]], [[MechanicalAbomination no longer afraid of anything...]]"'']]

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fan Works]]
* ''Sonic 2: Long Version'' has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaQvhLnBLmY Genocide City Zone]], a dark gloomy city with a FacelessEye cloud looming over it, and [[DeadGuyOnDisplay chained skeletons hanging from the ceiling]] that look like rotten corpses with their brown rags. At least the original soundtrack of the game is kept, so the music works as a NightmareRetardant.
* [[Webcomic/SonicTheComicOnline The online continuation]] of ''ComicBook/SonicTheComic'' by the original writers shows what happened to Robotnik after the ''Sonic Adventure'' adaptation — reduced to a drooling madman who is said to "rarely sleep" and is focused entirely on revenge on Sonic. And as of #250, [[spoiler:he's been [[http://www.stconline.co.uk/250/comics/comic114_sml.jpg wired into a Drakon war computer]], speaking through a synthesiser, and it only ''partially restored his sanity'']].
-->[[spoiler:'''Robotnik:''' The Drakons found me a broken shell, but then they placed me in this machine. [[WetwareCPU My brain is the control chip of a vast supercomputer.]] On a whim, I can direct millions of my robots to attack wherever I choose. All that they see, I now see.]]
* ''VideoGame/SonicExe'' started as an urban legend of an unreleased Sonic game on the UsefulNotes/SegaCD that was possessed by some demonic force which caused the game to change into a hellscape, with Sonic having [[BlackEyesOfCrazy black eyes and red pupils]] that bled and a SlasherSmile. Of course, fan games and ROM hacks based on this urban legend were made, each one more nightmarish than the last.
** One in particular is ''[[BlatantLies An Ordinary Sonic ROM Hack]]''. The game begins like normal until you push start and the title screen is replaced with a more nightmarish version. The actual gameplay remains unaltered until [[ThirteenIsUnlucky thirteen seconds]] pass, then the zone you're in transforms into something more akin to hell, with immortal enemies and rings that actually reduce your ring count. After a while, an evil Sonic doppelganger appears and chases Sonic, accompanied by [[HellIsThatNoise an off-key version of the drowning theme]], and if he catches you, you die. If the player gets a GameOver, the game returns to the Sega logo... until a digitized render of the "I AM GOD" picture appears with a distorted version of the Sega voice. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThSpW33w2gA Witness the horror for yourself.]]
---> '''''[[AGodAmI I AM GOD]]'''''
* ''Sonic Gather Battle'' (otherwise a pretty solid BeatEmUp) is frightening on two levels, the first important one being that the game is malware. When installed and launched, the game's DRM will send information about the player's computer to a remote server and monitor for either cheat engines or searches for cheats in a browser. If it detects either a cheat engine or searches for cheats, the DRM will interfere with the game in a nightmarish fashion: either changing the backgrounds to black and blue and adding red ghost enemies that render the game difficult to play, or changing the background red and adding creepy eyes before frightening ghosts invade the screen, followed by a "YOU DIED" screen. All this for the stupidest of reasons: the game's creator was paranoid about people stealing his sprite edits ([[EpicFail it didn't work]]). The game has since been discontinued, all official download links are now dead (other download mirrors exist, but should be avoided), and the game has been rendered unplayable to everyone regardless of whether they did anything to trigger the DRM. The DRM's frightening effects [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFeYQXDSHJ0 have been recorded for posterity,]] and the developer has been permanently banned from all future Sonic Amateur Game Expos.
* Metal Sonic is a creepy character when you think about him. How do you make him worse? Well, there's one fan theory as to why Metal Sonic remains Robotnik's greatest challenge to Sonic: It's because Metal Sonic is no robot, but actually a time-traveling, [[UnwillingRoboticisation roboticized]] Sonic from the BadFuture seen on Little Planet. That's an unnerving idea in itself, that Sonic's deadliest rival is actually a FallenHero version of himself from an alternate timeline, but it gets worse: This same theory postulates that Metal Sonic is trapped in an AndIMustScream situation, with his consciousness locked away amongst the programming, aware of his actions but unable to control himself... Worse still, being stranded in this alternate timeline with a doppelganger of himself may be driving him insane, and his hatred of Sonic is now less a matter of programming, and more a broken, twisted mind struggling to deal with a situation it can't handle. There's a video on the theory [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtgDdLqCZCg here]], which really highlights just how unsettling it is.
** Said video also theorizes that Metal Sonic's plan in ''VideoGame/SonicHeroes'' is a direct result of this origin, pointing to the line from the boss battle where Neo Metal Sonic makes a point of declaring he's "no longer afraid of anything." This is a strange thing for a seemingly emotionless robot to say, but makes perfect sense for the theoretical roboticised alternate Sonic. The video also theorizes that his declaration of becoming a "robot overlord ruling over a robot kingdom" is a twisted form of acceptance of what happened to him — he won't be alone if he inflicts his fate on others...
--->'''The Sega Scourge:''' "Some would say that this sounds far too inherently villainous for something Sonic the Hedgehog would do. I see nothing villainous about it. What I see is acceptance of fear, heartache, and alienation. I mean, if everyone's a robot, Metal Sonic would no longer be alone, would he?"
** This theory would also recontextualize certain aspects of Metal Sonic's SanitySlippage in ''Heroes'', such as Metal calling Sonic ''[[RobotMe his]]'' "loathsome copy" [[{{Doublethink}} while simultaneously acknowledging]] [[EvilKnockoff how he was created to defeat Sonic]] and his VillainousBreakdown including Metal furiously screaming that he's the "real" Sonic. If true, Metal really doesn't have as many screws loose as we're led to believe -- he ''is'' the real deal and he ''was'' [[UnwillingRoboticisation "created"]] to defeat ([[AlternateSelf another version of]]) himself.
** [[Music/BlackSabbath So Sonic was turned to steel by a great magnetic field?]]
* [[https://www.deviantart.com/segamew This Sonic fan artist]] had the idea of creating an AU in which Modern and Classic Sonic are separate entities (surprisingly though, this is not thanks to ''Generations'' — many of her artworks of this AU were posted in 2009) and are aware of themselves as video game characters and SEGA's mascots. As a result of the harsh backlash against Modern Sonic and the tensions between SEGA and the fanbase, Modern suffers from a severe breakdown and lashes out at Classic Sonic, [[https://www.deviantart.com/segamew/art/Classic-Sonic-gets-a-Beating-109938509 subjecting the]] [[https://www.deviantart.com/segamew/art/What-happened-to-Good-2D-Sonic-109841820 poor hedgehog to]] [[https://www.deviantart.com/segamew/art/Why-Do-you-Hurt-Classic-Sonic-109956327 bloody violence and abuse.]]
** It's also a TearJerker because Modern Sonic's [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness behaviour]] and his venting on little [[KickTheDog Classic Sonic]] provides an insight into a situation that could very much have happened between the two.
** Thankfully this is an AU, and ''Generations'' and ''Forces'' have shown that the two Sonics are extremely good friends, with Modern acting as an older brother figure and mentor to Classic.
* Doubling as a funny moment, [[https://www.deviantart.com/bonus-kun/art/Sonic-s-Eye-Infection-98655916 this comic]] begins with [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Mario]] noticing Sonic with pink sclera. The plumber assumes that Sonic has an eye infection and advises him to see a doctor (named Ike) carrying some Visine. During this, the hedgehog's eyes start to bulge out slowly until they reveal themselves to be a [[Franchise/{{Kirby}} certain pink puffball]] popping out and greeting the surprised Mario.

* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqR23N_2AQA#t=1m25s this level,]] the music is disturbing enough, but the painful screech sound Scorpius makes is way too fitting.

* Sonic's DeathThrows are a lot creepier, with Sonic even letting out a distorted scream as he flies off the screen.
** Distorted Scream? That's Robotnik ''laughing'' as Sonic is killed! You hear the same laugh if you lose all 3 balls in the between-stage bonus games.

[[folder:''Sonic Generations'']]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/time_eater_master_of_time_and_space_by_nibroc_rock_d9bd24b.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Happy Birthday, Sonic, hope that age doesn't slow you down now...]]

* The Time Eater kidnapping Eggman after the Death Egg Robot boss fight. Hearing Eggman begging Sonic to save him doesn't help at all.
* The appearance of the [[EldritchAbomination Time Eater]]. We find out that [[spoiler:it's actually an [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch]] [[TimeMachine Time-Destroying Mecha]] found and utilized by Dr. Eggman of the future right after his recent defeat from ''Sonic Colors'']]. Even worse, when Eggman explains how he found the Time Eater, [[spoiler:the player is shown gray scale images that show the rotund scientist discovering said monster in deep space with Orbot and Cubot, as his is their fate at the end of ''Sonic Colors'']]. However, once Eggman sees the Time Eater, he goes after it on his own, [[spoiler:leaving Orbot and Cubot in deep space forever]].
** Despite this, the robot duo somehow manages to return to Earth.
* The gate to the FinalBoss fight with the Time Eater looks huge and daunting, [[NothingIsScarier the music stops when you're around it, and until you insert all seven Emeralds, it's completely silent]].
* The implications that Sonic's friends may actually be self-aware while petrified: According to Tails, when he was petrified, [[AndIMustScream he felt like he was helplessly floating in a limbo without a body.]] Tails even says he's going to have nightmares from it, and we can't blame him.
** If that doesn't convince you, also consider [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzGkcv8TcuI#t=1m12s Cream's line]] if you complete Speed Highway with Modern Sonic.
--->'''Cream:''' Thanks for saving me, Sonic. (''shudders and gives a sad look to Cheese'') It was scary in the dark but I tried to be brave.
* The newly designed [[VideoGame/SonicAdventure2 GUN military truck]]. After exploring the high-def redesign of City Escape, a player who hasn't seen previews would expect the truck to simply drive down a hill at reasonable speed like the original, [[spoiler:but now it is much bigger, faster, and equipped with three gigantic saw blades and rocket boosters, with the worst regard to human safety, as it proceeds to smash through a building quickly. As for all those cars that were just knocked about, they explode upon touch.]]
** It's also pretty frightening during the Classic Stages. It skirts the line of the SlidingScaleOfComedyAndHorror, where its sporadic slamming into walls, crashing into you and anything else around you, actually smashing and [[SquashedFlat flattening]] you against the wall if you aren't careful, and trying to drive into a wall while you're not even there is either terrifying or hilarious.
[[/folder]]

* Sonic's initial design for [[Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020 the 2020 movie]] was a [[UncannyValley little TOO humanoid]]. Granted he was later made to look cuter, but some merch still uses the old design.

* Super Sonic in ''ComicBook/SonicTheComic''. Unlike in the games where Super Sonic is merely a [[SuperMode superpowered form of Sonic's]], he is Sonic as a [[SuperpoweredEvilSide superpowered sociopath]] who wants nothing more than to kill and torture anything in his path, preferably slowly.

* A lot of Tails's backstory can be considered this. [[AdultFear He has no known family in the game continuity and was constantly bullied in most adaptations. Even after that, Tails was constantly kidnapped, threatened as well as nearly getting killed]] by Robotnik, [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 twi]][[VideoGame/SonicAdventure ce]].

* Doctor Eggman's classic western design. Once an [[https://web.archive.org/web/20181108040326if_/http://eggmanempire.sonicworld.net/downloads/images/official/classic/poses2.gif adorable]] [[https://web.archive.org/web/20071212045720if_/http://eggmanempire.sonicworld.net/downloads/images/official/classic/poses.gif
spherical humanoid]] with traits of [[Music/TheBeatles both eggs and walruses]], his cutesy appearance was changed [[AmericanKirbyIsHardcore when he hit American and European shores]], and he was molded into this [[https://web.archive.org/web/20181108040533if_/http://eggmanempire.sonicworld.net/downloads/images/official/soa/chaosartwork.png much more]] [[https://web.archive.org/web/20071212045438if_/http://eggmanempire.sonicworld.net/downloads/images/official/soa/Spinball_eggman.png menacing creature.]]

* Doctor Eggman's classic western design. Once an [[http://eggmanempire.sonicworld.net/downloads/images/official/classic/poses2.gif adorable]] [[http://eggmanempire.sonicworld.net/downloads/images/official/classic/poses.gif spherical humanoid]] with traits of [[Music/TheBeatles both eggs and walruses]], his cutesy appearance was changed [[AmericanKirbyIsHardcore when he hit American and European shores]], and he was molded into this [[http://eggmanempire.sonicworld.net/downloads/images/official/soa/chaosartwork.png much more]] [[http://eggmanempire.sonicworld.net/downloads/images/official/soa/Spinball_eggman.png menacing creature.]]

* ''Sonic Gather Battle'' is frightening on two levels, the first important one being that the game is malware. When installed and launched, the game's DRM will send information about the player's computer to a remote server and monitor for either cheat engines or searches for cheats in a browser. If it detects either a cheat engine or searches for cheats, the DRM will interfere with the game in a nightmarish fashion: either changing the backgrounds to black and blue and adding red ghost enemies that render the game difficult to play, or changing the background red and adding creepy eyes before frightening ghosts invade the screen, followed by a "YOU DIED" screen. All this for the stupidest of reasons: the game's creator was paranoid about people stealing his sprite edits ([[EpicFail it didn't work]]). The game has since been discontinued, all official download links are now dead (other download mirrors exist, but should be avoided), and the game has been rendered unplayable to everyone regardless of whether they did anything to trigger the DRM. The DRM's frightening effects [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFeYQXDSHJ0 have been recorded for posterity,]] and the developer has been permanently banned from all future Sonic Amateur Game Expos.

* Purple and Violet Wisps. They were once normal Wisps that were captured by Eggman and forced to obey him, and as such were turned into [[https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/sonic/images/f/fe/Wisp_Purple.png/revision/latest/top-crop/width/360/height/450?cb=20110513170335 this]] and [[http://images.wikia.com/sonic/images/b/bb/_Violet.png this.]]

* When you actually reach the final boss of this game, specifically the last robot Robotnik gets in for this particular boss battle, the music that plays can be downright ''disturbing''. What makes it Nightmare Fuel is the oddity and eerie calmness that its sounds make. The atmosphere this creates, after you have probably died several times just to reach this point, is that this calmness is probably what Robotnik feels every time he kills or roboticizes animals for whatever self-serving goal he has in mind. Exacerbated by the fact that the bot's movements are so slow and graceful, the worst part comes when [[spoiler:this is only half of the way the robot moves because then its claws make a jab at whoever you're playing as gracefully but not so slowly. It's clear that Robotnik's got no problem killing who you're playing as cruelly just as he did to countless other animals]]. And it ''is'' very easy to die again at this point.

** This theory would also recontextualize certain aspects of Metal Sonic's SanitySlippage in ''Heroes'', such as Metal calling Sonic ''[[RobotMe his]]'' "loathsome copy" [[{{Doublethink}} while simultaneously acknowledging]] [[EvilKnockoff how he was created to defeat Sonic]] and his VillainousBreakdown including Metal furiously screaming that he's the "real" Sonic. If true, Metal really doesn't have as many screws loose as we're lead to believe -- he ''is'' the real deal and he ''was'' [[UnwillingRoboticisation "created"]] to defeat ([[AlternateSelf another version of]]) himself.

* [[https://web.archive.org/web/20150729030143/http://forums.sega.com/showthread.php?432434-Sonic-Hasn-t-Been-Darker This fan theory]] (see the final post at the bottom of the page) involving Eggman's plan in the game. [[spoiler:Made even worse in that ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' shows it to be '''''absolutely correct'''''.]]