Complimented on the cobwebs, skeletal remains and general stench of death in my flat the other day, I suddenly remembered it was Halloween this week, so here's another nostalgic slideshow to celebrate.

This time it's a collection of 20 pant-cacking games, titles that raised the hair on the back of our necks or at least raised the bar somewhat in the genre as a whole.

Here, we've only included what we think to be the most frightening game in a franchise, hence the omission of the original Resident Evil in favour of its spine-tingling sequel, for example.

And of course, we can't get them all in. Those who remember the likes of Chiller and Terror House in the 1980s will surely agree that for once, things aren't always better in the olden days.

If you exclude the naughties trend of confusing horror with gore, titles nowadays have far more sweaty palm potential. This year's petrifying free indie game Slender, shows that realism and impressive graphics aren't always the reason, either.

Here's 20 creepy titles from the last few decades for you to sink your vampire teeth into tonight. If you have the guts, of course. ®

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