Halloween is a great time to break out video gaming’s scariest properties and get in on the fun. One game that fits the bill nicely is Fallout 4, with its post-apocalyptic video game world. With just a few mods tacked onto a load order, Fallout 4 can go from eerie and unsettling, to downright terrifying and horrific with just a few clicks.
Many of the mods take advantage of the game’s already bleak world and narrative, and flesh out the horror by introducing ravenous zombies, murderous monsters, and bone-chilling quests. Fallout 4 is the perfect foundation to build a truly frightening game experience.
However, those seeking a hardcore horror experience can take things to the next level by downloading community-made mods that aim to elevate the tension and terror of the title. Adding these dozen-or-so mods could well make for a creepy Halloween playthrough.
Creepy Mannequins
• Download the mod HERE
Mannequins can be pretty unnerving, to begin with, and most are likely familiar with the uncanny valley-inspired terror that comes with unexpectedly encountering something with a distinctly human shape that isn’t actually human. While they aren’t encountered all that commonly throughout Fallout 4, the gam’s mannequins can definitely be eerie.
This mod takes things to a whole other level. With scarred, savagely-stitched bodies and warped, horrendous grins, the red-textured mannequins in this mod are downright nightmare-fule, and coming across them in a dank hall or dark basement would be a very frightening experience, indeed.
No Place Is Safe - Hunted Encounters
In many post-apocalyptic video games and stories, the terrifying creatures that lurk about are only half the threat. The other half comes from human survivors who regress into packs of homicidal antagonists who are willing to do anything it takes to survive. This mod plays upon that very premise, to great effect.
No Place Is Safe is simple in its approach. It causes the various bandits and enemies that inhabit the wasteland to pursue the player relentlessly. Cannibals will hunt them for food and bandits will try to scavenge their dead bodies. This changes the game by ditching random skirmishes in favor of a feeling of constant paranoia and dread, where enemies will actively hunt the player down.
Live Dismemberment
While players and enemies can receive critical wounds to limbs in Fallout 4, the visual component of this mechanic was always somewhat lacking. The Live Dismemberment mod aims to alter this; when the player manages to score a critical shot on an enemy limb with this mod enabled, the targeted limb is totally shattered, and the enemy’s movement is severely impaired.
Dismemberment was technically possible before, though it only applied to a few non-human enemies. Now, every well-placed shot has a chance to bring about an explosion of gore and gibs, and those hoping to add a Texas Chainsaw Massacre flair to their next Fallout 4 playthrough may want to give this mod a shot.
GRIM - The Curse
GRIM is an interesting mod that tries to overhaul Fallout 4 with a heavy dose of horror. The mod is fully customizable so that players can decide just how far they want the scares to go. In addition to adding new monsters and world spaces to Fallout 4, it also introduces new weather patterns and atmospheres to sell the terror.
The mod also includes a 5+ hour-long musical soundtrack, new followers, armor and weapon types, and quests. It creates a sense of constant dread and fear by playing on sound cues, lighting, and other psychological triggers that are sure to work well with the lights off.
Polluted Climate/Senescence
While Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas were sometimes criticized for their flat, dull aesthetic choices, Fallout 4 received blowback for the complete opposite reason. Bethesda’s overhauled engine made everything look bright and overblown, which didn’t meld well with the franchise’s trademark post-apocalyptic look.
The Polluted Climate and Senescence mods—which are technically separate but were designed for simultaneous use—address this by drastically toning down the visuals. Now overbearingly dreary and often masked in a gray smog, Fallout 4’s Commonwealth feels appropriately devastated and desolate.
Pip-Boy Flashlight
Every horror fan knows how important a role lighting plays in creating tension and fear. This means Halloween gamers should probably overhaul Fallout 4’s Pip-Boy flashlight with something a bit more realistic and effective. This is a lamp overhaul that isn’t just great for a horror experience, but regular Fallout 4 playthroughs as well.
It changes the unrealistic and ugly radial flashlight mechanism of the Pip-Boy into a directional flashlight. This drastically impacts where the light shines, the radius of its cast, and the detail. It’s considered an excellent upgrade for one of the game’s base mechanics, and it works well when used in tandem with other horror-themed mods.
Feral Ghoul Bite Skills
Feral ghouls, once-human creatures who’ve lost their minds as a result of intense radiation and prolonged isolation—essentially serve as the stand-in for zombies in the Fallout universe. They’re often very easy to deal with, though there’s always something horrific about encountering large packs of these enemies.
This mod makes feral ghouls much more of a threat—and, as a result, much more terrifying. Now able to grab and pile upon the player, larger packs of feral ghouls can present a serious problem, and their decayed, zombie-like visages impart a sense of enhanced dread.
Whispering Hills - A Silent Hill Overhaul For Fallout 4
Silent Hill made a huge impact on video games as a whole, and fans will love what this mod brings to the Fallout 4 experience, just in time for the Halloween season. It may not be the most lore-friendly of the bunch, but it does effectively bring Silent Hill into an updated game engine, which is a nice change of pace for both franchises.
In typical Silent Hill fashion, psychological terror is the main focus. Other elements like the thick fog, the claustrophobic atmosphere, and creatures like the Siren’s Head and Pyramid Head have been ported over. It’s a crossover of epic proportions, and it makes for one truly unique horror mod.
The Kelly Manor Horror - Quest
This particular mod adds a new quest to Fallout 4 that is designed to drum up severe bouts of tension and dread. It sends players to Kelly Manor, a creepy new location straight out of terrifying third-act horror films like The Blair Witch Project and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The goal is simply to survive the ordeal and make it out.
The quest itself is short, taking just 30 minutes or so to run through, but that’s the beauty of it. In contrast to many mods that add large quests and horror-themed overhauls to Fallout 4, this one can be tacked on quickly, just for the Halloween holiday. It can be experienced for one night, then uninstalled if desired.
Detailed Feral Ghouls
Fallout’s feral ghouls are certainly creepy, but there’s a seen-one-seen-them-all sameness to them that takes away from the terror after a while. For those who want to make run-ins with these dreadful dregs perpetually perilous, there’s the detailed feral ghouls mod.
This mod greatly enhances the look of the feral ghouls and introduces an immense amount of visual variety to the game. Rather than run-of-the-mill zombies, these malformed monsters now look like something out of the BioShock or Resident Evil series. Some of them will even emit an eerie glow that can be extremely unnerving to glimpse at night.
Vault Buddy Follower
Vault Buddy Follower is widely considered to be one of the most unnerving and unsettling horror mods for Fallout 4, and it’s easy to see why. The entire premise revolves around a creepy toy in the image of a boy who meets the player at Charlestown. Once found, the psychological terror begins.
The mod works its magic by slowly ratcheting up the tension. It’s a slow, agonizing build as players uncover clues to the whereabouts of the Vault Buddy. Once found, it’s a rollercoaster of immense discomfort and some creepy scares that are perfect for Halloween.
Zombie Walkers
The Feral Ghouls of Fallout 4 are effectively the walking dead, at least in spirit. This mod overhauls them into full-fledged zombies reminiscent of one of George Romero’s best films, Night of the Living Dead. They wander in packs, they’re attracted to noise, and of course, they have a taste for human flesh.
By switching up the formula from ghouls to zombies, the sense of horror takes on a whole new meaning. It’s no longer about mindless ghouls acting on brutal instinct. Now, it’s a methodical plague of the undead seeking to devour the living.
Terrifyer - Ghouls
For those who like to stick to the traditional lore-friendly Feral Ghouls of the Fallout franchise, this mod is a good option. It doesn’t overhaul the Ghouls themselves, but rather their audio cues and sound effects. The Feral Ghouls sound much more terrifying, which adds to their menace.
Since sound is one of the most vital aspects of a horror movie, it only makes sense to install this mod to generate the appropriate moody atmosphere. This goes double for a Halloween-inspired playthrough. Ghouls should sound truly feral in order to live up to their wasteland nickname.
Immersive Squeaky Doors
Sound has been used inventively in many Hollywood movies, and no horror film is complete with the obligatory squeaky door. In Fallout 4, this simple audio add-on can really amp up the fear quotient by playing on humanity’s basic fear of this dreadful sound. All of the doors in the game are given multiple sound replacers that drastically change how players interact with them.
By installing the mod, horror lovers will never feel as if they’re truly safe. Gamers will feel uneasy when opening a door with a squeak that is particularly loud and sharp while wondering if any of the local enemies or monsters heard it. It’s a simple, yet effective mod that works for any Halloween playthrough.
Fallsouls - Unpaused Game Menus
While this mod may seem puzzling for a horror playthrough, it soon becomes obvious with a little context. It prevents the game from being paused whenever players open up a menu, which means the world keeps on ticking in the background. No more casually strolling through the inventory in the middle of a fight.
When combined with other horror mods that add a lot of tension and fear to Fallout 4, this mod can be the icing on the cake. The inability to pause the game while in a menu means that players are always vulnerable to whatever is lurking in the shadows at that particular moment.
