When it comes to the world of VRChat, it’s hard to find the best maps for any genre of game, whether it be by the maps appearing within the game’s recommended list, or due to the abundance of players in one instance inflating its numbers. Sometimes, even the best maps are hidden gems and have few players visiting it. Even then, VRChat offers a plethora of fantastic horror maps to visit and experience, ranging from exploration maps to puzzles and escape room-esque maps.
If finding a horror world is difficult, you can refer to this video by Toastette, offering up at least 10 great horror maps that are worth visiting. Not only that, there’s this VRChat hub world called the Horror Portal Hub by JustSaber which allows a player to visit many horror maps of their choice.
With that out of the way, let’s go down a list of some great VRChat horror maps to visit, both classic favorites and hidden gems.
#12 M.I.R.R.O.R, by PeaceLight
This is a short horror map based on, well… mirrors, and traversing through them to see what’s on the other side. As the player progresses, they’ll find themselves stuck in a rabbit hole of mirrors, attempting to find their way out of an endless trap
The player will be left to their own endeavors the moment they enter the facility, but they absolutely won’t be the same after taking a look into the first mirror they come across. It looks simple as the mirrors are just you, but more things begin appearing such as corpses and even walking creatures that start to follow the player.
Visually, the map can become quite disorienting after traveling through so many mirrors, let alone that there’s a shadow entity that follows the player. The only way to counteract said entity is by using the mirrors to see the entity, and avoid the entity’s path in order to escape. This map can easily be cleared within a couple of minutes, and it gives a bit of a taste of what other horror awaits within this list.
M.I.R.R.O.R key features:
•short, but simple concept of traversing through mirrors
•makes great use of the map concept of mirrors to aid you in your escape
•an enemy to keep the player on their toes, allowing for good map interactivity
#11 Hell’s Basement, by Zayee
This is a short horror map of exploring, well, a dark, underground basement, hoping to find escape. Here, there’s some puzzles to do on top of lots of exploration within incredibly dark corridors, having to rely on your cursor to guide the way for the most part. The corridors underground are also rather very tight with space, so trying to find your way to run or hide away from any monsters is practically futile.
Many props to click upon, many locations to check out and see if there’s anything important, and even listening out for radios and codes that will prove important to the player’s escape. There’s some jumpscares to be had, but not any super extreme for any player. They’re all pretty bearable, but the atmosphere itself really adds onto the map’s unknown horrors waiting in its darkness.
Hell’s Basement key features:
•unsettling atmosphere due to dark environments, making the player feel uneasy
•semi puzzle-solving through the use of items and quick problem solving
•great sound and ambience through the use of loud doors and sudden screams
#10 Sector A6, by Subberwoof
This is a short horror map in a bloodied, corpse-ridden facility that seems to have been filled with people that were experimented on brutally. As the player, you explore the facility to find corpses sprawled around the place as well as entities that haunt you without directly attacking you.
The player begins the map within a dark, red room, finding their way to escape said room through the usage of box stacking to enter vents. Progressing deeper through the facility, they’ll come across a panel of buttons in front of a glass panel, which seems to be keeping a creature under containment. Upon pressing it, it seems that the facility falls into further disarray… did you add onto it, or was the facility already doomed to begin with?
Gathering up as many keycards as you can as well as stacking boxes everywhere you can in order to escape, the player must escape the horrifying facility to see another day before they end up becoming the same as a corpse that they’ve seen so many times throughout. Apparitions and creatures seem indistinguishable to whether they can prove lethal to the player or not, so it’s best not to take those chances and just run as far as you can.
Sector A6 key features:
•interesting use of map props to enter and exit specific areas
•good map interactivity through the use of said props and other buttons available
•unsettling entities and creatures that are bound to keep the player on their toes
#9 MIRЯIM, by IgbarVonSquid
This is a horror map about exploring mirrors, albeit the one mirror at the start has a lot more than meets the eye, leading into a rabbit hole exploration of mirrors and vents just to escape from the facility that you’ve been trapped in. Were you an experiment that’s simply been toyed and tested on this entire time? You hope to discover the truth
Some entities also wait within the map, but they never move unless you begin interacting with doors and buttons in the rooms that they’re located in. They don’t even attack you either, but the unease that one may just wake up and attack you continues to linger in the back of your head. Beyond that, you choose to keep running, activating doors and switches with brightly colored devices as well as running through all the mirrors possible.
If you’re a fan of horror maps that are a mix of general emotional unease as well as explorations and puzzles, then this is a map I’d highly recommend: not too scary, and allows even some input from the player too.
MIRЯIM key features:
•simple puzzles that allow for smooth progression through the world
•scary and unsettling without the usual jumpscares
•relies on its environment to keep the player scared
•appeals greatly to a space-related horror
#8 Tub, by BLG18
In Tub, the player will find themselves starting at a laundromat to get their clothes cleaned up, spending a bit of time there for it to finish up before entering a taxi to return home to the motel that they’re staying at. Nothing here is all too scary yet… at least, not until they return to the motel via the taxi…
This map is based on ablutophobia, which is the fear of bathing, washing, or showering. In some cases, people can have this type of fear within the bathroom due to being vulnerable or being watched by some entity that they aren’t fully aware of. In the case of Tub, the player will find themselves cleaning up in the bathtub and using more cleaning products, only to find faces and other entities staring at them
I won’t spoil the rest of the jumpscares that’ll get the player, but this is certainly a nice look into a very uncommon fear that some people have. Not only that, but this map also features some collectible items, and is a pretty short 10 minute map too depending on how much time you’re willing to put into it. A really good starter horror map, and well made too!
Tub key features:
•an uncommon concept of horror, but really goes into said concept well
•simple, but focuses super well into the one fear it’s about: ablutophobia
•a great theme of design going on with low-poly textures and very old school fonts
#7 The Tenth Floor, by -dem-
In The Tenth Floor, the player is subjected to a waiting game within an elevator, choosing to ride all the way up to the Tenth Floor. But upon the way there, the player comes across multiple scary creatures and encounters that are bound to make one’s skin crawl, usually appearing upon every floor all the way up to the top.
Is there a story being told here? That much is unsure, but it sure seems like this building is but a home for all the creatures here, and you just manage to stumble into it out of curiosity. Some creatures seem friendly despite all the noises and motions they make intending to eat the player, but still not the best choice to take that chance.
As much as the world lacks in interactivity with the player, the player still experiences lots of scary moments the entire ride up, usually taking about half an hour to complete the full elevator ride. Still a great map to come to for a bit of a horror scare
The Tenth Floor key features:
•keeps the player waiting on what to expect in the upcoming floors
•good sound design in terms of unsettling elevator noises, creatures, and general ambience
•some floors have interactivity, but for the most part, it remains a waiting game
#6 Keys, by qchan949
This is a world all about collecting keys and continuing to open doors with said keys. What do the keys lead you down to? Horrors beyond your comprehension, probably
Puzzles start off as simple kids games like matching colored keys to a door and finding the right key in a pile of toy letters, but it eventually grows to be a bit more of a brain teaser. After the simple kids games, the environments grow darker and more unfriendly from the blank white rooms you’ve grown used to. Soon, you’ll come across rooms riddled with corpses and blood, but all hidden with a key necessary to continue progressing.
This world does take some time to clear as it’s a puzzle world all about finding keys, let alone distinguishing the right keys from the wrong keys to get to some doors. A very fun take on the horror genre
Keys key features:
•very harmless at face value, before everything begins to take a dark turn
•interactive and makes good use of the map’s base concept: keys, and using them to enter areas
•the turn from harmless to horrifying takes time, but does its pacing super well (other than depending on how good the player solves puzzles)
#5 F.E.A.R.S, by ItsCripsy
F.E.A.R.S is an acronym standing for the “Fear Endurance and Reaction Survey,” which is all about testing the player’s capabilities in withstanding fear and lots of scary situations. The player must answer some questions asked by the machine, although maybe it’s for the best to not answer the machine truthfully so you won’t be absolutely terrified by what it may offer you
As mentioned already, this map puts the player in increasingly discomforting situations, growing from a child’s playroom, to as much as a dark and empty household. What will the player discover upon entering all forms of environments? Who knows. Perhaps you’ll be the one to last throughout this survey?
F.E.A.R.S key features:
•interesting concept of horror by using a player’s answers to develop the environments for them
•throwing players into terrifying environments suddenly adds to the ever-growing fear factor of the map
•fantastic sound design, both machine/survey-wise and environment-wise
#4 The Taco Room, by EchoLoveVR
This is an exploration horror map, with its story taking place of the player attempting to enter a taco shop for some quick supplies and items before being on their way. However, what the player character doesn’t realize is that there’s a lot more going on within this taco shop that meets the eye, even subjecting the player themselves to taco-related jumpscares
Although the world is more humor-focused than it is horror-focused, it still manages to create a good mix of both funny and scary moments to make a very great experience. Not only that, it does grab a lot of inspiration from horror media like the once popular Slenderman, for example.
The Taco Room key features:
•combination of horror and humor, making for a great experience beyond just being a usual horror map
•references to a bunch of horror media, such as the classic “Redrum” trope and Slenderman
•easily digestible horror map, only taking about 1-2 hours depending on the capability of the player
#3 Obsession VR, by FlowersRite花之祭P
Within Obsession, the player will find themselves in an abandoned household that only grows more perplexing as puzzles are solved. For the most part, there isn’t all too many jumpscares as your typical horror games nowadays, but the atmosphere is terrifying enough to keep you on your toes at every corner possible
Story-wise, Obsession is about a mother’s grieving process for her child, where as the player progresses through the map, they’ll be hit with flashbacks and memories of the mother and her husband, and how the household changes over time due to the child.
Puzzle-wise, there’s clock puzzles, item-crafting puzzles, and even trying to place talismans around an attic to prevent a monster from taking over. There’s lots of other puzzles to be had that can’t just be mentioned in this blurb alone, so you’ll have to see for yourself.
Not only that, in the end of the map, there’s also an incredibly tense chase scene, for which the player is incredibly lucky to have unlimited sprint to deal with. I would highly recommend this map for those who wish to give a puzzle-focused horror map a shot
Obsession VR key features:
•lots of brain-teasing puzzles, some taking more than just a couple of minutes just to solve
•fantastic narration and story writing that lets the player follow along well with each new cutscene
•an unsettling atmosphere with a highly interactive map, both with general traversal and prop interaction
•a final chase scene to end off the map after lots of puzzle solving
#2 The Devouring, by Lakuza
In this horror map, players begin driving a car after talking with a family member about a road trip that they’re on. What the player doesn’t expect is that, after a long ride on the road, they suddenly get into a car crash, later waking up to find themselves within a huge mansion that they must escape from.
On top of solving puzzles such as music puzzles and item puzzles, the player must learn to manage their life while hiding away from a monster that can easily devour you, having to reset multiple times just to get to the end of the map
This horror map is in no way a super easy one, for it can take upwards of 5-6 hours just to clear the map, depending on how good you are at hiding away from monsters and being able to solve puzzles on the fly. Would recommend playing this map with friends to take off some of the burden of puzzle solving, as well as making it an extra fun time constantly watching them fail at puzzles.
The Devouring key features:
•one of VRChat’s longest horror maps, meaning there’s lots of content to go through to really complete the map
•has a collectibles system, mostly papers and writing from characters mentioned in the story
•lots of puzzles, ranging between simple to moderate difficulty to move onto the next area
•terrifying entities to keep players moving and on edge at all times
•a great map to experience with friends
#1 The Smile Room, by ItsCripsy
The Smile Room is by far VRChat’s most popular horror world, and with good reason too. It combines many fantastic aspects of horror games of walking around an empty world and eventually having the environment scare you as you venture deeper into it.
The player enters an abandoned mall, only to venture deeper through empty hallways that look so similar that it’s like an infinite loop. After more progression, the player will find themselves in Funny’s Playground, having to play different “games” with some laughing creature in the background watching you make mistakes constantly to win their “game”
Even today, The Smile Room is known for its chapter 1, but it’s planned to have even more chapters in the coming future, with its chapter 2 teaser only coming out like 7 months ago. Here’s hoping to see more of The Smile Room soon!
The Smile Room key features:
•unsettling atmospheres and fantastic sound design
•lots of inspiration from series such as Silent Hill
•varying ways to play the map such as hide and seek, maze exploration, and other forms of puzzles and ways to escape the trap
