Video games may not be as well respected as other narrative artforms, but it’s only a matter of time before mainstream media begins to regard these interactive experiences with the same prestige as film and television. Fortunately, there are some artistic pioneers from other areas that have already recognized the creative potential of gaming, and this is especially true when it comes to the horror genre.

With so many genre filmmakers choosing to support interactive digital art, we’ve decided to come up with a list celebrating six times that masters of horror contributed to videogames. After all, from famous writers to big-name directors, there are plenty of examples of multimedia collaboration in gaming.

As usual, we’ll be abiding by a couple of rules. First, we’ll only be including masters of horror that don’t specialize in videogames (that means no Shinji Mikami!). Second, the contribution has to be in the game itself and not the marketing or trailers (so we won’t be mentioning George A. Romero’s live-action teaser for Resident Evil 2).

With that out of the way, don’t forget to comment below with your own favorite horror collaborations in gaming.

Now, onto the list…

6. John Carpenter – F.3.A.R. (2011)

It’s no secret that John Carpenter is an avid gamer, as there are several instances of him publicly declaring himself a fan of franchises like Dead Space and Fallout, but it’s a shame that the iconic director has never helmed a game of his own. That being said, the folks at Day 1 Studios actually recruited Carpenter to consult on their sequel to Monolith’s F.E.A.R. games.

While the director’s participation was greatly exaggerated by the title’s marketing team, Carpenter held a handful of long-distance conference calls with lead writer Steve Niles (co-creator of 30 Days of Night) and offered several notes and suggestions to the development team. It’s not exactly the ideal role for one of the greatest genre filmmakers alive, but it’s still cool that he had a hand in the finished game.

5. Guillermo del Toro – Silent Hills/P.T. (2014)

Hideo Kojima’s ill-fated Silent Hills has gone down in gaming history as one of the most influential unreleased projects of all time, but at least we can still look back on its Playable Teaser as a more-or-less self-contained piece of highly-effective horror. Of course, one of the things that made this cancelled title such a missed opportunity is the fact that the demo was co-directed by Academy-Award-winning genre filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, who contributed to the project with monster designs and story ideas that were only hinted at in the teaser.

While the Oscar winning director would later partner with Kojima on Death Stranding, Del Toro has claimed that Silent Hills’ cancellation was one of the most moronic things he’s ever witnessed. I tend to agree, especially when you realize that the game was also supposed to feature creature designs by esteemed manga artist Junji Ito, another veritable master of horror.

It’s already been 8 years, but I don’t think horror fans are going to get over this anytime soon…

4. James Gunn – Lollipop Chainsaw (2012)

These days, James Gunn is mostly associated with super-hero flicks, having achieved worldwide fame with Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. However, the director actually got his start working on low-budget genre flicks that would likely shock folks who are only familiar with his blockbuster output. That’s why Grasshopper Manufacture contacted the filmmaker back during the development of 2012’s Lollipop Chainsaw, with Suda51 wanting a genre specialist to help craft the game’s grindhouse-inspired story and characters.

The end product was a gloriously violent hodgepodge of zombie tropes and risqué comedy (which makes sense when you consider Gunn’s history with Troma), with the game selling over a million copies and impressing most critics. While it didn’t exactly become a household name, Lollipop Chainsaw went on to influence Gunn’s take on Harley Quinn in his Suicide Squad reboot, and Dragami Games has also announced a next-gem remake set to release later this year.

3. Stephen King – The Mist (1985)

I always thought it was strange that the literary multiverse of Stephen King never became the basis for a successful video game franchise, especially since the Dark Tower books are so well suited for over-the-top adventure. As it stands, there are only a handful of Stephen King inspired games, and most of them are based on adaptations rather than his original source material. One exception is Angelsoft’s The Mist, a 1985 text adventure that King had a had in.

While the writer didn’t actively take part in programming this spooky little adventure title, preferring to give Angelsoft developer Raymond Benson free reign to adapt the story however he saw fit, Benson actually made a point of using most of the novella’s original text in his interactive retelling. This results in a unique interactive experience that’s still mostly written by King, making this the most faithful adaptation of one of his stories to date.

2. Peter Jackson – Peter Jackson’s King Kong – The Official Game of the Movie (2005)

Younger readers might be surprised to learn that Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson was once heralded as an up-and-coming master of horror, helming a series of incredibly violent splatter flicks before delving into middle earth. However, while you can take the filmmaker out of horror, you can’t really take the horror out of the filmmaker.

Not only was Jackson’s 2005 remake of King Kong a welcome return to schlocky genre flicks (despite its studio-friendly lack of gore), but it was also accompanied by a tie-in game which saw the filmmaker collaborating with Beyond Good & Evil director Michel Ancel. A full-on survival horror experience with a much darker and scarier tone than the movie it was based on, the interactive version of King Kong still hasn’t been matched when it comes turning a fun blockbuster into a chilling ordeal.

1. Clive Barker – Clive Barker’s Undying (1999)

With a story proudly penned by Barker and even boasting a character voiced by the renowned horror writer himself, Clive Barker’s Undying is more than just a throwback to the gothic classics of old – it’s also one hell of a fun first-person shooter. In fact, the game serves as a great starting point for folks who’ve never engaged with Barker’s work before, offering up plenty of disturbing imagery and complex characters.

Sure, Undying isn’t the author’s only contribution to gaming, with Barker also producing 2006’s ill-fated Jericho, but EA’s underrated shooter still remains his best foray into the world of interactive fiction (though I’d still recommend seeking out the criminally under-played Nightbreed: The Interactive Movie).