Readers, I write you these words with a spoiled heart gone cold: after 20 years, it appears that Haunting Ground developer Capcom has finally taken down its official website for the 2005 game and wants me sobbing facedown in a pile of graveyard roses.
But, while I am devastated that this day has come – discovered by Capcom enthusiast Jawmuncher on Bluesky, who's also lovingly preserved the Haunting Ground site on YouTube – I'm not surprised it did.
(Consider this your warning for discussion of sensitive topics like sexual violence).
Haunting Ground has spent every second since its 2005 release on PS2 courting controversy, because its premise involves running away from would-be sexual aggressors with your German Shepherd, and intrigue, because its limited physical editions sometimes get listed on eBay for nearly $1,000, and usually around $500.
Capcom taking its website down after so many years feels like another strange leaf sprouting on the crumbled brick of Haunting Ground's mixed reputation, but I'll channel all my optimism in praying it means we'll soon get a revival.
In the meantime, I'll particularly miss the website's gameplay demonstration for Haunting Ground's "panic" state, which is when protagonist Fiona gets too scared and starts seeing the world in black-and-white like a puppy. She bumps into walls and begins to trip down the stairs, and I'm like, "I get it," but also, "girl, get up."
It sounds funny – the Haunting Ground website was a sign of hope that Capcom hasn't forgotten about its strange PS2 game, but, also, Capcom randomly taking the site down after decades also seems like a sign of hope.
Talking about this is making me hungry for a remake. I need a reboot more than I need breakfast – as I'm sure you've already gathered, Haunting Ground is a special game to me.
It's story goes like this: Fiona wakes up in a strange castle, in a dog cage, missing her memories and her clothes. In fighting her way to escape, she encounters voyeurs eager to kiss her neck in order to bite through it, living dolls so aggrieved by being objects it makes them want to kill, and alchemical powers she never knew she had. Through the danger and the magic, Fiona's only company is Hewie, a guard dog who likes jerky and attacking stalkers.
So I think Haunting Ground is a genuine interpretation of the stifling fear some women feel around lecherous men, like Polanski's Repulsion (1965), and only few other pieces of art really get it enough to craft the phenomenon into a resonant horror narrative.
In this way, Haunting Ground feels like both a soothing fantasy, and like it's nauseatingly real. That speaks to me. Plus, Haunting Ground has a dog I can train to sit and stay.
However, its sexual depravity is also why, to this day, some people can't agree if Haunting Ground is a piece of provocative feminist media, or if it's simply the time "when Capcom made a game where the plot was, "Hey, uh, try not to get raped,'" as one forum post bluntly puts it.
The game's "bad ending," after all, involves Fiona getting forcibly impregnated by one of Belli Castle's many attackers, and she laughs absent-mindedly about her swollen belly while a piano score reminds you that this is a really bad fate, actually.
But, again, I think a part of that fate is real. Haunting Ground is a horror game that makes me feel understood in my paranoia, and in my past experiences. At the same time, it arms Fiona, the character I identify with most, with a pure talent for magic. Can you call me crazy for wanting more of the feeling of respect it gives me? Should I not enjoy myself on my PlayStation 5?
While Capcom has neither publicly addressed its plans for the Haunting Ground franchise, nor why it removed its website (or why the site stayed up for so many years…), like Fiona, I might as well hold on to hope. Here's a eulogy she'd like: Psalm 18:33 – "He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he causes me to stand on the heights."
R.I.P. Haunting Ground website.
Um, so, anyway, here's the 25 best horror games to play right now.
