This thesis explores the construction of a mountain geographical imaginary through the staging of mountain landscapes in horror video games. Drawing on the tools of cultural geography alongside Game Studies, it examines how two horror games stage mountain environments to produce an experience of fear. Through the concept of geographical imaginary, this work argues that the mountain is never a mere backdrop, but a symbolically constructed space that amplifies representations inherited from a long cultural tradition.

Through the analysis of video game environments and the reception of six players, we examine how level design devices produce a fear-based experience rooted in pre-existing geographical imaginaries, and to what extent these imaginary influences players’ spatial representations.