Video games have, over the years, brought many memorable characters to the forefront of popular culture. Some are lovable, some are character studies of bravery under fire, and some are completely and utterly terrifying. It is these masters of terror, these denizens of the dark, these agents of unspeakable evil that we choose to celebrate on this day, Halloween, the scariest day of the year. Turn on all of your lights, lock all of your doors and make sure that the cat isn't hiding someplace where it can jump out and scare you, causing you to let out a relieved sigh only to then turn the corner and be skewered by a madman or an alien monstrosity because GameShark.com is unleashing the Ten Scariest Video Game Characters on your unsuspecting town. You've been warned.

You may even think you know who or what will make up this list. SHODAN? Maybe something from Silent Hill? Resident Evil, perhaps? Those things in Dead Space are pretty creepy.

Mere child's play.

Number 10 Any of the helpers in Viva Pinata

It's hard to decide which is scarier, that the helpers in Viva Pinata have their lot in life formed into their very flesh, or that they carry out their tasks in such mute, blank-eyed resignation. These so called helpers shamble around mindlessly, their very forms molded to fit whichever soul crushing task they have been assigned. Does the sprinkler long to fix things? Does the Weedling want to watch over the garden? We'll never know, as they carry out their work, with neither a hint of satisfaction or disdain on their hideous, misshapen faces. Perhaps the sweet release of death will give them the occupational variety they have been denied in life, but until then, their course is set, burned into their bodies forever.

Number 9 The NPCs of Oblivion

At first glance, the NPCs of Oblivion appear to be fully functioning members of disparate races, however it doesn't take long to peel back the thin veneer of humanity and witness the horrifyingly crude attempts at human emotion by the nameless, shapeless form that guides them. They wander the world of Tamriel, their faces and motion a pale, shambling reflection of actual human interaction. Here is one cursed to speak of nothing but mud crabs. Here is one devoid of emotion, capable of only complimenting your physique in a poor attempt at flattery. Are these beings a grand experiment of an alien force desperately trying to learn what it means to be human through interacting with real humans, or were these beings once capable of displaying emotion, and through no fault of their own, their humanity has been siphoned off for some foul purpose, leaving them dazed, empty shells? We may never know, but beware the mud crab nonetheless.