There are so many reasons to be a fan of the horror genre – on one hand, it’s exciting, and suspenseful, can give you a thrilling adrenaline rush, and the feeling of being spooked or scared can raise the stakes in the story and elicit an emotional response from people. On the other hand, many people enjoy the escapism factor of it and find scary stories, especially appealing if they are set in a fantastical or supernatural world where anything is possible. All this to say, horror and Dungeons & Dragons are a match made in heaven. Although I am a huge fan of the silly and goofy modules too, there is just something special in playing an adventure that makes your skin crawl or gives you goosebumps on a dark and cold night. Whether you’re a huge horror fan looking to wow your group, or just looking to play a spooky adventure around Halloween, you’ve come to the right place because I’ve compiled a list of my favorite DnD horror adventures for you here. There are one-shots and ones that take a lot longer to complete and drastically vary in themes, so there is something for everyone!
Just one more thing before we start counting down the picks – Since many of these stories have dark and disturbing themes, which can be upsetting on a physical or psychological level, I will post content warnings for each and every one of them just to give you more of a clue about what you’re getting into. Similarly, I believe you should discuss these with your group before starting the modules so nobody is uncomfortable or gets triggered by an element of the story. It may seem unnecessary or stupid at the time, but the main goal is for everyone to have fun and enjoy themselves so just get it out of the way before you start the campaign.
Now all of that’s out of the way, let’s get started!
6. Tomb of Horrors
Content warning: torture, body horror
I don’t think this list would be complete without at least mentioning Tomb of Horrors. Even though I’ve put it kinda low on my list and I believe that there have been much better stories written since there are certainly reasons why this 1975 one-shot is still relevant.
This infamous horror module was written by Gary Gygax himself, the man who created the game. It has the reputation of being a “meatgrinder” aka almost impossible to beat which makes it a prime example of survival horror which excels in building suspense and raising the stakes in a campaign. This DnD horror adventure is full of deadly traps and puzzles, and horrendous monsters and is perfect for players that don’t just want to hack and slash their way through a campaign. The tomb entices people with its variety of magical treasures, but to get it you have to defeat an evil undefeated demilich Acererak.
If you finished Tomb of Horrors and want to run a similar adventure, you can try The Dread Crypt of Srihoz which will guide your players to explore a dark and scary tomb of an evil vampire, that is filled with traps, undead and evil cults.
5. Death Frost Doom
Content warning: gore, mentions of torture, mentions of slavery, body horror
At the top of a snow-covered mountain that no one climbs is an abandoned shrine of a long-gone cult filled with treasures. Will you and your party dare to brave the freezing weather and hard terrain to get up there? And when you do, are you prepared to see all the horrors that await you? If this got your attention, then Death Frost Doom is a perfect horror one-shot for you and your party. It has a sinister atmosphere, tons of things to explore and many deadly traps to avoid.
4. Blood Moon Rising
Content warning: gore, body parts
In the small, otherwise peaceful, town of Blood Creek, a werewolf terrorizes and murders the townfolk by night and pretends to be a law-abiding citizen by day. You might even say this person behaves like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Come on, don’t pretend that didn’t elicit some howls of laughter. (Okay, I get it, it’s enough now, I’ll get back to the point) This horror mystery whodunnit module starts when the party is tasked with unmasking the killer before the Blood Moon rises and they become too powerful to be stopped. The running clock makes this module very suspenseful and there is a general air of paranoia because the townfolk don’t know who to trust – the killer could be anyone, even their closest neighbor.
3. The Haunting of Harrowstone
Content warning: violence
Staying on theme with gothic horror, another DnD horror module I think is worth checking out is The Haunting of Harrowstone. This spooky adventure is set in a notorious prison that housed many of the realm’s most evil criminals. In an effort to prevent convicts from escaping during a riot, Harrowstone’s warden and some of the prison guards decided to burn it down sacrificing their lives in the meantime. After a cult of necromancers visits the prison, the ghosts start wandering down and terrorizing the local village so the party is tasked with putting them to rest. This is a very interesting DnD horror module packed with action, interesting NPCs, and a ton of handouts that will keep your players interested. Also, the spooky atmosphere will definitely keep them on their toes all throughout.
2. Death House
Content warning: child abuse, stillbirth, violence, murder
If you’re familiar with the module Curse of Strahd, then you’ve also probably heard of the mini-adventure that poses as an introduction to it called Death House. I think the name perfectly sets the tone for the story, but if you need more convincing there is a creeping fog engulfing everything around you, ghouls, ghosts, a cult, and a literal death trap of a house that tries to kill you every step of the way. The atmosphere is spooky, the story is super dark and disturbing, and you never know what creepy crawlies await you in the nooks and crannies of this abandoned gothic house. Bonus point – it’s available online for free and can be played as a one-shot, or if you are interested in continuing your time in Barovia and finding out more about the vicious overlord Strahd von Zarovich, Curse of Strahd has tons more adventures for you.
P.S. If you loved this story and want more haunted house one-shots, check out The House of Lament from Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft for 1st-level characters or The Haunt for 4th-5th level ones.
1. The Madhouse of Tasha’s Kiss
Content warning: grim horror, body horror, torture
This freakshow horror adventure that is intended for players of 3rd-10th level can lead your party to madness. It’s part of a whole series of freak-show modules, so you can run it as a one-shot, or all together if your players enjoy it.
Now let’s get to the meat of the matter: Originally, Tasha’s Kiss was a beautiful and charming jester who traveled to different realms entertaining people and making them laugh. After an unfortunate encounter with a demon, she was possessed and now drags unwitting people into a pocket dimension (aka her madhouse) to terrorize and murder them. That went from 0 to 100 real fast, didn’t it – well, that’s pretty much how this adventure makes you feel all the time. It’s super scary, disturbing, and unsettling and that’s why it deserves the first place on my list.
You’ll be a fan of this horror module if you’ve enjoyed the Asylum or Freak Show seasons of American Horror Story or just have a thing for murderous clowns or circus-like settings. In this madhouse, you will find horrifying creatures in extremely scary rooms committing truly despicable actions, and you’ll always feel like you’re sitting at the edge of your chair, never knowing what to expect, so beware. As a DM be sure to go through the adventure by yourself first and discuss the content with your players beforehand, I can’t stress this enough – it can be triggering.
