You could start with a map that warps as the player moves—rooms that tilt, corridors that lengthen, lights flickering out only when they look too long. Drop in random, low‑volume whispers that are actually ambient background but sometimes cut out right before a jump scare. Use the terrain itself to create dread: uneven ground that makes the footsteps echo oddly, or a fog that’s thicker around hidden doors. Then sprinkle in small, eerie details—an old portrait that turns its eyes when the camera passes, a single candle that only burns for a handful of seconds and then dies, a floorboard that creaks with the sound of someone walking behind. Make the AI enemies learn the player’s habits so they feel like they’re always watching, but never show too much. Finally, sprinkle in a soundtrack that’s mostly silence, punctuated by distant, unresolved chords that feel like a heartbeat—just long enough to make the silence feel alive.