Horror lighting in Unity: flickering lights and fog

1. Set the mood first

• Lighting settings: set the ambient colour to a very dark blue or grey.
• Fog: enable it, mode Exponential Squared, a dark colour that matches the ambient, density about 0.05 to start.
• Use few lights and make each one count.

2. The flicker script

Attach it to a Light. It mixes Perlin noise with rare dropouts, where the light cuts for a moment.

using UnityEngine;

// Put this on a Light. Noise-based flicker feels organic; a random "dropout" adds a scare.
public class FlickerLight : MonoBehaviour
{
    public float baseIntensity = 1.2f;
    public float flickerAmount = 0.6f;
    public float speed = 8f;
    [Range(0f, 1f)] public float dropoutChance = 0.02f; // per frame at 60 fps
    public float dropoutSeconds = 0.12f;

    Light lamp;
    float seed;
    float offUntil;

    void Awake() { lamp = GetComponent<Light>(); seed = Random.value * 100f; }

    void Update()
    {
        if (Time.time < offUntil) { lamp.intensity = 0f; return; }
        if (Random.value < dropoutChance * Time.deltaTime * 60f) offUntil = Time.time + dropoutSeconds;

        float n = Mathf.PerlinNoise(seed, Time.time * speed);
        lamp.intensity = baseIntensity + (n - 0.5f) * 2f * flickerAmount;
    }
}

Tune the pattern without writing code in our flicker light generator.

3. Rules that keep it scary

• Light the path you want the player to follow, and leave corners dark.
• Flicker only a few lights. Everything flickering is noise, not fear.
• Pair a flicker with a sound cue for the best effect.

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