Reimagining Difficult Heritage Using the Power of Horror Storytelling: Introducing the DREAD Model (1711 Irish Witch Trial Video Game Case Study)

For over a century, the horror genre has served as a powerful medium for exploring societal anxieties, including issues of power, repression, identity, memory, and the forces that threaten people in society. Despite its rich potential, the narrative, aesthetic, and technical mechanics of contemporary horror media remain largely untapped by heritage practitioners aiming to reach new audiences through experiential engagements with difficult history. This article examines how the storytelling frameworks and mechanics of contemporary horror media can be thoughtfully applied to the dissemination of difficult heritage, fostering empathy, creative reflection, ethical inquiry, and experiential learning. Amid a growing emphasis on immersive storytelling in the heritage sector, this study addresses a gap in academic literature concerning innovative interpretative strategies for presenting challenging historical narratives. The central case study, 1711 Ireland: A Witch’s Fate (2025), is a serious video game developed through the 1711 Islandmagee Witches Creative and Digital Project, exemplifying a practice-as-research methodology. This approach highlights how knowledge is generated through the act of creative production, underscoring the potential of dark popular media to reimagine difficult heritage interpretation. The findings reveal that “horror content,” “horror presentation,” and “the fantastic” can recontextualize difficult heritage in ways that resonate with contemporary audiences. This is important considering that dark, entertaining cinematic recreations now occupy a central position in transmitting difficult history to younger generations. By proposing a conceptual framework and DREAD model (Difficult Heritage Reimagined: Engagement, Aesthetics, and Dark Storytelling) to guide the creative adaptation of difficult heritage through the prism of horror, this article offers a timely and unique contribution to academia and industry. It provides practical insights for professionals seeking to leverage contemporary horror media’s emotional and imaginative power to engage audiences with difficult historical narratives. This research emphasizes the strategic importance of innovation in difficult heritage dissemination, demonstrating how dark popular media can enhance audience engagement and broaden the scope of heritage interpretation practices.