10 Creepy Secrets Behind Classic Video Games

6. The Inescapable Minus World Condemns Mario To Death - Super Mario Bros.

The original Super Mario Bros. contains a secret "Minus World" which can be reached by executing some tricky movements at the end of World 1-2.

This will take players to World -1, which has the exact same layout as the underwater level World 7-2. The kicker? It's impossible for players to beat the level due to a glitched final pipe, which simply sends Mario back to the start of the level.

As such, players are forced to repeat an endless loop until they either succumb to enemy attacks or run out of time, making a Game Over literally inevitable.

Though not as strictly horrifying as the eldritch abominations of Silent Hill's scrapped monsters, the idea of taking poor Mario and sticking him in a death loop is cosmically terrifying in its own way.

And as if fully aware of the uncomfortable implications of the level, Nintendo removed it from all subsequent remakes and ports of the classic platformer.