Laughing to Die

The Terrible Victims: "Female Ghosts" as a Cultural Symbol in Chinese Indie Video Games

This paper examines the symbolic function of female ghosts in the horror puzzle genre of Chinese indie video games, arguing that these spectral figures give expression to anxieties about gender, memory, and justice that are difficult to voice openly.

• The paper argues female ghosts in Chinese indie horror puzzle games act as "terrible victims" who reclaim narrative space and ethical agency, expressing anxieties about gender, memory, and justice that are hard to voice openly.
• Analysis of four titles (Detention 2017, Blind Village 2022, Laughing to Die 2024, Firework 2021) identifies two archetypes, the wrathful avenger and the empathetic helper, each shaped by regional context.
• In Detention, the ghost serves as an ethical witness to Taiwan's White Terror, prompting civic reflection on guilt and remembrance, whereas Blind Village presents a vengeful folk-derived spirit reflecting anger over gender injustice and institutional failure in mainland settings.