Here are all the spooky Halloween events happening on the PC Gamer forum

(Image credit: Slinthas)

The PC Gamer forum has been getting ready for Halloween this week. Our wonderfully gruesome community managers have launched some special events, including a thread dedicated to the best PC-building horror stories (some of which are particularly scary, you have been warned!), the scariest in-game builds from the community and our favourite spooky seasonal treats in the form of a bake-off.

This Halloween event is just one of the many events that take place on the forums. There are special studio spotlights for indie developers, competitions for impressive hardware bundles, and, of course, lots of threads dedicated to gaming. If you haven't yet, you should sign up and get involved in the forum's discussions.

Here are the threads that have been haunting the forum this week:

Building a PC can be a stressful and harrowing experience. That moment when you press the power button and everything whirls to life is nothing short of a miracle, but every PC builder has their share of horror stories, some of which you'll find in this thread. If you've had a horrific experience building a PC, make sure to share your pain with others in the comments.

I was doing a brand new build about 2 weeks ago in anticipation for the 3080 (if that exists, has anyone seen one?), anyways, had to remove the tempered glass on my new Corsair 4000X case .... I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, needless to say I think I cried? —mrbriskbaybe

Was working on an i5-2320 build and had an hd 7850 gpu in it that was giving me problems. Was using an Intel dz68db motherboard. Did not want to boot consistently and had issues with display(which later turned out I needed to update bios which is itself a challenge on a discontinued Intel board.) Anyways I took the gpu out and put it into another computer to test it. As soon as I powered it on it smoked a vrm on the gpu and belched out a metric **** ton of the magic blue smoke.—Patrick

Here's a link to the whole thread.

The virtual Halloween bake-off

Everyone knows that Halloween is the season for sugary treats that can rot your teeth, and this thread asks the community to share their favourite ones. If you have a favourite spooky recipe or seasonal snack, share them in the thread with some photos for a chance to win a PC Gamer mug. Don't worry, the mug won't be haunted.

When I worked at Trion Worlds we had an annual Halloween baking contest. Here are two of my entries there that did well! Chocolate Graveyard with white chocolate gravestones and skeletons, and a pumpkin spice cake with maple bacon frosting!—Slinthas

Frankenstein's pudding! Mix Butterscotch and Banana Angel Delight in a bowl with some milk. Fold in green food colouring. Put the choco writer in warm mug of water, then cut off the top. Decorate. Add stars. Refrigerate!—SWard (community manager)

I decided to dive into the festivities with some Pac-Man Brownies that I originally made many, many years ago. Unfortunately, this time, my "yellow icing" ended up being a yellowish tinted clear, so I couldn't make pellets or Pac-Man. Calling an audible, I decided to simplify and focus instead on a single ghost. One day I'll find a way to replicate that, I hope, but for now, please steel your nerves and prepare to come face to face with the undead!—SHaines (community manager)

The community's best in-game Halloween themed builds

Have a spooky character or creation from a game? Post a screenshot in this thread and join in the seasonal fun. Whether your creation is spooky or funny, cute or downright terrifying, we want to see it. Five commenters will be picked at random and win either a PC Gamer mug or tote bag.

Two photos from one of my favourite games to dress up in: Payday 2. Happy Halloween!—McStabStab

I recently got into Red Dead Online and am having way more fun with it than I expected. Maxed out the Halloween pass, so here is my witch lady with one of the Halloween photo booth backgrounds.—GhostStory

Nice giveaway! This is my character from Rocket Arena! (Mysteen)—Jaro

Rachel had been bouncing around different gaming websites as a freelancer and staff writer for three years before settling at PC Gamer back in 2019. She mainly writes reviews, previews, and features, but on rare occasions will switch it up with news and guides. When she's not taking hundreds of screenshots of the latest indie darling, you can find her nurturing her parsnip empire in Stardew Valley and planning an axolotl uprising in Minecraft. She loves 'stop and smell the roses' games—her proudest gaming moment being the one time she kept her virtual potted plants alive for over a year.