The first entry in the Fatal Frame series, it was published by Tecmo in Japan (2001) and North America (2002), and by Wanadoo Edition in Europe in 2002.

An expanded Xbox port was published by Tecmo in 2002 in North America (2002) and Japan (2003), and by Microsoft Game Studios in Europe in 2003.

The story follows Miku Hinasaki, a spiritually-sensitive girl exploring the haunted Himuro Mansion in search of her brother Mafuyu.

The game received generally positive reviews for its atmosphere and main gameplay mechanic, while the port drew praise for its improved visuals.

Fatal Frame is a survival horror video game set within an abandoned Japanese mansion, divided into a prologue tutorial and four chapters.

[6] The story, set in the year 1986, focuses on orphaned siblings Miku and Mafuyu Hinasaki, who share the ability to sense and perceive supernatural events.

This attachment meant that her sacrifice did not seal the Hell Gate, allowing Malice to infest Himuro Mansion, with its inhabitants either dying or being driven mad.

Miku finally confronts Kirie's adult form at the Hell Gate, cleansing her spirit of Malice using an artifact called the Holy Mirror.

In the "Normal Mode" ending, Mafuyu stays behind with Kirie to keep her spirit company while Miku escapes the Hell Gate's chamber as it collapses.

A third ending, exclusive to the Xbox version, shows the spirit of Kirie's lover returning to her while Miku and Mafuyu escape.

The concept for the game came to future director Makoto Shibata shortly after he finished work on Tecmo's Deception: Invitation to Darkness.

During early development, a large amount of effort went into adjusting the lighting and shading, with the most obvious in-game representation of the key colors and desired effect being Miku's torch piercing the darkness inside the mansion.

[21] As part of the promotion campaign, two special giveaways were created and sold through Japanese media store Tsutaya: headphones given away to winners of a lottery, and a trial version available to rent.

[23] The game's release for North America was confirmed in January 2002 to be March 8, but the title was instead made available on February 27.

Two cited examples were a haunted mansion said to be the site of numerous murders, and the legend of a tree from which a woman hanged herself when forcefully separated from her lover.

[28] An expanded port for the Xbox, titled Fatal Frame Special Edition, was released on November 27, 2002 in North America, February 6, 2003 in Japan, and May 2, 2003 in Europe.

[28][29][30] The port featured graphical upgrades, new ghosts to fight, a redesigned interface for the camera, bonus costumes for Miku, and a new "Fatal" difficulty mode.

[37] IGN's David Smith, while noting some difficulties with the controls, generally praised its atmosphere and gameplay, saying that "horror fans are advised to pick this one up at their leisure, and even the jaded might find something to renew their interest in the genre".

[1] Chris Baker of 1UP.com similarly praised the atmosphere and enjoyed the gameplay, particularly noting its ability to make him feel like a newcomer to gaming with its late-game difficulty spike.

[2] Lee was particularly positive about the improvements despite them not being substantial when compared to other expanded re-releases of the time, recommending it to players who had yet to try the original version.

[2] IGN's Aaron Boulding likewise noted the graphical upgrade, while saying that players of the original version would find little to attract them again aside from the new difficulty mode.

[43] A standalone sequel, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly, was released in 2003 in Japan and North America, and 2004 in Europe.

[51][52] After a long period of hiatus, the film was re-announced in 2014, this time produced by Samuel Hadida, and was set to begin production after the completion and release of the fifth Fatal Frame title Maiden of Black Water.