To play the game, each player adopts the persona of one of the Harbingers: Gevaudan the werewolf; Hellin the poltergeist; Khufu the mummy; Baron Samedi the zombie; Anne de Chantraine the witch, and Elizabeth Bathory the vampire.
At random intervals, the game stops and The Gatekeeper appears to either taunt, reward, or penalize the players in a variety of ways.
Prior to beginning the game, the players are required to write their "greatest fear" on individual slips of paper.
Elizabeth Bathory is based on a serial killer who is believed to have murdered and drunk the blood of about six hundred and fifty virgin girls.
[8] Each expansion or sequel in the series introduced new characters and variations, maintaining player interest and adding to the game's replayability.
The video contains footage of The Gatekeeper, a man who often interrupts the game to occasionally punish or reward the players at random.
Phillip Tanner and Brett Clements met in 1982 – they were reporters for Simon Townsend's Wonder World – and a year later, they both set up their own television production company, A Couple 'A Cowboys.
The original VHS tape featured a dark, grainy aesthetic typical of early 90s horror media, enhancing the game's eerie ambiance.
Nightmare IV was hosted by Elizabeth Bathory and released in 1994,[13] and incorporated a punishment class based around vampires that played by their own set of rules.