One of the things I hate is (usually amateur stuff on YouTube) in which the person is getting overly scared even when it makes no sense.
Like they'll over act and start hyperventilating at a leaf and saying shit like "Oh my god what is that?!?!?! WHAT IS THAT?!?!" at like...a thud in the distance.
YouTube and Ghost Hunting shows seem to be the worst offender.
Another trope I hate is a horror game one but it's somewhat related; I hate it when the game tells you when to be scared by having a "sanity" effect or by the player character gasp or scream or whatever. Worst is if they have some kind of heartbeat sound effect that plays when you're supposed to be spooked.
But yeah, if a character starts saying shit like "WhAt ThE FuCk WaS ThAt?!" then I just get more annoyed than scared.
Yeah, I think it stems from the fact that people don't grasp that there is an inherent terror to the unknown
It allows the mind to wander, to go into places where the writer never thought to
I think this is why collaborative horror projects (Slenderman, The SCP Foundation, The Backrooms, etc.) both stick around and also stop being good
Slenderman was spooky when he was just a weird thing in the background of photos, years later, he's one goofy doofus. Lives in a mansion in the middle of the woods, makes people kill for him so they can live in the mansion.
The mystique is gone, replaced by someone wanting to leave their mark on a legend