Overview
This guide basically explains the insanity update and how to prevent going insane and having creatures from the shadows kill you.
1: What is Insanity?
Insanity is a new feature added in the Feb. 19th update called “Insanity”. Having too low Sanity level will cause you to see scary things and have creatures from the shadows attack you. Doing some things will lower your sanity meter like eating raw meat. While other actions increase it like picking flowers or eating Taffy.
2: First Look
When you make a new world and spawn in you will see a new meter has been added. 
The Sanity Meter!
When you start it’s at 200 but can drop either slowly of rapidly depending on the situation. Just make sure you have a campfire at the first night or else…
3: How having a bad sanity meter sucks
The first thing having bad sanity will do is it will turn the cute bunnies into Beardlings!
Well their not that scary but they drop Beard Hairs, Monster Meat and Nightmare Fuel instead of the normal morsel.
More deadly monsters appear hostile as your sanity goes down, I’m not going into detail on every one of them but most want to kill you.
4: How to go Insane
You might be wondering why you would ever want to go insane, well the answer is Nightmare Fuel. You get it by killing the Horrers in InsaneLand and they are used to make a similiar insane items.
There are plenty of ways to go insane:
1: You can stay in darkness or dusk and your sanity will drain faster in darkness and slower in light.
2: Just being near monsters won’t help your mind relax.
3: Eating raw meat or stale food won’t help the stomach or the mind, -5 to -10 for sanity.
4: Eating evil petals reduce sanity., -5 to sanity.
5: Digging up graves makes you go a little on the weird and crazy side don’t you think? -15 to sanity.
6: Wormholes are gross, Wilson doesn’t like it, -15 to sanity.
7: If you die and get revived you start with 50 sanity
8: Picking or cooking a mandrake may decrease your sanity because of the screech it makes.
9: Eating a red or blue mushroom makes your sanity drop by 15, eating a green mushroom doesn’t give you a 1up but takes away 50 sanity.
5: Getting sane again
Lucky for us, there are plenty of ways to increase your sanity so you won’t be attacked by Horrers every waking moment.
1: Sleeping in a straw roll +33
2: Eating Taffy or a pumpkin cookie +20
3: Eating a Crock Pot food excluding monster lasagna +5
4: Picking a flower +5
5: Eating a cooked green mushroom +15
6: Your sanity will gradually increase by wearing a top hat, dapper vest, Garland, staying in sunlight or standing near friendly piggie friends 🙂
7:Shaving increases your sanity by about 15.
8: You can also feed a pig a piece of meat and stay VERY close to him while he’s sleeping, cutting a tree or trapped by the ocean. This tip was provided by Pedo Bear.
9: Sleeping in a tent +50 sanity
6: Nightmare Fuel and it’s Uses
You should already know that killing the Horrers gives you nightmare fuel but what can you do with it? Well you can make a variety of objects:
1: You can make an amulet that will revive you if you are wearing it while killed.
2: You can make a Night Light that provides long lasting light but slowly drives you insane
3: Night Armor and the Dark Sword are both tools to assist you in combating Horrers, however it gradually decreases your sanity.
7: Making sanity regaining items
Most of the sanity regaining items are dress and just need silk and some other stuff. However taffy is made by putting 4 honey in a crock pot. Pumpking cookies can be made by putting 2 honey and 2 pumpkins in the crock pot. However Taffy reduces your health by 5.
8: Weapons of Mass Insanity
You may have noticed that two new “weapons” are in the magic section, the Dark Sword and Night Armour. The two weapons are basically a spear and logsuit but better although they reduce sanity. They also work on normal mobs not just horrers.
Let’s start with this beautiful cutlass called the Dark Sword. It’s currently the highest damaging object in the game being 75 points. While the spear is only 33 and Tentacle Spike is 51. It takes 5 Nightmare Fuel to craft and a Stick.
The next item in our insane amoury is the Night Armour. It reduces 95% of damage unlike the Football Helmet and Logsuit’s 80%. It also lasts almost twice as long. It takes 5 Nightmare Fuel and 3 Papyus to craft.
9: Preparations for your Quest into Insanity.
It’s awful going into insanity if you don’t have a way to get back. So I took the liberty of including this section.
The first thing you want to do is make atleast 3 pieces of Taffy or Pumpkin Cookies (Made with 4 honey in a crock pot or 2 pumpkins and 2 honey) and some Fist Fulls of Jam (4 berries in a crock pot) and 2 Logsuits, a Football helmet and 2 spears.
Why bring all of it? Well the Taffies are going to bring back to sanity but be warned they take off 5 Health when used except the Pumpkin Cookies. The Jam is my ideal way to restore Health as they restore 25 per use. You are going to NEED the extra suits in case one breaks. As soon as you run out, head back to Saneland.
10: The Horrors/Hallucinations
Now we’re going to go research the horrors themselves. Only 2 do damage to you so that’s nice 🙂 They spawn once your sanity goes below 75 and become hostile when under 24.
Now the first little horror is harmless, he’s called Mr. Skits and he just watches you, going near him makes him crawl away. They can’t attack or be attacked but might cause more horrors to spawn.However he may attack if your sanity is low enough.
The second monster of the mind is the normal Crawling Horror. These things actually attack you. They have 600 health and do 30 points of damage. They drop 1-2 Nightmare Fuel when killed.
The third being of the night is a bird like creature called a Terrorbeak. They have 300 health but do 60 points of damage, they also drop 1-2 Nightmare Fuel.
Now this one is a creepy guest of the dark, he doesn’t attack or can be attacked but he watches you at night when your sanity is low. He is a slender man with what looks to be arms or tentacles coming out of it’s body. It won’t disappear when you go near him. He also has those creepy hollow eyes.
The last thing on this list is called a “Nighthand” it’s a hand that’s almost the same as Maxwell’s. It slowly crawls towards your fire and then extingushes it. However all you have to do is step on it and stomp it into the dust like so.
11: Conclusion
That’s about all you need to know about the insanity update, I’ll update and include extra information if new information arises. I also hope you enjoyed this guide and I hope no one will die of insanity 🙂 The next guide I made is the Winter Survival Guide so be sure to check that out!
Also check out the Don’t Starve Wiki, it’s updated frequently and it’s also where I got the pictures from!