To add more diversity to my list I'll restrain myself from using several games from same franchise, though the same may prevent me from making a top ten list due to my lack of experience with sufficient number of survival horror, horror in general, games.

8. Dracula: The Resurrection
7. Doom 3
6. F.E.A.R.
5. Resident Evil Directors Cut
4. Dead Space
3. Cold Fear
2. Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth
1. Silent Hill 2

Describing every game separately would certainly be nice, I don't see need for it though since what I have to say goes for almost every game on this list. Dracula: The Resurrection would be the only game that relies solely on intense music, which is understandable since it's a point-and-click adventure, nevertheless, it kept me on the edge. Doom 3, and F.E.A.R. on the other hand relay heavily on cheap scares, other games, more or less, contain the entire package. Creepy, and intense atmosphere, cheap scares, sense of vulnerability which again in most cases has something to do with clunky controls, and slow characters.

I would also like to point to Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, and Cold Fear, both highly underrated games if you ask me. If you look past the flaws, which again are barely noticeable, you're certainly bound to have an amazing survivor horror experience.