Scratches
( Director's Cut )
(A Walkthrough by
Zurreen Zubairie)
Copyright © 2007.
All rights reserved.
(Please, note that this walkthrough is copyrighted. Hence, any attempt to reproduce anything from this walkthrough will be severely punished to the maximum extent of the law.)
Introduction
The developers of "Scratches" have delivered
this special version of the game with a promise of better graphics, an
alternate ending to the original game, and a brand new chapter which is
actually a kind of Epilog to the Blackwood saga. Unfortunately, however, you need to install a
rather large patch to enjoy both the better graphics and to trigger that
alternate ending. While there are plenty
of patches available online, I am not sure if they will all work, especially to
trigger that elusive alternate ending.
Personally, I had to install the one patch that is provided by GameSpot,
under "Scratches: The Director's Cut." It was a very long file (about 500 MB) and,
even with broadband, it took me three hours to download it. An English friend of mine tells me, however,
that you can get the exact same patch from The Patches Scroll and download it
in just 30 minutes. (Thanks,
Note: You can certainly play both the original game (entitled,
Scratches: The Director's Cut) or the Epilogue (entitled, The Last
Visit) without the patch. As I mentioned, however, you will not be able
to get the better graphics nor trigger the alternate ending. Moreover, you will run into one major computer
error: the hand icon on the front door
appears on the left side of the door,
even though the door handle appears on the right, when you approach the door
from the outside. The problem is
reversed when you are trying to step outside the house: the hand icon appears
on the right, even though the door
handle appears on the left side of the door. The patch corrects both these errors.
Some General Notes about this Walkthrough: Again, as in the case of my walkthrough for
the original Scratches, this one has no graphics (i.e., screenshots) either. As I mentioned then, that was not by my choice. The developers of the game appear to have
used a platform that was either so
sophisticated that it blocks any attempts to take screenshots, or not sophisticated enough to allow
them. Whatever the reason, I personally
found it to be rather unfortunate, because I believe that a picture does speak a thousand words. I have tried to compensate for the problem by
providing as much detail as possible, hoping to ensure that anyone would be able to enjoy the game,
regardless of their particular level of expertise in game-playing. I have also supplemented my efforts to
illustrate by using diagrams, wherever possible. Please, note, however, that these diagrams
are by no means "to scale." As
I indicated, their sole purpose is to provide the quickest and the simplest means
of finding your way around the house as well as in its environment. For your reassurance, please note [Warning! Spoiler] that you will find the "actual"
blueprints of the house at least, somewhere in the middle of the game.
Well, that is all that I can think of by way of an introduction
both to the game and the following walkthrough.
Please, do feel free to ask any questions, make any comments, or just
talk about the game, by contacting me at [email protected]. Thank you.
The Walkthrough
Generally
The Icons: There
are only three icons in this game. The
Open Hand indicates action -- for example, opening the door, picking up an
object, etc. Click on the open hand
every time you are told to perform an action in this walkthrough. Clicking on the icon with the hand pointing sideways, will allow you to step out of a close up, etc. Finally, the hand with the finger pointing straight
ahead, indicates that you can go in that direction.
The Inventory: Right-click
to open the inventory. Click on the item
you want, and then right-click again to close the inventory. You will see the item out on the screen
now. Apply it to where you think it
should go. If you are right, the item
will brighten up. Click on the spot
where it does and a cut scene will usually do the rest.
The Slideshow: You
will find this feature in the Setup. Turning
it OFF allows you to explore your surroundings in the normal way. However, using this mode also has two
disadvantages. First, you are likely to
miss a critical clue as your cursor speeds right past it. Also, it might make you rather dizzy,
especially if you happen to have a mouse with the tracking ball on top, which tends
to make things move really fast on the screen.
Thus, your eyes might actually "appreciate" it if you turn the
"slideshow" ON. You can then
examine your surroundings more carefully, on a frame-by-frame basis; and the
chances of missing a pertinent clue are also less. The downside of it, of course, is that it
does tend to be a bit more laborious than the natural mode.
Saturday, October 12th (Day One):
You arrive at the Blackwood Manor and are automatically brought
out of the car. Turn to your left though,
and click on the car door to open it and get back inside. Now open the glove compartment and retrieve the
car keys. Step out of the close up, and
then click on the door to get out of the car again.
Step directly towards the mansion now. You will have to go around the fountain to do so.
As you reach the front door, open your inventory and bring out the large
key. Place it on the door handle and click
to unlock the door. Click on the door handle
itself then to open the door and enter.
You will find yourself in a small hall, with the stairs to your left and
a small room in the front. (See diagram
below)
Remember, you are lugging around two rather large cases,
so it would be best to take the load off first.
So go directly up the stairs. [Notice
the silent remark at the bottom of your screen just as you reach
the top of the stairs. It is important
to pay attention to these remarks, because they will often give you some clues.]
Enter the first room on your right. This is your bedroom. Turn around and try to flip the light switch next
to the door. It is not working, however,
as the comment at the bottom will also confirm.
Move towards the large desk across the room. Open the inventory to bring out the second case, and place it on the desk. Open the case. Now click on the papers inside, to see them
automatically come out and neatly placed on the right side of the desk. Now click on the type writer, to see it also
come out and be placed in the center of the desk. Click on the case twice then, to close it and
then to put it away.
Step out of this close up and approach the small table to
the left of the desk. Bring out your suitcase from the inventory this time, and
place it on this table. Open the
suitcase. Click on the pen, then on the
matches (between the pair of shoes), to deposit them both in your
inventory. Next, click on the battered little
brown notebook that was under the pen. Click
on it again to open it and reveal your secretary's phone number. Click on it yet again, to put the notebook
away. Now click on the business card, in
the center of the suitcase, to reveal the phone number of your friend, Jerry. [Now that you have seen the numbers, you can
call either of these people whenever you consider it appropriate to do so.] Click on the envelope to the right in the
suitcase, open it and then click on to read the four pages inside. Click on the blue hard cover book to see the
hero's latest work in print.
Step out of this close up.
Now click on the top drawer.
Click on the papers inside, and repeatedly to see that they are all
drawings and sketches on human anatomy.
Close this drawer and open the next one, to find some bottles
inside. Close this drawer also and open
the last one at the bottom. It is
empty. Close this drawer too and go to the
right of the desk. Close up on the
wastebasket on the floor, and pick up the piece of paper lying inside. Read it.
Step out of this close up then.
Click on the two shelves of the bookcase to your right, to find nothing
of interest to the hero. So move towards
the fireplace now, on the other side of the bed. Close up on the little black bag, sitting on
the floor, to the right of the fireplace.
Open it and pick up the stethoscope.
Click on the papers, and "flip" through them as well by
clicking repeatedly, to find more drawings on anatomy. Step out of this close up. You might want to look at the doctor's
certificate up on the wall to the left of the fireplace, indicating that this
had been the doctor's bedroom as well, and explaining all those drawings and
sketches on anatomy. Close up and click
on the fireplace itself, to find "remnants of a previous fire."
You are done in this room for now, so come downstairs
again. The phone should be ringing in the
Phone Room. [Refer to the earlier
diagram.] If not, give it a few
seconds. As it starts ringing then, close
up on it and answer it.
It is a call from Jerry.
The conversation will continue without your having to do anything
further. As the other guy hangs up, your
hero will do the same. Now call your
secretary, Barbara. [As you pick up the
phone, three choices will appear at the bottom of the screen. Just click on the second choice, with her name in it.] This conversation will be just cheerful and
casual, and the only important thing you will learn is that she is studying
"tongues," i.e., different languages.
Step out of the close up, and towards the front door. Click on the door handle to open the door and
step outside. Go to the main gate (where
your car is parked). As you reach the
main gate, read the comment that will appear at the bottom of the screen; and then,
close up on the little black mailbox situated to the left of the barred gate.
Click on the mailbox to open it and then, on the yellow note inside to
pick it up and read it. [Note: the note
disappears altogether once you step out of this close up so either save your
game on this note or read it as carefully as you would like the very first
time!] You learn that you have missed a
visit from the electrician.
Step out of the close up and return to the house. Go to the phone and call Jerry (just click on
the first choice, the one with his name in it, at the bottom of your
screen). Again, the conversation will
carry on and conclude without your having to do anything at all. As the two guys hang up, step out of the
close up and move towards the door on the other side of this room. Click on its handle to enter the Dining Room. Turn left and click on the cabinet to your
left. The only clickable area is the top
shelf, filled with bottles. There is
only one bottle at the very back (second from the left actually) in the top
shelf where you get a message at the bottom of the screen that is different
from the ones you get by clicking on the other bottles: about J.B., etc. [But there is no significance to this. Perhaps the game designers intended to use
this for some purpose, and either forgot to do so or decided to drop the idea
altogether.]
Go around the dining table. Click on the two pots by the window, to find
that the plants have long died because they had not been watered. Move to your right, still around the dining
table, and click on the objects on the small table. It's "useless junk." Click on the drawer of a larger table to the
right. Click on its contents and you
will find that it is full of napkins, etc., nothing of use to the hero. Come around the dining table now and move
towards the double doors in front of you.
Click on either door handle to enter the Study.
Move towards the large desk right in front of you, across
the room, and come around it. Close up on the desk, then on the red journal
lying on the top, and read it (flipping the pages by clicking on the page to
the right until you have reached the
blank page at the end). Click on the
last page then to close and put the journal away. Step out of the close up on the journal now and
click on the top drawer, on the left
side of the desk, to open it. There is
nothing "clickable" there, meaning nothing of interest. So close it and click to open the second drawer from the top. Click on the white envelope to deposit it in
your inventory. Close this drawer also and
open the one right under it. Click on
the "boring" (i.e., piercing) tool, to deposit it in your inventory
as well. Close this drawer as well. Click to open the bottom drawer now, and
again there is nothing clickable, i.e., of interest. So close this too and now try to open the top
drawer on the right side of the
desk. It is locked. Step out of the close up on the desk.
Go to the fireplace to your left and close up on it. Click on it, to find the remnants of another old
fire. Feel free to click on objects on
the mantel, and then move towards the door to your right. Click on the small
table to the right of the door, to find that the little drawer would not open. You are done in this room now, so click on the
handle to the door on your left, to
enter the Living Room.
Go to the left, to the coffee table in front of the
fireplace. Close up on the coffee table,
and then on the dark red journal
lying on top, on the edge of the table closest to you. Again, read it, flipping the pages by
clicking on the right page until you
reach the blank page at the end of this journal too. Click on this last page then, to close the
journal and put it away. Step out of the
close up and turn around to face the fireplace.
Close up and click on it to find that there is "a generous amount
of wood" there that you can use to light up a fire should you need
one. You are done in this room also, for
now, so leave the room and head back for the Dining Room, through the Phone
Room again.
Go straight forward to the door on the opposite side of
this room, and click on its handle, to enter the Hallway. Step towards the table to the right of the door in front of you. Click on the two drawer handles on either
side to find that the drawer is "stuck beyond hope." Move towards the door on your left now, click
on its handle, and enter the Kitchen.
Move to the sink on the opposite side of the wall. Close up on the sink and click on the taps to
see that there is no water. Step out of
the close up and click on the cabinet, to the left of the sink, to open it.
Click on the top drawer inside, to find it empty. Close it and then click to open the drawer under
it. Click on the large knife, on your
lower right, to deposit it in your inventory.
Step out of this close up now and move towards the green door to the right of the refrigerator. Click on its door handle to enter the Maid's
room.
Go to the desk to the right of the wall across the
room. Close up on the top of the desk
and then click on the papers there, to remove the topmost sheet from the pile. Step
out of this close up and click on the top drawer to your right to open it. Click on the pencil in the lower left side of
the drawer, to deposit it in your inventory.
Now open your inventory, pick up the pencil and put it on the sheet of
the paper, to reveal a letter written in Italian. [Note for those who may not be familiar with
this old technique: whenever we write on
the top sheet of a writing tablet, we leave an imprint of our writing on the page right under the one we use. By using the edge of the lead of a dark
colored pencil, you can gently shade across the page and a white image of the writing will appear against the gray shading we
etched, revealing everything that was scribbled on the page above. Thus, the game designers have actually erred
by showing a dark writing against a white page in the inventory, because in
reality it would be the opposite.
Nevertheless, the idea is that this is how the hero gets his hands on
what had been written on the topmost sheet now obviously removed. The problem now, however, is to get the
message translated so that we can understand
what had been written on the missing page.]
Step out of the inventory and close up on the
black-and-white photograph that is lying under some writing tablet that was
under the pencil you just picked. As you
get the close up, click on the picture again and read the comment at the bottom
of the screen indicating that it was an old picture of the kitchen you just
left. Notice the large key hanging on
the wall to the left of the door you had used to enter the kitchen. There is a large urn right under the key in
this picture. However, neither the key
nor the urn is in that place in the kitchen now. [The clue here is that the key had fallen in
the urn that has apparently been removed.
So you must now find the urn, in order to find the key.]
Step out of the close up on the desk now and move towards
the large chest of drawers against the wall on your left. There are two small drawers at the top and
two large ones under them. Open each of
them, click on the contents, and then close to do the same with the rest of the
drawers. There is nothing of interest in
any of these drawers, however, except that the contents of the small drawer on
the left indicate that the room had been used by someone quite interested in
photography.
Turn to the door on your right now and click on its handle,
to enter the bathroom. Turn around and close
up on the sink to your left. Click on
the taps, to find that there is no water running here either. You are done with this room, as well as in
the maid's room (for now). So return to
the Hallway through the Kitchen.
Go to the corner on the other
side of the stairs and to the right
of the door to the Dining Room. You will
see three urns placed under the window there.
Click on the drapes to open them.
Now close up on the little urn on the left. You see a key lying inside. Click on it, to deposit it in the
inventory. Step out of this close up and
return to the Kitchen. Head directly for
the gray door to your right. Open the inventory and pick up the
"golden key" you just retrieved from the urn out in the Hallway. Close the inventory, and place the key on the
keyhole. Click on the key to unlock the
door. Now click on the door handle to
enter the Basement.
Go down the stairs.
Turn left and you will see the top half of a rusted fuse box up on the
wall in front of you. Click on the box
to open it. Click on the
magnifying-glass icon on each of the handles inside, and the comment at the
bottom will indicate that there seems to be nothing wrong with the fuses. Click on the two handles anyway and nothing
will happen. Close the fuse box. You are actually done in the Basement for now
but feel free to explore. Move towards
the furnace on your right, and click on it to read the comment at the bottom of
the screen about its size. Move a step
further right and close up on the furnace's little door. Click on the door to open it, and then click on
the dark interior to read the hero's comment at the bottom of the screen. Step out of this close up and look to your
right. Close up either on the valve on
the wall or the drain cover on the ground, and you will get a close up
both. Clicking on the drain cover, however,
will do nothing but to give you a message at the bottom of the screen that it
is a drain cover. Click on the Open Hand
icon on the valve, to find that it does not budge. Click on it again, to learn that the hero
cannot move it with his bare hands.
Spend some more time clicking on boxes under the stairs and
in the center of the Basement, until your hero reports feeling a sudden breeze
on his neck. Step out of the basement
then and make your way back to the Phone Room.
Call Jerry first. Again, you
don't have to do anything further but to listen to the conversation. When the two men hang up, pick up the phone again
and call Barbara, the secretary, now.
Again, listen to the conversation, as the hero asks her to translate a
letter written in Italian and she tells him to send it to her. As the conversation ends, step out of the
close up and open your inventory. Pick
up the letter you had found in the maid's room.
Place it on the envelope you had retrieved from the study, to seal the
letter. Now put your pen on the
envelope, to write the address on it.
The letter is all set to be mailed.
So step out of the house, and head for the main gates. Close up on the mailbox to the left of the
main gates. Click on it to open it,
bring out your sealed letter from the inventory and place it inside the
mailbox. Close the box again, step out
of the close up, and return to the house.
In the last conversation with Jerry, he had told the hero
to find some candles around the house.
We have already searched and found none on the ground floor. So go upstairs now. (See the diagram below.)
We had already searched the guest room also. So as you reach the top of the stairs, turn
to your left this time. Move forward and
click on the handle of the door to your left, to enter the Main Bedroom. As you enter, go straight forward and turn
left to face the chest of drawers. Click
on the Open Hand icon to open each drawer, check out its contents, close it and
move on to the next one, until you have searched all four drawers. You find nothing of interest here. So turn around and try to click on the dresser
drawers to your right. But the hero
doesn't even want to open these, expecting them to be filled with just trinkets
and perfumes. Step further right, turn
around, and try clicking on the dresser drawers on that side; but you will get
the same response from the hero. So
return to the door and step to the right
side of the room now.
Turn around (away from the bed) and close up on the little
oval mirror sitting on the table to the right of the bed. Click on it and it will change its angle a
little bit. Step out of the close up and
look to the right of the large mirror at the wall. There is a picture of a woman holding some
kind of a crystal ball. Close up on the
picture and then click on the Open Hand icon that now appears around the crystal ball in the woman's
hands. The picture will fling to your
left, and reveal a hidden safe behind it.
Click on the safe and read the hero's comment at the bottom of the
screen, about not knowing the combination or anything about cracking
safes. You are done in this room for
now, so exit and click on either handle of the double doors immediately in
front of you, to enter the Gallery.
Turn left and step to the little table in the
corner. Close up on the top of the table. Click on the piece of paper almost hidden
behind the hat, to pick it up and read a letter by a museum director. Step out of the close up and turn to your
right. Step forward towards the window
in front, turn to your left and close up on the upper part of a large glass
display. Click on it to learn that the
display is one of a pair of huge carved tusks.
Step out of this close up and click on the brass handle right under the
glass part of the display. The comment
at the bottom of the screen indicates that the display does not move. Close up at the base of the display then, and
click on the magnifying glass icon on the thin
panel strip running along the length of the base, stopping just short of
the very corner at the left end. [Note:
You can confirm that it is the right spot by referring to the comment, at the
bottom of the screen, about the bottom of the case having some kind of a panel.] After having clicked on it once, an Open Hand
icon will appear on that strip. Click on
it but the panel appears to be stuck in place.
Bring out the large knife from your inventory, place it on the strip,
and click to remove it from the display.
Click on the little wheels now revealed at either end of the display, to
read the comment at the bottom of the screen that the panel had been hiding
these wheels. [Hint: The display can be moved.]
Step out of the close up and look at the display to your
right now. Feel free to look closely at
the four objects on display here, clicking on the magnifying glass icon to get
a close up of each. You don't get any
comments at the bottom of the screen, however, indicating that there is nothing
of interest. So step out of the close up,
head back towards the door, and step towards the window on the right side of the room now. Turn right to see yet another display, this one
of some exotic masks. Close up on the
mask on the extreme left, and click on it to read the hero's comment about it. There seems to be a mask missing to the right
of this one. So step out of this close
up and close up on the third mask from the left, and then on the fourth one
right next to it. Step out of this close
up and turn around. Step towards the
door and close up on the necklace you see on a display to the left of the door. Click on the large, white, claw-like object
hanging from the center of the necklace, and read the comment at the bottom of
the screen, about something like a lion's
claw having been firmly attached to the necklace. You are done in this room, for now, so exit.
As you step out of the room, move to your right, and click
on the handle of the door at that end of the corridor, to enter the bathroom. Close up on the sink to your left, and click
on the two taps to find that there is no water here either. Step out of the close up. There are three small drawers on either side,
under the sink, and one large drawer in the middle at the very bottom. Search all of these drawers. [Note: all you have to do is open one drawer
and then click on the Open Hand icon on the other one, to automatically close the first one before the second one is opened
for you.] Click on the white piece of
cloth you find in the large middle drawer at the bottom, to deposit it in your
inventory. You are done in this room
now, so exit.
Step forward, turn to your left, and go upstairs to the
next floor. (See diagram below.)
As you come upstairs, move up to and click the handle to
the door right in front of you, to enter the bathroom on this floor. The room seems to have been under
construction, however, and is therefore not really a finished room. There are bricks and wooden planks
everywhere. Just as you enter, turn
right and click on the magnifying glass icon on the bricks there on the
ground. You will get a close up of a
brick, with a small metal rod sticking in the center. Click on the rod to deposit it in your
inventory. You are done in this room
now, so step forward and click on the handle to the door on your left, to enter
the adjacent room.
This room seems to have been under construction as well,
with bricks and all kinds of "trash" around. Step forward, turn to your right, and click
on the small stove sitting on a plank that has been placed as a makeshift wooden
bench. The close up of the stove will show you a metal rod on its left side,
but merely a hole on the right. Bring out of your inventory the small metal
rod you just picked from the adjacent bathroom, place it on the hole on the right
side of the stove, and click to see it fit into place. You are done in this room also, at least for
now. So step out of the close up, turn
around and exit through the door to your right,
to get back in the hallway on this floor.
The stairs to the attic are immediately to your
right. Step forward, however, and try to
open the door to your right (the one marked with a "?" in the
diagram, appearing to the left of the
stairs you had used to come up to this floor).
The comment at the bottom of the screen indicates, however, that the door
seems to be stuck. So come around the stairs to the attic and try
to open the door to your left (the other
door marked with a "?" in the diagram). The comment at the bottom of the screen tells
you that the door is locked but that the hero can see a key, on the other side of the door, in the
keyhole. Turn to your left then, and
click on the newspaper on the ground, to deposit it in your inventory. Bring the newspaper out of your inventory and
place it under the door. Now bring the "boring tool" out of
your inventory, place it on the keyhole, and click to read the comment at the
bottom of the screen that the key has been knocked down (and has thus landed
onto the newspaper). So pick up the
newspaper from the floor, only to read the comment at the bottom of the screen
that the key got stuck on the other side of the door. Click on the door handle to find that there
is no way to get the key now.
So come around to
the stairs to the attic, and go up
the stairs to the attic now. Open the
door and step towards the wall in front of you.
There is a pile of newspapers on the ground, right under a small
circular window. Click to get a close up
of the newspapers, and then try to pick one up, only to find (from the comment
at the bottom of the screen) that the pile of newspapers is too huge and that you
would need a specific date to find a particular newspaper. Click on the little green chest, to the right of the newspaper pile, to get its close
up. Once you get this close up, click to
open the chest. Click to pick up the
lantern on the left side of the chest, to deposit it in your inventory. Now click on the papers in the left side of
the chest and, as you get a close up of them, click repeatedly to see them one
by one. Click on the papers in the right
side of the chest then, and similarly look at them one by one as well. Step out of the close up and click on the
magnifying icon on the right and left sides of the room, and read the comments
at the bottom of the screen to find either nothing of interest or the hero getting
eerie impressions. You are done in the
attic, for now, so exit and head back for the Phone Room.
Call Jerry now, and listen to the conversation between
the two men. Since the hero couldn't
find any candles in the house, he must now drive over to town and buy
some. So, as the two men hang up, step
out of the house through the front door and head for your car standing by the
main gates. Get in the car, bring out
your car keys from the inventory and place them on the "car starter,"
i.e., the ignition (in the little white circle, right under the red one, on the
right side of the steering wheel). Click
to place the key in the ignition, and then again to try to start the car. The engine purrs a little and dies out, as
the red bulb above the car starter starts flashing. The comment at the bottom of the screen
indicates that the hero had left the lights on when he had first gotten out of
the car. Click on the ignition again,
and the comment at the bottom of the screen will tell you that the car battery
is dead. So step out of the car and
return to the house, to call Jerry again.
Jerry will tell you now to go to sleep, but the hero
won't be "allowed" to do so (by the game designers) until he does
three more things, two of these being to call Jerry again. So as the two men hang up the first time,
call Jerry again. You will have a choice
of two topics, as indicated at the bottom of the screen: the previous
inhabitants of the house and the safe.
Click on the first topic. Jerry
will tell you then about a murder that took place in the house back in May,
1963. As the two men hang up again, call
Jerry once more. This time, you won't be
given any choices at the bottom of the screen, as the hero will automatically
start talking about the safe. As it will
turn out, Jerry does have the information but not readily available, so he will
end the conversation promising to give the information tomorrow. [Note: the reason that the two men keep
hanging up is that the game is designed so that you can call Jerry up as soon
as you discover something that you can relate to him in order to receive some
information from him in return. Rather
than running back and forth to and from the phone, however, we are taking care
of a few things at the same time. The
downside, of course, is that we need to keep calling Jerry until all the
necessary information has been exchanged between the two men.]
As this last conversation ends, go back up to the attic and
try to pick up a newspaper. A single
choice will appear at the bottom of the screen, relating to a news story in the
date of May, 1963. Click on this choice
and you will get a close up of a news page detailing the account of the murder
Jerry had mentioned. You are done for
the day now. So go to your room
downstairs and towards the bed. As you
see the Open Hand icon on the bed, the comment at the bottom of the screen will
confirm that it is time to go to sleep.
While the day may be over, however, the night is not – as
the hero wakes up, in the middle of the night, by the sounds of a hammer
"banging away" . . .
Try to open the inventory, but you will not be able to do
so. So step out of the room, walk down
the corridor and enter the Gallery. Look
on the left side of the room, where that large glass cabinet, with the huge
carved tusks, stood. You had not been
able to move the cabinet earlier that day, but it is not there anymore. Instead, you see a boarded-up door that might
have been behind the display all along.
Move towards that door, look down and close up on the hammer lying in
front of you. Pick it up and . . . you
will find yourself back in your room.
Apparently, you had just been having a dream (or a nightmare). But you are up now, and out of the bed. It is still night time, and you have
apparently been awakened by some other strange sounds – this time, more like
that of scratching – coming from somewhere.
Go to the fireplace. As you
approach it, the comment at the bottom of the screen tells you that the sounds
have grown louder. Close up on the
fireplace, and place your stethoscope inside.
Yes, the sounds seem to be coming from there. But you are still not sure of the source; and
you won't be able to go back to sleep until you do. So go down to the Living Room now, and close
up on the fireplace there. Put your
stethoscope, not on the logs but on
the piece of the wall right above them.
Yes, the sounds must be coming from below . . .
Return to your room now and, just as you enter, the comment
at the bottom of the screen will inform you that the scratching sounds have now
stopped. So go back to sleep now.
Sunday, October 13th (Day Two):
You wake up to find the rain pouring down. Go downstairs and wait for the phone to ring.
It's Jerry. The plans are
changed, of course, because of the rain.
Although he can't come any time soon, he does give you the combination
for the safe. No need to make a note of
the combination, however. Just go up to
the main bedroom, move the picture frame, and click on the safe, to see it
open. Inside you will find a key and a
construction contract. Pick up the key,
and read the contract.
Go upstairs now to the door behind the stairs to the
attic (where you had knocked off and tried to retrieve the key with the
newspaper). Bring out the key you just
found in the safe, place it on the keyhole and click. Enter the room. This appears to be some kind of a
studio. Examine the paintings, and then
move towards the table, to your right, on the other side of the room. Turn to your left and pick up the hammer from
the stool. Now close up on the table,
and click twice on the center of the
table. The first time, you will pick up
a silver key, and the second time a lid of one of the small paint cans you see
in front of you. Close up on the
blueprints lying on the left side of the table.
Click on the right side to
flip through and examine all three pages.
When you are looking at the layout of the second floor, however,
be sure to click on the block representing a small room to the left of the main bedroom. Read the comment at the bottom of the screen,
indicating you had not seen this room.
Step out of the close ups and go to the other room,
through the door on your left. You see a
rope hanging from the ceiling (to your right, in front of you) and a ladder
behind it. Go to the ladder, move up one step and you will be able to see the
beam where the rope has been tied. Use
your knife right where the magnifying glass icon appears (on the loop of the
rope close to the knot), to cut down the rope.
Go up further then, to find a number of cans sitting on a shelf. Pick up the lubricating can, sitting next to
a large dirty square can to the left.
Next, click on that square can. The
comment at the bottom of the screen will call it dirty as well. [Note: While almost all of the other cans
will be said to be "dusty," this is the only can that you click on
that will be said to be "dirty."]
Use the white cloth in your inventory to clean the can, to reveal the
words "Motor Oil." Now use the
"boring tool" to pierce a hole in the side of the can facing you. Next, put your lantern on that hole to fill
it up with oil. Come down the ladder
then and move back towards the door you had used to enter this room. Instead of trying to leave, however, turn
around and pick up the rope (you had cut) from the floor. Move to the door, to your left, on the other
side of the room. Click on its door
handle, thus managing to open it from this
side, to return to the hallway.
Come downstairs and approach the door of the main
bedroom. A magnifying glass icon now
appears to the left of the door. As you
click on it, the comment at the bottom of the screen indicates that there
should be a door there, according to the blueprints you had just seen upstairs. Use your knife to scratch off some of the
paper from the wall, to reveal a bricked
up doorway. You need to find another
way to enter this room.
Go back upstairs, past the studio room, and to the stairs
on your right. Go up a step, turn to
your left, and open the window on that landing.
Go further up, to reach the top of the stairs. You will find a large dark crack in the wall
in front of you. Use your hammer on it
and you will see a hole has been made in the wall, with a beam of light coming
through. Now bring out your rope and put
it on the "old, rusty lamp" right above the crack. Click on the end of the rope lying on the
ground, and it will be slipped through the hole in the wall for you. Come down to the first landing and close up
on the window you had just opened, by clicking on the magnifying glass icon,
and you will be able to see just a tiny
piece of the rope arched at the upper
right corner of the window. Click on
it and the rest of the rope will be brought into view, with a directional icon
allowing you to go through. You will
have to click on this icon three times though before the hero will start to climb
down the rope. You will have to take
four steps before you find the hero in front of a window. Click on the window to open it, and then
enter the mysterious room.
It appears to be a nursery. Turn to your right and look down on the
blocks on the floor. Close up and see that four blocks have been
set apart: O, B, I, N. Notice the numbers that are under
each letter: 9, 0, 9, 7 (respectively). Step out of the close up. [Note: you will save yourself a second
trip to this room later if you close up on the blocks piled up on the little
cart and note that R (appearing right
behind the red handle of another toy) has the number 5 under
it. (To be explained later in the
game.) Step out of this close up also.]
Now move forward in the room, turn to your left and open
the top drawer. Close up on the birth
certificate, lying in the left side of the drawer. Read the document and notice the birth date:
August 7, 1961. Step out of the close
up. You are done in this room now, so
head back through the window you had used to come in. Go to the attic now and click on the
newspapers. You will have a second
choice at the bottom of the screen now, for the date of August 1961. Click on this choice to read about the
childbirth.
Go downstairs and try to call Jerry, only to find that
the phone lines are apparently down. So
come back upstairs and enter the Gallery.
Go to the display with the carved tusks, close up on and remove the thin
panel at the base. [All you have to do
is click on the Open Hand icon, this time.]
Use the lubricating can to oil the two wheels, one by one, on either
side. Press the handle then, to move the
display aside. Turn around to find that
the display had been hiding a boarded up door, just like the one you had seen
in your dream. Step towards this door,
and use your hammer on the planks to remove them. Now click on the door handle, to enter.
It is pitch dark inside, so open your inventory and place
the matches on the lantern, to light it up.
Bring the lantern out of the inventory and just click in front of you, to
illuminate what turns out to be a closet.
Click on the mask sitting right in front of you. Turn to your right then and click on the row
of bamboos, to move them and reveal a little window behind. With enough light coming through that window,
the hero will automatically put the lantern away, to conserve the little oil in
it. Turn to your left now and close up
on the little box on the ground, with an old lamp and two separate sets of
documents sitting on top. Pick up and read
through the pages in each set. You are
done in the closet, for now, so head for the phone room next.
Call Jerry (the phone is working again!). Listen to the conversation and as the two men
hang up, go to your room. It is a bit
early to go to sleep though. So close up
on your desk and click on the typewriter twice – first to put some paper in,
and then to start the typing itself. As the
typing stops, click on the typewriter again to bring up the page and see what
the hero has written. Click on the paper
then to put it away, step out of the close up and go to bed.
Again, the day may be over, but the night is not … This
time, however, the hero wakes up in the middle of the night, not by any strange sounds, but by a
strange feeling …
Step out of your room and go into the Gallery. Go to the newly discovered closet on your
left and enter, to find that the mask you had seen there earlier in the day is
no longer there … Open the door to leave the closet, only to (see something) …
Once again, you will find yourself back in your room and
out of the bed. Apparently, what you
just saw was only a "bizarre dream," but the scratching sounds you
hear are definitely quite real. So leave
your room, and go down to the basement.
But it is pitch dark in there. So
once you enter, open your inventory, and use the matches on the lantern to
light it up. Bring the lantern out of
the inventory then and just click in the darkness to illuminate your way.
Come down the stairs and approach the furnace door to your
right. Open the door and, now that the
lantern is lighting your way, a directional arrow will allow you to go in. Get in and keep going forward (four steps
actually) until you reach the very end of the shaft. Wait a few seconds and then, a very short cut
scene will frighten the hero. [Note: It
happens very fast so it would be a good idea to save the game just before
the hero reaches the very end, in order to be able to replay and see exactly
what the hero sees …]
Turn around and head back out of the shaft. [Note: it will be three steps after you turn
around that everything will go completely dark, as you hear the scratching
sounds rather loudly in the background.
This is apparently a "special effect." The controls will then be returned to you, and
it will be three steps after that then that you will then be able to get out of
the shaft and return to the basement. Leave
the basement. The lantern will go out
just as soon as you enter the kitchen.
But that's okay, there is enough light to help you get back to your
room. Once there, go back to bed.
Monday, October 14th (Day Three):
The rain has stopped.
Go downstairs and the comment at the bottom of the screen will indicate
that it is very cold. So go in the
living room, close up on its fireplace, and use your matches on the logs to
light up a nice warm fire.
Go to the phone room now.
Try to call the secretary, but only to realize that it is her day
off. So call Jerry now, and listen to
the conversation. As the two men hang
up, get ready to make another call.
Remember the contract that you had found in the safe the day
before? Well, if you had looked closely,
there was a "contact number" (i.e., phone number) for the National
Bank of Northumberland, at the very bottom of the page: 01912-94144. If you had tried to call this number the day
before, it would not have worked because it was Sunday and the bank was
closed. So call this number now, by
clicking on the third choice at the
bottom of the screen ("I dialed another number") and then clicking
the above numbers on the phone dial that will be presented to you. Someone by the name of Robert Blake will
answer the phone.
Note: You
will get only one chance to obtain
any information from this person, because he will threaten to call the authorities,
if you call a second time; and the hero won't even try to "push his
luck" a third time. So be sure to save your game just before you make the
call. When Blake answers, you will be
given a choice of two topics: to ask him about Dr. Christopher Milton or
James
Blackwood. If you ask about the
doctor, you will learn something but the conversation would end right
there. So I suggest, you listen to this
information and then reload the game
to begin a conversation with Blake as if you were calling for the first
time. This time, ask for information on
Blackwood. Blake will be reluctant to
divulge any information about a customer, of course, and you will get a choice
to pretend to be either Dr.
Milton or Chief William Bailey (the police officer
who had investigated the murder several years ago). Pretend to be the chief, and the conversation
would be real short. So reload the game, and go through the
above steps related to the inquiry about Blackwood again. This time, however, pretend to be the doctor
and you will get a choice of two topics again: to ask the man about the
construction during the 60's or the recent activities. Try the first topic, and then reload the game and repeat the above
steps until you reach the choice of "recent activities." Ask Blake about this topic, and listen to
what he says. In short, try out all
these different possibilities, to learn (for yourself) different pieces of
information.
Now that it has stopped raining, it is time to take care
of a few things outside. (See diagram
below.)
Step out of the front door, go down the stairs, and take two steps to the left of the fountain (towards the main gates). Turn to your left, and you will see the
Garage building. Go to the garage, and
bring out the silver key you had found in the studio the day before. Use it to unlock the padlock on the garage
door, and then click on the door handles to enter. You will see a work bench to your left. Go straight forward and pick up the crowbar
leaning against the right edge of the
work bench from the floor. Now turn left
and close up on that part of the work bench.
Next, close up on the tool box.
Pick up the screwdriver, then the pair of pliers, to deposit them in
your inventory. You are done in the garage,
for now, so come out and return to the house.
Instead of going up the stairs, however, go around the
fountain to your right this time, and
turn to the path leading further down to your right. As you take one step down this path, and then
look to your right, you will see another path shooting off in that direction
from the path you are on. Continue on
the path you are on, however, until you arrive at the Green House door. Try to open it, but the hinges are too
rusty. So use your lubricating can (anywhere
on the door), and then click on the handle, to enter the Green House.
You will see a large dead tree, in the center of the
greenhouse, in front of you. You will
also see something shining, at the base of the tree, but outside its planter
and beneath the grating. Take a step
toward the tree, look down, and click on that object. The magnifying glass icon will turn into an
Open Hand icon. Try to pick up the
object, but you won't be able to do so.
Take two steps around
the dead tree, moving right, look down and close up on the tap below. Click on it to find that there is no water
here either. Step out of the close up
and go up the metallic stairway to your right.
Step forward and look to your left.
There is a shovel in the planter to your right and a hose lying on the
ground below. Click on the shovel, but
it is stuck in the soil. Now click on the
end of the hose close to the planter, and it will be slipped into the planter. Click on the other end then, and it will be
slipped over the railing.
Turn to your right now, step forward, and close up on the
desk you see on your left. You will see
two drawers on either side of the desk.
Open the one on the left, click on the papers inside, and read through
the pages. Close this drawer then, and open
the drawer on the right now. Pick up the
large pair of shears. Close this drawer
as well. Now click on the bright plant, sitting
in a pot, on top of the desk, to your left.
The comment at the bottom of the screen will indicate that it is a "strangely
attractive" plant. Use the shears
you just picked up, on this plant, to take a few of its leaves.
Step out of the greenhouse and take two steps back towards the manor. Turn right, and see the directional arrow
allowing you to go off further in that direction. Take two steps to your right then (i.e., follow
the directional arrow to the right), to come up against a large grey tree. If you click on the tree, you will get its
description. Click on a dark triangular
hole at it base, and the comment at the bottom of the screen will inform you
that the tree had a little hole in its base which allowed some water to pass
through. Close up under that hole, and then click under
what looks like a cake of dirt, to find that there was a small pool of water
below the arching tree. Step out of the
close up now, and go back to the main path to return to the manor.
Go down into the basement then, and close up on the valve
to your right. Place the crowbar you got
from the garage, on the valve. Use the
hammer on the crowbar then, to turn the valve around. Pick up your crowbar now. Click on the valve, just to make sure you are
done, and the comment at the bottom of the screen will indicate that there is
no need to fiddle further with the valve.
Come back up to the kitchen and try the taps in the sink again. The water is running now, but not coming out
of the taps. Go back to the greenhouse,
and around the dead tree, and close up on the tap below. Right next to the tap, to the left, you will
find the end of the hose you had slipped down the railing earlier. Click at that end of the hose, and see it
attach itself to the tap. Turn on the
tap now, to hear the sound of water going through. Go up the metal stairway then, and pick up
the shovel from the planter. Come down
to the tap again, and remove the hose, letting the water drain into the
grating. Come around to where you had
seen the shiny object. You might have to
wait a few seconds, until you hear a tiny jingling sound, and then the shiny
object would be gone.
[Note: The
idea is to flush that shiny object
out into that "small pool of water" under the grey arching tree. But if you were to go back to the tree right
now, you will not find it there yet. The
problem is that there is an obstruction – right here in the greenhouse – that
is preventing the shiny object from making its way back to the tree.]
Take one step
to your right, and look down to find a pot knocked over on the ground. Close up on it and use your pair of shears on
the stem of the bush growing out of that pot.
[You have now removed the aforementioned obstruction.] Go over to that grey tree now, close up on
the hole at the base, and you will see the shiny object at the base of the tree
trunk (i.e., under the cake of dirt and
in the lower center of your screen). Pick up that object – it is a small key. Step out of the close up, and return to the
greenhouse. Turn off the tap. You are now done in the greenhouse, as well
as with that grey tree. So, head back
for the manor now.
Go up to the main bedroom and to that little oval mirror
on the table to the right of the bed. We
had already tilted it to look up, on the first day. So now just use your screwdriver to remove it
from its holder and deposit it in your inventory. Go down to the kitchen and use the back door
to step out of the house. Go down the
stairs, turn right, and keep on moving forward until you arrive at the Crypt. There is a strip of wire tied to the handles
to secure the door. Use your pair of
pliers to cut the wire and deposit it in your inventory. Click on the handles, to open the door and
enter.
There are two coffins sitting at two levels in front of
you. Step forward towards them, close up
on the one at the top, and open it – to find it empty. Click inside for a comment at the bottom of
the screen. Step out of this close up
and close up on the coffin below. Open
it, and find that this one has a body in it.
Click on the body, again for a comment at the bottom of the screen. Step out of this close up also and then close
up on the two plaques, placed side by side, under the coffin at the
bottom. Click on the two plaques, one by
one. Pick up the round rock, lying just
in front of the plaque to your right.
Step out of the close up.
Go down the stairs now and look to your left, to see a
very small coffin placed on the upper level.
Click on the plaque under the little coffin, but it is too dark to be
able to read what it says. So come back
upstairs and, as you stand with your back to the door, look up at the ceiling. You will see a glass pane, in the form of a
top half of a circle, through which the sunlight is coming into the room. Bring out the rock from your inventory and
throw it at that pane. You will miss the
first time, but don't worry. Just go
down the stairs and look in the very left
corner of the landing, to see and recover your round rock. Come back up and take another shot, and you
will see a crack appear in the pane, along with the sound of breaking glass.
Turn to your left and you will see a beam of light now hitting
a candleholder on the wall facing the descent of stairs. Open your inventory, pick up the wire you had
cut off from the door handles, and place it on the mirror to attach the
two. Now bring out this mirror, with the
attached wire, and place it on the candleholder receiving the beam of
light. Thus, the light will now be redirected
down the flight of stairs. Go down again
and look at the plaque under the little coffin to your left, to find the letter
'R' now clearly visible at the far left of the inscription. Click on the plaque, to read the comment at
the bottom of the screen.
You are done in the crypt now, so step out in the
clearing and be sure to read the comment at the bottom of the screen just as
you step outside. Go back to the house
and call Jerry. You will now have
another date: June, 1963. So go up to
the attic and read the story in the newspaper for that date. Make a note of the Police Chief Bailey's
phone number, scribbled by hand, at the end of the news story: 01665-65217. Now go
downstairs again and call Bailey at this number (once again, by clicking on the
choice "I dialed another number" at the bottom of the screen, and
then clicking the numbers on the phone dial then presented to you). Listen to the conversation and as the two men
hang up, step outside the house and go to the main gates.
Check your mailbox, to find a letter containing your
secretary's translation of the Italian letter you had found in the maid's
room. Read the letter through, and then
go to the maid's room. As you enter,
turn left and step towards the bed.
There is a small table to the left of the bed. Close up on the floor right under that table. Click on the Open Hand icon on the floor, to
remove the loose board; and then, click again to see the picture hidden
there. [Note the shadow of the tower at
the bottom of the picture, and the location of the critical
"subjects."]
However, it is much too early to do anything about
that. Instead, go to the study and come
around the large desk. Use the key you
retrieved from the tree by the greenhouse, on the locked drawer on the right, to
open it. Read the yellow-colored letter
placed in the right side of the drawer.
Now pick up the fine-looking case on your left, and close up on the five-digit
combination. Recall the blocks we had
seen on the floor in the nursery: O, B,
I, N. Recall also that each letter
was accompanied by a number: 9, 0, 9, 7
(respectively). Recall also the first
letter of the inscription under the little coffin in the crypt: R.
Now recall that the number accompanying the block labeled R was 5.
Thus, we have the name of the child: ROBIN,
and the combination for the case is 59097. So, click in these numbers and you will hear
the sound of the lock opening, as you are brought out of the close up on the
combination. Click on the Open Hand icon
now appearing on the metal part with the combination, and the case will open.
There seems to be nothing inside, however. But this is actually just another
"security measure." Note the
central divider, and a square movable part in the middle of it. Note also two small squares, on either side
of the case inside. Now click once on the little movable part, so that
it turns in the form of a backslash (\).
Click on the little square on the left
side of the case, to press it down.
Next, click twice on the
movable part, and it will first straighten out in its starting position and
then turn in the form of a slash (/).
Click on the little square on the right
side of the case, to press it down as well.
Now click in the empty space to the right
of the central divider, to remove the bottom and reveal the compartment
underneath. Click on the bright brass
key (with a cross on the top) inside, to deposit it in your inventory. Step out of all the close ups. You are done
in the study now, so leave the house through the front door.
Come down the stairs and go on the path that had taken you
to the greenhouse earlier. This time,
however, as you take a step forward on this path, turn to your right and take
the path that shoots off (further to the right) from the path you are
on. Keep on going forward and you will
arrive at the Chapel. Use the brass key you
just found in the study, on the keyhole under the right door handle, to unlock the door. Then click on either door handle to enter.
Go up the winding stairs to your right. Close up on the wooden cabinet that is
sitting on the floor in front of you.
Open it and then open the drawer at its very top. Click on the Bible, to bring it out of the
drawer, and then click on the pages to the right (to flip them one by one) until
you find the carved out space holding a large nail inside. Remove the nail, to deposit it in your
inventory, and come back down the stairs.
You will see a large table across the aisle, with a statue
of Christ on the wall right behind the table.
Go down the aisle, then to your left, and then turn right to see the
floor just behind the table. You will
see a small metal ring, sticking out of a floor tile, on the platform in front
of you. Use your crowbar on this ring,
and the tile would be moved aside, to reveal the fact that the ring is attached
to a chain going through a slit in the ground.
Step up on the platform now, and turn left to face the statue of Christ on
the wall. Look at the feet and you will
see a large hole right where the feet overlap.
Put in that hole the nail you just found upstairs in the Bible. Now look up and at the INRI sign to the left of and behind Christ's head. Use your crowbar to straighten the sign, and a
cut-scene will show the statue lowering and indicate that the hero is stepping
back off the platform. As the cut scene
ends, you will find the directional arrow in front of you now pointing under the table rather than straight ahead. Step in that direction, and you will find
yourself looking down a dark opening under the table.
Go down the opening, but it is pitch dark below. Turn right and use your matches on a bronze
candle holder, to light the candle in that holder. Look back to your left and close up on the
table in front of you. Pick up the
branch (sitting to the left of the coffee mug and the pipe) from the center of
the table. Then read the two documents
(a letter and a journal entry) to the left of where the branch had been
sitting. You know what you need to do
now. You are also done in the chapel, so
go back to the house.
Call Jerry now. As
the two men hang up, step outside the front door, and read the comment at the
bottom of the screen. Go to the main
gates and open the mailbox, to find a white piece of paper rolled up and placed
above the earlier letter from your secretary.
Pick up that paper and read it, to realize a sudden change of plans.
Close up on the back (the "boot") of your car,
and then click on the Open Hand icon to open the "boot" and reveal
your car battery inside. Pick up the
battery and go to the garage. As you
enter, you will find a bicycle to your left.
There is a device on the bicycle so that when you turn the pedal, a
light comes out of a headlight placed on the handle bar. Place the car battery on the small crate on
the ground, next to the back wheel of the bicycle. Click on the Open Hand icon on the upper part
of this back wheel, where the device is located, to attach the wires of the
device to the car battery. Now click on
the pedal of the bicycle, to provide a little charge to the battery. Pick up the battery then, return to your car,
and put the battery back in the boot of the car. Get in your car now. Click on the starter, and read the comment at
the bottom of the screen, as a sad music comes on in the background. You can't leave just yet.
Go to the path that leads towards the greenhouse, but
turn right to the one that shoots off in the direction of the chapel. Take only one
step in this direction, however, and then look to your left to see the shadow of the tower over the grounds. Yes, this is the right time (4-o'clock) as
well as the right place. So bring out
your shovel, place it at the very top, above
the dome-like part of the shadow (right
around the area where you had seen the "critical subjects" in the
picture hidden in the maid's room), and click to start digging. If you have the right spot, another sad tune
will start playing in the background and the digging will reveal a body. Read the comment at the bottom of the screen,
and click twice to read some more. Click
at the mouth of the body, to read another comment at the bottom of the
screen. Now bring out your pair of
pliers, place them on the mouth and click, to retrieve a tooth. Now step out of the close up, to see the body
covered back up with dirt again, as another comment appears at the bottom of
the screen.
Return to the house now and go upstairs to the Gallery. Close up on the necklace on display to the
right of the door. Use your pair of
pliers to remove what appears to be a lion's claw from the necklace. Go down to the kitchen now and towards the
sink, but turn around and close up on the little old-fashioned grinder on the
table. Open the lid, and put in the
lion's claw. Close the lid again, and
then click on the handle at the top of the lid, to start grinding. Then, open the little drawer at the base of
the grinder, and click inside to deposit the powder in your inventory. Similarly, grind the tooth you had retrieved
from the body outside, and retrieve its powder as well from the grinder drawer.
Go all the way up to the third floor now and into the
room with the stove. Close up on the
stove, and place at the top the lid you had retrieved from the studio the day
before. Open the inventory. Place the powder from the lion's claw on the
powder from the tooth, to combine the two.
Place this mixture of powders on the leaves from the attractive plant in
the greenhouse. Now bring this
combination out of the inventory and place it on the lid you had placed at the
top of the stove. Use your last match
now on the stove to light it up. A cut
scene will show the combination melting and then apparently cooling off to form
a stone. Pick up this stone, to deposit
it in your inventory. Open the inventory
then, pick up the stone and place it on the branch you had gotten from the
secret room in the chapel. Your amulet is now complete.
Go down to the Gallery and into the closet. Click on the mask sitting in front of you,
and read the comment at the bottom of the screen. Then, bring out your amulet, place it on the
mask, and click. Read the comment at the
bottom of the screen. You are done in the Gallery now, so come out and go
downstairs, using the stairs next to your room.
Just as you step off the stairs, however, you will have a surprise. Go to the living room, and close up on the
fireplace. The fire is out and the logs are
used up, revealing some kind of a cover underneath. Click on the cover, to remove it and reveal a
dark passage inside.
Go downstairs, to find yourself in yet another secret
part of the manor. Move to your right
and turn left to face an old door. Click
on the door latch, to unlatch the door; and then, click again, to open the door
and enter. Move to the wall on your left
and close up on the teddy bear on the floor.
Click on the bear, to read a comment at the bottom of the screen. Now move to the wall on your right and close
up on the raw meat on the floor, right under the grating up in the wall. Click on the meat, to read another comment at
the bottom of the screen. Move further right
along this wall to the part where a number of bricks seem to have been removed,
leaving a large gaping hole in the wall.
Click twice on the magnifying
glass icon on the darkness inside, and then sit back and "enjoy" the ending.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
About the Ending (Warning: Spoiler)
It seems quite certain that James Blackwood did die,
although it might not necessarily have been due to a heart attack as the public
was led to believe. Again, it seems
quite certain that the doctor is still
alive and is the one who has been "taking care" of the creature,
dropping off food from the grating down into the lair, etc. The doctor was no doubt also the man whose
silhouette Arthate saw, the second night, from the furnace shaft in the
cellar. What is not so clear, however, and yet most intriguing is the identity of
the creature itself.
I must confess that the first time I played this game, I
was quite certain that the creature was none other than a member of the tribe
who used to guard the mask – someone who might have followed Blackwood (after
he stole the mask), trying to get it back.
But then, I had a friend of mine play the game and her initial impression was that the creature might have been
Blackwood's own child. In fact, I
actually convinced her to my point of view.
But having replayed the game, in order to write this walkthrough, I am
inclined to agree with her now. My
biggest objection to her theory had been the age of the child. But I noticed, this second time that I played
the game, that the child had been born in 1961 and that Jerry's letter in
Arthate's suitcase shows that it is now 1976.
Hence, if the child is alive,
he would be fifteen years old now; and I think, the creature we see in the end
might well "pass" for a fifteen-year old, albeit a very strong and
massive one at that.
Indeed, assuming that the creature is the Blackwood child, helps explain a number of things – for
instance, the free "room and board" given to the creature; the
apparent disgust and disappointment with which the nursery seems to have been all
sealed up (showing that the couple didn't seem to want to even try having another baby); how Catherine
managed to get her throat ripped out (she might have just wanted to see the
child, out of pure maternal love, and was no doubt taken by a complete surprise
by the creature's violent reaction); why James could not bring himself to kill the creature (since he
was after all its father), and wanted the doctor to do it instead; and why the
doctor himself had difficulty carrying out Blackwood's wishes (being a loyal
friend of the family, as well as the doctor who had helped in the delivery of
the child, in the first place), in spite of the fact that the creature had so
violently killed a woman he obviously cared for deeply (as evidenced by the
letter in the locked study drawer).
Finally, there is a question if there ever even was any "real" evil in the
house. Personally, I think, there
was. As the various journal entries
indicated, the evil was supposed to have been trapped in the mask. It was kept at bay only by the rituals that
the tribe used to perform on the mask. These
rituals could not be continued, of course, when the mask was stolen by
Blackwood. Thus, the evil was
"released," so to speak, and was no doubt what caused whatever the
tragedy was involving the childbirth.
But again, if the creature was the
Blackwood child, then it might well have been that the Evil had permeated the child before it was even
born.
At any rate, this is my personal take on the story, at
least up to this point. Please, feel
free to disagree or just discuss any and all aspects of the story or the game.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Alternate Ending:
Note: I
must confess that I had a difficult time triggering that alternate ending,
because I was trying to do it without the patch! As I mentioned at the beginning, you cannot
trigger the alternate ending without this patch. So I am truly grateful to a friend, for
steering me in the right direction.
(Thanks, MaG).
To repeat then,
the first thing you need to trigger the alternate ending is the
patch, of course. Once
you install this patch, you must play the original game from the
beginning. You do everything the same as
before, as outlined in the preceding walkthrough, with the following exception:
you
must go and click on the typewriter frequently. Note that you will get the hero to actually
type only once in the game, i.e., on the second evening, as indicated in the
above walkthrough. Nevertheless, you
must still go to the typewriter and click on it, even though the hero will
refuse to type just then.
Other players have indicated that you need to type every
2-3 hours. Having already played the
game so many times, in trying to trigger that alternate ending without the
patch before, I decided not to "take any chances" and went to click
on the typewriter every time I did something new in the game (like picking up
an item, talking to Jerry, etc.). I
noticed though that when you click on the typewriter, the message at the bottom
of the screen does change once every two to three hours. The changing of the message tells you that you
are on the right track, of course, and you need to "catch" each
message in order to trigger the alternate ending. So feel free to go and click on the
typewriter as frequently as you wish. I
noticed a few things, however, that might help reduce your "labor."
(1) I noticed that the message changed at the
following times in the three days: On
the first day, after the first message at 9:00 a.m., the second appeared at
12:00 noon, the third at 2:00 p.m., and the fourth and final at 3:00 p.m. When I woke up the first night, I clicked on
the typewriter right after I woke up and before going back to sleep – it was
the same message both times. On the
second day, after the first message at 9:00 a.m. again, the second appeared at 1:00
p.m., the third time the hero started typing, at 3:00 p.m., and then the final message
appeared at 4:00 p.m., after the hero finished typing. When I woke up the second night, I clicked on
the typewriter right after getting up and before going back to sleep, and it
was the same message both times.
Finally, on the third day, after the first message at 9:00 a.m., the
second appeared at 11:00 a.m., and the third and the final appeared at 1:00
p.m.
Note: As you
may already know, you don't need to go down and click on the grandfather clock
to keep track of time. When you want to
check the time, just save your game; and then, click on either "Load"
or "Save." The time in the
game will appear in the title of the Save (for example, "guest room,
Sunday, 9:00 a.m."). But you don't
have to actually load or save then. Just click on "Back" a couple of
times, to return to the game.
(2) You can safely do everything that you need to
do, all at once, in the garage, the greenhouse, the crypt, and the chapel,
without having to run back to and from the house to click on the
typewriter. Do only ONE location at a time though, so the time won't
change too rapidly and cause you to miss a click, and thus a new message, on the
typewriter.
Note: Some
players have noted that you can tell if you are on the right track if, on your
last click at the typewriter, the comment at the bottom of the screen reads
"I didn't want to touch the typewriter," and you find the entry
"I am not Michael Arthate" in the journal. This is actually not true. Both those things (the comment and the
journal entry) appear whether or not
you have triggered the alternate ending.
As you thus proceed through the game, you should get your
first confirmation that you are on the right track when you call the police
chief on the third day. After a little
bit of dialog between the two men, you will be given a choice of two statements
at the bottom of the screen. Pick the second choice ("Please, Mr.
Bailey, I beg you!"). The dialog
will continue and then, you will be given a choice of two statements at the
bottom of the screen once more. Pick the
second choice again
("There's got to be something else.").
Continue the game, clicking on the typewriter frequently,
until you come down the stairs at the end of the game. As you go down the fireplace in the living
room, and through the hidden passage, you will know that you have triggered the
alternate ending when you unbolt the door and enter the Lair…
Note: Be sure
to pick up the piece of paper in the "critical" corner, and read the
messages at the bottom of the screen on your way out of the Lair…
About the Alternate Ending (Warning: Spoiler)
I am not
going to say much about the alternative ending except to note that I personally
found it to be rather counter-intuitive, for two main reasons. First, at least in the
The
alternate ending also fails to answer another critical question: since everyone
is supposed to be long dead
(Catherine is buried in the garden, both Milton and Robin are supposed to be in
their respective coffins in the Crypt, and now we find James Blackwood's body
as well), who bolted the door to the Lair?
Once again though, this is just my personal take on the
ending. Please, feel free to disagree or
discuss your own ideas about any and all aspects of the ending or the game
itself.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Last Visit
Peter
Banks, a reporter, is assigned to investigate the mystery at the Blackwood
Manor, before the house is demolished in two weeks. He arrives at the estate and parks his
vehicle in the same spot as Michael Arthate had done in the original story . .
.
Step forward towards the Manor, then to your right and
approach the garage. Click on the garage
door, only to find that it cannot be opened because of a lot of
"junk" blocking the door from inside.
Look down on the ground to your right and pick up the CAN of
Motor Oil.
Turn around and return to the main path from your car to
the house. Step towards the central
fountain on your right. Go to the left of the fountain and towards the
path that used to lead to the greenhouse and the chapel, in the original
game. Try to go down on this path, only
to find that you cannot do so anymore.
Click on the magnifying-glass icon appearing on the ground to your
right, to find that "a huge pool of water" is blocking your way. Bring out the CAN of Motor Oil and
click where the magnifying-glass icon appeared, to fill your can with water.
Turn around and return to the central fountain. Go to the left of the fountain and approach
the house. As you reach the stairs,
click on the magnifying-glass icon appearing on the ground to the right of the
stairs, to close up on the three golden objects and a black hole. Click on any or all of the objects twice, to hear Peter's comments about
them. Now click on that black hole, twice, to hear Peter's comments about that
too.
Go up the stairs and enter the house, to find yourself in
the main hall. Step into the living
room, on your right. Go to your left,
and try to open the door that used to lead to the study in the original game,
only to find that there is no doorknob.
So step toward the fireplace on your right and click inside it, to
arrive in the hidden passage. You can
click on the bricks on your left, or the sink in front of you, to hear Peter's
comments about them. Step towards the
broken door on your right then. It seems
to have been taken off its hinges and placed loosely against that wall opening
from the basement furnace in the original game…
Since the door has been removed, you can just step into
the Lair on your left now. As you enter,
step to your left. Feel free to click on
the teddy bear lying on the ground against the wall to your right, to hear
Peter's comments about them. Step to
your right then, but there is nothing here to click at anymore. So step to your right again and look at the
big hole in the wall on your left. Close
up on the hole, by clicking on the magnifying-glass icon that appears on
it. There is a bright round object lying
on the ground, slightly to your right.
Click on it, to discover that it seems to be "guarded" by a
black cat inside…
Click on the hand icon now appearing on the round object,
to hear Peter's comment. There is a
magnifying-glass icon that now appears in the darkness, slightly above and to
the left of the round object. Feel free
to click on this icon a few times, to hear some amusing comments by Peter about
the cat hidden in the darkness behind the round object.
Turn around and go back out to the hidden passage. Step to your right and use the ladder against
the wall on your left, to return to the living room above. Step to your right, turn around, and step
towards the right side of the living room this time. Feel free to click on the wall painting in
front of you, to hear Peter's comment.
But that is the only thing in this area that you can click on anymore.
Step out of the living room, to return to the main
hall. Enter the reception hall on your
right. The phone is still on the table to
your right. Click on the phone, to hear
Peter's comment about it. Now click on
the door to your left, to enter the dining room. There is nothing at all in this room that you
can click on anymore. So step to the
double doors, on your right, and try to enter what used to be the study in the
original game. But the double doors
appear to be stuck. So turn around and
step through the door on your right, to arrive in the small hallway.
Again, there is nothing here that you can click on and
thus examine anymore. So try to go
upstairs, but Peter will refuse to do so, finding it dangerous to do so, no
doubt because of the condition of the staircase. So try to click on the kitchen door, to the
right of the staircase, only to find that the doorknob is missing. So turn around and return to the main hall (by
going through the dining room and then the reception hall). Step out of the front door, go down the
stairs, and turn around to close up on the ground, to the right of the stairs
again.
Bring out the CAN of motor oil that you had filled
with water, before entering the house.
Click where the magnifying-glass icon appeared on the black hole in the
ground, to pour the water from the can down into the hole. The sound of the cat will tell you that the
water has hit its "target." So
go back into the house, down the fireplace in the living room, and towards that
hole in the wall in the lair. Close up
on the hole and pick up the round object from the ground, to find that it is a
doorknob.
Climb back up to the living room, through the
fireplace. Go to the small hallway again
(by going through the main hall, the reception hall and then the dining room). Step towards the kitchen door. Bring out the DOORKNOB from your
inventory and attach it to this door. Click
on the doorknob then, to enter the kitchen.
Step forward to the door that used to allow you to take
the path to the crypt, in the original game.
As you click on this door, however, you will find that it is now
"rusted shut." So step to your
right, turn to your left and click, one by one, on the two drawers to the left
of the sink, to hear another comment by Peter.
Turn right and try to open the door to the maid's room, only to find
that it is "severely damaged" and there is nothing left there to explore
anymore. So approach the door to the
basement, on the right of the maid's room.
Before you go down in the basement, however, click on the cans on the shelves
to the right of the basement door, to hear another comment by Peter.
Enter the basement and go downstairs. Step to the furnace on your right and click
on the magnifying-glass icon appearing on the furnace, to hear Peter's comment
about it. Pick up the RAG that is
practically hanging down from the top-right corner of the furnace (above the furnace
door that Michael Arthate had used in the original game to enter the furnace,
on the second night of his stay at the Blackwood Manor). Look down on your right and pick up the CLEANING
FLUID, in a blue bottle that is leaning out of the box that is partially
covering the drain cover in the ground.
Go back up to the kitchen and then go through the small
hallway, the dining room, and the reception hall, to arrive back in the main
hall. Step outside the house and go over
to that path on the right of the central fountain. Click on the magnifying-glass icon appearing
on the ground to your right, to locate that "huge pool of
water." Then bring out the RAG
from your inventory and click on where you had found the magnifying-glass icon,
to wet the rag.
Return to the house and go up the stairway in the main
hall. Step into the guest room on your
right, and Peter will tell you that it is the room where Michael Arthate had
spent three days, in the original game.
Step to your right and click on the suitcase, still resting on a table
in the right corner of the room, to hear another comment by Peter. Go around the bed and approach the fireplace,
to the right of the bed. As you will
find, however, there is nothing left in this room -- except for that suitcase
-- to click on and thus examine anymore.
So step out of the room and step forward, in the lower
hallway. Enter the main bedroom, on your
left. You cannot go to your right,
towards the safe or the mirror anymore.
So just step forward, turn left, and click on the right portion of the second drawer from the top. Peter tells you that he can see "a
bottle of Thalidomide"
inside. Hmmm…
Step to your right, but there is nothing left to click on
anymore. Since there is nothing else to
explore in this room, step back out into the lower hallway and click on the
double doors in front of you, to enter the gallery. Not much left to explore here either. Step to your right, turn left and click on
the broken glass of the showcase, on your right. Turn left then, step towards the desk in the
left corner, and click on the desk to hear another comment by Peter. Click to your right then, to find yourself
inside the storeroom. As Peter finishes
his comment, click either on the boxes below or straight at the floor, on your
left, to learn that it is "just useless junk."
Step out of the storeroom, then the gallery, and go to the
right end of the hallway. Click on the
wall painting to the left of the staircase going down to the first floor, to
hear Peter's comment. Try to go down
that staircase and Peter will decline to do so, again because it looks too
dangerous in its present condition. So
turn around and try to go upstairs, to the floor where Michael Arthate had
found Blackwood's studio, etc. However,
Peter will refuse to do that either, because it looks "too dark… and
dangerous." So turn left and step
into the lower bathroom.
As you enter, you will note that it is considerably
darker inside than it used to be in the original game. Step forward and click on the window, to let
Peter tell you about the mud on the window.
Click on the shower curtain on your right, but it is much too dark for
Peter to do anything about it. So bring
out the wet RAG from your inventory and click on the window, to try to
clean it, and find that a wet rag is not enough to do so. So open your inventory and click first on the
blue bottle of CLEANING FLUID, and then on the wet RAG, to add
the fluid to the rag. Bring out the RAG
again from your inventory and click on the window, to remove the mud from it
this time. As the bathroom brightens up,
click on the shower curtain on your right, to move it aside. Then, click on the mask lying in the tub, to
hear Peter's comment about it.
Step out of the close up, exit the bathroom and take two steps down the lower hallway. As you thus reach right between the doors to
the main bedroom (on your right) and the gallery (on your left), your
directional icon will suddenly disappear and, if you listen hard enough, you
will hear a faint eerie music in the background. The directional icon will return
shortly. As it does, turn around and go
back into the lower bathroom. Approach
the shower curtain again and click on the magnifying-glass icon that appears on
it. A hand icon will now appear on the
same curtain. Click on this hand icon
and then,
Sit back and enjoy the ending …
(Don't miss the screenshots, and the accompanying commentary,
after the cutscene.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *