OK, I finished the game. What happened? I thought one thing happened to me, then I'm talking? I really feel stupid!
Thanks,
eastnc

I too have finished the game. I felt the only obscure clue part was the one using the mirror. No reference was given for that solution..I thought it was very off course. The end of the game was perplexing and could have been done much better than it was. Not quite as satisfying as I would have thought it could have been. On the whole I would suggest the game and I did enjoy it but was disappointed in the way the end was handled. looking forward to more games though.

Hi eastnc I edited your topic to include possible spoilers.
I think I know what you're talking about, but it happens really fast.
SPOILER...
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You are stumbling backwards very quickly, and the door closes between you and the other.

I just started Scratches and I have to say that I am quite underwhelmed. I know we do a lot of wandering around in adventure games but it's usually to pick up clues and tackle puzzle. So far I've wandered from the attic to the basement and am BORED. Hopefully, this picks up soon otherwise this will be heading to the garbage bin.

tuesday next

I'm nearly done with Scratches and am thoroughly enjoying it. I found myself completely involved and, unlike TuesdayNext, not at all bored. (No offence.. different strokes...) but I have been struck with an odd thought. As an English teacher for over thirty years, I couldn't help but wonder how many young American gamers have never seen a bicycle tire generator and have no idea what a 'dynamo' is?

I dont know what a dynamo is either, and I'm not a young american. Is a bicycle tire generator the same thing as a pump? for flat tires?

I finished it this morning and really enjoyed it. I was creeped out by the music more than anything. It really made the atmosphere. I would have liked a more clear cut ending, but trying to guess what actually happened to all the characters involved was fun, also.

Jean

I finished this the other day and really enjoyed it. I was so happy to finally have a scary game to play. I do have to say that it wasn't the scariest game I've ever played as others have stated. (This is not a bad thing, I just thought I'd mention it.) The music was perfect, and really added to the suspense. The voice acting was also great.

Really, the only complaint I have about the game (other than how long it took to finally be released! ) was the fact that it was so very hard to see things. My screen was so dark, and for some reason I couldn't make it brighter by tinkering with the monitor controls. I'm pretty sure I missed out on some things because of this, especially at the end when I found the source of the noises. I also didn't really see what happened in the dream when I went into the room with the pilfered mask. What exactly happened when I turned around and went back out the door. I heard the sinister music, but saw nothing due to the how dark the screen was.

I look forward to any future games that Nucleosys plans to put out. Hopefully since Scratches seems to be doing so well, they will now have the means to make more games without that long delay that Scratches seemed to suffer.

Dawn :kiss:

Rael mentioned that: you can control the camera speed and brightness via F9 and F12 respectively.

Maybe that will help on replays. It's a great game.

Haze, I had an old Schwinn bike that had a dynamo light on it. I remember if you coasted too long how the light would dim. It certainly kept you peddling in the dark. My son knew what it was and does (he's 16) but just not the name of it.

Ana

Hey All

I was very disappointed with the ending of this game.........Scary and then nothing it ends.It was almost like the writer of the game didn't know how to end it..What gives with that.

Who was that guy in the basement.I guess it was nutty: Mr. Black wood. The BEST part of this game was the sounds effects through out the game.That was the BEST part of the game.The Gamma was much too dark for half blind people like me I had to put my glasses on several times to see that the cables from the bike to the battery was connected..Oh Well...Maybe Keepsake will be a great game for me.


Darleen

I remember that my son had to create a science project using a dynamo generator and a bicycle
the harder you peddled the bright the lamp bulb would burn which was attached to it.

--- The games brightness can be controlled by utilitizing the f9 and f12 keys as stated in the manual -- which is on the CD. --- For all of you who having finished the game but are having trouble seeing things ---> Try playing the game in the dark --> the screen will be much brighter.

Spoiler Alert
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Mr. Blackwood died and is hanging out in the Crypt --- So who was that thing in the basement? --- here a hint --- New Jersey has one, and he was born 300 hundred years ago --- his mother's name was "Leeds" --- now, unlike the "Strange Child" born to Mrs. Leeds in Jersey, this one has no wings -- no head shaped like a horse --- and no wings or cloven feet... So, again a ask --- well then who is he?? And I answer, it's 20 odd years later --- I guess he got tired of waiting for the good Doctor to drop his raw meat through the grating --- probabkly never tasted as sweet as his mother's neck any way... now can you guess?

Nickie is correct, Michael quickly stumbles out past the heavy door to saftey... Leaving whatever it was to remain ... alone.

inferno

No Fair, Inferno! No Fair! First I play Scratches and perceive it as a subtle , rather grown up and thought-provoking game. This means I can't sleep because I'm thinking about it. Then you bring up "Mrs. Leeds" and New Jersey as though that should make sense even though I had not neard of Mrs. Leeds and haven't been in New Jersey for 30 years. Finally, Sue seems to provide a an answer to you with "CYE", which doesn't help me at all. All in all, it took a long night of 'Googling" to sort out your references; I got little sleep; and my first hour English class had to deal with aging, weary, surliness. "Ain't gamin' a wonderful thang?"

Ahhhhh my dear sweet The Haze --- but now after your google search ---> surely you now know the secret of what HP Lovecraftian Horror walks silently alone along the lonely halls of Blackwood Manor and that it might have very well been a distant cousin of the "Leed's Child" sans winged arm, hoofed feet and equine head. ---- You know, this reminds me of something that actually happened to my dearest cousins and I one snowy night when we were lost in the New Jersey Pine Barrens. (Where some say that after 200 years of urban legend, The Leed's Child still rides the night sky....) If anything --- just think of the papers you could assign to your English class....and the comparisons you could make between The Leed's Child --- his real name --- and the Scratches Abhoration.

inferno

Good Morning; I Thought I'd add more 'stuff' to this thread. First, I have a question. Can someone tell me: what are the orange circular things which appear in the lower right center of the screen during the credits. They're seen through a rain-smeared window. Next, am I the only one who thought it was really clever that H. P. Lovecraft got his name in the credits. Finally, for Inferno and others who follow her train of thought; Hornung, Doyle and Dickens (All considered Victorian writers!) often used "Old Scratch" as a euphemism for ........" Is that pertinent?

I just finished it. I don't understand - if "I" made the magical amulet and used it on that mask - why is there still a 'demon'? running around in the basement? And I assume that hole to the outside yard it dug (that was the scratching noises we heard?) means that it escaped to the outside world thru it and is roaming around somewhere? Does this mean there will be another game where it/he/she shows up later, like a sequel? with its further "adventures"? What do you think?
Love, Betty Lou :kiss:

I enjoyed this game but found the ending unsatisfactory. What really irritated me was the very un-English way of posting letters. Personally I would have been out of that house on foot if necessary.

So is the ghoulie the disappeared doctor or James Blackwood? The skelly in James' crypt could be anyone.
And who was feeding the ghoulie?

And in the boiler to that other secret room, the shadow I saw did not look like this ghoulie we see at the end, it looked like a young man about 25 or 30 years old - who was THAT?
Love, Betty Lou
So many questions, who has all the answers, please?

What if... the small coffin in the Crypt (the one with the R beneath it) was actually empty?

Thanks Mag. That does tie it together and the speculations are probably all correct. Did not think along those lines. Now for some more reading (a Nora Roberts trilogy) and maybe replay the game in a day or two. Good storyline. This is one of Jonathon Boakes' haunting stories, isn't it? My memory is slipping a bit now and then.
Love, Betty Lou :kiss:

I was disappointed too!

Likes: The colouring of the game / Music and voice acting. The creepy feeling in the *SPOILER* baby's room.

Dislikes: Being alone all of the time, the monotony of walking up and down those stairs, and thinking it was going to be scary BUT IT WASN'T. I jumped once when the *SPOILER* figure passed in front of the furnace window but the MASK didn't scare me at all... I actually laughed because it was pretty pathetic looking with the combination of the music. Like it was trying too hard to be be scary.

I wanted so bad to meet Jerry, or the Electrician... or SOMEONE other than rotten guy in the basement for 2 seconds at the end.

OH WELL.... maybe they'll create a sequel and listen to us for ways to improve it.

I posted this on JA in regards to the scare factor and thought it appropriate for the current direction of this thread:

Lola, I thought your comment about laughing at the mask was funny. For me, it creeped me out. But then some people get creeped out from blood and gore and seeing someone pulling their intestines across the floor. While they jump and close their eyes, I laugh thinking its comical.

Different strokes.

I think the game makes more sense if you pay attention to the notes that the main character wrote to himself, about writing his new book. At least that was my take on it, and made me think the game was very cleverly done.

I somehow completely missed the 'turn' the storyline took and I DID read all the letters and notes etc. but did not pick up on how the African stuff fit with the supposedly dead baby becoming what it is/was....will have to replay the game and pay more attention to all those notes. One question it poses for me is - Did 'mom' and 'dad' and 'doctor' think this was the curse visited on James for stealing all that African stuff? Just call me confused!
Love, Betty Lou

Betty Lou, I think the father most definitely did, but whether he was a sane man with these thoughts, or having a mental breakdown is open to interpretation.

Let me throw this question out, since I haven't seen anyone mention it yet.

I believe it was in the chapel that he found the secret room that he read the notes from the father to the doctor (it could have been the locked drawer in the study, though). In the notes the father mentions that his wife suspects something, and that he knows he's asking the doctor to commit murder. Soooooo.

Which murder? Did the doctor murder the wife? Or, was the father asking the doctor to murder the monster kid? BTW, who did murder the wife, if not the doctor? It must have been the monster because it says her throat was ripped. If the monster was her son, yuck!

Any ideas?

Jean

If Catherine's body is not buried in the crypt, then is the body in her coffin her husband's? Also did Catherine have an affair with the Doctor?

I guess I don't understand some of what has been said on this thread. Here is a game that dozens of people (Including me) have played several times. Most of us like it and will play it yet again. We all have legitimate ideas about what happened; thought it was fun; loved the music; and believed it was, at some level, scary. What else do the naysayers want? It's a $20.00 game, not the ultimate entertainment experience. (That would be in Las Vegas!) I'll buy all of the games like this that become available. By the way- I still would like to know what the orange circular things are that show through the rain-streaked window in the credits.

I think the basement monster is the child ,because of the teddy bear down there.The scratching was him digging himself out ,which he did .
I think he killed his mother,i don't know why she was buried in the yard when they have a crypt.
I think the Doctor was ask to kill the kid but did not.
I think the curse gave James the funny looking kid.
After that i don't know where the Dr. or James ended up......Just one Boomers opinion

My impression of those orange things seen thru the window in the rain are that that is the greenhouse and those are flowers blooming on that African plant that has survived all these years without any care whatsoever....does that make any sense and fit in with the story?
Catherine was 'suspicious' of James and the doctor? Do you mean she suspected that her child did not die in childbirth? And that her husband and doctor had it/him stashed away somewhere? Not sure why she is buried outside in the dirt instead of in her coffin in the crypt = maybe so her son/monsterchild cannot find her to eat all of her? I'm going to have to replay this and pay more attention to everything I read to make it all 'come together' better....
Love, Betty Lou

Thanks: Thanks Betty Lou, I guess the idea that they're flowers works for me. As far as "Does that fit?"; I don't know. I thought I had this game figured out until I read all the posts here. Now all of these very perceptive gamers have confused me and I am not sure what went on. Ah well, I'll simply have to play it a third time. it's worth the trouble and Barrow Hill won't get here for a while.

Moogie, that was the impression I got, that the doctor and the wife had an affair (through the letter between the two that was locked up in the desk drawer).

The Haze - everyone has different tastes in games, and naturally everyone doesn't like the same games. Sometimes its difficult to understand why everyone doesn't enjoy something we do. Every year when people show their top ten games, it is unusual to find any matching with someone else! But I do think that if you ponder this game and go slowly and read all the notes, it makes it a better game than if you go through it quickly and take it on face value. I'll be interested to know what your impressions are after playing it again, if after the third time you think of the events even differently than the first and second go round!
My impression is that it is a tragedy, similar in feel to the Blackstone Chronicles.

Great discussion--this reminds me of the ones we had when Black Mirror first came out!

Eastnc, I edited your title for the thread to let people who haven't played the game yet know that there are now major spoilers lurking in everyone's posts...

Finished the game.
Did a Google search on Mrs. Leeds. Found a good site about this.
I think the creature was Robin.
Who was feeding it? Maybe the same father of Rosemary's baby.
MaG and Texaslady - sure would like a copy of those emails you sent out.
Retired

OH! OH! OH! I missed THAT the first time around!!!Did anyone else of you actually READ the label on those medicine/injection medication bottles??? It says TADADADUM!!!!!!*********THALIDOMIDE ~~~~~ That is a very BIG CLUE as to why the baby was born deformed! Whether there is/was also a curse laid on that family or not may also apply, but this clue gives the best explanation of the family 'secret'....... I might have 'caught on' the first time I played this game if I had paid attention to that along with the letters and journals scattered throughout the house... As you can tell I am replaying this and taking more particular attention to the clues that I saw and did not 'read rightly' before, so maybe it will make more sense to me now.....
Love, Betty Lou :kiss:

Betty Lou, you are a genius! I'm on my third time through and still didn't read the bottles. Thank You..... THALIDOMIDE I'll be d____d. Now, have we all figured out who has been tossing the meat and what the cat (Which wasn't eaten) has to do with anything?

What cat? I'd better reload this and play again.

Jean

I still don't get it.... . What is Thalidomide?

Thalidomide = "was first marketed in Europe in the late 1950's. It was used as a sleeping pill and to treat morning sickness due to pregnancy". It was later discovered that it caused birth defects and many law suits resulted - I think the discovery of its bad effects was within the first 2-5 years of its usage....
Thanks for the "genius" "pat on the back", it was so funny when I got to that dresser drawer, opened it and glanced at those bottles, started to close the drawer and did a double-take as I caught the first 4 or 5 letters of the name on the bottles, hard to read, but a closer look with some "focus Betty, focus" words in my ear I figured out what it said. At first (the first time I played this) I thought they were something like Insulin for diabetics.....it went right over my head! Hubby says that he could see the 'light bulb' over my head flashing when I jumped up and danced around the room..... What a feeling when this 'revelation' hit me THIS is what makes a game like this so much FUN! Feeling good about my 'discovery'....wonder how many others missed that CLUE?
Love, Betty Lou :kiss:

Cat? I don't remember a cat in this game or any mention of one, but will pay closer attention now and make sure I don't miss it or mention of it...
Love, Betty Lou

I could be wrong as frequently I am but I don't think the Doctor and Catherine had an affair....the doctor was in agony because he helped James spirit the deformed baby away to a 'cell' somewhere in the house (a secret room somewhere where they kept it alive and allowed him to 'grow up'), kept this a secret from Catherine, and when Catherine was killed they buried her in the yard and faked her burial in the crypt, James was arrested and convicted of her death (wonder why or how the authorities did that, then, without a body, or was her body then released for burial after James' trial?) and James went to prison, (where he died?). The doctor promised James he would destroy the child but couldn't bring himself to do it him being a doctor and all but suffered for years because of the whole mess he had become involved in for his friend James. Also James had resigned himself to being accused so as to 'protect' his son and the doctor had promised to go along with this too. A lot to think about in this game and several opinions occur as to what was really going on.
Love, Betty Lou

With Skyros' and Betty Lou's comment about Thalidomide, it's clear that we significantly different generations playing the game. How neat is that? As for the cat, I may have my games mixed up (That happens more often lately) but didn't we run across a dead, but in no way mangled or mauled, cat somewhere? I think it was in the crypt. I don't even know if it means anything because the game is full of wonderfully pointless red herrings. (e.g. the music box with the crystal rose)

Yes, there was a dead cat in one of the coffins in the crypt. I kept waiting for an explanation on that one too!

I didn't notice the Thalidomide bottles, well done Betty Lou!

BettyLou I loved reading your summary, now could I ask you a question......
do you think the baby was the Doctors baby and that is why the Doctor could not bring himself to destroy the baby? poor thing

No, Leeana, I believe the baby was James and Catherine's, she taking the Thalidomide during her pregnancy to ease morning sickness or to help her sleep....AND I believe the doctor could not bring himself to destroy the newborn infant, deformed or not, because he is a doctor and took the Hipocratic Oath, and really believed in it - "first, do no harm" was engraved on his soul, so to speak. Does that make sense? I did not get the feeling at all that the doctor and Catherine had had an affair or that the doctor was in love with her or she him - wonder why so many others got that impression.... and the doctor also agonized over the fact that he let James go to prison for a murder he did not commit, and James was his good friend and he promised to 'take care' of the disposition of the deformed, monstrous child but then could not make himself kill it and dispose of it for James. So he did the only thing and the best thing he could, he fed it and kept it alive and away from the outside world for as long as he was mentally able to do so.....then took up drinking to ease his mental and emotional pain. Does all that make sense to you?
Love, Betty Lou :kiss:

Betty Lou, I thoroughly enjoy your theories and am more intrigued by the game because of them. However, all that being said, who has been feeding the "thing in the basement"??? (The meat is reasonably fresh!) That seems to be be a key question if we're going to keep the entire explanation rational and assume that there are no supernatural elemnets here.

That is a good question, Haze. And I am not sure I can come up with an answer only some speculation. Let's see, the house has been 'empty' for several years since the good doctor left the area or died from his alcoholism....another family owned it for a while but did not live in it (?) and the construction that was begun was never finished by anyone. The house was put on the market so the 'baby' lived there down below all by himself. Maybe he found a way up through the house to what food was there, then started wandering around the 'estate' eating small animals? It is never said if he was spotted in the area or if other pets or people went missing during all that time, so I am not sure just how that works out. What do the rest of you think? Since we do not actually know what happened to the doctor, maybe he died there and was 'food' for that creature. Did you notice the perfectly clean bones in that awful refrigerator? They were cleaned off pretty good to my way of thinking. Interesting to see what you all come up with too.
Love, Betty Lou :kiss:

A couple more things I have 'discovered' or am paying more attention now to what I read and see - in Catherine's bedroom dresser there is a picture of Catherine, pregnant, the glass is cracked...and in another drawer there is a pocket watch you can look at and the time is 4 o'clock, don't know what that means. Also, realize I did not pay careful attention when I read the newspaper dated May 25 1963, Catherine and James were married 30 years or more when she was killed - I just assumed (first time I played) she was killed at a much younger age....so the 'baby' was 'full grown' when he killed his mother! Sure fills in the story for me now a bit.
Love, Betty Lou

Thanks Betty Lou I do now understand it took a while but I pieced it together

Well done Betty Lou! I had come up with the same idea that the creature was Robin and that he had killed Catherine, the doctor and, I believe, James. I thought he was the way he was due to the curse of the mask not being trapped again due to the amulet ceremony not being performed and because James had stolen the mask.

I missed seeing the Thalidomide label on the medicine bottle. That explains the whole mystery in my book.

I need some help now figuring out this part of this mystery - according to the newspaper from 1963, the year Catherine was killed, she and James had been married 30 years...assuming she was about 20 years old when they married, that would mean she was about 48 years old when she had her first and only child - I know this is not impossible TODAY but in the 60's? Almost unheard of.....how does that fit with this story? Did the 'story-writer' mess up on this? Even assuming Catherine was only 17 or 18 in 1933 it is not likely she married at that age in those times, is it? This is totally confusing to me. What do you all think?
Love, Betty Lou :kiss:

Hi all--

finished this yesterday and I'm supposed to be cooking breakfast, but I need to make a few comments:

Betty Lou: good eye spotting the thalidomide. I couldn't make out the lables at all. That was one of my complaints about this game: the writing was all too small. And I think you should have been able to examine those bottles mroe closely.

If you look at the dates on the plaques in the crypt, you will see that Catherine was born in 1910. That means she became pregnant at the age of 50 (the baby was born in 1961). I don't think this works for me. She looked much younger in the picture. James's dates are 1908-1963, BTW.

I think you're supposed to get that the monster child ripped her throat out, but he would have been only 2 at the time, so that also doesn't make sense to me.

I actually think the doctor and Catherine knew about concealing the child, but James didn't, at least not at first. Because in the letter, the doctor talks about "what we did" and seems to imply that knowing about it would send James further round the bend.

BUT I don't think enough of a connection was drawn between the mask and the monster. Or, too much was and then it didn't play out. Was it 2 separate issues? Did the presence of the mask actually have anything to do with the child's being born strange? Or did being locked up in the house alone (for how long? the date on Jerry's letter to Michael is 1976, btw, so the kid would only be 15 at that point. How long had the dr. been missing?) with the mask drive Robin crazy? Or what? You're led to a correlation, but then they almost seem different. dunno. I have to eat.

WW

okay, I'm back. I spent breakfast discussing this with my husband; both of us ended up feeling very unsatisfied with this game, and it mostly had to do with the two storylines not coming together adequately. Was the story "the evil god in the mask?" or was it "the monster in the cellar?" I'm not saying it couldn't be both. Just, as things turned out the two were discursive.

Another thing that bothered me was, there were so many contrived dificulties that didn't really tie into the plot. Like the whole candle business. It was so glaringly obvious that there were NO CANDLES anywhere. Particularly with the hoards of candleabra in every room. I really thought there should have been some significance to this. But as it turned out, the only reason for it was so that you wouldn't go into the cellar the first night. Michael made such a huge deal about not wanting to wander around in a dark unfamiliar place. But then, absence of light didn't really prevent him from doing so at all! So what was the point? I think it would have been much spookier if he could have lit a single candle. You could easily have prevented him from going into the cellar with a draft that blew the candle out--after all, the whole place was virtually open to the outside. Then he could have decided he needed to wait until he could light his shielded lantern.

The absence of candles made it seem that there should have been some huge significance when you finally made it into the chapel and found that one stub on the altar, too. But there was nothing in it.

There was really nothing in the story to convince me that James was mad at all. The doctor thought he was, because of James's insistence on the evil of the mask. But if you take away the a priori assumption that buying into African cultism indicated madness, the whole thing falls apart. And I think the way the story played out, you're almost supposed to come to the conclusion that James WASN't mad. I mean, the doctor's journals indicate that he eventually understood that there was something evil about the mask. So James was just doing what was necessary to avert the evil. Or would have if he hadn't died.

I guess I would have liked it better if Michael had made some mention, at the end, like, "The scratching noises are still going on even after I used the amulet! There's more here than I thought!" Or something. As it was, the cellar bit just kind of seemed tacked on. Back to the question of, two stories or one story? There was too much implied connection for me to think of them as truly separate, but not enough for me to think of them as related.

picky detail: why could you only look at the details of those two Bosch paintings in the upstairs hall? I kept expecting that to be relevant, hold a clue to something. Because every other picture in the place, you could zoom in on the whole thing. Why not those two?

blah blah blah,

WW

A real interesting catch on the thalidomide, Betty Lou.

As far as the "child monster" ripping the throat out of the mother at the tender age of 2, I suppose one could swallow that if one were to believe that the spirit of the child was imbued with the powers of the evil entity of the mask and thus had superhuman abilities. But if we are to believe that, it doesn't mesh very well with the thalidomide explanation of how they ended up with a beastly baby.

Hmm.....

I know for a fact that it is possible. My childhood friend was born in 1953 --- her mother
(an Italian nurse) was 51 when she gave birth to her. So it is definitely possible -- a rare possibility, I will grant you, but possible none the less.

inferno

As I said earlier, if you check Catherine's dates in the crypt, she would have been 50 when she became pregnant and 51 when the child was born. I think it's totally possible and not too unusual. After all, Eleanor of Aquitaine was 46 when she gave birth to Prince John. And her age would have explained why they took extra care with her pregnancy (the thalidomide), why it was difficult and also possibly why the child might have had some birth defects (even without the thalidomide).

But the question remains for me: Does one believe that Catherine had a beastly baby and the whole thing was covered up (like Rochester's mad wife in the attic), that James just supposed it was the curse operating, and that the baby got more beastly as time passed through neglect or imprisonment? Or was it the curse of the mask playing out?

WW

I'm replaying this again to try to pick up on more hints. Someone mentioned here James went to prison, but he didn't. Remember, there was no autopsy and the police were not allowed to dig in the yard.

Also, reading the flyers in the attic, the doctor bought 3 pieces of meat from a butcher shop in 1970, so he was around at least 7 years after Catherine died. Also, why was his bank account still open and being used? I wonder who was using it?

Jean

Betty Lou: that was very impressive. Congratulations! I never thought anyone would ever bump into that clue, but you did it and neatly explained its relation with the story. Bravo!

For those who want to believe into something supernatural and how the mask ordeal ties with the story: watch the ending sequence again. Carefully.

Having this discussion has made my enjoyment of the game itself so much better. A couple of points - the meat that was ordered in 1970 could and probably was ordered by the doctor since James died of a heart attack in 1963 before he was arrested - and yes you are right, James was not incarcerated, his death came before the authorities had time to pursue him as a suspect, remember, they were not allowed access to the house and grounds and never did see Catherine's body and no autopsy was performed. Another thing I know (now) is that Catherine and the doctor kept the baby's survival of birth a secret from James as he was in an emotional state over what he perceived as the African curse-of-the-mask. However, I deduce that James became aware of the child at the time of his wife's death, hard for the doctor to explain that away to James otherwise. So maybe it was the doctor who was seen burying Catherine in the garden, not James - sounds like James was in a fragile mental state and not able to function well enough to bury his wife and continue to conceal the child. However, what I don't understand is this: from the phone call Michael makes to the bank to determine if James Blackwood's accounts were still active, he finds out they were but never does find out who is accessing those accounts, i.e., withdrawing monies from time to time (perhaps to buy more meat for the 'monster'?). Something I missed the first time I played this was at the very end in the basement near that hole in the wall, I totally missed seeing the half gnawed fresh meat lying there, saw it this time, so the 'monster' is getting his meals from somewhere - wonder if any of the neighbors are missing? Oh, and the 'speculation' that James was still alive when his body is actually in the crypt and Catherine is buried in the garden without a coffin, guess that played out correctly and fits OK. Can't say I am totally satisfied with the ending, unless it is 'dangling the carrot' that there could be a sequel of the creatures further 'adventures'
Love, Betty Lou :kiss:

Oh, I am so delighted with my find on the meds and accept all your 'pats on the back' with a very good feeling! Thanks
Love, Betty Lou
P.S. I'm not always so smart and usually feel pretty dense

Congrats, Betty Lou! I'd also missed that. *wild applause*

To further clarify thalidomide (there were some questions about it a few pages back), it was originally developed as a sedative; when it was discovered that a side effect of the drug was the prevention of morning sickness, it was then prescribed to pregnant women (with the horrifying results that others have already gone into).

For the intensely curious, it's now being resurrected in clinical trials as a potential treatment for HIV.

And I have to say this, because I haven't seen anyone else mention it (I know many people don't have this issue) -- while I thoroughly enjoyed the story, the graphics, the music, etc., what really impresses me is the game engine. I appreciate the fact that there's an option to put the game in slideshow mode, but what I really appreciate is the fact that it's unnecessary to do so. This is literally the first game I've played where the "panoramic" cursor did not make me nauseous.

The meat has was tossed in by Dr. Milton. You can find a reciept for meat cuts amongst the scraps of paper in the attic, and the date on the reciept is after the day James died, and is the same year Dr. Milton dissapears.

Remember how you needed something to make the amulet that represented a god? I believe the dead cat in the cemetary is a previous attempt by either Milton or James to make the amulet themselves.

Did anyone else notice an outline of a body, possibly a woman, imprinted in the mud in Robin's cell? I thought I saw one but perhaps I was looking too hard.

O.K,. I haven't enjoyed a thread this much ......ever. I also agree with and appreciate all that has been said BUT Why does everyone seem to accept that idea that James is an innocent victim and that poor Robin killed Catherine. What if James, victimized by the curse, actually was the murderer? He, as a result of being overexposed to the mask, actually went nuts and attacked his wife; ripping out her throat and killing her, just as the African tribe did to their victims. The doctor, seeing his friend as 'cursed', took the mask from the case; hid and locked it in the secret storeroom and hid the truth. Poor Robin was, in fact, simply poor Robin. He was a malformed child who was ignored and abhorred by his father and cared for, barely, by the doctor. This inserts a bit more "Supernatural" material; cleans up Betty Lou's time lines a bit; and may still leave the mask and curse hanging over Blackstone Manor. I sort of like having this old haunted place get older and still be haunted. As for Robin, he still lives in the basement in the dark. (It's dark because he's already burned all the candles in the place, except for one in the church which he didn't know existed!)

Haze, I thought for a long time that James was Catherine's killer via the mask's curse. I can still see that this scenario would fit as well. Given Robin's proclivity to enjoy raw meat though, I now believe that he is Catherine's killer and Dr. Milton's as well.

I don't want to 'beat a dead horse' but other thoughts 'creep into my mind' when I read the comments by you all here - I accept that either Robin or James killed Catherine, but lean towards Robin being the 'guilty party'...Remember that Catherine and the doctor were hiding and caring for the baby and kept that knowledge (that Robin was in fact alive, not dead or stillborn) from James at least up until the age of 2 when Catherine was killed. What I don't understand is who has been feeding Robin since the good doctor disappeared or died, he has been dead a while now, don't know when he actually died. So where is Robin getting his meals from and where will he get them from from now on, he obviously does not have a functioning brain to allow him to telephone the market for supplies and use his fathers bank account, so who is using it or has been using it most recently in stead of the good doctor? Someone obviously has withdrawn money from that bank account very recently - there is fresh meat in the basement only partly eaten and it must have come from somewhere....
Love, Betty Lou
I have to say I really am enjoying this in depth discussion of this game a great deal - thanks for participating and sharing your ideals. :kiss:

Oh, is THAT what happened to all the candles? Never did figure that one out so thanks Haze, solves another piece of my 'puzzle' for me.
Love, Betty Lou

Is there actually evidence in Robin's cell that he's been burning candles? How would he light them? Is he civilised to the point of using fire? Would he care? I think of him as nocturnal, as night seems to be when he's been active.

I also like the thought of the scratching noises being Robin trying to dig his way out. That makes sense to me. But as for who's been maintaining him--well, I still ask if we have a date of the Dr.'s disappearance? I remember Jerry saying that he'd become the town drunk and then vanished, but when? I keep thinking of that coffee cup by the Dr.'s journal in the sitting room. When you click on it, Michael said, "I wonder how long that cup of coffee has been sitting there?" But if it had been VERY long, wouldn't all the coffee have evaporated? So wouldn't the comment have been more like, "the residue in the bottom indicates that this cup once held coffee"?

Maybe that's spliting hairs...

I just don't recall seeing anything in the final scene to connect Robin and the mask, but I sure could have missed it--I was mostly hiding behind a pillow at the time!

WW

Here it is; my final bit of inspiration. Robin, the baby, is dead. He died a long time ago and the creature is, in fact, the doctor(!) He was transformed by the mask into what we saw in the basement. He didn't try to defend himself from it because he didn't believe. No one has been feeding him because he can fend for himself, and he is aware enough to use candles. There is still no reason to assume that he know about the secret room in the church so he never got that one. Also, he can't leave because, like Gollum and the ring, he is supernaturally connected to the mask and the house. Now that our hero has broken the mask's power, who knows what might happen. (Are we considering this story or what?)

I'm still believing that the Doctor was alive (at least until recently.) He probably only left the house because he couldn't handle being in there all alone anymore, with his internal demons and supposed external ones as well. The journal in the living room suggests he wanted to take off. He just comes back to feed Robyn now and again.

Think about what you were looking at during the credits.

So......all are really neat theories .....but where is the maid? That letter to her Mom never reached the appointed round, did it?

inferno

O.K. Inferno, you've done it again. So maybe the body in the ground wasn't Catherine at all! There are bones, of apparently human origin, in the refrigerator and in the basement. There is also an empty coffin which isn't supposed to be empty and the creature has apparently been reasonably well fed..... That's it; I'm going to play ECHO because Mr. Bill told me I should and I'm going to forget Scratches for a while. I've never thought so much about a game after I played it three times. Now I'll have to play it again and become even more confused. By the way, thanks to all who allowed me to spout off and kept it fun. There's another thread on another site where they are opening veins and spewing vitriol. This has been much better.

It might have. Remember, we just used the pencil to create an outline of the last thing written on that paper pad.

I think it's more than possible that the maid
a) took the picture of the wife incident.
b) made two copies, one that she took to the police, and one she hid in her secret compartment for safe keeping.
c) went to the police, and then decided to go home. Think about it: you just witness your boss burying his murdered wife and the police can't manage to charge him, or even get on the property. Would you then decide to go back to work, or go back and pick up some odds and ends. Likely she never returned.

Remember that the bank account is still active. Someone could have placed an on-going order with the butcher's for fresh meat to be delivered every few days, and with the bank to allow the butcher's bills to be paid automatically and unconditionally. The delivery person could even have been instructed to drop it down a hatch. They don't have to know the place is deserted, as long as the bill gets paid they just keep on delivering.

As Inferno said the maid never had the time to send the letter to her beloved mom and she also left all her belongings in the house even her beloved photos! So she must have left in real hurry or more likely been forced away from this world. That would explain why there is a female skeleton in James coffin.

I have never enjoyed a discussion of a game or a book as much as I am this one. So many theories and ideas that I never even thought of. This is helping me get through my anxiousness about 2 games on their way to me and not arriving yet - can only crochet so many hats in one day! Need to keep 'busy' as usual. But I am having a chuckle or two over your offerings and it sure makes one think, think, think - ah, 'brain power', its a wonderful thing! Or as Martha says, "it's a good thing". I believe the maid's letters is just the pages on the pad which the letter was written on, since I had to use the pencil to bring up the words as they were only indentations, not faded writing (at least that is what I believe, how would one restore faded writing by pencil-scribbling on top of them?). How clever of the maid to have written her mom in French so the Blackwoods and the doctor could not (one assumes) read it! What is the tipoff that the remains in James' coffin is female? The garment it has on looks like a burlap shroud or loose gown of some sort...if that is true then I missed that clue. I like the idea that the butcher was delivering meat on a regular basis and billing the bank account for his payment until the funds run out....I also like the idea of a sequel for us to find out what the creature does from here on out...does it live FOREVER? Gotta go make a phone call now, be back later.
Love, Betty Lou :kiss:

Aw, a fellow crafter!

For me, it was that the garment looked like a shirt, but with no front opening -- men don't wear shirts like that, and since Catherine's body turned up elsewhere, I assumed the body in the crypt was the maid's. But as Augustin pointed out (here or elsewhere, I forget), the maid was hardly likely to have stuck around. I don't know why, but "shroud" never occurred to me.

Back to the bank account...if James's account is still active, and Milton didn't seem to have access to it (to judge from the hard time the bank gave to Michael when he pretended to be Milton), does that mean that James is still alive, and Milton's dead? (I'm still trying to reconcile people with bodies.)

When did Michael pretend to be Milton? When I had that conversation, he pretended to be an associate from the hospital. And I never was able to find out about the bank account at all!

I think it really is James in the coffin, it's catherine in the ground, the Dr. is still around someplace and the maid went home. ANyway, someone knows what's going on--hence the eviction notice.

hey, kuddles-okay, I was looking at the conservatory during the credits. So? I don't get it.

WW

Are you out there The Haze???? Betty Lou???? WyseWoman??? Polo Diablo???? Kuddles???? and all the rest???


Has anyone not called the bank number until the last possible moment? Right before you descend in the lounge? Hmmmmmnnnn???????

inferno

I don't recall exactly when I called the bank, but it wasn't right at the last minute; it may have even been Day 2, and one of the options I had in talking with the banker was calling myself "Dr. Christopher Milton, a close friend of the family, and I demand some respect!"

Oh, edited to add:

Yeah, I'm lost too.

I am one of the beta-testers infernoj13usa, just trying to supply some alternative explanations here and there, to clear up some of the confusion. Not saying that what I suggest might have happened is the absolute truth or what Nucleosys had in mind.

Yes, I did call the bank and know all the possible dialogue-options.

If the meat was tossed down the grate in the fireplace then it would end up in the tunnel not the prison. And the door was bolted so Robin couldn't get to it.

If the doctor (or Blackwood?) climbed down the ladder into the tunnel why did they need a hole in the furnace as well.

If Robin has dug a tunnel, and needed to break through the wall to get to the earth, why didn't he break through the wall next to the door and escape that way.

Were the scratches the sound of the doctor feeding Robin at night via the furnace. Was he hiding in the house...

I called the bank early Monday morning and got a clerk (named Robert Blake, strangely enough) who wasn't helpful and threatened to call the police! I tried calling again later several times, but Michael always said, "I don't want to push my luck!" and hung up.

I guess from what you're saying, Inferno, you get different options if you wait until later. But it seemed obvious to me that investigating the bank account was necessary, so I did it first thing.

WW

To wysewomon; If you still have the game loaded, you might save a game before you go to the grate and then make that phone call several times. You'll speak to Robert Blake every time, but you can follow the different paths and become even more confused as you learn even more.

To Inferno; I'm still here, but I am embarking on a quest. I am about to play this game again, but this time I have three pages of notes before I start the game. That hasn't happened since I played "Space Invaders" on my Atari game. I will either solve some things to my satisfaction (Or simply drive myself nuts)

I wonder now if we all don't need to re-evaluate the game. We all said it was good, but if a game can get a large number of evidently smart adults confused and frustrated while not getting them hostile or angry, perhaps we need to consider applying the word great. I was never so MYSTified by a game before.

What kind of notes did you need to play Space Invaders??

Bella is right and the mystery behind the maid has been solved - she obviously got away and made it to the police. Remember that you don't pick the letter per se, which we can assume successfully arrived to its destination, but only a paper with some markings.

The clue you all seem to be surprisingly missing can be seen during the final sequence. It's not the growing flowers, although they can be significant as someone pointed out, but something else, a small detail, maybe just a strange illusion... yet something that could confirm one of the theories.

It's right in front of your eyes.


Has anyone pondered about the significance of the phone number on the newspaper?

Oh, so much to think about here! Yes, I wondered about who wrote the telephone number on the newspaper (?Bailey?) and why....I too called the bank at the time Mag's w/t indicated it and pretended to be Dr. Milton, never gave a thought to trying to be anyone else or calling more than once, thought I had 'picked up' enough info to KNOW that the account was still open and active and had LOTS of money in it, but could not determine if there were deposits being made from anyone. I am so thrilled to know you guys are 'getting a kick' out of this ongoing discussion....I just love it! And I am seeing other ideas being 'put out' there for me to contemplate, more questions asked and some with possible answers or 'different paths' to take in summarizing this game. I can just see the person or team who wrote the 'script' for this one sitting there having a good chuckle over all the clues and tossing in some red herrings and enjoying a good laugh cause the 'joke's on you(us)'...would love to have one of them come forward and steer us towards the 'truth' of it all. Watching the credits at the end? May have to go back there and read them all again, I tend to skip them and just exit the game, maybe I missed something important?
Rael, there is a significant clue in the ending sequence, something right in my face, and I don't see it or cannot interpret it? Have seen the end of the game twice only now and MUST have MISSED whatever you are talking about - you are 'dangling the carrot' again! mmmmm
Love, Betty Lou :kiss:

You mean the police chief's phone number? I just thought it made sense for them to have the number of the man investigating it. Are you suggesting I'm not thinking hard enough about it?

No, but who wrote the number on the newspaper? and why? Catherine is dead, James is crazy or dead and the doctor is trying to keep the secret of the monster 'child' from the outside world, but someone wrote that telephone number on the paper and stored those newspapers in the attic, who I wonder and why? (I know, we needed those clues in that place and at the time but that fact should not enter into the game 'story') Was someone else investigating the mystery of this mansion before I (Michael) came along and bought the house and moved in?
Love, Betty Lou

I have some thoughts about what happened in the game and I am trying to string them together to form a loose, very young theory. I was hoping some of you could add input.

In the end, after Michael drives off in his car, we travel back to the lair beneath Blackwood Manor. After a moment, the camera begins to travel from the corner by the table, through the room, into the hole, through the long tunnel, up toward the light, fade to black, still scene of greenhouse with flowers in bloom, and roll credits. Watching this scene reminded me of the metaphor often used to describe birth (death too). This led me to thinking that maybe what we were seeing were events yet to unfold. That thought reminded me of the page Michael wrote for his book while staying in the house. On that page his heroine Marian is describing what I assumed to be her daughter. It reads....

"...but Marian wasn't seeing Cathy. Her memories haunted her back and displaced reality giving room to the vision she had spent months trying to forget ever since her visit to the old house."

To paraphrase the rest, Marian goes on to remember seeing Cathy emerge from a passage way (womb) small face contorted in a grimace (much as a baby looks right after birth). It goes on to say,

"A ghost would come from the past, but what she had seen came from the---"

My guess is that word is future. Maybe the house is some sort of metaphor for life or mankind...... .....(voice trails off uncomfortably)


Any thoughts?

So, another country heard from... We've had rational and practical; supernatural; and now we get metaphysical. I can't wait to play this again and answer all my questions so that I can post them on here and have people politely and correctly show me I'm not quite right.

Note to Rael; You posted your birth year as 1980. I bought Atari five years before that to play Asteroids and Space Invaders. I was the first guy on my block to have any sort of post-Pong video game. We took notes; kept score on paper; and wrote letters on a typewriter. (All this means, of course, is that I am old!)

Note to Kuddles; You can call that number if you like.

Having played through it 3 times now - it must be a rather subtle clue.

It wouldn

Yeah, I called. In fact, I think that one is mandatory. But Agustin's post suggested there was more to it.

You're right about this game, though. I don't think I've ever spent more time discussing theories about a video game. Some movies I have, but games? Pretty impressive when you think that several different theories can exist and they all have substantial evidence behind them.

It appears I might be regarded as an entire other planet heard from.

Welcome to this discussion Shelby and you thoughts are interesting and thought provoking....and if you are right I suggest it means there is to be a sequel somehow....
Age here is not important, and isn't it interesting that we on GB have very young (under 20 yrs) players all the way up to over 80 year old players and we find EVERYONE interesting and fun - I myself was born in 1936, turned 70 last month and I dearly love my computer and these games. Crafty? yes, I guess I am, like my crafts, make all my own springnsummer hats and crochet caps (head warmers) for chemotheraphy patients. Like to make my own jewelry to match my outfits too. Love to crochet. Love to read. ALSO LOVE to TALK!
Still wondering who would note the policemans telephone number on that newspaper - perhaps the maid since she made the report of the murder to the police, then how did those newspapers end up stored in the attic?
Love, Betty Lou :kiss:

Shelby, just so there are no misunderstandings; I like metaphysical and welcome your ideas. The true fun of this whole thread, and this whole game, is that as soon as I'm sure I know what's going on, someone suggests a different and usually better interpretation. Thanks for the new concepts and keep those ideas coming. Now, could someone please tell me what I missed in the credits. I've watched 'em three times but can't get any direct connections to anything.

I would like to know too, I seem to be missing whatever it is. Shelby, so glad you joined us, the more the merrier, and I never thought I would be the one to 'start something' with my posting the discovery of the Thalidomide....what fun!
Love, Betty Lou

My only assumption is that Agustin is talking about those creepy glowing eyes you see in the dark before Robin jumps out at you. It matches what was described in the journal about the tribe.

Okay, I replayed the ending sequence again, and I didn't notice any difference by phoning the bank at the last possible minute.

What does the journal say about creepy glowing eyes? I thought that was just...you know, the normal sort of looking into a dark crevice and seeing creepy glowing eyes.

WW

oh, PS--how did you all manage to follow all the conversation options for the bank call? I picked "christopher milton" first and after that was over I could never get anything else.

WW

I read somewhere (It's not something I discovered.) that you have to save your game just before you make the phone call; and it must be after 9:00 on the last day. Once you choose one phone path, the game won't let you choose another. Make a call; choose a path, finish; quit; reload ; make another call; choose a different path. Note, in my opinion this won't clarify anything. It simply gives you more materials and details to be confused about. Isn't that what we all really like about this game??

This game surely has taken us all down many different paths - and the creepy glowing eyes in the dark 'hole', I did not find it unusual in a scary creepy game like this - reminded me of the same glowing eyes in Shivers 1, scared the bejeepers out of me then, took it in stride this time and did not 'read' any special clue into it....did I miss something here? Was it the glowing eyes being referred to? or something else.
Love, Betty Lou

I think we are missing something --- Agustin gave us a clue

---inferno

Correct me if I'm wrong, but was there a bone down there? Kinda big? Human-like?

I deleted all my saved games so I can't go back to it...Hmmmm, I'll have to load it up again, but I must be strong and finish some other things first.

Oh, I see it now. Took a screen capture. Will process it.

Edit: Hope this will be okay with Rael. I will post the pictures after I lightened them a bit.

My theory is that the good doctor got it at the end. Saw michael there, had the eviction notice sent, then went back to check on Robin. Only this time Robin attacked him. I think it would explain the freshness of the blood (red, not brown). Of course this all depends on whether or not there is a bone there and it is indeed human.

PS - No insider info here. I'm speculating just like you guys are!

I think this is the better one - Note foreground.

EDIT: That's a lion!

MWuahahaahaahaahaaaa

inferno

LOL this is fun! There's no way Robin killed Milton - remember he's in a cell and you definitely find the door locked when you arrive. The only way he could have grabbed Milton is from the window, but there would have been remains outside. In any case, someone has explained very well what occurred: Milton couldn't take it any longer and made arrangements to leave and never have to worry about his dilemma ever again. Pretty disturbing move though, considering the state in which he left Robin - a fate worse than death.

The above reasoning is a bit tied with the phone number I mentioned - who and why wrote it down? Re-read the very first notes you find...

As for that missing clue... I'm feeling nice today, so here you go:

Not just glowing eyes...

Hmmmm, cats eyes....

Now Agustin, I accept that Robin did not kill Dr. Milton since you wrote the thing...but saying there would have been remains outside the window is kind of hard for us to be able to determine since we couldn't explore those parts of the outside of the house (unless I missed it).

Lets see, cats eyes on who we assume to be Robin, lions claw...seems like the supernatural line is coming more into play.

What is that mound on the floor in the middle of the floor in Mags pic?

Think about the structure of the house and it becomes very apparent the placement of those windows. The remains would have been very, very visible. But there's even another fact - remember the invoice. The meat was being thrown through the most accessible window...

Surprising how the supernatural line can fit so well. Could it be that nothing happened when the amulet was used on the mask... because the spirit was somewhere else?

If it wasn't for that Thalidomide...

PS: I've no idea what that mound is!!

If the makers of the game are following this thread they must be laughing themselves silly over all the questions and answers being posted.
I am!

So here's my question, now that I've read the latest posts (and thank you to everyone who posted the screenshots!): was the whole amulet/exorcism thing useless if well-meaning on Michael's part, or was it the exorcism that freed Robin at last from his confines in the cellar? I guess a better way to phrase it is, instead of containing the spirit, did Michael inadvertantly unleash it?

'Retired at last', they are!
Rael = Agustin of Nucleosys.

Oh now Stop it, you two!!! your making me laugh
--- and I'm still in this ^&*% upper body cast!
ouch! my poor ribs!
--I told you guys this game was worth an A+ ---- super discussion.

This discussion is quite well done. Hmmmmm Cat's eyes... So that's how the that happened --- did they grind a cat's tooth with one of Robin's baby teeth? And then the evil demon took greater possession of the child?

Agustin that stop teasing us! You know fine well that the blob in the foreground of that picture looks like the remains of the lower half of a body lying on it's stomach.....

did you finish that patch by the way???? You know which one I mean.

inferno

Inferno - upper body cast? What happened.
-----------------------------------------
Ivinia - hope you're laughing with me and
not at me

Yep, I agree Inferno! Looks like a torso to me.

Retired @ Last - Yes, laughing with you!