Scratches: Director’s Cut

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.)

SHAPE* MERGEFORMAT

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.

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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.

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