Scratches

Developer:  Nucleosys Digital Studio
Publisher:  Got Game Entertainment

Walkthrough by Len Green (March, 2006)

Saturday 9 am
Walk forward to the front door of the mansion
Try opening the front door. You can't it's locked
Take the key from inventory, and use it on the keyhole
Open the front door and enter the mansion
Start looking around the reception hall
The telephone starts ringing. Answer it
Talk to Jerry
Enter the living room
Look around the living room
Read the diary on the table
Enter the study
Look around the study
Look at the desk
Read the diary on the desk
Open the 2nd drawer down on the left side
Take the empty envelope
Close the drawer
Open the 3rd drawer down on the left side
Take the tool for boring holes (an awl)
Close the drawer
Enter the dining room
Look around the dining room
Exit the dining room and go into the small hallway
Go up the back stairs (2 flights ... from the ground floor to the 1st floor) Go 1 step forward and then swing to the right
Walk the length of the 1st floor lower hallway
Enter the guest room ... "I quickly realized that this had to be my room."
Look around the guest room
Look in the waste paper basket
Read the single hand written page there
Look at the doctor's medical bag
Open the doctor's medical bag
Take the stethoscope
From inventory, take Michael's (heavy) suitcase and place it on the corner table
Open the suitcase and examine all the contents
Look at the calling card belonging to Jerry (P. Carter)
Take the pen
Look at the scribble on the scratch pad
Look at the book ... "Vanishing Town" by Michael Arthate
See the book's frontispiece
Look at the 4 page letter from Jerry to Michael
Take the matchbook (with only a few matches)
Close the suitcase
From inventory, take the typewriter case and place it on the desk
Open the typewriter case
Take out the papers in the case ... they appear on the desk
Take out the typewriter ... it also goes onto the desk
Close the typewriter case
Place the typewriter case on the floor (beneath the table)
Look at the typewriter
Attempt to write something ... Michael prefers to continue exploring
Read the page already typed

Exit the guest room
Walk along the 1st floor lower hallway
Enter the room on your left ... it is the master bedroom
Look around the master bedroom
Exit the master bedroom
Enter the room opposite ... it is the African gallery
Look around the African gallery
Exit the African gallery
Walk to the other end of the lower hallway
Enter the room with the stained glass panel ... it is the 1st floor bathroom
Look at the built-in cabinet below the sink
Open the 3rd drawer down (the bottom long drawer, in the middle)
Take the relatively clean rag
Exit the bathroom
Walk back along the length of the 1st floor lower hallway
Go downstairs to the ground floor again
Go to the reception hall
Phone Jerry
Keep phoning him until he repeats the phrase "If you don't mind, I have work to do"
Press the light switch in the main hall (or anywhere else)
The light doesn't go on ... there is no electric power
Press the light switch again to make sure ... still no electricity
Phone Jerry and inform him about the electricity and learn that he has ordered an electrician

Phone Barbara and talk to her
Continue phoning her until Michael says "Ah ... never mind"
Go to the front door and open it
Exit the mansion
Walk down the length of the garden to the main gates ... no electrician
Look at the mailbox
Open the mailbox
Read the letter from the electrician (take it ... although it doesn't appear in inventory)
Close the mailbox

Look at the boot of the car ... which "I hoped I would never need to open."
Open the car door and enter the car
Look at the car's starter
Open the glove compartment
Take the car key
Close the glove compartment
Get the car key from inventory, and put it into the car's starter
Start the car ... Michael decides not to travel anywhere at present
Return to the mansion and enter
Phone Jerry and tell him that you missed the electrician

{The following depends upon what actions you performed (and didn't perform) previously, and hence may be somewhat different ... but this should not affect anything!

Phone Jerry again and obtain 2 blue ('unusual') captions at the bottom of the screen ... the top blue caption reads "I wondered about the previous inhabitants..." and the bottom blue caption reads "I asked about that safe"
Click on the top blue caption and Jerry mentions a murder committed there in May 1963, etc.
Phone Jerry yet again ... "I found a safe box in a room upstairs."

Walk to the back of the mansion
Look around the small hallway ... notice the African jars
Open the door to the kitchen
Look around the kitchen ... notice the key holder without any keys, and the table beneath it
Look at the one kitchen wall where there are 2 doors very close together
Open the right door. You can't ... "The door to what I assumed was the basement was locked."
Open the left door ... the maid's (servant's) room
Look around the maid's room
Take the topmost paper (with markings on it) from those lying on the desk
Open the right drawer
Take the pencil
Look at the photograph (near the left corner and half hidden)
Close the right drawer
Open the door with the 6 rectangular glass panels
Look around that room ... the maid's bathroom which was once apparently used as a dark room
Open the tap ... "Apparently, the water wasn't running."
Exit the bathroom/dark room
Exit the maid's room
Exit the kitchen
Open the curtains in the small hallway
Look into the African jars
Take the key from inside one of the jars
Return to the kitchen
Using the key from inventory, open the door to the basement
Go down the stairs
Look all around the basement
Open the fuse box
Check the 2 fuses and the 2 old fashioned double-pole switches ... they seem OK
Exit the basement
Exit the kitchen
Return to the front reception hall
Phone Jerry to tell him that the fuses seem all right ... "Make sure you find some candles before it's too dark."
Phone Jerry again to tell him that he hasn't yet found any candles ... "Well keep looking!"

In inventory, look at the paper ... it "had several markings on it."
In inventory, use the pencil on the sheet of paper with markings .. "I managed to reveal what appeared to be a letter in Italian."
Phone Barbara and ask her if she can translate an Italian letter ... "Yes! Mail it!"
In inventory, put the letter into the empty envelope
In inventory, use the pen on the envelope to write the correct address
Exit the front door
Walk down the length of the garden towards the main gates
Look at the mailbox
Open the mailbox
From inventory, take the (Italian) letter and post it to Barbara
Close the mailbox

Return to the front door of the mansion
Open the front door and enter
Phone Jerry ... he tells Michael to keep on looking for candles
Walk to the back of the mansion
Enter the kitchen
Notice the back door with a colored glass panels and to the right of it a cupboard with crockery on top
Open the cupboard
Open the bottom drawer
Take the kitchen knife
Close the bottom drawer
Open the top drawer — it's empty ... apparently it was once used to hold candles
Close the top drawer
Exit the kitchen
Go to the dining room
Look at the nice piece of furniture (with a candelabra on top of it and also a painting of a house and flowers)
Open the drawer there ... "Tablecloths, napkins... etc."
Go up to the 2nd floor: Go up the stairs ... (if necessary) along the first floor lower hallway to the bathroom door ... turn right ... go up the stairs from the 1st floor to the 2nd [top] floor ... You are in the upper hallway
Swing left
Walk forwards and notice the wooden ladder-stairs (brown steps)
Climb up the stairs and see the door to the attic
Enter the attic
Open the trunk to look for candles ... none there
Take the old fashioned lamp
Look through the pile of assorted photos, papers, etc., which were underneath the lamp on the left side of the trunk
Look through the pile of assorted photos, papers, etc., on the right side of the trunk
Look at the pile of newspapers
Read the caption at the bottom of the screen "I looked for any worthwhile news in May, 1963..."
Click on this blue ('unusual') caption at the bottom of the screen
Read the "Journal" of Tuesday, 25th May, 1963

(Whilst you're in the attic, open the music box
Click on the object inside the box
Click on the key
Close the box)

Exit the attic
Return down to the 2nd floor, then down to the 1st floor, and finally down to the ground floor
Go to the reception hall
Phone Jerry ... no candles anywhere in the house. Jerry suggests buying some ... "Calm down! Drive to town before it gets dark."

Exit the front door
Walk down the length of the garden towards the main gates
Enter the car
The key is in the starter (ignition) ... turn it on
The engine turns over once only, and the red warning light comes on: "The car would not start! It was only then that I realized I had left the lights on..." ... "The car battery was dead."
Exit the car
Return to the front door of the mansion
Open the front door and enter
Phone Jerry ... He can't do anything at present

Look around the lower hallway just a little ... "It was getting late. Perhaps it was now a good time to go to sleep."
Go up the stairs from the ground floor to the 1st floor
Walk to the end of the lower hallway
Enter the guest room ... "I was getting very tired"
Lie down on the bed and go to sleep

Michael has a nightmare
He hears banging noises
During his nightmare, Michael is ONLY 'allowed' to move as follows:
(In this nightmare) he can only walk to the door of the guest room
Then open the guest room door and leave the room
Then he can only walk along the lower hallway and open the double doors into the African gallery
In the place where the display cabinet stood there is now (in Michael's nightmare) a boarded up door and a hammer on the floor
All you can do is to look at the hammer ... and ...
Pick up the hammer (it's only a 'dream-hammer' and not real, and hence it doesn't go into inventory)
The nightmare ends and Michael is back in the guest bedroom

Michael wakes up from his nightmare, "I was awakened from my strange dream by some odd noises reverberating around the room"
Move around the guest room just a little ... "The scratching was starting to make me feel very nervous..."
Walk towards the fireplace in the guest room ... "The noises seemed to grow louder as I approached the fireplace."
Look at the fireplace
From inventory use the stethoscope on the fireplace and move it around
Yes! Michael can now hear the noises coming from the fireplace ... "but I still couldn't determine their source."
Leave the fireplace
Go to the guest room door
Exit the guest room
(Since Michael is now awake, he can move around freely ... although it's midnight)
Go down the main staircase from the lst floor to the ground floor
Enter the living room
Examine the fireplace there
From inventory use the stethoscope on the fireplace
Conclusion: About those noises ... "I concluded they had to be coming from below"

Go to the kitchen
Open the door to the basement ... you can't; it is very late at night and the basement would be pitch black since there is no electric power and you wouldn't see a thing ... "I couldn't go down there without some light."
From inventory, use the old fashioned lamp on the basement door. Impossible! ... "The lamp didn't have any oil in it."
Return upstairs from the ground floor to the 1st floor and walk to the end of the lower hallway
Re-enter the guest room ... "Just as they had begun out of nowhere, the scratching noises stopped"
Lie down on the bed and go to sleep (properly!)

Wake up next morning ... a fierce storm is raging; very heavy rain, thunder and lightning. Michael abandons hope of getting the power fixed
Return downstairs and go to the reception hall
The phone is ringing
Talk to Jerry about the terrible weather making it impossible for him to drive
Michael informs Jerry that "I happened to hear some odd sounds last night. Kind of ... 'scratching' noises down in the basement."
Go up to the 1st floor
Enter the main bedroom
Swing to the right, go 1 step forward, and swing to the right again
Look at the painting of the very tall woman in red ...
Click on the orb in her hand revealing a safe with a rotary dial combination lock
Click on the dial ... "I didn't know the combination and safe-cracking certainly isn't my expertise."
Return downstairs to the reception hall
Phone Jerry ... ask and receive the combination of the safe
Return to the 1st floor
Enter the main bedroom
Again look at the painting of the tall woman in red
Click on the orb and once again view the safe
Click on the combination-dial
The dial rotates automatically back and forth to the correct combination, (presumably: 03 2 11) and the safe opens
View the contractor's tender for work to be done on Blackwood Manor
See the key inside the open safe
Take the blue key
Go up the stairs from the 1st floor to the upper hallway in the 2nd (top) floor ... as previously
Swing round to your left and go to the single door
Open the door. You can't since ... "The door seemed to be stuck..."
Swing to the right, go forward twice, and swing to the left ... you are facing another single door (close to and 'behind' the wooden stairs you visited previously)
Open the door. You can't ... "The door was locked but I could see a key on the other side through the keyhole."
Observe the bottom of the door ... "There was quite a bit of light coming from below the door."
Look to the left of that door ... there is a tin on the floor with a newspaper underneath it
Take the newspaper
From inventory, take the newspaper and slide it under the door
In inventory take the boring tool (an awl) and poke the keyhole of the door
Inside that room, the key falls onto the newspaper
Pull the newspaper back ... but the key does not slide out from the gap under the door; it gets 'caught'" ... the key had gotten stuck behind the door. Whoever said that dumb technique worked?"
The keyhole is now 'clear'
From inventory, use the blue key on the keyhole ... the door opens and you are in the 'room with paintings'

Look at the stool in the room and on it a hammer
Take the hammer
There is a table in the room covered with painting materials and accessories
Look at the desk in close up
Look at the blueprint on the left side of the table
Click on it ... "It was a schematic blue print of the ground floor of the house."
Using the magnifying glass, examine each of the rooms (and their descriptions) on the ground floor
Click on the top left corner of the blueprint
Look at all the rooms (and their descriptions) on the first floor
To the left of the main bedroom is a 'mysterious' room ... "That was odd, I didn't remember seeing that room."
Take another look at it ... "I had to find some way to get into that room ..."
Click again on the top left corner of the blueprint
Look at the rooms (and their descriptions) on the second (top) floor
Near the middle of the table is an empty drinking glass holding 3 pencils; to the right of it is a key (not too easily visible!)
Pick up the silver key
Beneath the key was a round gray-white object ... "It was the lid of a can ..."
Pick up the lid
There is a large bizarre painting of a man with his mouth wide open, with one door to the left of it and another to the right ...
Open the door on the right
Enter the 'room in construction'
Climb the ladder twice
Notice that "A large rope was hanging from a railing above"
From inventory, take the knife and cut the rope
Climb down the ladder
Look for the remaining coil of rope on the floor (swing right round ... move once forwards, facing the door, then swing back again facing the ladder, move back a little (if necessary) ... the rope is now easily visible on the floor)
Pick up the rope
Climb the ladder 3 times to get to the very top ... "Several dusty cans were resting on the shelf, one of them in particular was more dusty than the rest."
Examine the rectangular can ... "A very dirty can."
From inventory, take the rag "a quick cleaning revealed that it was a can of oil."
Look at the can "There appeared to be oil in that can."
From inventory, take the boring tool (an awl) and use it on the can ... "I managed to pierce a hole in the can..."
From inventory, drag the old fashioned lamp onto the can of oil ... it tips and "I poured some oil inside the lamp" ...; but it was limited by the very small amount of oil there!
To the right of the can of oil look at a small oil can
Take the oil can
Climb down the ladder again
Exit the room ... not via the door you entered through, but through the door onto the upper hallway (i.e. the door which was originally stuck on the other (entrance) side!)
Turn right around and go to the very end of the upper hallway
Climb up ONE flight only of the stone spiral staircase
Notice a window on the left
Open the window
Look out ... and see the roof(s) of the mansion (and very heavy rain)
Climb up the second (final) flight of stairs to the tower
Look around the tower and see another window
Open that window
Again look out ... and see a nice verdant view of tree tops (and extremely heavy rain)
Look at the walls ... "There was a large crack in one of the walls in the tower"
From inventory, use the hammer on the crack in the wall ... "The wall had a wider crack now" (You can see light coming through from outside)
Look at the old rusty lamp above the crack
From inventory, tie the rope to the rusty lamp
Click the bottom of the rope ... it goes through the enlarged crack ... "The rope was hanging from the hole in the wall"
Return to the lower window and open it (if not already left open)
Look through the open window and see a small portion of the rope at the top right corner of the window (not too noticeable!)
Click on this piece of rope ... and the rope now hangs vertically straight downwards near the middle of the open part of the window
Michael ponders the situation ... obsessed with the 'mystery room', even though endangering his life ... "I decided that climbing down through the window was the only way to get inside the mysterious room..."

Climb down the rope (in 2 or 3 stages)
Enter the window into the mystery room
Explore the room ... it was apparently a nursery
Look at the chest of drawers
Open the top drawer
Examine the birth certificate ... note ALL the details, dates, etc.
Close the drawer

Exit the nursery window
Return up the rope and back to the tower (again in 2 or 3 stages)
Enter the window back into the tower
Go down the stone spiral staircase to the upper hallway
Climb up the wooden ladder-stairs again
Enter the attic
Look at the newspapers
Grab a newspaper
There is now an additional blue caption at the bottom of the screen ... "I checked if there was anything of interest in August, 1961..."
Read the newspaper ... Michael has serious and sinister doubts about past events in the Blackwood Mansion

Return down to the 2nd floor and then down to the 1st floor
Walk along the lower hallway
Enter the African Gallery
Walk to the display case and examine it ... "A pair of huge carved tusks were occupying a corner of the gallery."
There is a horizontal bar about a quarter way up the case. Pull the bar... "It wouldn't move..."
Look at the bottom of the display case ... it "seemed to have some kind of panel"
Remove the panel ... no luck; "It was firmly stuck in place."
From inventory, use the knife to prize off the panel
Look just behind where the panel had been ... it "had been concealing a couple of wheels."
From inventory, use the oilcan to oil BOTH of the two wheels (one at each end)
Again pull the bar on the display case
The display case swivels away from the wall

Now that the display case has been moved, go to the wall behind it. "The door was heavily barred..." ... nailed up with wooden planks
"There was no way I could remove those boards with my bare hands."
From inventory, use the hammer to remove the boards
Open the mysterious hidden door
Enter the room. Impossible! ... "The room was too dark to see anything."
In inventory, use the matches to light the old fashioned lamp
From inventory, use the old fashioned lamp on the dark opening. You can now see inside in the flickering lamp light.

In the middle of the storeroom inspect "An odd looking African mask ..." There appear to be several bamboo poles covering the window of the store room.
Move them away ... "Now that there was enough light, I extinguished the lamp to save the oil."
Look at and read the 3 pages of notes
Look at and read the 3-page letter to Christopher from James
Exit the storeroom
Exit the African Gallery
Walk along the lower hallway
Enter the guest room
Look at the typewriter
Click on it to insert a sheet of paper
Click on it again to type out a page of Michael's novel
Extract the typewritten page
Look at the page ... read it if you like!

Exit the guest room
Go downstairs to the main hall
Phone Jerry and tell him about your suspicions ... "James Blackwood was into some very weird stuff... and possibly dangerous."

Michael is feeling "unusually tired" from all "the events of this day" ... "A good time to go to bed..."
Return from the ground floor up to the 1st floor
Enter the guest room
Lie down on the bed and go to sleep

Michael wakes up at midnight ... "Something didn't feel right..."!
Exit the guest room
Enter the African Gallery
Enter the storeroom ... the Mask is no longer there
Exit the storeroom ... see what happens
You are automatically transported back to the guest room! ... "Once again, I was awakened during a bizarre dream by those scratching noises..."
Go to the fireplace and look at it
From inventory, use the stethoscope on the fireplace ... "I had to find out their source..."
Exit the guest room
Go down from the 1st floor to the ground floor
Enter the kitchen
Open the basement door
Enter the basement. ... Impossible! "The room was too dark to see anything."
In inventory, use the matches to light the old fashioned lamp
From inventory, use the old fashioned lamp on the dark opening to the basement ... it lights up but the old fashioned lamp is flickering (maybe its oil is running out?)
Enter the basement
Open the furnace
Walk into the (unlit!) furnace itself
Move forward another 4 times ... see what happens
Exit the furnace
Proceed (OUT of the furnace) 3 times ... complete darkness! Then continue twice more.

Go forward one last time to finally exit the furnace
Exit the basement ... "Finally, the last drop of oil inside the lamp had been consumed."
Exit the kitchen
Go up from the ground floor to the 1st floor
Enter the guest room
Lie down on the bed and go to sleep (properly!)

Wake up! It is now the 3rd day. The storm is over ... there is no rain, thunder or lightning, and it is light outside
Exit the guest room ... "It was incredibly cold inside the house now."
Go down from the 1st floor to the ground floor ... "I seriously considered warming up the place"
Exit the front door ... No go! "... it would be better to do something about the cold atmosphere before leaving the house."
Enter the living room
Examine the fireplace ... "I decided it was a good time to make use of that wood"
From inventory, use the matches to light the fire ... "The wood was now burning nicely in the fireplace"

Exit the front door (again) ... Not yet! "I decided to tell Jerry about my experience during the previous night before leaving the house"
Phone Jerry and tell him as much as you know about the bizarre situation
Exit the front door ... finally

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

General instructions for traveling to the garage, greenhouse, and chapel
(Instructions for traveling to the crypt, since somewhat different, are described later!).
The easiest and least confusing way to outline the above is to start the description from just inside the mansion ... even though it is not actually necessary to enter the mansion in order to travel to these locations.

*** From just inside the mansion exit the front door
*** Click on the fountain

To the garage:
Go forward and left
Turn left
Go forward twice to the garage

To the greenhouse:
Swing a little to the right and notice a path
Click twice on the path
Swing to the right
There is a fork*** in the paths here (the origin of the fork is actually just below the bottom of the screen and hence can't be seen properly!)
Click the left branch of the fork
Move forward 3 times to arrive at the greenhouse

To the chapel:
From the abovementioned fork***
Click the right branch of the fork
Move forward 3 times to arrive at the chapel

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Go to the garage (see the directions/instructions above)
Inspect the door handles "A hefty lock was preventing my entry to the garage."
Open the padlock ... "There was no way I could open it with my bare hands"
From inventory, take the silver key and open the padlock
Open the garage door and enter
Look around the garage (you may want to operate the pedals of the old bicycle and watch its wheel-dynamo light up the bike's headlamp?!)
Move over to the corner ... there is a corner work table there
Take the sturdy crowbar (on the floor, leaning against the right end of the work table)
Look closely at the tool box on the work table
Take a screwdriver
Take the pair of pliers
Leave the tool box
Exit the garage
Go to the greenhouse (see the directions/instructions above)
Enter the greenhouse. You can't! ... "The door to the greenhouse was stuck ..." probably due to rust
From inventory, take the oil can ... "I poured some oil onto the hinges of the door ... "
Open the greenhouse door and enter
Walk forward ... "An imposing but dead tree adorned the center of the greenhouse"
Walk to the right and skirt the pedestal with the large tree
Swing to the left
Climb the stairs to the upper floor
Go forward, swing to the right, go forward again, and again swing to the right
Look at the corner work table
Open the drawer on the left
Read the 2 pages of notes dated February 7th
Close the drawer
Open the drawer on the right
Take the shears "tailored for trimming plants"
Close the drawer on the right
Examine the plant ... "The plant on the top of the table was strangely attractive"
From inventory, use the shears on the plant ... "I took a few leaves with me."
Leave the table
Walk round the upper floor walkway in an anti-clockwise direction
Take the spade ... "There was a shovel in the planter but it was stuck in the soil."
Look at the large hose lying on the walkway (you must approach it from the 'correct direction' otherwise it will not react!)
Grasp the upper free end ... it embedded itself in the soil, near to the shovel
Grab the lower free end ... it is now looped over the railing and stretches down to the ground floor below
Go downstairs
Swing to the right of the tree pedestal
Look at the tap ... and notice the end of the hose
Examine the tap ... "Apparently, the water wasn't running." Leave the tap (and hose)
Exit the greenhouse
Go forward 5 times, swing to the left, and again go forward twice
Enter the mansion
Go to the kitchen
Enter the basement
Look around the basement walls and see a wheel on one of the large pipes
Examine the wheel more closely ... "Try as I might, the valve was stuck and wouldn't budge." ... "I couldn't move the valve with my bare hands."
From inventory, take your crowbar and insert it into the spokes of the wheel-valve
Try to lever the wheel open ... no go!!
From inventory, take the hammer and bang the wheel (with the crowbar still in it) ... the wheel turns
"I retrieved the crowbar as it could be needed elsewhere."
Exit the basement
Exit the kitchen
Return to the front door
Exit the front door
Return to the greenhouse (see the directions/instructions above)
Enter the greenhouse door
Go to the tap again
Turn it on ... the water is running now
Click on the end of the hose ... it attaches itself to the tap
Go up the stairs
Go to the shovel ... the water has softened the soil and the shovel has now been loosened
Grab the shovel
Go downstairs again
You probably noticed a glittering spot near to the tree pedestal and opposite the greenhouse door ... approach and examine it
Notice that "There was some kind of shiny object beneath the grating."
Look at it more closely
Try to grab the shiny object ... "Whatever it was there was no way I could reach it."
Go to the tap
Examine the tap again
Disconnect the hose
Turn the water on (it is quite likely to be running already!) ... maybe it will flush out the shiny object?
Look at the location of the shiny object. No! It's still there ... maybe one of the drainage channels is blocked
Go to the overturned large pot with a bush ... "A huge pot containing a bush had fallen, blocking the drain"
From inventory, take the shears and clip the bush ... "I removed a few branches and leaves, clearing that corner of the drain."
Look at the location of the shiny object. It has now gone ... where to?
Exit the greenhouse
Go forward twice (as though you were going back to the mansion)
Swing round a little to the right and go forward twice again
Look at the pool in front of the large tree
Examine the pool... see the shiny object
Pick it up ... it's a small key

Return to the mansion (you may find it easier to return to the greenhouse first, although this is far from essential)
Enter the mansion
Go to the study
Look at the desk ... and particularly at the drawer on the right
Open the drawer. You can't ... "It was locked."
From inventory, use the small key to open the locked drawer
Read the 3-page letter to Catherine from Christopher
Look at the closed box in detail
It has a 5 figure combination lock on it. Unless and until you know the combination of this lock you can't open it ... so leave it for the moment!
Leave the box and close the drawer
Exit the study
Walk up from the ground floor to the lst floor
Enter the master bedroom
Look at the round mirror on the bedside table
Click a few times on the round mirror and watch it swivel up and down
From inventory, use the screwdriver to remove the round mirror from its framework
Take just the mirror itself
Exit the master bedroom
Go downstairs and into the kitchen
Walk to the crypt

* * * * * * * * * *

(The easiest and least confusing way to outline the above is to start the description from inside the kitchen of the mansion ... even though it is not actually necessary to enter the mansion in order to travel to that location.)

Exit the back door
Go forward
Swing to the right until you are at the beginning of the ornate covered walkway
Go forward twice
Towards the left side of the screen go forward
Swing left a little (between 2 banks of brown earth)
Go forward 3 times
Go forward to the crypt

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Enter the crypt. Impossible! ... "A thick wire was tied between both handles...". This makes it impossible to manipulate with bare hands
From inventory use the pliers on the wire
Open the crypt door and enter
Go forward
Look at and open the lower coffin ... "A corpse in advanced stages of decomposition was inside the coffin"
Close the coffin
Look at and open the upper coffin ... "Curiously enough, this coffin was completely empty"
Look at the plaques beneath these 2 coffins ... James T. Blackwood and Catherine Blackwood
Examine the plaques ... "According to the plaques, both Mr. and Mrs. Blackwood had died the same year"
On the floor immediately below Catherine's plaque is an ordinary rock
Pick it up
Look upwards ... the "Large windows in the dome above barely allowed sunlight to enter the crypt"
From inventory, throw the stone at the window in the dome (N.B. If you are not in the right position you cannot do this ... you need to be close to the door of the crypt)... "I hurled the stone at the window but sadly, it missed it and bounced off the ceiling, flying out of sight"
Look at your inventory ... indeed, the rock is no longer there
Go down the steps to the floor below
Examine everything there
Look at the tiny coffin ... could it be a baby ... "the dead child of James Blackwood."?
Open this little coffin ... No! Enough sights of decaying bodies
Look at the plaque beneath the very small coffin ... it's too dark "to make out what the plaque read."
In the corner notice the stone which had finished up there
Pick it up
Go upstairs again
Look at your inventory ... the rock is back there again
From inventory, again throw the rock at the window (N.B. If you are not in the right position you cannot do this ... you need to be close to the door of the crypt) ... this time the glass smashes into very small shards, letting in more light
Go downstairs again
There is a little more light now
Look again at the plaque beneath the small coffin ... it's still too dark to read it

Return upstairs In inventory, attach the piece of wire to the mirror (or vice versa)
From inventory, fix the mirror with the wire to the candle holder which is to the right of the door of the crypt ... the bright sunlight light is now reflected downstairs
Go downstairs again
Look at the plaque underneath the baby's coffin ... "The inscription was too eroded, but it seemed the name began with the letter 'R'"
Return upstairs
Exit the crypt
Swing just a little to the right
Go forward 5 times

Swing to the right Go forward along the ornate covered walkway
Walk up the steps to the back door of the mansion
Enter the back door of the mansion
Go right through the kitchen
Go up from the ground floor to the 1st floor, up again to the 2nd floor Go up the stone steps towards the tower (as previously)
Go up ONE flight only
Stop at the open window (if not left opened, then open it ), look out onto the rooftops, and see the rope still hanging down
Climb down the rope 4 times
Enter the window of the nursery
Look at the 6 bricks scattered on the floor beside the wheelbarrow
The 4 bricks on the left side spell out the letters 'O'; 'B'; 'I'; 'N';
This would appear to be the last 4 letters of the baby's name ... i.e. "(R)obin"
Note the numbers on the tops of the blocks ... 6 (or 9), 0, 9 (or 6), 7
Leave those blocks and examine the blocks inside the wheelbarrow ... Remember the first letter of the child's name? ... "R"!
Indeed, the 2nd block from the left on the 3rd row down (partly hidden by the handle of a toy) IS the letter "R", and its number is 5
Leave the blocks and the wheelbarrow
Exit the nursery through the window, climb back up the rope, and enter the window to the tower (as previously)
Go down from the tower to the 2nd floor, and then to the 1st floor, and then down to the ground floor
Enter the study
Look at the desk and open the drawer on the right side
Click on the box and look at the combination
Assume that the combination IS the numbers associated with the name of the child i.e. the numbers associated with the word "Robin"
To enter the combination, position the 'forefinger-icon' onto each of the 5 tumbler-wheels in succession and keep clicking to rotate them. View the incrementing combination number for that tumbler-wheel at the bottom of the screen
As deduced from the blocks in the nursery, the correct combination to enter from left to right is ... 5; 9; 0; 9; 7 (but either or both of the "9"s could be upside down ... i.e. not a "9" but a "6")
When you arrange the final correct number, the view of the combination suddenly automatically changes to a view of the box

Click on the combination lock and the box opens
( To 'deal' with this box carry out the following steps :-)
Notice a 'gate' in the middle, and a small block at each end
Click once on the gate in the middle
Click on the block on the left side
Click twice more on the gate in the middle
Click on the block on the right side
Click on the bottom of the box itself ... it opens
Take the heavily adorned key

Leave the box Exit the study

Exit the mansion Go to the chapel (see the directions/instructions above)
Enter the chapel. You cannot enter! ... "The massive double doors leading to the interior of the chapel were locked."
Open the doors ... they are locked
From inventory, use the heavily adorned key to open the chapel door and enter
Look around the chapel
Walk up the spiral staircase
Look at the cabinet
Open the cabinet
Open the fairly small drawer
Take the bible inside the drawer
Open the bible
Click 4 times on the pages ... and reveal a heavy nail
Take the nail
Close the bible
Close the drawer
Close the cabinet
Go down the stairs
Go forward towards the mottled red carpet and the statue at the end of the chapel
Swing to the right
Go forward to the 3 chairs
Swing round to the left
Look at the ring on the gray-white (large tiled) floor ... "It was some kind of small metal ring ..."
Go forward
Swing right, and look at the top of the "large wooden statue of Christ"
Look at the board behind the head of the statue ... "I've always wondered INRI means ..."
Look down at the very bottom of the statue ... there is a noticeable hole in the feet
From inventory take the heavy nail and insert it into the hole
Look again behind the head of the statue ... "Something was curiously different about the INRI sign now."
Deal with the sign ... No! "I couldn't reach it!"
Return to the ring in the floor
From inventory, use the crowbar to pull the small metal ring. See what happens to the floor ... Interesting, eh?
Return to the INRI sign behind the head of the statue
From inventory, use the crowbar on the sign. WOW! ... observe the surprising effect on the statue

Go to and look at the floor... observe the square opened area
Enter the square opened area ... down a ladder and into a secret room
Look around the secret room even though it is almost completely dark Observe a candlestick ... "It was nearly impossible to discern anything in the secret room, but that seemed to be... a candle."
From inventory, use the 2 remaining matches to light the candle. ... it is very bright (but understandably flickers somewhat)
Examine the wooden table in one corner of the room
Take the piece of wood on the table ... "The branch was very odd looking."
Look at the 2 sets of papers on the table
Read the top set ... a 3-page letter dated march 26th from Christopher to James
Read the bottom set ... 6+ pages of notes about the African tribe Dhalmaar, and instructions for exorcising the cursed evil vicious god, etc.

MAKING THE AMULET (to be used on/against the malevolent mask): ... "Two main elements were required to perform the exorcising of this evil and they had to be strictly related to each other; one representing the 'victim' and the other representing the 'victimizer.'" ... These 2 elements have to be mixed with a rare medicinal plant native to the region ... Then they must be blended together ...

Finally the resulting substance must be inserted as a holder into the branch of a particular tree ... "It is on this item that a mysterious blessing was performed" ... "It should be noted that all elements have to be organic"

Go to the ladder and exit the secret room
Exit the chapel
Return to the mansion
Enter the front door
Phone Jerry. Talk to him about the worrying and maybe serious apprehensions concerning the previous owner of the house ... but "James Blackwood passed away on June, 1963."
Walk from the ground floor to the lst floor, up to the 2nd floor, up the wooden stairs, to the attic (as previously)
Look at the newspapers
A 3rd line has been added (below the previous 2 captions) to the sentences in blue at the bottom of the screen ... "I went through the news during June, 1963..."
Click on this line to continue (as previously)
Read the accusations made by Mrs. Eva MARIANI (former maid of the Blackwood family)
Note the written scrawl at the end of the newspaper article ... 'BAILEY 01665 65217'
Return down to the 2nd floor, then down to the 1st floor, and finally down to the ground floor
Go to the main hall
Access the phone and click on the third (blue) line down ... "I dialed another number..."
Phone Bailey ... 01665 65217
Have a long conversation with Mr. William Bailey, the former police chief of Rothbury, regarding the Blackwood's subject. Mention James and Catherine Blackwood, Eva Mariani, Dr. Christopher Milton, etc.

Phone Jerry ... explain the situation to him. He warns Michael of potential dangers if he remains in the house!
Exit the mansion
Walk all the way down the garden towards the gates
Open the post box
Look inside and see the envelope
Open and read the 3-page letter dated April 28th. 1963 from Eva Mariani (former maid of the family) to her mother ... translated from the Italian and mailed by Barbara!
Return to the mansion
Open the front door and enter
Go to the kitchen, and then through it to the maid's room
Go to the bedside table close to the top of the bed
Look underneath the table
Notice a small floorboard (a bit different from the others)
Open the floor board
Examine the photograph hidden inside
Exit the maid's room
Exit the kitchen
Walk through the ground floor to the front main hall
Phone Jerry. He warns Christopher again ... "I've been thinking about what you told me..."
Exit the front door
Again walk the length of the garden to the front gates
Go to the post box
Open the post box
Look at the 'scroll' (lying partly on top of the letter observed earlier ... and still there!)
Read the notice of eviction dated Oct. 12. 1976

Go to the boot of the car and open it
Take the discharged battery
Walk to the garage (see the directions/instructions above)
Open the door of the garage and enter
Look at the bicycle ... "There was an old and dusty bicycle in the garage. It seemed to have some sort of device attached to it."
Look at the 'object' pressing on the rear wheel of the bike ... "I realized that the device had to be a dynamo"
Operate the pedals of the bike, thereby rotating the shaft of the dynamo and generating a current of electricity ... See the headlamp light up
"A small crate was sitting near the bicycle." ... From inventory, place the discharged battery onto the crate
Try to operate the pedals of the bike again, but this doesn't work ... "Having the cables connected first was probably a good idea..."
If you look carefully, there are electric wires going from the dynamo to the headlamp (these are rather difficult to see!)
Look at the dynamo
Use the dynamo ... i.e. attach the wires from the dynamo to the battery (these are also rather difficult to see!)
Operate the pedals again ... Generating a small current of electricity which partially charges up the battery (note that the headlamp no longer lights up since its leads are now disconnected!)
Take the battery (now with "a small charge")
Leave the bicycle
Exit the garage
Return to the car
Open the boot of the car
Replace the (charged) battery to "the spot where the car's battery was..."
Enter the car
Operate the ignition key ... But Michael's conscience won't let him leave until he has dealt with the strange occurrences at Blackwood Manor

Return towards the house
Start walking towards the chapel and go to the previously mentioned fork*** (see the directions/instructions above)

Click once only on the right fork (the one that leads to the chapel)
Very carefully swing just a tiny bit to the left and observe the shadow of the tower on the ground (it is not too easy to see this due to the relative lack of contrast ... it is just immediately to the left of the path to the chapel and VERY close to that path!)

From inventory take the shovel. If you dig anywhere near this shadow but not EXACTLY ON IT you will simply get the statement "The soil in this area of the garden was devoid of life"!

However, from inventory, take the shovel and dig in the ground at the very top of the shadow of the tower (You must ensure that the mid-point of the shovel is on the top of the aforementioned shadow. If it is NOT, then you'll just dig an empty hole in the ground, and may have to repeat 2 or 3 times!)
Uncover the "dead body of Catherine Blackwood ... in this improvised tomb."
Look at her poor skeleton. Something is wrong with her teeth; they jut out "at disturbing angles..."
Try to remove one of her teeth ... "I tried to pull out a tooth without success."
From inventory, take the pliers and extract one of her teeth

Use the shovel which is stuck upright in the ground to fill in the earth back into Catherine's crude grave ... "I quietly left, burying Mrs. Blackwood back to her dead, cold dreams..."
Return to the mansion
Open the door and enter
Go up from the ground floor to the first floor
Enter the African Gallery
Look at the black statue with no head
Observe it closely ... "something that looked like a lion's claw was firmly attached to a necklace."
From inventory, use the pliers to remove the lion's claw
Exit the African Gallery
Return downstairs from the 1st floor to the ground floor
Enter the kitchen
Look at the table ... on it is "a nice, rustic, old-fashioned grinder."
Open the grinder
From inventory take "the tooth that I shamelessly took from the cadaver of Catherine Blackwood", and place it into the grinder
Close the grinder
Turn the handle
Open the drawer at the bottom of the grinder
Take "the remains of the tooth I ground..."
Close the drawer
Open the grinder again
From inventory take the lion's claw, and place it into the grinder
Close the grinder
Turn the handle
Open the drawer at the bottom of the grinder
Take "the remains of the claw I took from the gallery..."
Close the drawer
In inventory, look at the 2 'remains (dusts)' and mix them together
In inventory, put the 2 'remains (dusts)' onto the 'African plant leaves' ... "the leaves were now mixed with dust from a tooth and a lion's claw"
Exit the kitchen
Go upstairs from the ground floor to the 1st floor, and again up from the 1st floor to the 2nd floor
Walk a little way along the upper hallway, and on the right see 2 doors close together
Face these 2 doors
Open the door on the right ... it is the 2nd (upper) floor bathroom (under construction)
Look at the bricks in the right corner ... "just a pile of old bricks"
Examine the bricks nearer to the toilet
See the small metal rod
Pick up the small metal rod
Go through the connecting door to the left of the stained glass window
Look around the workroom
Look closely at the (primus) stove on the bench
Note that one of the 3 metal supports is missing.
From inventory, fix the metal rod into the stove
From inventory, fix the lid of a can onto the 3 supports ... this 'completes' the stove
Put the mixture (of leaves and 2 types of dust) onto the top of the stove
From inventory, take the (single) remaining match and light the stove ... you obtain a 'stone' ... "it was almost organic."
Take the resulting stone ...
In inventory, use the branch as a holder for the stone. "I attached the stone to the branch" making an amulet ... "The amulet was complete now."
Exit the workroom into the upper hallway
Descend from the 2nd floor to the 1st floor
Go to the African gallery
Enter the storeroom
From inventory take the amulet and use it on the mask ... in order to exorcise its demons !!!
Exit the storeroom
Exit the African Gallery
Go down from the 1st floor to the ground floor
Go to the living room. OUCH ... "I heard those horrible noises again. They just wouldn't... stop..."
Examine the living room fireplace ... the wood has been moved exposing a grating
Open the grating
Enter the opening
Go down into a 'forbidden zone' ... a hidden passage!
Look all around the hidden passage ... there is nothing much that can be done there
However there is a heavy door there ... go to it
Open the heavy door and enter "the lair"
Continue forward twice.
Look at and examine the 'black opening' (which is apparently the other side of the basement's oven) ... "Several bricks had been removed from this wall, resulting in a large hole."
Look around the lair and examine the various items there ... In particular examine the teddy bear
Return to the large hole
In close-up , click on this black opening

WATCH THE SINISTER PROCEEDINGS, AND OBSERVE THE END SCENES OF THE GAME ... E N J O Y :~ ))

This may seem like an Easter Egg but it is not. It is a small addition to the game itself which adds some minor details ... but it is not essential to finishing the game:

(You can perform the following any time, but only after 9 am on Day-3, Monday Oct 14th)

If you have not already done so look very carefully at the General Contractors' renovation statement inside the safe, in the master bedroom
Did you notice the telephone number at the bottom?
It is from the National Bank of Northumberland ... contact number (01912) 94144

Go to the main hall (it's wise to save here, since otherwise you can't participate in all of the branching options!)

Use the phone and go to "I dialed another number..."
Phone the National Bank of Northumberland ... i.e. phone number (01912) 94144 ... "Good day, the National Bank of Northumberland. Robert Blake speaking."
There are two options in blue at the bottom of the screen as follows:
"I asked about Dr. Christopher Milton..."
(Reload your save-game)
"I asked about James Blackwood..."
Follow all the various branching options (not elaborated here ... in order to avoid disclosing some items of the narrative)

Copyright © Len Green 2006. All rights reserved.