Part 10: Day 2 Part 7: Fears and Doubts

Sorry this was slightly late, this one was a little trouble to put together (I had to replay it several times due to my foolishness), it was also a little hard to trim down the screenshots to a reasonable number. There's been 4 or 5 updates per page and I don't want to overload. Also I felt like watching some DVDs.


Okay! Let's get right to it. Nigel is clearly planning on "visiting" Saxton's museum even though it is probably at least 4am by now. Rather than be nervous about his haunted cottage in the haunted town by a haunted church, he wants to check out some haunted stuff (specifically a painting) in the museum without the watchful eye of Professor Oogle. A ghost told him to!





Saxton is a bit atmospheric at night. There's a low sound a bit like wind down a narrow passageway, and distant echoing meows. Everything is much darker obviously, everything is also black and white, and there's some mist.



Perhaps you noticed this window the first time we saw this alleyway. It's hard to miss now, being lit up like that. We could go around to the front door, but Nigel would just say there's no way to get in from the front. Inspecting this convenient window, it's apparent that it will open with a little encouragement... The only thing around is a shovel next to Nanny Noah's door, so we have Nigel grab that, jimmy the window latch loose, and go indoors.



Professor Oogle must have forgotten to turn off the light. There's not much to see in here except that shelf of stuff, but that's not going to have Gurney's painting. So we head for the elevator...



... which flickers out of power as we watch. And I'm not sure, but I think for a split-second I saw something strange in there. Hmm. I pop back into that storeroom real quick and look at the shelves, in case there's something useful, which there is:



How many skulls does one tiny museum need? Let's go find a fusebox and see if that's the problem.

We head down a hallway, and after rounding the corner, we see a photocopier churning out copies of...



What could Oogle want with those? Is he... still here? There's a door next to the photocopier, and going inside shows that it's a rather large surveillance center:



I told you Oogle was serious about surveillance! No wonder he knew whenever Nigel was trying to take a photo. (Doesn't explain how he saw him from the ticket booth, unless he has a CCTV there too...) There's a fusebox on the wall, but before we look at it, let's play with the buttons.

We can actually see twelve different scenes from the museum, but the only ones of any interest are these three, as they show some... anomalies.



This is the hallway Nigel was just in. The screen periodically crackles with static, and dark human-like shadows appear. Did it capture Nigel somehow when he came in?



But Nigel's not there, he's here! And why are the cash drawers open like that? As this screen flickers again, Nigel is gone; flickers again, and the drawers have closed; flickers again and one has re-opened... note the clipboard there in the corner. The screen flickers another time and gives us a close-up of that code: 4581. Then it goes back to its register-Nigel shenannigans.



Uh, where is the skeleton? Oh, it reappears with the next flicker. Then the display boxes' doors open and shut. Hmm.

It wasn't worthy of screenshots, but Nigel can now open the fusebox by entering the 4581 code on the front. Take out the burnt fuse, pop in the replacement fuse, and we can hear it power up elsewhere in the basement. Forget this creepy basement, let's go see the painting. I direct Nigel to the elevator and send him on his way.... only to see:



She appears briefly there, then appears briefly again to push the button to the basement. There's the sound of faint laughter. I guess we have to finish exploring the basement?

There's another room with some old mannequins, crates, and posters (of no interest) and then there's the most exciting room of all!



Yes, a manky old bathroom. Oogle is the only employee I think, can he not keep his own bathroom clean?



Look at that. Has he been drinking down here?

Hey, you know what's a good idea? Pulling a newspaper out of the trash to read it.



I assure you it is right, Nigel. Ghosts! WooOOOOoo

Note the little museum story. We knew about the screens already, but maybe the museum's failing is news. Maybe if they'd let people take photos, it would be more popular? (No, probably not.) Still, it's nice that the museum has someone so dedicated to local history, even if he does have a funny name. I'm still not sure what interest Hadden Industries has in a small village's failing museum. Maybe because the village is so haunted?

All right, let's see if we can find this playful little ghost, shall we? Youtube: Basement Bathroom Ghost 1 (4 minutes)



EASY. No problem.

Oh, I suppose we should talk to her, too....



Is there anybody there?
Please tap once for 'no,' and twice for yes! (Sneaky, Nigel!)
Can I help you in some way? Two distinct taps are heard, like raps on a pipe.


Am I alone in this place? One knock.
Can you see me? Two raps.
Can you hear me? Two raps.
Are you trapped in this place? One knock.
Throw something, hit something, make a noise. A sound of a glass bottle falling.
Make something move, please. A sound like a door shutting and latching.
What's your name? Is there something you want to tell me? Hmmf, nothing. The event seems to have passed, for now.


She's actually more communicative than some similar ghosts we've seen. We can make a recording too, which has a child's laughter when played back.

All right. We can now visit the ground floor of the museum... but ONLY the ground floor. (If we try to go to the upper floor, the ghost sends us back to the basement.)

I'd like to add a note here that the museum's interior is exactly as it was during the daytime. All the lights are on, all the push-button audio exhibits work, all the mini spotlights and spinning pedestals and ceiling fans are going. Oogle must not do much when he locks up for the night. The only thing missing from the daytime experience is... Oogle's periodic announcements about museum features. It's because he's not here!

And since Oogle's not here, Nigel takes the opportunity to flaunt the museum's no-photo rule and takes pictures of a bunch of things.

Ganwulf's Helm and the trilobite are pretty boring, just plain photos.

Molina's noose (which seems to be haunted by the dancing baby of years past):



The statue of three Saxon kings:



Hahaha, I'm fairly certain this is the only point in the game where you can take a bad photo. They're on a rotating platform, so I have to retake it while the figures are facing me.

Oh and hey, that skeleton!




Well that doesn't help us identify him, what a useless ghost. We can try to open the glass cases containing the book, scythe, and hat, but they're locked securely. We can't help him yet.

Actually looking around some more, the museum isn't in as good of shape as it could be. The walls are kind of dirty in places, and definitely could use some re-papering or something where the boards underneath are wearing through. Poor little museum.

There's not much else to do except peek in the ventilation grate again. Since we're breaking all the rules tonight, why not ransack an office also?



Hello... is someone there? (He says this despite no evidence that there might be someone there.)

Lucy's face appears on the other side of the grate. Like, BAM!

Nigel!
Lucy?! What are you doing in there?
I have my reasons.



regardless of which I choose:

Oh never mind that, I'm looking for absentis cattus!
Come again?
Cats, Nigel. Cats.
Oh, I see. And you think they're here?
Perhaps. I know this place is hiding something... Hang on, I'll meet you next door.




Well, this is unexpected.
I know! I don't know whether to be impressed by your chivalry, or worried about a potential stalker.
You've lost me.
Hmm, you did follow me in here, didn't you?
No, my own business brought me here.
Your own business? And what would that be?
Ghosthunting and the art of Nicholas Gurney.
What???!!! (Or so the subtitles punctuate it.)




So, any leads on the missing cats?
Nothing. Nothing at all.
Why did you think they were here?
A hunch. This old place used to be the town hall.
So?
It's riddled with old service passages and underground rooms.
I know. I've only just escaped the basement.
Any cats?
No, but there is... something down there.


Have you seen anything... strange?
What? You mean stranger than us two breaking into the museum?


Fancy joining me on a vigil?
A what?
A ghost hunt, Lucy! With technology!
You're serious? You really believe in ghosts? What was in that package this morning?




regardless of which I choose...

And you trust them?
I don't need to trust them. I know it works.
Who sent them?
A friend. A fellow enthusiast, if you like.
Yes, but who makes them?
Oh, no-one... I can't talk about it.
Can't, or won't? So, you believe in an afterlife, then?




regardless of which I choose...

Belief in the paranormal is not logical. It exposes fears and doubts in the individual. (Okay SCULLY)
I know what I'm doing.
No you don't. You're surrounding yourself with false hope.
No. The ghosts of this town will lead me to that treasure.
Is that what this is about? That damned treasure?




regardless of which I choose...

It's a myth! Yes, I wondered about it as a child. But you grow up, you move on. You get a job, a life, a purpose.
Well I haven't got a job, or a purpose. If that seems stupid to-
I didn't say it was stupid. I just don't understand. Maybe I'm boring, too sensible, too logical. If this is your "thing" then that's fine by me.
Well, my "thing" may find us that "damn treasure."
OK, I give in. How, Nigel? How will it help us?
These exhibits, right here. They look harmless...
They're haunted?
Perhaps! Here, take this... (Nigel gives her the EMF meter, which clearly says HADDEN EMF METER on it.)
What is it? It looks... like a tool.
It's an EMF meter. It tracks electro-magnetic phenomena.
Oh, like energy waves?
Exactly! It will crackle if the readings become significant.
Significant? What, you mean a ghost?
Not necessarily. Changes in the magnetic energy could indicate that something, a force, is drawing energy to manifest itself.
That's creepy, Nigel.
Try to stay calm. Some say fear itself can encourage bad spirits to appear.
Look, let's just get on with it, shall we? Before I change my mind.


Now that we've creeped Lucy out and given her the most useless gadget, let's go ransack that office.



We can look more closely at the paintings:



... plans by Frederick Ager. That name again! What would Lucy Reubans want with this... and what was she really doing in this room?


I can't read that as anything other than Nut Hut. You? Also, why is the boat store and nut hut so inconvenient to the water?

And looking more closely at the chest of drawers in the office shows that we can shove it to one side and find an odd little passageway...





I did say Oogle was serious about surveillance! We can peek out these holes. For example, this one is, I believe, the hole which was for some reason right in the middle of the Saxton area map:



Why are these passageways even here? Why, to hold boxes with old stuff in them for Nigel to discover:





Aw dang. Poor kid. I uh... I'm not sure I buy the building being a deathtrap, but at least we know who that ghost probably is.



BOO.

She vanishes almost immediately. We start to head back to Lucy, but partway there we hear a little electronic tune.

What is it? An alarm? A phone? (A phone alarm? An alarm phone? A phone room of nightmare alarms?)


Nigel turns around and heads for this bit:



We can look through the eyeholes (they belong to the painting with "haunting eyes that follow you around the room") and spy on Lucy! Nigel, what a creepy asshole.



Hello? No, I'm in the museum. No, he's here. Why? You didn't say anything about ghosts! NO! It's too much. I'll never do that. How can you say that? I've always been supportive. As soon as possible, I hope. This place is creepy. Okay, I'll meet you by the Martello Tower, usual time. Okay, love you too.


Lucy's got a bad case of "too much arm"

So.... what was that about? As if Nigel had any reason to be more paranoid!

Let's go talk to her again.

Are you okay?
Glad for the company, in all honesty.



Any paranormal activity?
Well, there have been some reactions... but whether it's paranormal?
Still sceptical, eh?
Always, Nigel, always.


Did I hear a phone?
Phone? No, not that I know of.
It's just, mobile phones are the prime cause of false EMF readings.
Well, I haven't got one, so I think we're fine.
OK, no worries.


There's an active entity here, in the museum.
Really? You mean a ghost?
Entity, manifestation, spectre, phantom... call it what you will.
Where is it? I haven't seen or heard anything.
She's playing with the elevator, and the power.
She? How can you sex it?
I've seen her, only briefly. A child. A girl.
I thought museum ghosts tended to be... I don't know, the wives of Hentry the VIII, or... grey ladies.
Not this one. She's unique. Playful and strange.


Any sign of the missing cats?
No, nothing... poor wretched creatures.
Back in a bit.
OK, but be careful.


All right, what was up with that "did I hear a phone?" song-and-dance? It seems to me that when you ask someone a question like that rather than just saying something normal, you're being weird. Lucy's a bad liar but really it's none of Nigel's business, either.

Now that we've invited Lucy to ghost-hunt with us, let's go back down to the basement without her and talk to the ghost whose name we probably know now. We need to get to that second floor. Back in a bit, Lucy!

Down in the basement bathroom, the light in the last stall briefly flickers on sometimes. And sometimes when it's on, we can see:



Hey kiddo, what are you doing in there? Are your ankles okay?



Uhhhh



Stop that.



She has two or three other poses as well, some of them in the middle stall. You have to wait a while to see all of them, and they're randomized.

All right, let's talk to this filthy toilet urchin. Youtube: Basement Bathroom Ghost 2 (4 minutes)



Then she disappears, to be represented as a white light similar to the ones we've seen in other places.

A child singing part of a tune with la-la-la is heard.
I know that song.
Do you want to sing with me?
I'd rather ask you some questions.
No. You must sing with me, please.
The moon is shining as bright as day...




Is there something you want to tell me?
Yes, you must be careful.
Careful of what?
He knows what you are looking for.
Who? Who knows?
The ugly man. He's always watching you.
I can't see him.
He can see you. Always watching.
Am I... am I in danger?
Yes, he's a bad man. He'll hurt you.


What's your name?
I'm Verity. And you are Nigel.
Ah ha, you know my name.
I know lots about you. He tells me things.


Are you trapped here?
No, stupid. I come here to play.
But it's a horrible place to play. It's dirty.
I like it. He tells me I can play here.
Who? Who tells you?
He's listening to you Nigel, listening to what you say.
That's enough. Who is this man?
William. William is coming.
Who is William?
You know that already. He's coming for you.
I don't believe you.
Listen, you can hear him...
I can't hear anything.
Shh, listen...
What's that sound, Verity? (I didn't hear any sound here?) Verity?
Here comes a candle to light you to bed.
Here comes a chopper to chop off your head?
Chip chop, chip chop, the last man's dead.


The event ends. There are knocks on the bathroom door, but no one is there when I go through.

Finally, someone calls Nigel stupid. Verity's kind of a naughty ghost, but she's just playing really.

Speaking of naughty playing, I send Nigel to the surveillance room to see what Lucy's up to:



Boring.

Time to go appreciate some art! Up the elevator.



Taking more photos.



Oh, I guess we did tell her we'd be right back, didn't we.

Don't do that, it's not funny!
You're telling me! You left me surrounded by dead things.
Did you see her? Verity?
Verity? No. Who is she?
She died here back in the 1950s. She became trapped in the service tunnels.
Oh god, that's horrible! And you spoke to her?
Yes, she was quite chatty, until...
Until what? What happened? Why are you up here?
Take a look for yourself.
What am I looking at?
Wait, any second now, it should... there!



Does that symbol seem slightly familiar?

What IS it?
I don't know. Energy... or a lifeforce?
It's glowing, like phosphorescence or...
Ectoplasm?
Take a photograph. This is proof! Proof of... I don't know... something! (I already did!)
A result, a definite result! Proof!
It's time we were going.
What? You don't want more?
Look, let's just go shall we?
Okay, we'll leave.




What's the matter. (He says this like he's disappointed Lucy is being a huge stick in the mud.)
Nothing. It's just...
You didn't expect to see ghosts?
What? I haven't seen any ghosts.
You said we have proof!
No I didn't. I said we saw 'something.' I don't know what yet.
So all this has been a waste of time?
Nigel, you have to understand that-
I understand. Goodnight Lucy.


hahahaha!

Nigel, look, don't be like that... Nigel! (She sighs.)


Does it surprise you that Nigel gets all huffy when someone goes all Scully on him? It shouldn't!

He automatically ends up back inside Harbour Cottage, where he immediately hears the sound of dishes rattling in the kitchen. If you remember what that meant last time, then you know it's time to check Edward Molina's diary again:



Poor Christina. Truly England is a miserable place to live.

After reading these new pages, we hear a knock at the front door. Who could that be??



Oh Nigel.

Do you want something.
Nigel, please don't be like that. It's not that I think your mission is flawed, it's just so strange... frightening.
It doesn't have to be. It should be scientific.
I don't know what I saw at the museum, but it was strange. Unexplainable.
Unexplainable, for now! Look, come on in.
I haven't been in Harbour Cottage for... well, a very long time.
Are you sure you want to enter?
Nothing ventured, Nigel... (Oh no now she's saying it!)
Nothing gained?




It's changed so much...
Hmm, what's that?
This place, it's so different. It's still miserable though.
Yes, there is an atomosphere to it. What happened here?
A suicide. Local businessman. Nice, as far as I know.
Yes, I read something in the museum. Edward Molina?
That's him. He was depressed following the death of his wife, Christina.
There may have been more to it. We could find out...
How?
The gadgets, the cameras, our skillful ghost hunting. Be positive!
OK, so what's next?


Nigel's being coy here, again. As if he doesn't know exactly what happened in the cottage by now, and who it's haunted by.

Obviously we're meant to use that computer/cameras setup now:




Here, take a look. Four remote cameras.
It's techy, but it's impressive. Almost scientific.
Yes, the designers know what they are doing... all too well.
Hadden Industries?
Yes... I should tell you about them, but...
But how can these help us?
The museum surveillance was very revealing. I saw activity. Paranormal activity.
So, you want a similar set up?
Exactly! Take these and position them. I'll get the screens activated.


The next task seems to take longer than it actually does. I like that Boakes tried different types of puzzles and mini-games in this game, but they didn't all work. You've seen the charm-shooter, and this is one which would have been enjoyable if I'd only had to calibrate one camera. Instead I have to calibrate four. It quickly becomes repetitive.

Lucy has the four cameras. For placing each camera, I get a screen like this:



I have to direct Lucy in moving the cameras. Basically I move that square around that grid until the picture comes into focus. At that point, the square re-positions itself in the grid, and I have to do it again to "fine tune" the focus. Doing this eight times, having to listen to Nigel say things like "Move it up a tiny bit" for ten minutes. Not fun. But you get to skip that!



Ta-daa!

Another thing I want to point out here that was funny. This cottage is tiny. Nigel is talking to Lucy through a walkie talkie or something during this process (according to her audio filter). "Camera one, where are you?" "The bathroom." Nigel, do you not know she is in the bathroom? Also, the cameras are set up in this order: bathroom-bedroom-hallway-balcony. Lucy made a few extra trips (and Nigel still wasn't paying attention to her location, even though she walked right past him three times).

Lucy then places herself at the top of the balcony with the EMF meter, even though what's going to happen on the screen is vastly more interesting. Plausible deniability???

OK- this part was kind of neat. If you take a look at that four-way screen again, you'll see that each view has its own little meters. When the cameras detect activity in their view, the meter for that view will spike and you'll hear a beep. Then you click on that view and get to observe the phenomenon. Camera 3 in the above screenshot is spiking.

Youtbe: Harbour Cottage Night 2, CCTV (7 minutes)

I'm not going to include all the possible screengrabs, but I picked some good ones:



In this event, I had to pick out the orbs floating across the screen. Once I'd clicked on 5 in total, that ghost (probaly Edward) appeared briefly in front of the false doorway.

In this view, you can also experience a different set of tiny green orbs zooming into the kitchen, a wheelchair appearing/disappearing in the kitchen, and the same wheelchair appearing in the hallway and then falling onto its side.

In the bathroom, you can experience tiny green orbs hanging around by the bathtub, or the mirror shining brightly for a few seconds.

You can also see the wheelchair in the bedroom in a few spots (where it somehow feels more sinister), as well as a "spot the differences" minigame where there's 6 or 7 things to identify, like a drawer has opened. Once you find them all,



Phew! And Nigel has no problem sleeping on that bed?

After you get to do several of these, activity happens in the balcony view and you automatically switch to it.



What's that? Interference?
There's something on the wooden beam, on the balcony camera. (How can she see it?)
Some kind of disturbance?
This thing is going mad! (Lucy has the EMF meter, we can hear it crackling and buzzing.)
The EMF meter, you still have it? Excellent! Stay still, see if you can pinpoint the source.
There's a mild source, but it's very weak. Wait... it's getting stronger...
Stay there, I'm going to ask some questions.


Is there anybody there? (a distant, ghostly rumble)
Yes, yes.. there's definitely something.
Can I help you in some way? (another rumble)
Who are you?
Throw something, hit something, make a noise! (wooden beams groan)
What are you?
Make something move, please! (house groans and something rattles in the kitchen)
Show me you are here! (small orbs appear around the beam, then fade)
There's something on the wooden beam! I can't see anything, but I can feel it. The charge, the power... you can sense it in the air. Who are you? What are you?
It's fading. The atmosphere has changed.
It's gone.


Hmm, time well spent I'd say.

Nigel and Lucy step outside and have a litle conversation:

Are you a believer?
I wouldn't say that. Here, have this back. There's definitely something, but I need hard proof.
But... but what about the EMF? And the painting?
Strange, yes. But ghosts? I admit that I can't explain tonight's fireworks, but hat doesn't mean it was the spirits of the dead.
Very well. We can try again tomorrow.
Very well, tomorow it is. Goodnight Nigel.


Back indoors, we stash Nigel's new evidences. He wants to capture any more activity that might happen while he's sleeping, so we dump his gadgets on the windowsill:




Nigel, you did not seriously jam scissors into Morgan's table, did you?



No new office supplies. :[

Nigel goes to bed and has a dream almost identical to the first one (so no video):



And wakes up with a new to-do list!






The next day will involve Nigel spying on people, pretending like he doesn't break into places and doesn't steal, making Lucy feel bad, and generally regressing even more to his prat beginnings.