Haunt By Tallywinkle

Instruments: Card Deck, Token, 2d6





Game Description 


Is a Carta game about exploring a spooky haunted house, searching for evidence of ghosts, and making it back outside before the ghosts get you.



Game Content Warnings 

These are content warnings that are from the game prompts and are present in all playthroughs.





Playthrough Content Warnings 

These are content warnings specific to this playthrough only.



Game Playthrough

Word Count: 2,364      Played: Nov 12, 2024





Card 1: 

Ace of Spades: The Entrance

Doors: 3

Roll: 12, +1 Sanity

Sanity: 16

Recording: This is recording 1 of the exploration of the Ashwood Estate. The room I am currently in is the Entrance hall. Nothing seems out of the ordinary. No signs of people, no signs of animals, which is a good thing. I don't want to run into any more raccoons like the last time. 

There are three doorways here as well as the stairs, which are completely collapsed, so I will not be going up stairs this way. Sometimes these old mansions have servant staircases, maybe I'll find one that way, but for now, just the ground floor!

Card 2

4 of Spades: Kitchen

Doors: 2

Roll: 9 -1 Sanity

Sanity: 15

Recording: This is recording 2 of the exploration of the Ashwood Estate. The room I am currently in is the Kitchen. What a disgusting mess! There is mold all up and down the baseboards and and all over the ceiling and what seems to be… the origin point of the kitchen sink where a new species of life could be discovered! 

There also appears to be an old ice chest in the corner, which… surprise! Is also covered completely in mold! I'm not touching it! That's it for now. 

Card 3

7 of Spades: Library

Doors: 1

Roll: 9 -1 Sanity

Sanity: 14

This is recording 3 of the exploration of the Ashwood Estate. The room I am currently in is the… what I believe to be a smaller library. Everything seems to be piled up in no particular order, fiction is shoved in with non-fiction, and not even by subject. Or even color, like some people do. 

And I think there are more spiders here than even people! The whole ceiling is just one big spider web. It's a wonder there's any other bugs here at all! I wonder if the spiders have taken to just eating each other. 

Card 4

8 of Spades: Study

Doors: 2

Roll: 9  -1 Sanity

Sanity: 13

*Whispering* This is recording 4 of the exploration of the Ashwood Estate. The room I am currently in is the study. I'm hiding because I just saw what I believe to be my first ghostly experience of the night. 

As I was approaching the back of the room, there was one small little desk with a book on top. I opened it only to find all the pages were blank, and as I was about to close it, I felt a cold hand on my wrist and I jerked it back. Then, a pen levitated! Right in front of me! I wish I had my camera on to record it, but it's too late now. 

Anway, it wrote down the word "LEAVE" right in red ink. Or at least I think it was ink, it might have been blood, but who's blood, I don't know! I ran right out of that room and into the next one over. 

Card 5 

King of Spades: Staircase to attic. 

Doors: Dead End

Roll: 4 -1 Sanity

Sanity: 12

This is recording 5 of the exploration of the Ashwood Estate. The room I am currently in is the Attic! I did manage to find a completely separate staircase which lead me up right past the second floor and on up to the attic. I don't know how I feel about having a dedicated staircase that leads right on up there, but here we are!

I took a long look around and there's nothing here but old boxes filled with junk. Old clothing, old picture frames, without any pictures mind you, and wouldn't you know, more spiders. There's nothing this wall so I'll have to make my way down back… to the study. 

Card 6 

6 of Spades: Living room? 

Doors: 3

Roll: 10 -1 Sanity

Sanity: 11

This is recording 6 of the exploration of the Ashwood Estate. The room I am currently in is some sort of living room, I suppose. There is a bunch of furniture all this tacky purple color, some faded curtains and oh, how could I forget. The bloody handprint above the couch. 

At least I think it's blood. It looks old and faded but that's definitely a stain and it's not mold! There doesn't appear to be any blood anywhere else in the room, fresh or old, so I'm not sure how it got here. Maybe someone was escaping and touched the wall? Though I do need to admit, I tried to get as much research done before I came here but there was absolutely nothing on the internet. Can you believe that? 

The only way I could even find this place was one small blurry photo on google maps, and that disappeared within an hour of me finding it!

Luckily I got clearance from the city to come out here and do some filming. They don't seem to care about who comes and goes, which is odd, since it's normally a hassle since these types of places are condemned. 

Card 7 

Jack of Spades: Laundry

Door: 1

Roll: 7, Item Card

Sanity: 11

Item: Ace of Hearts, Crucifix 

This is recording 7 of the exploration of the Ashwood Estate. The room I am currently in is the Laundry room, which is also covered in mold. The entire palace stinks and I'm starting to think that maybe the ghosts are just spores. 

There was a crucifix above the dirtiest, nastiest, sink I'd ever seen and while I'm not christian maybe the ghost is and I'll scare it away with this thing. It was stuck to the wall a bit but I managed to get it off with a tug without falling into the water. 

Card 8 

9 of Spades: Fireplace Room

Door: 3

Roll: 9 -1 Sanity

Sanity: 10 

Items: Crucifix

This is recording 8 of the exploration of the Ashwood Estate. The room I am currently in is the … firepit room. 

*distant* Hello? Hello, are you here? Who are you? 

I thought I saw something but nothing. Just the smoke from the firepit, which is, as I said before, or maybe I didn't but it's in the middle of the room. Just a pit. Seems awfully dangerous to me, but what do I know? 

Nothing's been burned here for quite a while and as long as I don't go starting any fires, it should all be fine!

Card 9 

Jack of Clubs: A carpentry room 

Door:

Roll: 11, -1 Sanity

Sanity: 9

Items: Crucifix 

This is recording 9 of the exploration of the Ashwood Estate. The room I am currently in is some sort of work room for wood. There are dozens of old tools, most rusted beyond repair. There's so much dust from the saw wood that I can hardly see heads or tails around here. 

There's nothing much here… Hang on. No, no it's just rust. This place must be getting to my nerves! For a moment I thought I saw blood. Ha ha ha! I mean I wouldn't hang up my tools if they were still bloody after I committed a murder. I'd keep them clean or destroy them. 

Card 10

2 of Clubs: A cold room 

Door: 2

Roll: 10, -1 Sanity

Sanity: 8 

Items: Crucifix

This is recording 10 of the exploration of the Ashwood Estate. The room I am currently in is .. a freezing hallway! Why is it so cold! Usually this is a sign of some otherworldly presence, but I have yet to see anything. 

Hello! If you're there make a sign! 

*3 Minutes of silence*

Hello! Is anyone there? Hello! You need to make some noise!

*5 minutes of silence*

Nothing. Just the cold. At least.. At least it's something, I suppose. 

Card 11 

8 of Clubs: Nursery

Door: 2

Roll: 10, -1 Sanity 

Sanity: 7

Items: Crucifix

This is recording 11 of the exploration of the Ashwood Estate. The room I am currently in is a nursery. Why would it be so close to the work room? And on the first floor? Unless this was for the servants, which… I guess if you have live-in maids and they needed a room.

I'm only making a guess since there's just one wooden crib in the corner of the room. This could be a storage room and it was put away after the child grew out of it. Perhaps that….

*whispering* Hold on it's moving. It's rocking back and forth. Can you hear it? *static* It.. no it's not the crib it's the chair. There's one other piece of furniture here and its' the rocking chair. 

I… I need to leave. I need to get out of this room. 

Card 12

5 of Clubs: Piano room

Door:

Roll: 5, Event card!!! -1 Sanity

Sanity:  6

Items: Crucifix 

Event Card, Jack of Diamonds: The ghost appears in front of you, -1 Sanity and shuffle into deck, Negated by Crucifix 

*faint piano music* Hello? Hello is anyone there? Hi! Hello, how are you? 

*static*

Oh, I see, I didn't know anyone else was here, are you…. 

*static*

I…. *screaming, followed by static* 

T-This is recording 12 of the exploration of the Ashwood Estate. The room I am currently in is um.. It's somewhere else. I don't know I ran. I … I saw a ghost. I thought it was a person but it wasn't… oh my god it wasn't! They were.. Playing the piano and then we spoke and.. Um… um we . It tried to attack me and… and! Well I guess my guess was good before since the crucifix stopped it. Um. Haha well at least it likes music. 

I'm too frightened to go back now and I dropped the cross, so… there's that! Ghost confirmed! 

It was a young lady, she looked angry. Argh, sorry if I'm not able to speak  good now I'm too afraid. Once I'm back home I'll .. I don't know, write a better version of what I saw. But I have to keep moving now. 

Card 13

2 of Spades: The Master Bedroom

Doors: 2

Roll: 8, Item 

Sanity: 6

Item: 3, Protection Amulet. 

This is recording 13 of the exploration of the Ashwood Estate. The room I am currently in is the Master Bedroom. I found another staircase, one that looked mostly intact and was able to support me when I climbed. The first door I went into was this one. 

Most of this room has been picked clean except for the four-poster bed which is, surprisingly, pretty well maintained. Well, at least the wood. The bedspread is completely overrun with … what I can only call moths. I'm not going to get closer to take a look at it. 

Card 14 

4 of Clubs: Conservatory

Doors: 2 

Roll: 5, Event! - 1 Sanity 

Sanity: 5

Items: Amulet

Event Card 7 of Diamonds: All the lights go out, next roll, roll 1d6

This is recording 14 of the exploration of the Ashwood Estate. The room I am currently in is the--FUCK.

The room I'm currently in is a… greenhouse or Conservatory, or some kind of plant nursery. Everything is dead though, so mostly I'm looking at a bunch of empty pots of soil, but I can see all the stars in the sky and the giant moon through the glass, especially since the lights are all out now! I'm having to use the flashlight on my phone, which is going to drain the battery! I need to find a way out soon. 

All the cards have been placed. Every room will require a roll to pass through. 

Card 15

9 of Clubs: Lots of dolls

Roll: 1, Not listed (2) 2 Event Cards -1 Sanity

Sanity: 4

Items: Amulet

Event Card 1, 10 of Diamonds: The room becomes a dead end

Event Card 2, 9 of Diamonds: You are teleported the room to your right 

New Room, Queen of Spades: A closet with a mannequin

This is recording 14 of the exploration of the Ashwood Estate. The room I am currently in is the… doll room. There are dozens and dozens of porcelain dolls everywhere. And these aren't children's toys, they are more like collectables. Expensive…well were expensive I have no idea how much they would be now, but I hear there's quite a market for haunted dolls. You just need to make up some story and… but that's neither here nor there. 

I need to… The door's gone. Where.. *scream* 

Oh my god. Oh my god. Fuck. Fuck me! I dropped my phone. I…. I turned around and there was a sewing mannequin. I don't know how.. But I somehow stumbled into the closet of the doll room. I just need to get back into the hallway 

Room Roll: 6

Sanity: 3

Event Card, 6 of Diamonds: You feel something reach into your pocket

Hello? Is… I thought I felt someone touch me, but there's no one here. …The amulet is missing. I… did they take it? Was it ever there to begin with? I feel like I"m losing my mind. 

Room Roll: 5

Sanity: 2

Event Card Ace of Diamonds: you feel the groaning and creaking of pipes, Rotate all Spades 90 degrees 

The walls… everything.. Everything is different. All the doors don't make sense! I don't make sense. I'm about to jump out the nearest window I find! 

Card 16

10 of Spades: Bathroom

Roll: 4 -1 Sanity

Sanity: 1

… I am in the bathroom. The toilet is filled with… the most disgusting thing I've ever seen. It's bubbling. I want to go home. I just want to go home. 

Room Roll: 8

Item: 7 of Hearts, Night Vision, you can re-roll any dice roll. Discard on 6 or 7

The battery is shit on the Night Vision camera, so I try to avoid using it at all if possible, but… this is getting really really desperate. I need… I need to get out. This damned thing better work. 

Room Roll: 6

Sanity: 0

The walls are everywhere. There's no way out. There's no way out. There's NO WAY OUT.



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