The Mystery of
Hawthorne Manor By Mya Papaya
Instruments: Deck of Cards, 1d6
Game Description
You are invited by an old friend, a doctor in psychology, to spend the night with fellow volunteers at one of the most haunted houses in America, and you may not live to see the morning.
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.
Word Count: 3,322 Played: Nov 18, 2024
Name: Sindre Andrea (M)
Clubs: Ace, Works with Animals, is a vet tech
Spades: 3, Worried, anxious
Hearts: 5, Loves everyone equally
Diamonds: Has a secret personal connection to you
Name: Fulvia Regla (F)
Clubs: 4, Unemployed (recently quit and on the hunt)
Spades: Ace, Type A Bitch in Charge
Hearts: Queen, Looks up to you, admirer
Diamonds: 9, wants to bring a spirit back to life
Name: Paulina Dollie (F)
Clubs: 3, Nurse
Spades: Loud, Proud, in your face
Hearts: Fucking hates you
Diamonds: 7, Personal connection to someone else
Name: Kishore Philandros (M)
Clubs: Rancher (Sheep)
Spades: 10, Empathetic
Hearts: Ace, Secretly in love with you
Diamonds: 10, wants to kill one of the guests
Name: Mariana Alemayehu (x)
Clubs: King, Bank Teller
Spades: 9, Leader, voice of reason
Hearts: 10, Friends (new friend)
Diamonds: 3, Wants to end a curse
Name: Revazi Valiantsina (M)
Clubs: Janitor at Elementary School
Spades: 8, Vibes
Hearts: 8, Mild acquaintance
Diamonds: Ace, wants to prove the paranormal
Name: Pip Zen (M)
Occupation: Ghost Hunter, Youtuber
Personality Traits: Absolute believer,
Goal: Film something good for the channel.
I'm nervous. I'm excited. I'm every emotion all at once which is jittering through me. I cannot wait to enter the house. It rained on the way over here, and since I drive like a grandma in the rain, it took me far longer than it should have to arrive. I'm certain I'm the last.
He isn't here when I arrive, but among the guests I am the last to reach the steps. I'm still excited, even though I spot her.
Paulina. She has been trolling my comments on the internet ever since I wound up in her clinic one night after a particularly bad hunt. She thinks I'm reckless and am going to endanger more people either through "encouraging bad behaviour" or through "teaching people to believe in nonsense." She's here to cause trouble.
Trouble that will bring more views. I briefly consider egging her on, to rile her up so that when I start filming she'll be more likely to act out, but there's more trouble to be had.
As I approach I overhear a brief convection about the lack of Dr and the opening of the door. Then, they notice me.
Only two of them I don't know, the others are familiar to me and I'll start with them first.
Paulina, she smirks. She must have something up her sleeve.
Kishore, my dearest friend. He owns a sheep ranch out in the fields near town. We've been friends since childhood. I don't think he believes in ghosts, but he has always supported me.
Revazi, a janitor at a local elementary school. He let us film after the school had closed for some cash under the table. He's probably here for some more money.
Fulvia, once just a follower, but now an extended part of the crew. She's a true believer, but she prefers to have steady payment. She likes being a fan, and sometimes helping out. She recently quit her job due to some internal office politics and is searching for a new one. This study isn't paying enough to entice someone like her, so most likely she's here for the ghosts.
And then there were the strangers.
One was a man who was looking around nervously, checking every nook and cranny. He smiled and nodded but didn't speak.
The other one introduced themselves with a firm handshake and a pat on my shoulder. Mariana was their name. They said they watched my videos before coming when they learned I was part of the experiment.
I hadn't received any notice about who would be coming. Had the others, or did this person have some other way of finding out?
I have done my research and so seeing it in this state was of no surprise to me. The others either gasped or groaned at our accommodations.
Paulina scoffed and sniped some flippant comment at me, which prompted Kishore to glare back at her. Fulvia was excited, this was how she had anticipated it, she exclaimed.
The quiet man simply shrugged, Mariana was unimpressed, and Revazi was gasping at the amount of gold. No doubt he was thinking of stealing a candle stick or something, and who could blame him? This place was enormous and full of luxury. By all means, he should take two.
The Dr was still nowhere to be found. We shouted and there was no answer. Perhaps part of the experiment? We had been given our heart-rate monitors beforehand, so adding this as a stressor was not out of the question.
The others weren't so keen on an explanation, and the only one to offer something different was a voice I hadn't heard before.
The quiet man spoke for the first time in a voice that was clear but soft. He suggested we should look for Trelawney. None of us were opposed and after we placed all of our things in the entry way we decided to search.
Everything in this house is a magnet for dust. I cannot stop sneezing and if I am to record something later I'll have to do it in a room where there is less of it.
To make matters worse the decor is dark, meaning the dust stands out even further among the statues and the fake plants. Every single spot is covered with some tacky faux-intellectual statue or pot of fake plants. I can image the nauseating conversations the first owner must have had about their philosophies on their "lessers" and other nonsense.
But it was time to explore in earnest. And maybe find the doctor. But hopefully a ghost.
C10: Wine Cellar
Spooky Roll: 4
On the first floor, I search high and low for anything that caught my interest. Others had headed towards the kitchen, the servant's quarters, etc. but I find the basement. Or rather the door to the basement.
The lights flicker once and then go out forever, and rather than wasting any of my phone battery on lights, I use one of the many candlesticks, candles included, to descend the long stairways.
It was harder than what I first thought, as I need to avoid catching any of the many spiderwebs on fire, but eventually I found myself down where all of the wine was kept.
I call once. Then twice, then a third and there is no response. The doctor must not be here, but there was nothing stopping me from poking around and looking at all the fine, or not so fine vintages. I had no way of telling as I am not particularly interested in wine. I'll drink whatever I am offered and call it a day.
And as there were no other signs of disturbances I head back up to the main floor, ready to check out something on the second floor of the house.
3S: Trophy Room
Spooky Roll: 3
A horrid, horrid room, practically dripping in death. Animals of all sizes and shapes, species, and colors decorate the walls and cabinets.
This is a trophy room, and the only thing that was missing was man. And I am surprised not to see a wax head or some other replication of a person, that seems like the sort of joke the owner of the house would play. I make one quick call into it and leave as soon as I can.
No one responds, but I don't wait around to find out if anyone appears.
6H: Cherub/Angel Guest room
Spooky Card: 5D, something moving on it's own
I enter a guest room, and I suspect the owner of this house might be on the tad religious side, as every ounce of it is dripping in biblical paraphernalia of the angelic sort.
There is a fresco painting on the ceiling with crown molding depicting more angelic babies that descend down through some of the wall molding. Paintings depicting babies and women and men with large wings and golden frames line every wall . There is a statue in every corner of the room with a weeping or praying angel, and the bedding matches in ivory and gold.
Extremely tacky and… I watch as one of the statues rotates towards me. It must be on some sort of mechanism. It must be. But the hairs on my arm and on the back of my neck say otherwise.
I call out into the room and there is, of course, no answer. I take one step into the room but before my foot can reach the floor the door slams in my face and into my nose.
Luckily it isn't broken or bleeding.
Roll: 5 Revazi
I convene in the living room with everyone else. Seems at least two other people have had similar encounters, door slamming on people and at least one felt a chill. I'm prepared to set up my equipment and hopefully see something special tonight.
I mention my own encounter with the angel room and the door and Kishore insists on going with me next time. For what? I ask, laughing, and he laughs too.
It is still disturbing that the doctor hasn't arrived. No one has been able to get a hold of him, through the phones or by finding anything in the house.
My team, Fulvia included, helps me to set up the equipment, while Paulina glares daggers at us. She doesn't say anything but keeps an eye on us the entire time. She never once asked me about my face.
I strike up a conversation with Revazi, who is at least somewhat interested in seeing something tonight. He is for the most part only interested in the money that the experiment promised.
I explained my reasoning that the doctor is probably not going to show as it is part of the experiment to test us and he agreed that might be the case. He doesn't seem to matter either way as long as he gets paid.
He's easy to get along with. I ask him if he is interested in more ghost hunting, and perhaps joining our team at some point. He seems amenable, and agreed, but does insist upon a contract of some sort with payment, which we'll have to discuss at a later time.
Me, Kishore: Victorian Zoo Theme
Paulina: Angel Room
Mariana: Circus
Revazi: Red Velvet
Sindre: Child's Nursery
Fulvia: Florial
Kishore asked to sleep in the same room as me, as the only other bedroom was the master's bedroom, which we assumed the Dr would be using upon his arrival. I didn't mind this as there were two beds in this room.
But in the middle of the night I awake to him standing over me, eyes wide and a hand on his lips. He is shaking me gently and telling me not to look.
I feel something. A wind blowing in our windowless room and a crack to the otherside of the wall. He keeps repeating not to look, not to look, and I … I don't. I shut my eyes and nod. He crawls into my tiny bed and is shaking.
I keep my eyes shut.
In the morning I ask what he has seen. He lies and says nothing. He won't look at me.
Roll: 3 Paulina
Paulina didn't come down for breakfast, and after the clock clicked past noon Mariana decided to check on her room. It was empty. Her items were strewn across the floor and a bottle of makeup was broken and staining the carpet.
Each of us asked the others if they had heard anything in the night. No one did.
Fulvia had the room next to hers, and she claims she heard Paulina get into the bed, but there were no other noises after that.
It's no skin off my back if she decided to leave, but… as her belongings were still here she had to still be here. The others do a quick search of the house, giving everything a once-over.
I, however, decide to stay in the kitchen in case she shows up. Or at least that's what I tell them, I don't care if she's gone or not.
When she fails to return and when the clock has ticked to three Mariana has taken charge and decided to create a more earnest search for Trelawney, despite my insistence that they have never been to the house.
But I play along, it's more footage for me.
Roll: 1, 4 Search with Mariana
7C: Billiards Room
QD: Slamming doors no wind
Mariana insists that I accompany them and by the way the demand it I can only assume that there is something else they wish to speak to me about in private.
Once we have entered the billiards room, they, as I have expected, turn to me and speak in a quiet voice.
"What do you know about Thistle Thistle Blue?" they are speaking nonsense to me and I say as much.
They shake their head and launch into a lengthy explanation about their family lineage and a "curse" that has befallen them. I don't know if I believe in curses, but this is the first I've heard of this one.
They are disappointed, but I tell them if I see any thistle motifs I'll let them know. The look they gave me was one of both pity and scorn.
But that was the last of our troubles as the windows shook with a sudden violence as if a hurricane were rattling against the house. Each pane bounced up and down and in and out, nearly cracking itself as the doors fluttered against their locks.
Mariana and I both dove underneath the table, covering our heads like children during tornado drills until it was over.
Roll: 6
And then he is here.
Game Text:
Dr. Trelawney appears to you; and warns you in a clipped voice, “I’m so sorry - I had no idea - the house isn’t what it seems. It’s alive. It seeks to consume you. All of you.” Ruefully, he’ll add, “It already got me… the second I walked in…” The wall behind him is suddenly not solid–it looks rubbery, even fleshy. He falls into it with one last scream, and the house absorbs him into itself. For a moment you think you see a hand pressing against the other side of the wall, like a hand pushing against a curtain, but it disappears. He’s gone.
And then we scream. Pound against the flesh until it starts to give way and Mariana's hand sinks through it like pudding and I, with all my might pull them out and we sprint down, screaming into the kitchen.
In a flash everyone is there, all of us panicked and screaming, each of us trying to rip open windows and doors, none of which would.
Revazi is the only one not panicking, as he believes that we must have been spiked with something in the food. I want to believe him, but I can't.
It must be what happened to Paulina. What other explanation could there be? What other explanation should there be?
How is a living house even real? I… I don't know anything.
We sit for dinner. Or lunch, or something else. I don't know anymore. My stomach feels rotten and I can see that no one else except Revazi is eating. I want to believe that my food had been spiked. But I can't.
Kishore is sitting next to me with a hand on my shoulder. He hasn't said a word and he looks as though he is contemplating something.
10S: A Secret Room full of something Strange
And then Revazi finds it. Through the same wall that we had seen the Dr be swallowed. A room, hidden from the rest and lined with the same intestine that we had seen take him.
Inside we find two corpses. The Doctor and Paulina both half digested. Both with faces twisted in pain and horror.
And then in that instant the doorway begins to close, to trap us inside, but we are quick! Too quick for the house-beast and we squish and squirm and find ourselves back in that billiards room.
I knew that it wouldn't work, but still I try. Try to open the front door, try to leave this horrible place. I bang and pound and scream until Kishore pulls me away and we fall to the ground. We lie there for a long time and I see, fallen underneath a hall tree a book.
In it are our names, including Trelawney and Paulina. Theirs are crossed out with red and slowly a third line begins to appear.
It's over Fulvia.
I plug my ears as she screams. Kishore holds me and the others soon join.
They don't need to tell me she's gone. We all know it.
None of us can eat.
Everyone else was in the kitchen for, god knows what reason. But I was lying on the couch, contemplating my life.
What were the choices that led me here? What will I do in the future? Will there be a future?
I closed my eyes, thinking about my show on the internet. It all seemed so frivolous now. I always knew that these things were real, but now… and now one will believe me. No one will believe me.
I needed to take proof with me. I needed a piece of the house-meat before I left.
My plan was to go into the kitchen, to take one of the knives, but as I opened my eyes, I am no longer in the parlor.
Around me is the house-meat, it's intestines squirming and vessels bulging and I flee through the door and out into a room I do not know.
Through that hallway I run and run and run, opening doors and twisted corridors. Searching and scrabbling through meat and feet sinking through pudding gore, but I would not die here.
Door after door after door the House was laughing at me. Playing with it's food, it's only entertainment. I screamed, raking hands against flesh gore that melded and mended itself back together.
There was no right or wrong way there was no up or down there was no marking and there was nothing but House. Soon I too would be House.
But then she is here. Paulina. That bitch too stubborn to die. Her rotten digested form towered over me.
"I always knew you would get people killed," she kicked me once in the ribs which sent me tumbling backwards, down through the gore and the flesh and tumbling down through broken glass out of the window and into something soft.
Roll: 1 Sindre
The corpse of Sindre breaks my fall. His neck is torn open and his own fingers bloody. No one else is with him except himself. That is to say, his ghost.
He is holding a small rabbit, also a ghostly in figure.
He walks past me and stands over his own corpse, now slowly sinking into the flesh of the house. "I am the last," he whispers the abruptly turns to me. He points to the glass wall of the greenhouse.
It rattles and rumbles then shatters. And then he is gone. And so am I. I climb through the window and tumble out on the grass.
Kishore is running towards me, followed by Revazi.
In their hands red canisters, but I am too tired to care. I lie down on the grass and watch as the house goes up in flames before us.