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[cantcheckthatoff-yet]

Nancy Drew Aesthetic | 4/? | Message in a Haunted Mansion

All images courtesy of stocksnap and unsplash.

[cantcheckthatoff-yet]

002. Message in a Haunted Mansion | Meeting Rose in the Dining Room

The hallways in this mansion are tricky, even though there’s only like three of them. For whatever reason, they’re hard for me to navigate all the same. 

We have the option to look closely at those spindles at the top of the stairs, and it turns out they spin. Puzzle later, anyone?

As I walk down the stairs, I notice that the set on the left (from the top) are creaky. That may be important later if we need to be sneaky... There’s also a rope leading to the chandelier that we can click to untie. Did I untie it until it fell, then get kicked out of the mansion and have to second chance it?

... Nancy will never tell.

Still, I think it wise to untie at least one of the three loops, because what if I need to let it fall really fast later? 

Downstairs, I look around at the foyer. Some of it is under construction, and of course, Nancy swipes her first (of many I’m sure) random object for her pockets: a paint scraper. There are old-timey photos and decor everywhere.

Under the stairs, there’s a door to another hallway, to another door. That’s the dining room, and sitting at the dining table is Rose.

Rose thanks Nancy for her help, and mentions the accidents. Nancy inquires further about said accidents, and it turns out that what started as minor inconveniences have blossomed into things like falling rafters and gas leaks. Yikes. Rose has no idea what could possibly be causing these things, and muses that perhaps her handyman (Charlie) is just too inept. He’s got such cheap rates, though! Good logic, Rose.

We ask about the house’s history, and Rose says she doesn’t know much, but that Abby found some papers on the house. It’s possible it used to be a hotel, because there’s a saloon in the basement. Very cool.

Rose tasks us with our first renovation duty. According to our maid, we’re really good at puzzles, and a tile needs some fixing but neither Rose nor Abby have gotten it right.

This was one finicky little phoenix, lemme tell ya. I had them all just right after some adjusting, but it was not easy to get my mouse to go exactly where I needed it to be every time.

The finished product looks, well, like a child’s drawing of a phoenix. But that’s fine.

After letting Rose know that we finished up that tile, she asks us to find a paint scraper (aha!) and scrape some water-damaged tiles from the ceiling upstairs. She also mentions that although she won’t be doing proper intros for me and the rest of the people coming and going, that their schedules are here in the dining room.

So Nancy begins her snoop around the room.

We find a magazine that explains how to construct a four-poster bed. I don’t think we’ll be needing all of that, we just need to get that one post’s top off.

Schedule Louis - Noon to 5pm Charlie - 8am to 5pm Abby - Out from 3 to 6

Schedule acquired~~

We know Charlie is the handyman and Abby is connected to Rose and the house somehow, but we don’t know Louis yet. We just know he’ll be here at noon. Ok.

In the drawer of this cabinet, we find something very interesting and suspicious: a recent change to the insurance policy on the house. Rose is the sole beneficiary on an earthquake and fire policy that’s worth 1,000,000 dollars.

A whole millie.

Whew. Noted. 

We may want to ask her about this later. For now though, it’s time to search the rest of the house, meet these other people, and scrape some yucky ceiling tiles.

Next up! More mansion!

[cantcheckthatoff-yet]

023. Message in a Haunted Mansion | The end…

Alright, so I didn’t use my brain, and thought the best time to do the Phoenix eyeball would be at night. I don’t know, I guess I figured that’s when I could be alone with my eyeball gem in peace.

A laugh sounds off at the top of the stairs that sounds so much like Louis that I actually snorted.

Then, I attempted to push the eye in to the Phoenix’s eye hole, but Nancy said aloud, “When the moon sleeps and the sun plays…”

Okay, Nancy, I should have paid more attention, sue me!!!!

Let’s get up at 6:00 am when the freakin’ sun is playing.

It’s the moment of truth.

Holy damn, no wonder the sun needed to come and play. (We’ll just ignore that this would only work at like one time per day, not just… when the sun is up.) It looks like we’re about to set the floor on fire. 

But no! Just pry it open with a crowbar.

Gold! If Nancy was a worse person, she sure could be rich. 

Enter: the bad person who knocks us out.

Nancy never really had to come to a revelation about Louis’s guilt because he decided to attack her instead. 

Now it’s a race to stop him somehow before he can make off with the gold! And of course, one might recall that time we let the chandelier fall that totally didn’t happen. 

I have the presence of mind to go up the side of the stairs that doesn’t creak loudly… and release the rope…

Good god, it really looks like we killed his ass, huh… But no! He’s just trapped and majorly inconvenienced, likely soon to be in jail. Like many of Nancy’s culprits.

The game ends with Nancy writing a letter to Bess. We’re finishing up the rest of the renovation help. It turns out that Louis was trying to convince Rose to sell the mansion so he could have the riches for himself. Rose and Abby didn’t get to keep the gold, because it isn’t theirs, but the bank did give them a nice cash reward for finding it. (It belongs to Nancy, let’s be real, but she’s sweet and naive and 18 years old.) The publicity has done wonders for the Bed & Breakfast, and they’re booked for the whole month of opening! 

Nancy will leave this eccentric lesbian couple with a booming business, the way we like it.

Next up, Treasure in the Royal Tower!

[cantcheckthatoff-yet]

022. Message in a Haunted Mansion | Nancy’s Bedroom pt. 3

Up in Nancy’s room, we find where the tapestry used to be.

Upon closer inspection, the lower panel has animal images on them.

Actually, they’re buttons! And the images look very familiar.

I’m gonna put two and two together right here and press the buttons in the order from the book.

A safe is revealed! The lock has some symbols we have seen before. Finally, the obsessive notes I’ve been taking about these symbols will come in handy. But what order, you ask. I believe I know.

Listen, my child, to this story of dreams And know that the beginning is more difficult than it seems When the ten daughters are reunited in order When the four-sided box loses its border When the eye of the Phoenix is in your hand When the bird of fire can see again When the moon sleeps and the sun plays The king of the sky will shine his rays And hidden beneath a river of colors Will lie a gate to golden wonders. 

We have symbols for the following words in this poem:

Child

Beginning

Daughters

Four

Eye

Fire

Moon

King

River

Gold

My bet is the order of the poem is the order of the code.

Wow, a safe full of secrets! That’s that shit I like.

So, we have a few letters here...

My Dearest Elizabeth, I could never sully that sweet name by calling you Lizzie. You shall evermore be Elizabeth, my Elizabeth: the sweet, dear woman who has honored me with her enchanting presence and grace. Tonight, I ride on yet another perilous trip, but always to return to your beloved smile. Until then, please accept this bouquet of gardenias, your favorites. ~El Diablo

It is a crying shame that no one has ever written me a fuckin’ love letter like this, let me tell you... Anyway.

My Dearest Elizabeth, Only one soul on this great Earth knows the two secrets that circle my heart: my love for you and my secret identity. Know that my intentions are the purest in all respects. I am a modest man, and all of the wealth that I have acquired by devious means are put to the best uses - all given to the poor, the misfortunate and the defenseless. And so I am - a poor, misfortunate and defenseless man in the presence of your beauty. You have stolen my heart, dear Elizabeth, and all I ask is your hand in marriage to mine. Forever, Diego

Yo, oh my God. The romance. 

Okay, she obviously said yes! And who wouldn’t? A Robin Hood-esque legend woos you and remembers small details about you and wants to marry you. You say yes. 

There’s also a will in here.

Lizzy left her estate to Diego. It says if he is not located after one year upon her death, or if he’s dead, the estate goes to the Ladies Protection and Relief Society.

Her jewelry box seems bare, but that concerns us none.

What’s really interesting is this pyramid box. This must be the one Lizzy referred to in her diary. And we definitely have the missing piece.

Oh yes, definitely fits! And a moon puzzle is revealed. 

The goal was to make all the moons into suns. It was pretty straightforward. The next puzzle, however... Not so much.

Have I ever mentioned how much I suck at, and therefore loath, slide puzzles?

After a shameful amount of time, the pyramid opens up and we remove a beautiful red gem. It looks just like the ones in the eyes of the banister phoenixes in the foyer. Perfect!

Next up, let’s stick a bird in its eyes!

No more symbols to collect. We used those babies!

[cantcheckthatoff-yet]

021. Message in a Haunted Mansion | Gum Bo Fu

After having a chat with Louis, we go around to chat with our pals once more. That includes our long distance ones, of course.

Nancy tells Bess and George about the fire, and Bess says things are really “heating up” at the mansion - much to George’s disgust. I love these women. They also suggest that we should take a better look at that burned box. 

That idea is actually very good, so we will take a detour on our chats to do just that!

Something seems familiar about these burned, hand-written letters. A close gander reveals that they appear to be a letter to Rose from her friend, and her response. We’ve seen those before!

Sure enough, those letters that were initially in Rose’s desk aren’t there anymore. That’s... suspicious. The letters were about buying the mansion, mostly. Someone trying to hide the evidence of this mansion’s purchase...?

We better ask Rose about this!

And I intended to... but she isn’t in her normal chair in the dining room. So instead, let’s head upstairs.

That’s where things get juicy. We overhear a heated exchange between Rose and Abby. Rose accuses Abby of making the mansion seem haunted, to which Abby responds, “At least I’m trying to drum up publicity!” Rose then implies that Abby may be responsible for the fire. Abby turns that back on Rose and says that Rose has the incentive, since she could collect on the insurance. This clearly hurts Rose’s feelings and she asks Abby if she is seriously accusing her of fraud. Abby regrets that immediately. They apologize to each other and get back to hanging the curtains somewhere within earshot but not eyeshot. This lesbian couple won’t be broken up by a mere argument!

I knock on Abby’s door, but no one answers. 

We visit Nancy’s bedroom and there’s a letter on our chair.

It’s from Emily! It must be to follow up on the research she said she would do for us.

Nancy! I’m sorry I could not drop this off myself, but I’m out the door for a month-long photo shoot in Mexico. I spoke with my friend about “Gum Bo Fu,” and she told me it means, “Gold Treasure Mansion!!” She wrote the Chinese symbols below. Hasta luego! Emily

Oh, ok... “Gold Treasure Mansion...” Very subtle. We’ll go ahead and write those symbols down, too. 

Don’t forget that Louis told us that Gum Bo Fu means House of Great Books, either. You remember. I remember. Pepperidge Farms remembers. 

Ok, let’s go see if Rose is back in the dining room.

There she is! And she’s glad I’m here. That’s nice.

She explains that I’m about to be alone in the house for awhile starting tomorrow. There’s a festival that Rose and Abby are visiting together, and Charlie has to study for midterms. I guess Louis doesn’t work when Rose doesn’t, because she didn’t mention him. 

Rose also says she took a tapestry from my room to get dry-cleaned. 

We ask if Rose is missing any papers. She confirms that some old letters are lost, but she expects to find them soon. Don’t get your hopes up, Rose.

Next up, we are approaching the end game!

Symbols gathered: Daughter, River, Four, Moon, Beginning, Fire, Child, King, Gold, Treasure, Mansion

[cantcheckthatoff-yet]

020. Message in a Haunted Mansion | Harassment!

Nancy awakens from her mid-morning slumber to find a note slid under her door.

Oo, perhaps it is an invitation for a party.

... of course not.

Look, letter, I will NOT leave the mansion now. You can’t make me. I’m Nancy Drew. Threats mean nothing to me.

Anyway, the clock says Louis should be in the library now, so we head on down.

We don’t even make it to the library because we walk into the parlor and there’s a damn FIRE.

Here’s an action shot of Nancy heroically extinguishing the flames.

Cut to Nancy and Rose, and Rose is grateful we thought fast and put out the flames. Rose suggests that Louis advised her to sell the mansion and that he even knows someone who’d buy it. Rose isn’t sure she’d want to, though. She also says that Louis blames the fireplace, and by extension, Charlie. Apparently, Charlie was supposed to get a screen for the fireplace and never did. Sounds like we gotta talk to Charlie. Nancy also confesses that she saw the insurance policy. Rose isn’t offended, fortunately, and simply states that if this mansion goes down, she’d lose her life savings. So of course she’d want insurance. That tracks. 

Down in the saloon, Charlie immediately tells me that the fire isn’t his fault. He explains that he did get a screen, but Louis made him get rid of it because it wasn’t historically accurate. Louis was supposed to get the right one but apparently never did. Hm.... Charlie also says he saw Abby looking through the papers before the fire happened. He also says something “unusual” is going on, but then refuses to elaborate. Charlie, mysterious doesn’t work for you, just speak. Ugh.

We go ask Abby what her deal is and, of course, she just blames Charlie. She obviously hates him or wants to fuck. Maybe both.

Finally, we get a chance to talk to Louis! 

He says he didn’t hear anything in the parlor before the fire, but luckily the papers weren’t valuable. He’s never heard of E. Valdez. He thinks it’s hard to say if the house was once a hotel, which I disagree. I suppose I have more evidence, though. lol

He claims there are no records to suggest it was a hotel, but that’s a lie! We saw them in the papers that were lit on fire!

We ask about the fireplace screen and he says he doesn’t know anything about it. After pressing him, he ~remembers~ suddenly that what Charlie told me is true. Louis seems to be singing a different tune about selling the mansion when we ask, stating that he doesn’t have an opinion and it’s up to Rose. Ok, this guy is full of lies.

Now, the moment of truth: Do you know what “Gum Bo Fu” means?

Louis asks where we heard that phrase. And things get a little hairy... The first time, we say, “Uh... I saw it in a book.” And Louis flips out that we saw it in the book in his briefcase! Rose kicks us out for being nosy. 

So we second chance that shit and say we saw it in a magazine instead. Which he believes. Nothing suspicious about us, no sir. 

Louis says it means “House of Great Books” where houses stored books after the great earthquake. We’ll see if Emily can verify that, since she’s looking into it, too.

Next up: Fact checking!

Symbols gathered: Daughter, River, Four, Moon, Beginning, Fire, Child, King

[cantcheckthatoff-yet]

019. Message in a Haunted Mansion | Man in the Stairs

In the attic, we unlock the writing desk and find that sheet of music.

The holes in the paper reveal a message: find diego on stairs

Hopefully there is not a man under the stairs that has been waiting to be discovered all this time. You never really know, though.

Nah, we know where this letter is referring to! Those twisty spindles at the top of the stairs.

It takes a couple tries, but once I get the letters on the spindles to spell out DIEGO, they start spinning on their own. A message appears.

COINS FALSE FLOOR

Then, a secret compartment opens to reveal a note.

Diego, I’ve waited so long for your return but have kept our treasure true. Here is the tool you’ll need to find it. May your rainbows never run out of luck. -E. ~~~~ The stars and moon will shine on you As you begin your quest. Move like a knight upon his horse To quickly pass the test. Take care to keep your path in check Along the outside border. So you may see the sun return To claim its rightful order.

So we have a letter of loyalty and a mysterious poem/riddle. Classic.

With the letter was also a token of another symbol!

Ok, things are not adding up yet, but the clues keep coming. We’re getting closer to this treasure...

So let’s go take a nap.

Louis doesn’t get in until noon, and we need to ask him about Gum Bo Fu. 

Next up: Let’s go harass Louis!

Symbols gathered: Daughter, River, Four, Moon, Beginning, Fire, Child, King

[cantcheckthatoff-yet]

018. Message in a Haunted Mansion | Let’s Chat

Ok, let’s call our friends and hyperventilate. Nancy doesn’t freak out nearly as much as she should about... anything.

We give our trusty maid a call, and Hannah says that if we learned some Chinese words (Gum Bo Fu) then maybe Emily would know more about them.

So, we call Emily. She does not know more. Emily will research it, but she doesn’t know what Gum Bo Fu means either. She suggests I ask my friends. Right, Emily! The historian expert on Chinese culture in San Francisco doesn’t know, by my teen besties might! 

While we’re on the phone discussing Gum Bo Fu, someone slams the door behind us. Nancy doesn’t even turn around. Like... ok. 

And as expected, Bess and George know nothing. 

And thus, we travel around asking the house members what the fuck Gum Bo Fu is. Not Rose nor Abby nor Charlie knows. But we do learn that Abby loves Gumbo and would like to try my Gum Bo Fu recipe. Also, Charlie said, “Hasta la pasta.” as a goodbye and I’m?? 

Anyway.

While we’re in the saloon, I play the piano with those special notes. The panel which was once stuck is stuck no more! 

We take the slip of paper.

This will likely reveal a code of some kind. This would explain why that music in the attic looks like it has something written on it. The “My love, here is the key you’ll need...” was written on this piece while it sat on top of the sheet of music, leaving a bit of the ink on the sheet. 

Next up, we head on over to that there attic!

Symbols gathered: Daughter, River, Four, Moon, Beginning, Fire, Child, King