History VideoGame / ParanormalFiles

* SequelHook: As of the end of ''Ghost Chapter'', [[spoiler:series protagonist Rick Rogers is still missing, and the man who hired Rachel and her team to investigate his estate has disappeared and stolen some key items. The end of the main game shows this man ''on the phone with Rick''.]]

** Younger specialists Daemon, Isaac, and Mia join Rachel's team of investigators in ''Ghost Chapter''.
** The Burton siblings Joseph, Albert, and Carrie, who appear as ghosts in ''Ghost Chapter.''
** The Harding siblings Ethan, Henry, and Charlotte, who appear as ghosts in ''Price of a Secret''.

* CreditsGag: As the game credits roll, the player is treated to various animations of Rick goofing around with various masks, waving at them, playing a drum, and watering his roses.

* MurderousMannequin: These are what's causing all the havoc in the shopping mall - mannequins more or less come to life after closing and drive the security guards mad. But it's only near the end of the game that Rick realizes [[spoiler:the mannequins are actually real people, whom Double Faced has enslaved with his powers. Presumably, his defeat sets them free again]].
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Both Detective Griffin and security guard Alexa are good at their jobs and seem to understand that Rick really is on the level. Alexa in particular senses that she can trust him and helps him take down Double Faced.

* EasilyForgiven: Despite all the bullcrap that Rachel puts him through, Rick decides to forgive her and they become close friends.

* InconsistenSpelling: The game is inconsistent as to whether Tina's last name is Rice or Rise.

* UpperCrassTwit: Elliot, whose rich family owns the house from which Tina disappears, is both this and a JerkWithAHeartOfJerk. Not only does he completely humiliate Tina and cause her to run into the Forest of the Missing, but he absolutely does not feel any remorse for it even though, at the time of the game, she's been missing for a ''year''.

** The Harding siblings, who appear as ghosts in ''Price of a Secret''.

* SpellMyNameWithAnS: The game is inconsistent as to whether Tina's last name is Rice or Rise.

* UpperCrass: Elliot, whose rich family owns the house from which Tina disappears, is both this and a JerkWithAHeartOfJerk. Not only does he completely humiliate Tina and cause her to run into the Forest of the Missing, but he absolutely does not feel any remorse for it even though, at the time of the game, she's been missing for a ''year''.

* CircusOfFear: Carnival, more accurately. Rick headlines at a carnival which has some focus on paranormal events and powers, but the carnival gets shut down because of strange and terrifying events.

!!Tropes seen in these games include:

[[folder: A-K]]

* AgentScully: Mia, one of the younger paranormal investigators, is initially introduced to players as being one of these. Her schtick revolves around ferreting out fake paranormal stories, but when she clings to her skepticism in the face of proof of ghosts, it makes her a target for the BigBad of ''The Trap of Truth''.

* AlwaysIdenticalTwins: ''The Trap of Truth'' reveals that Rick's younger colleague Daemon Park had an identical twin brother, Dylan, who died before the series began. Daemon struggles with intense SurvivorGuilt because he didn't call for help in time to save his ill brother.
* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: As usual, Rick Rogers is the initial player character of ''Ghost Chapter.'' However, after the first few puzzles are completed, the player is then in control of his partner Rachel, because [[spoiler:Rick has disappeared.]]
* AnimalMotif: The Bennet family in the first game have a raven motif on their property.
* AnotherDimension:
** In ''Ghost Chapter,'' Rachel has to pay a few visits to what is identified as the spirit plane, which is a different layer of reality that only partially intersects with the one in which she lives.
** Much of the action in ''Counterpart'' takes place in one of these.
* AntagonistTitle: ''The Tall Man, Hook Man's Legend'', and ''Counterpart''
* ArtShift: The CGI in ''The Trap of Truth'' is a bit clunky compared to the much smoother animations of ''Ghost Chapter''.

* BewareOfHitchhikingGhosts: The first game kicks off when Rick picks up one of these. He's just the latest in a string of hapless victims to give her a ride, and meets another one in the course of the investigation.
* CircusOfFear: Carnival, more accurately. In ''The Trap of Truth'', Rick headlines at a carnival which has some focus on paranormal events and powers, but the carnival gets shut down because of strange and terrifying events.

* CopycatKiller: Rick goes to investigate things at the Forest of the Missing roughly a month after the main game of ''The Tall Man'', because a new pair of disappearances make it seem like either the Tall Man managed to come back or one of these has come on the scene.
* CrisisCrossover: In ''Counterpart'', Rachel and the team realize that in order to succeed in their current objective, they're going to need some outside help, so they join forces with Anna Gray of ''VideoGame/GrimTales''.
* DangerWithADeadline: Anyone who picks up the hitchhiking ghost has three days to live, as Rick discovers in the opening cinematic of ''Fellow Traveler''.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: The God of Truth holds four characters prisoner in ''The Trap of Truth,'' and Rick has to delve into this for each of them in order to secure their release.

* DownerBeginning: Reading Rick's diary, which is in his car at the start of ''Fellow Traveler'', reveals that the series has one of these. He was enjoying a comfortable life and was getting ready to propose to his girlfriend, whom he really loved. Then he was abruptly fired from his job, which caused him to go home early, only to find his girlfriend in bed with his best friend. He packed his car and headed back to the house his father had left him. As the game begins, he picks up a hitchhiker. [[FromBadToWorse She's a ghost and now he only has three days to live.]]
* EasilyForgiven: Despite all the bullcrap that Rachel puts him through during ''Trials of Worth'', Rick decides to forgive her and they become close friends.
* EvilCounterpart: The BigBad of ''Counterpart'' is this to [[spoiler:Rick, and is the one responsible for his disappearance fourteen years earlier.]]

* FaceYourFears: Invoked in the bonus chapter of ''The Trap of Truth'', when Rick, Rachel, Daemon, and Mia play a board game by this name. Three guesses what it forces them to do.
* FrameUp: Emily, in ''Fellow Traveler'', was suspected of stealing money and valuables from the home of her fiancé Nicholas. This was a big part of what led Nicholas's mother to [[spoiler:have her killed]], but it's hinted that [[spoiler:the family gardener framed her]].
* FreakyFridayFlip: In ''Trials of Worth'', Rick and Rachel end up trading bodies for a while thanks to some AppliedPhlebotinum. Neither is particularly happy about it.

* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: During the events of ''The Tall Man'', Rick learns that Tina, the girl who has been missing for a year, had a fight with her sister Jessie shortly before her disappearance about borrowing some earrings. [[spoiler:Tina's distress over their last conversation being a frivolous argument causes her to turn into a banshee after she dies, albeit a good one who tries to scare people away so the Tall Man doesn't have a chance to kill them.]]
* GodIsDispleased: The BigBad of ''The Trap of Truth'' is a strange figure who introduces himself as the God of Truth, and he's there to punish certain individuals for their lies.
** ReasoningWithGod: As annoyed as he is with the liars, the God of Truth is rather ''pleased'' with Rick, because he actually is everything he claims to be. For this reason, he allows Rick the chance to rescue his friends from the punishments intended for them.
* ImmortalitySeeker: The original owner of the mansion in ''Ghost Chapter'' was this, and turned to BlackMagic and caused many deaths in his efforts to turn himself, his wife, and their three children immortal. [[spoiler:He ended up a mindless monster stuck in the house, devouring the souls of those who became trapped there.]]
* TheInfiltration: In ''Enjoy the Shopping'', Rick goes undercover as a security guard in a mall to find out just what's causing the supernatural events happening there.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: L-Z]]

* TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday: ''Ghost Chapter'' starts with an investigation at what turns out to be one of these. Naturally, it vanishes from the map and no one can find it.

* MyBelovedSmother: ''Fellow Traveler'' features Rose Bennet, who in life was arguably too attached to her son. According to documents found in the game, she attempted to welcome his bride-to-be, Emily, with open arms, but came to suspect that the girl was stealing. [[spoiler:Rose ended up OffingTheOffspring, although unintentionally; her murder of Emily, however, was fully deliberate.]]
* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: In ''The Tall Man'', Tina Rice is just the latest individual to disappear in the Forest of the Missing, so named because it's been the site of unexplained disappearances for over 300 years.
* OccultDetective: Rick is this, though he doesn't really ''want'' to be at first - it's just the only way to keep himself from being killed by the Bennet curse. By the end of ''Fellow Traveler'', he plunges into it wholeheartedly, and in the sequels he finds friends to help him with it.
* ParentalFavoritism: Daemon's secrets in ''The Trap of Truth'' include the fact that his parents clearly preferred his quiet and studious twin brother Dylan.
* PhonyPsychic: The first third of ''The Trap of Truth'' revolves around revealing a colleague of Rick's to be one of these.
* ThePlace: ''Silent Willow'' takes place in a mental asylum of the same name.
* PrematurelyMarkedGrave: In ''Fellow Traveler'', Rick has been hit with a curse that gives him just three days to break it or he will die. While conducting his sleuthing, he comes across the gardener of the cursed estate digging his grave; the gardener has stolen Rick's driver's license and mounted it on a pole to indicate that it's for him. Rick is not impressed.

* SealedEvilInACan: The eponymous villain of ''The Tall Man'' was a bloodthirsty entity worshiped by people who performed sacrifices to appease him. He somehow ended up as one of these when his worshipers died out, and remained in stasis for an unknown length of time. Unfortunately, a group of 17th century coal miners accidentally disturbed his can and let him out, and he's been preying on those who enter his forest ever since.

* SinsOfOurFathers: The Russell family in ''Price of a Secret'' turn out to be endangered by a curse that was laid on their ancestor roughly a hundred years earlier.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Carrie, the daughter of the BigBad of ''Ghost Chapter'', is this to her father. While her brothers' ghosts are still subservient to him, she actively defies him and helps Rachel defeat him once and for all.
* SpinTheBottle: The group of friends in the beginning of ''The Tall Man'' are playing this.
* ThrownDownAWell: Happens to Rick in ''Fellow Traveler''. He's more indignant about it than scared.
* TimeSkip:
** Rick's opening narration in ''The Tall Man'' indicates that a year has passed since the events of ''Fellow Traveler.'' The bonus chapter takes place roughly a month after the main game.
** The first ten or so minutes of ''Ghost Chapter'' take place in 2020. We know this because of a newspaper article about the incident which is dated July 30, 2020, and which states that it happened a week earlier. The game then jumps ahead thirteen years, according to the onscreen captioning.
*** The next installment, ''Price of a Secret'', is implied to be set the following year. Rachel mentions that it's now "more than" thirteen years since the incident; also, two of her team members got married and took a honeymoon between the events of the previous game and this one. ''Counterpart'' is confirmed to take place fourteen years after the beginning of ''Ghost Chapter''.

* TogetherInDeath: The end of ''Fellow Traveler'' [[spoiler:shows Emily and Nicholas finally getting to GoIntoTheLight together.]]

* TwoTimingWithTheBestie: Rick caught his girlfriend in bed with his best friend before the start of the series.
* UndeadChild: The ghost of a little girl causes havoc in the bonus chapter of ''Fellow Traveler''. She's not truly malevolent, however; she just doesn't understand what's happened to her, and Rick can put things right by reuniting her with her mother's spirit.
* UnfinishedBusiness: The ghosts encountered in the games all have some of these. Some are a lot angrier about it than others.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: ''Fellow Traveler'' doesn't mention what became of [[spoiler:the Bennets' gardener, who is ''not'' a ghost and actively participated in the many murders over the years, starting with Emily's. Presumably he finally died once Rick banished the ghost of Rose, but it's not made clear.]]
* WithFriendsLikeThese: In the opening cinematic, a game of SpinTheBottle leads two college students, Elliot and Tina, to go into a closet to kiss. But when the door opens, it reveals Tina being rejected by Elliot, and most of her so-called friends humiliate her by taking pictures of the incident on their cell phones. Distraught, Tina runs out of the cabin and into the dark woods, never to be seen again. A year later, her friend Nicky (who was not involved with the prank and has been trying to find Tina) reaches out to Rick for help because something is threatening the rest of the group.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatPerks: As thanks for his help in ''Fellow Traveler'', Emily's spirit grants Rick "protection from death," adding that it's his destiny "to help the living and the dead live together in peace." The next several installments reveal that Rick has an assortment of PsychicPowers as a result of this gift, which enable him to assist both the living and the dead.
* TheXOfY: ''Trials of Worth, The Trap of Truth, Price of a Secret''

* AntagonistTitle: ''The Tall Man'' and ''Hook Man's Legend''

* EasilyForgiven: Despite all the bullcrap that Rachel put him through during Trials of Worth, Rick chose to forgive her and even become close friends.

* OccultDetective: Rick is this, though he doesn't really ''want'' to be at first - it's just the only way to keep himself from being killed by the Bennet curse. By the end of ''Fellow Traveler'', he plunges into it wholeheartedly, and finds friends to help him with it.

* PresentAbsence: Rick Rogers is the series protagonist. In ''Ghost Chapter'', however, [[spoiler:he disappears under mysterious circumstances, and his partner Rachel spends the next thirteen years trying desperately to find him. As of the end of the game, he's ''still'' missing, and the next game continues the search.]]

** During the main game of ''The Tall Man'', Rick muses that he'll have to "channel my inner Franchise/IndianaJones" in order to swiftly replace a needed item with a heavy ball so as not to trigger a trap. Later, in the bonus chapter, Rick watches as railroad tracks bend themselves into snakelike figures and wonders, "IndianaJones Why did it have to be snakes?"

* UndeadChild: The ghost of a little girl causes havoc in the ghost chapter of ''Fellow Traveler''. She's not truly malevolent, however; she just doesn't understand what's happened to her, and Rick can put things right by reuniting her with her mother's spirit.
* UnfinishedBusiness: The ghosts encountered in the games all have some of these. Some are more malevolent about it than others.

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatPerks: As thanks for his help in ''Fellow Traveler'', Emily's spirit grants Rick "protection from death," adding that it's his destiny "to help the living and the dead live together in peace." Later installments reveal that Rick has an assortment of PsychicPowers as a result of this gift, which enable him to assist both the living and the dead.

* ShoutOut: Both the bonus chapter of ''The Trap of Truth'' and the opening act of ''Ghost Chapter'' include board games which seem to be heavily based on the one from ''Film/{{Jumanji}}''.

** Rick's opening narration in ''The Tall Man'' indicates that a year has passed since the events of ''Fellow Traveler.''

[[folder: Tropes A-K]]

* WithFriendsLikeThese: In the opening cinematic, a game of SpinTheBottle leads two college students, Elliot and Tina, to go into a closet to kiss. But when their friend Nicky opens the door, it reveals Tina being rejected by Elliot, and most of her so-called friends humiliate her by taking pictures of the incident on their cell phones. Distraught, Tina runs out of the cabin and into the dark woods, never to be seen again.

** Rick's opening narration in ''The Tall Man'' indicates that a few years have passed since the events of ''Fellow Traveler.''

''Paranormal Files'' is a series of mystery {{hidden object game}}s produced by Creator/ElephantGames. They follow the adventures of Rick Rogers and, later, Rachel Cowell as they explore haunted locations and solve supernaturally charged crimes from the past.

* ''Fellow Traveler''
* ''The Tall Man''
* ''Enjoy the Shopping''
* ''Hook Man's Legend''
* ''Trials of Worth''
* ''The Trap of Truth''
* ''Ghost Chapter''
* ''Price of a Secret''
* ''Silent Willow''
* ''Counterpart''

* OccultDetective: Rick is this, though at first it seems like he doesn't necessarily ''want'' to be. By the end of ''Fellow Traveler'', he plunges into it wholeheartedly, and finds friends to help him with it.

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatPerks: As thanks for his help in ''Fellow Traveler'', Emily's spirit grants Rick "protection from death," adding that it's his destiny "to help the living and the dead live together in peace." Later installments reveal that Rick has an assortment of PsychicPowers (presumably at least in part due to this gift) which enable him to assist both the living and the dead.

* ExpositoryHairstyleChange: When first introduced, Rachel has long braided hair and Mia's hair is extremely short. By the time of ''Price of a Secret,'' which is set fourteen years after the opening of ''Ghost Chapter,'' Rachel has cut off her braid and Mia has grown her hair to shoulder length.

*** The next installment, ''Price of a Secret'', is implied to be set the following year. Rachel mentions that it's now "more than" thirteen years since the incident; also, two of her team members got married and took a honeymoon between the events of the previous game and this one.

* AnotherDimension: In ''Ghost Chapter,'' Rachel has to pay a few visits to what is identified as the spirit plane, which is a different layer of reality that only partially intersects with the one in which she lives.

* ContinuityNod: The entire series is an ongoing storyline about Rick Rogers and his paranormal investigations.

** In the next installment, ''Price of a Secret'', [[spoiler:Rick reappears in the bonus chapter - but not permanently]], meaning there's going to be at least one more game before this is resolved.

* ShoutOut: ''Ghost Chapter'' includes a board game which seems to be heavily based on the one from ''Film/{{Jumanji}}''.

* AgentScully: Mia, one of the younger paranormal investigators, is initially introduced to players as being one of these. Her schtick revolves around ferreting out fake paranormal stories; she later joins Rachel in ''Ghost Chapter'' to use her excellent research skills for investigating real ones.

* RelationshipUpgrade: Daemon and Mia, two of the members of Rachel's team in ''Ghost Chapter,'' get married in the time between the end of that game and the beginning of ''Price of a Secret.''

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatPerks: As thanks for his help in ''Ghost Chapter'', Emily's spirit grants Rick "protection from death," adding that it's his destiny "to help the living and the dead live together in peace." It's unclear ''exactly'' what this blessing entails, but at the very least it appears Rick is immune from murder attempts, which is extremely helpful in his line of work.

* TitleDrop: ''Paranormal Files'' is both the name of the series and the name of Rick Rogers's paranormal investigation agency. The subtitles of some of the games also get dropped in dialogue.

* YourCheatingHeart: Rick caught his girlfriend in bed with his best friend before the start of the series.

* SequelHook: As of the end of ''Ghost Chapter'', [[spoiler:series protagonist Rick Rogers is still missing, and the man who hired Rachel and her team to investigate his estate has disappeared and stolen some key items.
The end of the main game shows this man ''on the phone with Rick''.]]

* LevelMap: As with most Elephant Games properties, each game features an interactive map enabling FastTravel between locations. The map also indicates which locations still have collectibles to find and actions to perform.

* MisBlamed: Emily, in ''Fellow Traveler'', was suspected of stealing money and valuables from the home of her fiancé Nicholas. Nothing in the game suggests that this was in any way accurate, and there are hints that [[spoiler:it was actually a FrameUp by the family's gardener]].

* LikeBrotherAndSister: ''Ghost Chapter'' and ''Price of a Secret'' suggest that this is the relationship between Rachel and Gabriel. They're clearly devoted friends but there's no indication that there's anything romantic about it. Her friendship with Rick, on the other hand, definitely has romantic overtones.

* MyBelovedSmother: ''Fellow Traveler'' features one of these, who in life was entirely too attached to her son. [[spoiler:She ended up OffingTheOffspring, although unintentionally; her murder of his bride-to-be, however, was fully deliberate.]]

* SequelHook: As of the end of ''Ghost Chapter'', [[spoiler:series protagonist Rick Rogers is still missing, and the man who hired Rachel and her team to investigate his estate has disappeared and stolen some key items.]] In the next installment, ''Price of a Secret'', [[spoiler:he reappears in the bonus chapter - but not permanently]], meaning there's going to be at least one more game before this is resolved.