Line #291 VideoGame/HauntedHotel


1	[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/big_icon__486861618858578.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:300:''Good luck trying to check out...'']]
3
4	''Haunted Hotel'' is a {{hidden object game}} series, originally developed by Specialbit Studios and later Creator/ElephantGames, and published by Big Fish Games from 2008 to 2021.
5
6	The long-running horror game series follows different protagonists as they investigate notorious... well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin haunted hotels]]. Nothing is ever as it seems, though, and if there are other people involved, chances are someone is not going to survive.
7	[[foldercontrol]]
8
9	[[folder:The list of games in order]]
10	Beginning with the second game, ''Haunted Hotel'' is the series name and all of the titles listed here are subtitles.
11	* ''Haunted Hotel''
12	* ''Believe the Lies''
13	* ''Lonely Dream''
14	* ''Charles Dexter Ward''
15	* ''Eclipse''
16	* ''Ancient Bane''
17	* ''Death Sentence''
18	* ''Eternity''
19	* ''Phoenix''
20	* ''The X''
21	* ''The Axiom Butcher''
22	* ''Silent Waters''
23	* ''The Thirteenth''
24	* ''Personal Nightmare''
25	* ''The Evil Inside''
26	* ''Lost Dreams''
27	* ''Beyond the Page''
28	* ''Room 18''
29	* ''Lost Time''
30	* ''A Past Redeemed''
31	[[/folder]]
32
33	For further information on the trope of a similar name, see HellHotel.
34
35	Not to be confused with ''Film/TheHauntedHotel'' or ''Series/HotelHell''.
36
37	----
38	!!''Haunted Hotel'' checked in the following examples:
39
40	[[folder:Shared tropes]]
41	* AmbiguousTimePeriod: The first three games from Elephant (''Eclipse, Ancient Bane'' and ''Death Sentence'') appear to have a late Victorian or Edwardian setting, although the opening cinematic of ''Ancient Bane'' includes what appears to be some kind of television set. ''Personal Nightmare'' is explicitly set in 1958, and ''Beyond the Page'' seems to be in the late 90s or early 2000s. Yet all of these games (and others) have James Blackthorne as the player's companion, and he hasn't aged a day.
42	* ClosedCircle: Frequently, for one reason or another, there is a compelling reason why the protagonist is unable to leave the setting and why no one can get in to help them. Usually this is because whatever supernatural entity is causing the problem has trapped them, but sometimes it's because of more mundane reasons, like the deadly blizzard in ''The Axiom Butcher''.
43	* ContinuityNod:
44	** The same unnamed woman is the player character of ''Eclipse, Ancient Bane'', and ''Death Sentence,'' the latter two of which reference their predecessors.
45	** An unnamed male detective is the player character of ''Eternity, Phoenix, The X, The Axiom Butcher'', and possibly ''Beyond the Page.'' These games likewise contain references to one another; ''The Axiom Butcher'' also has a reference to ''Death Sentence.''
46	** ''A Past Redeemed'' is a direct sequel to ''Lost Time'' and also includes characters first introduced in ''The Evil Inside.''
47	* CosmeticAward: The collector's editions of the later games in the series include a number of unlockable achievements which basically function as this.
48	* DownerBeginning: The games often start with a tragedy, usually a murder, which kickstarts the plot. Except in rare instances, this tragedy can't be undone, although in the best cases the heroes can prevent any further tragedies from taking place.
49	* DownerEnding: The games end as happily as they can, but some installments can be regarded this way because of the fate which befell various characters in them. ''The Evil Inside'' is one such example -- sure, James is able to put the unhappy spirit to rest, but not before the ghost murdered dozens of people over the years.
50	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first four games can come across this way to players who encounter them later, as they were made by a different developer from the rest of the series. Starting with ''Eclipse'', the series is the exclusive property of Elephant Games and most of the games have James Blackthorne as a recurring character.
51	** Also, in James's first three appearances, he dresses like a Victorian/Edwardian character and has long hair. Furthermore, these appearances do not give him a surname; in fact, ''Death Sentence'' goes to great lengths to avoid giving him more than a last initial, because the ''murderer'' in the game has the surname of Blackthorne. It's only starting with the installment ''Phoenix'' that he's given a last name and his modern appearance.
52	** The earliest games in the series don't have the interactive map which is typical of Elephant Games, which can be frustrating to someone who started with games that do and became accustomed to using the map to fast travel.
53	* FeaturelessProtagonist: Starting with ''Eclipse'', unless the player character is James (who appears in cutscenes), the most we usually see of our avatar is their hands. Averted in ''The Thirteenth'' and ''Lost Dreams,'' each of which has a different protagonist from the rest of the series and who is seen onscreen during gameplay.
54	* FunctionalMagic: The supernatural ''definitely'' exists in these games, including psychic abilities, magic rituals, time travel, ghosts, and invisibility. It may not always be clear to the player why or how the magic in question works, but it's a real thing.
55	* GottaCatchEmAll: Seen in the collector's editions of the later games. There are often puzzle pieces, morphing objects, and/or other collectibles to be found in each scene. The puzzle pieces sometimes form images which can be saved as desktop backgrounds or screensavers, while the collectibles can be viewed on a special screen. There are usually achievements for completing each of these collections.
56	* HellHotel: The main setting of every game, for obvious reasons.
57	* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Albeit inconsistently. Beginning with the ninth game, the installments often reflect their numerical order in some way, either with Arabic or Roman numerals. For example, ''The Axiom Butcher'' is the eleventh game in the series (''A'''xi'''om'') while ''Room 18'' is the eighteenth.
58	* InformingTheFourthWall: The protagonist will comment if the player tries to use an object in any manner other than the one intended by the devs.
59	* LateToTheTragedy: In most games, whatever horrible incident has led to the current haunting has already taken place by the time the player investigates. Justified in that the protagonists are usually detectives. The games which subvert the trope tend to have the tragedy happening ''to'' the protagonist.
60	* LockedDoor: If there's a door and you need to get past it, odds are that it will be locked and you will need to either find the key or find some other method of unlocking it, such as removing the doorknob. And if by chance the door ''isn't'' locked, expect it to be blocked in some other way.
61	* NamedAfterFirstInstallment: ''Haunted Hotel'' is the name of both the first game and the entire series.
62	* NoNameGiven: Neither the first player character (protagonist of ''Eclipse, Ancient Bane'', and ''Death Sentence'') nor the second (protagonist of ''Eternity, Phoenix, The X, The Axiom Butcher'', and possibly ''Beyond the Page'') are ever given a name. All that's really known about either of them is that the first is a woman and the second is a man.
63	* OccultDetective: James is shown to be this; his particular expertise is in helping ghosts with their UnfinishedBusiness by solving mysteries related to the locations they haunt. This is also true of some of the non-James protagonists.
64	* ScreamingWoman: One of these can be heard as part of the ambient noise in some games. It happens roughly every ten to fifteen minutes and, depending on how tense the current situation is, can be very unsettling.
65	* SharedUniverse: These games exist in the same universe as several other Elephant Games properties, including ''VideoGame/GrimTales, VideoGame/MysteryTrackers, VideoGame/DetectivesUnited'', and ''VideoGame/ParanormalFiles''. They also are revealed to exist in the same universe as the ''VideoGame/MysteryCaseFiles'', owing to the fact that Richard Gray (of ''Grim Tales'') once studied at a black magic school run by Alister Dalimar. (Elephant Games was the developer for two of the MCF games.)
66	* SpellMyNameWithAnS: Once James's surname of Blackthorne is revealed, the games become inconsistent as to whether or not it has an E on the end. It even gets misspelled as "Blackthrone" a couple of times, though this is [[RougeAnglesOfSatin probably a typo]].
67	* ThematicSeries: The series is effectively this, as it has no overarching storyline and only some of the games are connected to one another. Three of the games are completely stand-alone and have absolutely no relationship to any of the others. The only thing they all have in common is that the player character is investigating the events at a [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin haunted hotel]].
68	* TitleDrop: Most installments make a mention somewhere of the phrase "haunted hotel," since that's where they all take place.
69	** The subtitles of roughly half the games are also dropped. For example, ''Eternity'' and ''Silent Waters'' are the names of the hotels where their games are set.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:''Haunted Hotel'']]
73	* OddballInTheSeries: It's the only installment that doesn't have a subtitle, since at the time of its release the developer didn't know they were going to make a series.
74	[[/folder]]
75
76	%%[[folder:''Believe the Lies'']]
77	%%[[/folder]]
78
79	%%[[folder:''Lonely Dream'']]
80	%%[[/folder]]
81
82	[[folder:''Charles Dexter Ward'']]
83	* AntagonistTitle: Charles Dexter Ward is the bad guy. Also a LiteraryAllusionTitle, since it references the story of the same name.
84	* ForegoneConclusion: Anyone who has read Lovecraft's horror story of the same name knows what will happen to Charles.
85	* TheGameOfTheBook: This game is based on the Creator/HPLovecraft short horror novel of the same name.
86	* GrandTheftMe: [[spoiler:Joseph Curwen successfully took possession of Charles's body at the end of the main game.]]
87	[[/folder]]
88
89	[[folder:''Eclipse'']]
90	* DivineConflict: More or less drives the plot. The forces of good and evil meet every several hundred years for an epic showdown; unfortunately for them, the player and her friend James are caught in the middle of the latest gathering.
91	* TheDogWasTheMastermind: [[spoiler:The Maid that you seen in the beginning]] is the murderer and the main antagonist.
92	* EventTitle: The game is named after the eclipse which heralds the events.
93	* MeaningfulName: The game is set in the Final Journey Hotel, and the events are pretty much a matter of life and death for humanity.
94	[[/folder]]
95
96	[[folder:''Ancient Bane'']]
97	* AffectionateNickname: In his opening dialogue at the start of the game, James fondly greets his friend by saying, "Hello, dear." Given some of his other commentary and facial expressions during the game, this could have been intended as some slight ShipTease which the devs ultimately elected not to pursue.
98	* AncientEgypt: The BigBad is a tortured mummy; also, the CollectionSidequest involves locating various artifacts related to Egyptology.
99	* ArtifactOfHope: The player carries a gift from James -- an ancient amulet of light which protects her from the BigBad.
100	* ButterflyOfDeathAndRebirth: In the bonus chapter, [[spoiler:James uses his partner's amulet to release the banshee from her torment, and she explodes into a flock of blue butterflies.]]
101	* GrumpyOldMan: Abraham Shadowy manages to be both grumpy and creepy. Justified because he's under the influence of the BigBad; his real personality returns in the bonus chapter, and he's actually quite pleasant and helpful.
102	* TheLostLenore: Gender flipped in the bonus chapter -- Anabel never got over her lost love Richard, and kidnaps James because he looks just like him.
103	* MeaningfulName: The owner of the [[TitleDrop haunted hotel]] is named Abraham ''Shadowy''.
104	* StarCrossedLovers: The bonus chapter is about an UptownGirl and the man she loved. Her father had the young man murdered and locked his daughter away to keep her from marrying below her station; after her own death, she became a banshee as a result.
105	* SupernaturalSealing: The missing guests and, eventually, Shadowy and [[spoiler:James]] are all sealed inside sarcophagi by the BigBad and have to be released.
106	[[/folder]]
107
108	[[folder:''Death Sentence'']]
109	* AssholeVictim: The 'guests' who had committed a crime and avoided punishment end up dead [[spoiler:by Lilith's hand]].
110	* ContinuityNod: This is the third game with James as the player's companion, and the opening cinematic contains references to the two previous games where they worked together.
111	* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Each of the {{Asshole Victim}}s whom the BigBad targeted was killed by one of these, often overlapping with KarmicDeath.
112	** Isaac Rotenburg drank alcohol tainted with [[BitterAlmonds potassium cyanide]].
113	** Tony Norton suffocated while trapped in a car supposedly owned by Esrael.
114	** Gordon Marshall was shot in the head with a bullet from his gun.
115	** Veronica Redmond drowned in a bathtub.
116	** Casey O'Connor was frightened to death, taking advantage of his superstitious nature.
117	* DarkAndTroubledPast: This game reveals that James has a minor one of these, having once (accidentally) brought about the conviction of an innocent man, and the man committed suicide rather than go to prison. Although he was exonerated of perjury charges, this is enough to make him a target of the game's killer.
118	* DeadAllAlong: Esrael Blackthorne has been dead for quite some time when the player discovers his dead body in one of the rooms.
119	* DeadManWriting: The game kicks off with the player receiving a message from her pal James, in which he tells her that if she's reading it, he's almost certainly dead. [[spoiler:She's relieved to discover that he's alive, but he won't stay that way if they don't solve the mystery.]]
120	* DirtyCop: Casey O'Connor was a police inspector who took bribes from local crime bosses and put innocent people in prison.
121	* InheritanceMurder: Veronica was the nanny of an orphaned boy who inherited a large fortune from his parents. She conspired with the boy's uncle, Ray, to kill the child and split the inheritance. She was then RewardedAsATraitorDeserves when Ray double-crossed her and kept the money for himself.
122	* IronicNurseryTune: In the bonus chapter, one of these occasionally plays as background noise; however, it may take a little while before the player understands what they're hearing.
123	-->Hush, little baby, don't say a word\
124	Auntie's gonna buy you a mockingbird\
125	And if that mockingbird don't sing\
126	Auntie's gonna break that birdie's wing
127	* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: Veronica and Ray sabotaged a boat to make it appear as if Ray's wealthy nephew drowned by accident.
128	* MarriedToTheJob: Lilith's marriage to Esrael suffered because he was fixated on his career as the judge. In particular, she wanted to start a family with him, but he was always too busy and as a result they never had children.
129	* ScrewTheRulesIHaveConnections: The reason most of the victims didn't get punished was because they had friends in high places. The main exception is James, who made an honest mistake.
130	* VigilanteMan: Gender flipped. [[spoiler:Lilith made it her personal mission to punish wrongdoers who escaped justice in her husband's place.]]
131	* WouldHurtAChild: Veronica was willing to help kill a child to get a share of the money his uncle then inherited.
132	* WouldntHurtAChild: Oddly, Lilith. She's ''scary'' to the little girl in the bonus chapter, but she actually loves children and has no desire to harm her.
133	[[/folder]]
134
135	[[folder:''Eternity'']]
136	* AddressingThePlayer: Whatever name you gave when creating your save file is the name that will appear on the contract Reynolds presents to the detective.
137	* AmbiguousTimePeriod: Averted for the first time since Elephant took over the series. The contract at the beginning of the game specifies that it takes place on September 8, 1978.
138	* BadassBystander: The player character is more or less this. He's a detective hired as extra security for a wealthy man, who turns out to be the target of a revenge plot. The detective has absolutely nothing to do with the plot, and the villain has no reason to drag him into the whole thing. Luckily for him, he's got the skills to survive.
139	* BigBrotherInstinct: The main antagonist's younger brother was a test subject for am experimental vaccine and lost his life to it. Big brother then swore to get revenge on Dr. Reynolds for his role in the project that created the vaccine.
140	* CrisisCrossover: Seen at the very end; the Mystery Trackers send one of their top agents to rescue the player.
141	* DoubleMeaningTitle: ''Eternity'' is the name of both the hotel where the game takes place and the project that Professor Reynolds funded, which led to the deaths of all of its test subjects. This is not a coincidence.
142	* FauxAffablyEvil: For a while, the masked man is excessively polite to the detective, asking how he feels and complimenting him on his success as he navigates the puzzles. This eventually tapers off because he has absolutely no qualms about killing the detective, even though he's got nothing to do with the situation.
143	* {{Irony}}: Dr. Reynolds tells Terence in the bonus chapter that if the experimental vaccine is dangerous, then he (Reynolds) deserves to be executed. In the main chapter, which takes place in the present day, Dr. Reynolds is hunted down by the main antagonist for his role in the vaccination project which cost many people their lives, including said antagonist's brother.
144	* KindheartedCatLover: In the bonus chapter, Terence has a cat named Jimmy in his home, to whom he makes a promise that he will be back soon.
145	* MalevolentMaskedMan: The person who takes Professor Reynolds hostage.
146	* ThePlace: Most of the game happens inside the Hotel Eternity.
147	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: The masked man is ultimately on one of these, although it takes a long time for the details to come to light. It's never explained why he dragged the (completely innocent) detective into it, other than that the detective accepted the contract to protect Reynolds; nor is it explained why the masked man didn't just kill the detective, and instead gave him the long and very bizarre chance to rescue Reynolds and escape.
148	[[/folder]]
149
150	[[folder:''Phoenix'']]
151	* ContinuityNod: The previous game ended with the Mystery Trackers telling the detective that he'd be an asset to their agency. This game opens with that same agency faxing him some useful information.
152	* CrisisCrossover: The Mystery Trackers lend the player their assistance in solving this mystery.
153	* HeroicSacrifice: At the very end of the main game, [[spoiler:Amanda takes a fatal blow that was meant for Steven,]] trying to [[TheAtoner make up for all that he suffered]].
154	* HypnoTrinket: As a psychologist, Amanda often used one of these to hypnotize patients to help them get over their fears. [[spoiler:She still uses one to keep Steven in a placid and suggestible state.]]
155	* IncendiaryExponent: The Stone Spires Hotel has been the location of a number of fires believed to be the work of a phoenix. Prior to its existence as a hotel, the same property had been Stone Spires University, which was forced to shut down when the chemistry lab exploded and killed a professor.
156	* LoveTriangle: As the story progresses, the detective finds evidence that Steven was in love with Amanda, who was in love with Duke, who was using them both for his own ends. [[spoiler:This is actually still true. Steven's not as dead as Amanda would have the player think, and Duke is the BigBad.]]
157	* OddballInTheSeries: It's one of the only two ''Haunted Hotel'' games in which the main game has no supernatural entity causing problems. Although most people ''think'' that a phoenix is responsible for all the fires, the true explanation is much more mundane.
158	* OneWordTitle: Well, subtitle.
159	* SuddenlyVoiced: The detective's inner monologue is sometimes spoken out loud in this installment.
160	* TimeSkip: The beginning of the game states that it takes place in November 1979, a little over a year since the previous adventure.
161	* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: Amanda tells the player that her friend Steven suffered from terrible pyrophobia.
162	[[/folder]]
163
164	[[folder:''The X'']]
165	* DeathByWomanScorned: Factors into the backstory.
166	* RoaringRampageOfRescue: What brings [[BigBrotherInstinct the player character]] to the Lexington Hotel. His sister Samantha disappeared while investigating the premises, and he's there to find her at any cost.
167	[[/folder]]
168
169	[[folder:''The Axiom Butcher'']]
170	* AntagonistTitle: The Axiom Butcher is DeadToBeginWith, having killed himself in a police standoff several years earlier after he murdered everyone in the hotel. There's a rumor going around that his ghost still haunts the place, however, and when bodies start dropping again, people believe he's responsible.
171	* AssholeVictim: Almost all of the murder victims are eventually revealed to have unsavory pasts. [[spoiler:The pianist was charged with sexual assault; he pinned it on someone else, who was sent to prison for the crime. The hotel owners committed tax fraud, and the husband is also guilty of sexually harassing his employees, and possibly murdering one; and the maid was sleeping with her married boss in hopes of supplanting his wife and becoming rich.]] The only exception is [[spoiler:the fortune teller]], who -- like James and the player -- was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
172	* BloodierAndGorier: This is unquestionably the single bloodiest installment in the series.
173	* ContinuityNod: While searching his car for useful items, the detective finds three newspapers with headlines related to the plots of ''The X, Eternity,'' and ''Death Sentence.'' (It's implied that the player character is the same one as in ''The X'' and ''Eternity''.)
174	* CopycatKiller: The real Axiom Butcher is dead, but either someone is pretending to be him or his ghost has come back for more blood.
175	* CreepyChild: Joanna's son, in the bonus chapter, becomes this when he's possessed by the ghost of the boy Jerome.
176	* DueToTheDead: The new owner of the hotel in the bonus chapter has a memorial portrait of the previous owner hanging in the lobby.
177	* DwindlingParty: Throughout the game, the number of stranded guests gets reduced one by one.
178	* EnfanteTerrible: Jerome, the child ghost in the bonus chapter, was this in life, leading his father and a priest to kill him and bury him in the family chapel.
179	* FrameUp: The murderer takes advantage of the player character's presence by framing him for the murders. [[spoiler:And since the killer is a ''cop'', it's easy for him to place the protagonist under arrest for them.]]
180	** The murderer is eventually revealed to have been the victim of this trope himself. [[spoiler:The pianist, Richard, sexually assaulted the killer's girlfriend Sarah, and when she tried to bring charges, he somehow managed to pin the crime on the her boyfriend, who went to prison for it. By the time he got out, Sarah had been killed.]]
181	* InnocentBystander: James, the player, and [[spoiler:the fortune teller]]. None of them were part of the killer's targeted list for revenge; they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and figured out the truth.
182	* TheLostLenore: Sarah, the killer's murdered girlfriend.
183	* MeaningfulName: The fortune teller's name is Cassandra. In Greek mythology, [[CassandraTruth Cassandra]] was a seer whose predictions were always accurate, but never believed. Sure enough, everything mentioned in this Cassandra's tarot reading turns out to be true.
184	* OddballInTheSeries: It's one of the only two ''Haunted Hotel'' games in which the main game has no supernatural entity causing problems. The ghost of the Axiom Butcher is only a rumor. (There is a real ghost in the bonus chapter, however.)
185	* OffingTheOffspring: In the bonus chapter, the detective finds the diary of Alfred Maxwell, who owned the hotel when it was his family's mansion. He felt like he had no choice but to do this to his youngest son, Jerome, because the boy kept trying to kill others. In the present day, Jerome's ghost is back for vengeance, and doesn't realize that his father has been dead for a long time.
186	* PlayingDrunk: James is working undercover to investigate the rumors of the Axiom Butcher's return, and pretends to be TheAlcoholic to explain why he spends so much time either in the bar or locked in his room.
187	* RedHerring: James and the detective find clues which point to the fortune teller being the guilty party. [[spoiler:Nope. She's the only one in the hotel apart from the two of them who is, as far as we know, completely innocent of anything. The evidence they find is because she's been trying to help them with their investigation.]]
188	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: The killer's entire motive.
189	* SceneryGorn: Due to that whole bloodier and gorier thing.
190	* SigilSpam: A strange symbol is found drawn in blood beside each of the bodies, and in other locations throughout the hotel. It makes the whole thing look like a ritual murder; it's really just a RedHerring planted by the killer.
191	* VigilanteMan: The BigBad is seeking vengeance against everyone who ever hurt his murdered girlfriend. Unfortunately for them, there are three people in the hotel who aren't part of that plan -- but he can't afford to leave witnesses.
192	* WeatherReportOpening: The game begins with the detective driving, and a weather report being given over the radio about the crippling blizzard.
193	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The fortune teller has a cat. What becomes of the cat after the end of the game is unknown. This is also true of the hotel's guard dog.
194	[[/folder]]
195
196	[[folder:''Silent Waters'']]
197	* BittersweetEnding: At the end of the bonus chapter, [[spoiler:Jim is still dead; but thanks to his efforts, Sarah is rescued, and his killers are brought to justice]].
198	* DownerBeginning: [[spoiler:Jim is killed in beginning of the bonus chapter.]]
199	* DreamingOfTimesGoneBy: The player character gets involved in the situation at the Silent Waters Hotel because he has an unexpected psychic vision of the fatal quarrel between Lucien and Maurice, many years earlier.
200	* FeaturelessProtagonist: Played straight in the main game, but averted in the bonus chapter.
201	* FirstNameBasis: The player character's name isn't mentioned at all in the main game; in the bonus chapter, he identifies himself as Jim, but his last name is never revealed.
202	* HostageForMacGuffin: Maurice's ghost offers to return Maggie if Clark will bring him someone to possess.
203	* TheLostLenore: Gender flipped in the bonus chapter. [[spoiler:Sarah calls Jim her guardian angel, says that he has taught her what real love is, and promises that she will never forget him. Knowing that she's safe enables him to GoIntoTheLight.]]
204	* NotTooDeadToSaveTheDay: Lucien's ghost provides Jim with what he needs to defeat Maurice.
205	** In the bonus chapter, [[spoiler:being murdered won't stop Jim from protecting his girlfriend Sarah.]]
206	* ParentalFavoritism: The owner of the Silent Waters hotel had two sons, and when he grew ill, he decided to bequeath ownership to his son Lucien, who was a harder worker and had a lot of good ideas, though his will stated that his other son Maurice could continue to work there if he chose. Maurice interpreted this as their father favoring Lucien and tried to kill his brother in a jealous rage, only to [[AssholeVictim fall to his death]] in the process. His ghost has been killing people at the hotel ruins ever since.
207	* ThePlace: Silent Waters is the name of the haunted hotel in question.
208	* StandaloneEpisode: It's one of the three installments in the series which have absolutely no connection to any other installment. It has no characters or locations in common with the rest of the games, and it neither contains any references to other games nor is referenced by any of the others.
209	* TwoGuysAndAGirl: Maggie, Clark, and Bobby, the three students whose mishap starts the plot. Maggie and Clark are a couple; Bobby is their friend. (Unlike many examples of the trope, this is not a source of conflict between them.)
210	* YouWakeUpInARoom: As noted above, Jim ends up embroiled in the conflict at the Silent Waters Hotel because he has a vision of the two brothers fighting. Unfortunately, he happens to be ''driving'' at the time, and crashes his car as a result. Someone, or some''thing'', drags him into the hotel, where this trope kicks in as gameplay begins.
211	[[/folder]]
212
213	[[folder:''The Thirteenth'']]
214	* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: The only reason Matt isn't murdered at the same moment as his father is because the Sons of Dusk believe he knows the location of the Necronix, since the Sons of Dawn traditionally entrusted that knowledge to their youngest member. What the kidnappers don't know is that until all this happened, neither Matt nor his father had ever been told anything about the book, the Sons of Dawn, or what really became of the other Barlows.
215	* CoolOldGuy: The strange old man in the hotel is the only one capable of interacting with Dave's ghost; Dave is wary about trusting him, but feels like he has no choice. It turns out that this is his grandfather, Christopher Barlow, and he's going to save his grandson and great-grandson no matter what the cost.
216	* DeadToBeginWith[=/=]DeathByOriginStory: The game ''begins'' with the protagonist, Dave Barlow, [[StartToCorpse being murdered]] and his son Matt being kidnapped. Dave then spends the rest of the main game as a ghost, trying desperately to save Matt. Fortunately, he is NotTooDeadToSaveTheDay.
217	* DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist: Ultimately, the knowledge contained in the Necronix enables Dave to return to life.
218	* DoubleMeaningTitle: ''The Thirteenth'' is, as can be easily observed, the thirteenth game in this series. It's also eventually revealed to be a reference to Matt Barlow -- the Sons of Dusk have murdered twelve other descendants of the Sons of Dawn, including Dave and both of his parents, and Matt is expected to be the thirteenth and final victim.
219	* FeaturelessProtagonist: Averted. Both Dave in the main game and Matt in the bonus chapter are seen onscreen.
220	* MissingMom: Matt's mother is never seen or mentioned in the entire game. Dave is presumably either divorced or a widower, but it's never stated for sure.
221	* PapaWolf: Even death itself isn't enough to stop Dave Barlow from protecting his son. It's clearly InTheBlood, since Grandpa Christopher is the same way.
222	* PastExperienceNightmare: In the bonus chapter, Matt is concerned because Dave is still having these twenty years later. Admittedly, it's probably kind of hard to get over being murdered.
223	* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: It eventually gets revealed that the Sons of Dusk massacred Dave's entire family (except his grandfather) as one of these.
224	* StandaloneEpisode: It's one of the three installments in the series which have absolutely no connection to any other installment. It has no characters or locations in common with the rest of the games, and it neither contains any references to other games nor is referenced by any of the others.
225	* TimeSkip: The bonus chapter takes place twenty years after the main game.
226	* TomeOfEldritchLore: The Necronix, which is why the Sons of Dawn and the Sons of Dusk had a falling out over what to do with it.
227	* WouldHurtAChild: Matt is maybe seven years old when he's kidnapped, and his kidnappers fully intend to murder him once they're done with him.
228	* WouldntHurtAChild: The Sons of Dawn fatally battled with the Sons of Dusk; however, one of the Sons of Dusk had a son who was only a baby, and the Sons of Dawn elected to spare him. The baby grew up to be Derek, the leader of the new incarnation of the Sons of Dusk, and he's the one out for revenge.
229	[[/folder]]
230
231	[[folder:''Personal Nightmare'']]
232	* CallBack: James's entire nightmare is one of these. He's chained to his memories, and is tormented by three of the {{Big Bad}}s from previous installments (Lilith Blackthorne from ''Death Sentence'', Ray Turner from ''The Axiom Butcher'', and Duke from ''Phoenix''). Stephen has to quiet all three ghosts in order to free him.
233	* CommonalityConnection: To judge by the scene where they meet, Stephen and James have already been friends for some time when the game takes place, but they're in the Freedom Hotel for effectively the same reason. Stephen is there because his mother reached out to him for help, while James came running at a similar distress call from his cousin Mary. They vow to work together to save their relatives.
234	* DisappearedDad: Stephen Blake's father George died when he was young. The bonus chapter reveals that, in the past, he partnered up with the BigBad of the main game to hunt for the Viking artifact in the hopes of helping Kate with her illness. Unfortunately, the BigBad became tempted by the power of the artifact, which eventually led to George's death.
235	* FeaturelessProtagonist: Averted. Stephen is seen onscreen several times.
236	* HealthcareMotivation: Stephen's little sister, Kate, was ill, and no doctor could help her. This is why their mother took Kate to the Freedom Hotel, reluctantly submitting to one of their contracts in an effort to cure her daughter.
237	* IllGirl: Exactly what disease Kate had as a little girl is never stated, only that medical science could not help her and her father died trying to acquire a magical artifact that might have succeeded. Bringing her to the Freedom Hotel seems to have done the trick, but at a terrible cost.
238	* IronicName: The setting of the game is called the Freedom Hotel. Once you're there and sign a contract, you can never leave unless you fulfill its terms -- which are almost impossible.
239	* MeaningfulName: Thomas Coldwell, the BigBad, became a very cold and heartless individual when he fell under the influence of the One Amulet.
240	* MementoMacGuffin: The note from Stephen's mother begging him for help has her locket taped to it as proof that it really came from her. It contains pictures of him and Kate as children.
241	* MissingMom: The plot was kicked off twenty years before the events of the game, when Stephen's mother took his little sister to be treated for her illness. He never saw either of them again.
242	* ParentalMarriageVeto: The reason why Frank is at the hotel. Mary's father refuses to let her marry Frank, and he hopes that if he passes the test at the hotel, he will be allowed to marry her.
243	* RightUnderTheirNoses: It takes a long time for him to realize it, but Stephen's sister [[spoiler:is the hotel concierge who checks him in at the start of the game]].
244	* StartOfDarkness: The bonus chapter is a {{prequel}} which shows how the BigBad was once a good man who became corrupted by his obsession with a Viking artifact called the One Amulet.
245	[[/folder]]
246
247	[[folder:''The Evil Inside'']]
248	* DeadManWriting: James finds messages of this type from some of the members of Rachel's crew, saying that they know they won't make it out alive and whoever finds the message should please help the others. One even contains a DyingDeclarationOfLove for another crew member, who sadly is also dead.
249	* DisappearedDad: Paul, the Ghost Seekers' lighting technician, leaves behind at least two children. We know this because the note James finds from him asks that someone please "tell my children I love them."
250	* FunWithAcronyms: Helping the player this time is P.A.T.R.I.C.K., a hand-held device designed to recognize ghost activity. The acronym stands for Paranormal Activity [=TRacker=] and Interactive Computing Kernel.
251	* HappilyMarried: Alexander and Bella were this when they were alive.
252	* HumanPopsicle: The cameraman of Rachel's crew turns into one of these when he gets locked in the supernaturally frigid billiard room and freezes to death.
253	* IWillFindYou: James makes this promise to Rachel when he arrives and discovers she's in trouble. Luckily for her, he's a {{Determinator}}.
254	* InsideAWall: Where James finds another of the crew.
255	* KarmaHoudini: There's nothing to indicate that the person or people responsible for Bella Valentine's murder were ever brought to justice.
256	* KillItWithFire: [[spoiler:Valentine's final request for James is that he will burn the mansion to the ground.]]
257	* LikeBrotherAndSister: The relationship between James and Rachel seems to be more like that of siblings than cousins. In the bonus chapter, she even has a framed picture on her nightstand of the two of them hugging.
258	* TheLostLenore: Part of the reason Alexander Valentine's spirit awakens when Rachel's team arrives is because Rachel looks exactly like his murdered wife, Bella.
259	* MeaningfulName: James finds considerable evidence throughout the game that in life, Alexander ''Valentine'' was an extremely romantic man who completely adored his wife. Her death utterly destroyed him, leading him to DeathByDespair; James ultimately discovers his corpse in the wine cellar, where he wasted away from heartbreak.
260	* ParanormalInvestigation: It's implied that this is InTheBlood. Not only is James a paranormal researcher in his own right, but his cousin Rachel Collins is a member of the Ghost Seekers team, which investigates haunted locations on television. Like James, Rachel is something of a natural medium, as shown in the bonus chapter.
261	* PastExperienceNightmare: The bonus chapter shows that Rachel is still traumatized by the events of the main game, and suffers from bad dreams about her time in the Hotel Valentine. She calls on James to help her [[spoiler:free the spirits of her friends, who are still trapped in the ruins of the mansion]].
262	* PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo: James is the player character in the main game. He gets this in the bonus chapter, accompanying Rachel back to the Valentine estate but then being absent for much of the action.
263	* SeekingTheMissingFindingTheDead: James arrives at the old Valentine mansion in search of his cousin Rachel and her ghost-hunting friends. He finds them all, but he doesn't find them all alive. [[spoiler:By the end, [[EverybodysDeadDave only Rachel and James himself escape]].]]
264	* StartOfDarkness: Alexander had his when his beloved wife was murdered. In life he was a perfectly nice, normal guy who had no desire to harm anyone; he just wanted to live a quiet life in his family mansion with the woman he passionately adored. Unfortunately, he went off the deep end when Bella was taken from him, and after he himself died, his spirit transformed into a vengeful ghost.
265	* TogetherInDeath: The main game ends with James reuniting the spirits of Alexander and Bella Valentine.
266	[[/folder]]
267
268	[[folder:''Lost Dreams'']]
269	* DotingParent: Whatever else can be said about John Schneider, he truly loves his children.
270	* FeaturelessProtagonist: Averted. Mark, the player character, is seen onscreen a few times.
271	* HappilyMarried: Mark and Jane; the Schneiders were also this prior to the events of the game.
272	* HeroicSacrifice: At the end of the main game, [[spoiler:Dr. Schneider sacrifices himself to save the lives of Mark, Jane, Alice, and Tony.]]
273	* KilledOffForReal: In the bonus chapter, Mark discovers a VideoGame/MysteryTrackers badge belonging to Agent Black. Tony had called on the agency for help, but the unfortunate agent died while trying to save the boy.
274	* TheLostLenore: Dr. Schneider's wife didn't survive the accident that left their children in a mysterious coma. The way he speaks about her to Mark makes it clear that he has never gotten over her loss.
275	* PlaguedByNightmares: In the bonus chapter, which takes place a few months later, the Stuarts visit Alice and Tony and learn that Alice has been suffering from strange dreams in which her father warns her of impending doom. Tony promised to look into the issue... and then disappeared.
276	* StandaloneEpisode: It's one of the three installments in the series which have absolutely no connection to any other installment. It has no characters or locations in common with the rest of the series, and it neither contains any references to other games nor is referenced by any of the other ''Haunted Hotel'' installments.[[note]](However, Schneider's Hotel does return as a location in ''VideoGame/DetectivesUnited: The Darkest Shrine''.)[[/note]]
277	* WellIntentionedExtremist: Dr. John Schneider is hell-bent on reviving his comatose children, Alice and Tony. He's willing to do just about anything, even crash a train and kidnap any survivors.
278	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Mark and Jane are the only crash survivors who were taken by Dr. Schneider... so what happened to everyone else on the train? Were Mark and Jane the only ones who didn't die, or were they just the only ones Schneider kidnapped?
279	* YouWakeUpInARoom: Mark and Jane are on a train heading for their vacation when the train suddenly crashes. When Mark regains consciousness, he's in an unfamiliar room; he has no idea where he is, how he got there, or what happened to his wife.
280	[[/folder]]
281
282	[[folder:''Beyond the Page'']]
283	* DealWithTheDevil: The author makes one of these with an EldritchAbomination from another world, letting it use his hotel to enter our world and torment people in exchange for endless inspiration for his novels.
284	* PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo: James Blackthorne returns as the player's companion once again.
285	* ShoutOut: One line of dialogue from James makes a very obvious shout-out to the ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' books, with James mentioning "the soul artifacts in those wizard boy books you showed me."
286	[[/folder]]
287
288	[[folder:''Room 18'']]
289	* AlliterativeFamily: The player character is John, James Blackthorne's brother.
290	* DueToTheDead: Seen at the end of the main game. [[spoiler:Uncle Samuel creates a memorial stone for his dead friends.]]
291	* FamilyDisunion: A variant. The Blackthorne brothers are lured to the hotel with a fake invitation to a family reunion. They're actually looking forward to the gathering -- James comments that he can't wait to see one particular aunt, because "she always has the best stories!" -- but instead it's just them (and, in the bonus chapter their uncle Samuel), dealing with a mass haunting.
292	* GameWithinAGame: There's a video game machine in the hotel's garden shed where John plays a ''VideoGame/{{Frogger}}'' clone to acquire a needed item.
293	* ImaginaryLoveTriangle[=/=]MistakenForRomance: The hotel owner, Leonard, was in love with Caroline; but when she gently rejected him, he mistakenly believed it was because she was in love with Samuel. She wasn't, nor was Samuel interested in her. She actually just wanted Samuel to get Leonard to leave her alone.
294	* IncendiaryExponent: The hotel burned once, and to purge it of its ghosts, [[spoiler:the Blackthornes must burn it again]].
295	* MisplacedRetribution:
296	** The concierge blames Caroline for the fire that killed everyone in the hotel. This is despite the fact that Caroline was just as much a victim as she was, and it was Leonard who set the fire that killed them -- all because he wouldn't accept the fact that Caroline wasn't interested in him.
297	** Leonard's ghost drags John and James into the situation, planning to get revenge on Samuel's entire family for the supposed betrayal, even though John and James hadn't even been born at the time of Leonard's ill-fated love for Caroline.
298	* StalkerWithACrush: Caroline didn't return Leonard's affections, but she did like him so she didn't outright reject him. However, he became obsessed with her and began stalking her everywhere, which terrified her and she begged Samuel for help.
299	* StrongFamilyResemblance: In one puzzle, John finds a picture of Uncle Samuel as a young man, shaking hands with Leonard. Young Samuel looked a lot like James.
300	[[/folder]]
301
302	[[folder:''Lost Time'']]
303	* InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals: All of the maids in the hotel look almost exactly alike; this is helped by the fact that their uniform includes a sort of wimple which completely hides their hair.
304	* PerilousMarriageProposal: By the end of the game, [[spoiler:time has gone so completely haywire in the hotel that both James and Jessica are physically about 90 years old and on the verge of death. He proposes anyway and she accepts, which thankfully is what's needed to undo the curse on the hotel and bring them back to their proper forms.]]
305	* {{Prequel}}: The bonus chapter is this to the main game, showing how the hotel came to be haunted in the specific way that it is.
306	* UnseenNoMore: This is the first appearance of James's girlfriend Jessica. She had never been mentioned in any of the previous ''Haunted Hotel'' games, but players of both series might remember her being brought up in the bonus chapter of ''Detectives United: Origins''.
307	* WithThisRing: James intends to propose to his girlfriend Jessica while they're on vacation at the resort, and the ring is in his inventory for nearly the entire game.
308	[[/folder]]
309
310	[[folder:''A Past Redeemed'']]
311	* BilingualBonus: Overlapping with ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. The game takes place at a location called the Hotel del Pasado. In Spanish, this literally means "the last hotel" -- and as the bonus chapter shows, this is indeed the last haunted hotel that James investigates.
312	* ContinuityNod: James's cousin Rachel and the ghost of Alexander Valentine, both of whom appeared in ''The Evil Inside'', return for this storyline. There's also an ominous eclipse on the day of the events, as a nod to James's debut appearance in ''Eclipse''.
313	* GoIntoTheLight: James is needed to help several earthbound spirits do this. In the bonus chapter, one of them was somehow left behind, and becomes the player character; he has to find James and figure out a way to ask for his help.
314	* HappilyMarried: The bonus chapter shows that the newlyweds have settled down in California and are quite content.
315	* PreviousPlayerCharacterCameo: James's cousin Rachel was the player character for the bonus chapter of ''The Evil Inside''. She returns here as the bride's maid of honor, but is absent for much of the game, making her this trope.
316	* SeriesFinale: This is the final ''Haunted Hotel'' game.
317	* StrangelySpecificHoroscope: An extremely (and oddly) detailed palm reading is the catalyst for the events of the game.
318	* TimeSkip: It's explicitly stated to be taking place six months after the previous game.
319	* WeddingFinale: This is the final game in the series, and it centers around James and Jessica's wedding.
320	[[/folder]]

Context VideoGame / HauntedHotel