''Ben Jordan: Paranormal Investigator'' is a series of eight {{freeware|Games}} [[AdventureGame point'n'click adventures]] by Francisco "Grundislav" Gonzalez. It details the adventures of the eponymous hero, a young man from Philadelphia, as he travels around the world solving supernatural crimes, each part being a separate case.

Along the way he meets Simon Booth — a British ghost hunter — and Alice Wilkins — a parapsychology student from California — who accompany him on his later cases.

After a while, though, it becomes apparent that it is not just a coincidence that Ben has been getting so many cases during his short career…

The eight games are:
* Case 1: In Search of the Skunk-Ape
* Case 2: The Lost Galleon of the Salton Sea
* Case 3: The Sorceress of Smailholm
* Case 4: Horror at Number 50
* Case 5: Land of the Rising Dead
* Case 6: Scourge of the Sea People
* Case 7: The Cardinal Sins
* Case 8: Relics of the Past

Grundislav's original website is now defunct, but the entire series can be downloaded from his [[https://itch.io/c/199280/ben-jordan-paranormal-investigator-series itch.io page.]]

There is also a short film based on the series called ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPGSrfa0oD8 Ben Jordan: Le Château Macabre]]'' (revealed to have taken place after one of Case 8's possible endings), starring Francisco Gonzalez himself as Ben Jordan. Another film, ''Ben Jordan Must Die'', is in production from the same cast and crew.

See also Gonzalez's other Adventure Games, ''VideoGame/{{Shardlight}}'', ''VideoGame/LamplightCity'', and ''A Golden Wake''.
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!!The games use the following tropes:

* AcceptableBreaksFromReality: If the Osaka Police department worked the way a police department ''REALLY'' did, Ben would probably have not only been '''a)''' Probably turned away before he could do anything, '''b)''' have had a ''LOT'' harder time obtaining evidence if he wasn't turned away, and '''c)''' would have made for a boring game. This is later [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] and {{justified|Trope}} in Case 8 - apparently, [[spoiler: Percy]] has the ability to sway people's wills and has been doing so to help Ben on his adventures.
* ArtEvolution: Most evident with the character portraits.
* [[spoiler:BabiesEverAfter]]: A possible ending to Case 8.
* BigBad: Kind of split between [[spoiler:Cardinal Genovese]], who is [[DiabolicalMastermind directly responsible]] for every paranormal danger Ben has had to confront, and Zortherus, a powerful strigoi with [[FamilialFoe a close vendetta against Ben's family]] (though Ben only faces him once, and he mostly figures into the backstory).
* BigfootSasquatchAndYeti: Case 1 has Ben searching for the Skunk-Ape in the Everglades.
* BiggerOnTheInside: [[spoiler:"The Horror", in Case 4, traps Ben and Simon in a place like this. And it has no obvious exit.]]
* BigGood: [[spoiler:Percy turns out to be an angel-like entity tasked with protecting Ben.]]
* BilingualBonus[=/=]GratuitousSpanish: The ghost captain in the Case 2 remake speaks actual, proper Spanish, though it can be somewhat difficult to understand with the heavy reverb effect.
* BittersweetEnding:
** [[spoiler:Case 3. Sure, Ben might have stopped the witches of Smailholm, but his love interest, Mary, is dead and is going to haunt him for many {{Dream Sequence}}s to come]].
** [[spoiler:If Ben kills Genovese in Case 8, Alice abandons him forever.]]
* BrickJoke:
** The prospector loans Ben his car near the end of Case 2, which winds up crashed. When it's all done, the prospector asks where his car is. Cue OhCrap from Ben.
** In the remake of Case 2 Ben gives the car to another person to give him the chance to escape from his former life, but the result is the same.
** The person from "Bean There Done That" mentions that there are no other places hiring. Much later in Case 5, he shows up working for Yamamoto's corporation, and then shows up again as a receptionist for the TV station.
* BusmansHoliday:
** Case 6 starts out as a vacation.
** Likewise in the movie Ben's on vacation in France when someone tells him they've seen a ghost, and he decides to investigate.
* CastingGag: in Case 7 and 8, Percival Quentin Jones is voiced by Chris ''Jones'', the creator of the Adventure Game Studio the series was made with.
* {{Confessional}}: One appears in Case 7. Ben can confess to [[IdleAnimation many]] [[KleptomaniacHero silly]] [[TryEverything "sins"]] he has committed over the course of the series.
* {{Cliffhanger}}/DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Case 7. Simon is killed, Ben is taken captive by Percy who turns out be TheMole, and Alice has mysteriously disappeared.]]
* CrueltyIsTheOnlyOption: To solve one of the early puzzles in Case 6, [[spoiler: you have to get a guy arrested and steal his camera. ''Just so a local will tell you a good tourist destination'']].
* DarkerAndEdgier: While first two episodes are pretty lighthearted, the series takes a slightly darker turn around Case 3. Case 1 and 2 has since then been remade to fit with the atmosphere of the later games.
* DeadGuyJunior: In the [[spoiler:BabiesEverAfter best ending]].
* DevelopersForesight:
** You actually get a lot of messages for touching things, such as if you use the "touch" icon on yourself Ben gussies himself up a bit.
** You can actually tell Ben to eat a pufferfish that is obviously not safe in Case 5.
** Use the "Touch" icon on a priest in Case 8, and you'll get a message saying [[BlackComedy "Shouldn't that be the other way around?"]]
* [[spoiler:TheDogWasTheMastermind]]: The literal version of this appears as a secret ending to Case 8.
* DoingInTheWizard: [[spoiler:Case 5]] is presented as the only case without a supernatural element, with the main threat being [[spoiler:{{Voodoo Zombie}}s created through non-supernatural means.]] However, this is retroactively {{subverted|Trope}} in Case 8, where [[spoiler: Percy tells Ben that there ''was'' some supernatural activity he just wasn't aware of - namely, the appearance of an {{Oni}} which helped Yamamoto put his evil plan together.]]
* AFeteWorseThanDeath: [[spoiler:The whole endgame scenario of Case 3.]]
* FantasyKitchenSink: Skunk-apes, ghosts, witches, zombies, demons... Most obvious with Case 6, which introduces elements of Myth/ClassicalMythology.
* FishPeople: The villains in Case 6. [[spoiler:It turns out, however, that the real ''and benevolent'' Fish People had died out a long time ago, and the real monster is a creature of which even they were afraid.]]
* FlatWhat: When Ben tries to get into Bianchi's apartment by saying, "It's-a-Me! The pope!", Bianchi gives him one.
* GameShow: Ben gets involved in one in Japan.
* GodhoodSeeker: The BigBad's plan in Case 8.
* GuideDangIt:
** In Case 3, it's not immediately clear what to do to achieve the [[BittersweetEnding "best" ending]], which is also considered the canon one right from the very next episode.
** In Case 8, you could not guess that ''not'' doing a certain action at some point is needed to get two more possible endings. Although the game gives a subtle hint by [[spoiler:autosaving at that point]].
** Good luck finding out how to access the secret ending of Case 8.
* IdiotBall: Ben picks up one in Case 8 when he hands a relic over to a member of the clergy. Ben, the Knights of St. Anthony are ''involved'' in the Clergy.... Slightly justified in that Ben didn't know that the crypts are normally not open to the public.
* ImprovisedWeapon:
** Ben's quite fond of these. Objects he has used to defeat his enemies include: [[spoiler:a table with some cocaine on it, a crowbar, a sharp hook on a rope, part of a drain pipe, a camera, a customized vacuum cleaner, a rusty old trident, a 2000-year old amulet with a demon trapped in it, and a statue of Atlas. Oh, and [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg a stolen gun]].]]
** In Case 8, [[spoiler: Arthur and Percy]] use [[spoiler: a piece of wood with some brambles on it, a fire poker and a fire extinguisher]] to put a few bad guys out of action.
* InformedFlaw: In the ''Chateau Macabre'', Ben thinks Percival's "really let himself go." He looks just as healthy and a good deal younger than he does in the games.
* KarmaHoudini: Max, the [[spoiler:Knight of St. Anthony responsible for killing Simon]], walks away scot-free in the Case 8 finale, albeit after Ben convinces him to give up his life of thuggery. [[spoiler:Actually {{subverted|Trope}}: [[WordOfGod a comment left by Francisco Gonzalez]] [[https://www.youtube.com/all_comments?v=vvsNO82WZLQ on the last video of hercrabbiness's LP series of the games]] reveals that there was a scrapped part of the WhereAreTheyNow ending that revealed he was hit by a car as he walked away from Notre Dame.]]
* TheManyDeathsOfYou: There are very few ways to actually die in the series, but at least the deaths make sense.
* TheMovie: The FanFilm ''Le Chateau Macabre'', to be joined by ''Ben Jordan Must Die'' in the future.
* MultipleEndings: Case 3 has two, although only one is canon. Case 8 has four plus a silly secret one.
* Mystical108: Conveniently, Case 5 is set in Japan... and the most points you can get? 108. Coincidence?
* MythArc: Though you won't notice that there is one until Case 7 unless you pick up on the hints.
* NeverAcceptedInHisHometown: Ben's family not understanding his job is somewhere between a RunningGag and a Running Pain In The Ass.
* OurVampiresAreDifferent: Sighisoara, the village of Vlad the Impaler made popular by Bram Stoker's novel, has some problems with vampires - it's just that they are a bit different from your usual Dracula.
* OurZombiesAreDifferent: The murdering zombies in Case 5 turns out to be [[spoiler:people who have been poisoned by tetrodotoxin from blowfish sushi, just enough for them to [[OnlyMostlyDead appear dead for a couple of days]] and still be confused enough to be receptive to orders when they awoke]].
* PredatoryBusiness: "Bean There, Done that".
* TheRemake: Case 1 was later remade into the Deluxe Edition, which has better graphics, more puzzles, an extended storyline and voice acting. Done again with Case 2, whose second act (the locations around the Salton Sea) has completely different locales, characters and puzzles compared to the original.
* SadlyMythtaken: Simon describes Sirens as taking the form of a beautiful maiden and causing sailors to go mad with desire, jumping off their ships to get to them. When they got close, the Sirens would reveal their true form and eat them. In Simon's version, Odysseus tied himself to the mast and plugged his ears with wax, but he's wee bit off: in ''Literature/TheOdyssey'', it was the rest of the crew who plugged their ear with wax, while Odysseus tripped out on the Siren's songs, after they'd tied him to said mast. Not to mention, Sirens didn't ''eat'' sailors, they just lured them to the rocks.
* ShaggyDogStory: [[spoiler:Turns out Ben shouldn’t have bothered with his last two cases.]]
* ShoutOut:
** When they confront the ghost in Case 4 Ben says he was half-expecting a [[VideoGame/ChzoMythos skeleton with an apron and machete]].
** In Case 1 (Deluxe maybe), there's a reference to ''VideoGame/LauraBow'' with picking stuff up and "putting it in your purse". The music that plays when examining a victim of the skunk-ape is also the same as in the second ''Laura Bow'' game.
** Also in Case 4, one of the books on the bookshelf in the lobby is ''Literature/HouseOfLeaves'' by Mark Z. Danielewski. Later, a [[{{Foreshadowing}} door appears]] upstairs where there was no door before...
** When Ben meets someone standing outside an apartment building in Case 7, he asks if there's been a [[VideoGame/TheBlackwellSeries doorman strike]].
** One of the office doors in the Basilica in Case 7 is labeled [[Creator/UmbertoEco "U. Eco"]].
** The maze on Minotaur Island in Case 6 is almost blatantly inspired by the minotaur's maze in VideoGame/KingsQuestVI. Biggest difference is that this time the minotaur's been quite dead for a while.
** Try touching people for no reason in Case 8, and in one out of three possible messages the game will chastise you for acting like Hercrabbiness, who [[RunningGag whenever she plays these games, uses the "touch" icon on everything]].
** The humorous secret ending of Case 8 is lifted straight from [[spoiler:''VideoGame/SilentHill2'', precisely the [[TheDogWasTheMastermind dog ending]]]].
** Two to WebAnimation/HomestarRunner:
*** The computer in the original version of Case 1 is labelled "Compy 386".
*** In Case 3, Wilma's house is described as being "a thatched-roof cottage, suitable for burnination".
* ShownTheirWork:
** Case 5 features zombies who leave fingerprints at the scene of their crimes. When Ben asks the detective if they can find anyone linked to the fingerprints, he mentions that unless they match someone who is already in the database, they can't include them as a suspect, or pin them to the crime. Forensics aren't magic, after all.
** Also in Case 5, the zombies are [[spoiler: [[VoodooZombie people poisoned to a near death-like state and made open to suggestion]]]]. As it turns out, this [[spoiler: actually happened to [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clairvius_Narcisse Clairvius Narcisse]] in Haiti]].
** Even though the details about the siren are a bit wrong, the mermaid-like figure is actually quite a common interpretation.
* SinisterMinister: [[spoiler:Cardinal Genovese]] and many of the [[spoiler:Knights of St. Anthony]] are members of the clergy.
* ThrivingGhostTown: Many of the towns Ben visits are practically ghost towns. Several of them are pretty much meant to be small towns. Even lampshaded in ''2'', where the person working at "Bean There Done That" says that there really aren't that many other jobs. (Medicine Man, Grocer, and Bartender are all taken.)
* TownWithADarkSecret: Smailholm. [[spoiler:All of its inhabitants are witches.]]
* TrouserSpace: "You pick up the chain and somehow manage to fit the entire thing into your pants."
* TheUnfavourite: Even though it's not really that bad, Ben's relationship with his parents still has strong vibes of this.
* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment:
** Hey Ben, eat that blowfish. Yeah, we're told it's extremely poisonous! Do it! Game over!
** Say Ben, try touching that Siren...
** Yes Ben, by Case 8 you've been through a lot. Drink a little something to drown your sorrows for a little while, you have earned it! And while you are at it, why don't you have another one for the other leg? And how about one more for the road? And then one more...
* VirginSacrifice: Case 3.
* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: At the end of Case 8.
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