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Main Characters
Ann
My name is Ann. I'm a freshman at Delta Academy of Arts majoring in Digital Arts. My classes ended for the day, but I found myself returning to the campus as I have left my USB flash drive at school.
A digital art student who found herself trapped inside her school and must find a way out to survive.
- Abandon the Disabled: She was left in an orphanage as a child by both of her parents when they couldn't deal with her autistic traits.
- Book Dumb: Justified. Due to an implied learning disorder, Ann had trouble learning and retaining information as a child.
- Dark and Troubled Past: She had Abusive Parents who would fight with each other regularly and was eventually dumped in an orphanage when they split.
- Heroic Mime: Zigzagged. She doesn't speak out loud, but we do see her thoughts in parentheses.
- Hollywood Autism: She displays textbook symptoms of the Autistic Spectrum as a child.
- Only One Name: Doesn't have any surnames, due to being abandoned by her parents.
- Orphanage of Love: A hidden cutscene reveals she's loved by the orphanage staff, giving her the care her parents never gave her and encouraging her to go to art college. They're even worried for her during her absence at the school.
Security Guard (spoilers)
To whoever is reading this, keep calm and don't panic. I am a security guard working for this school.
A mysterious person Ann met after escaping the piano department.
- Deuteragonist: He is the secondary focus of the game as the one who helps Ann escape the school.
- Expy: Seems to be a fairly straightforward combination of Garry and Mary from Ib, another RPG maker game. Like Garry, he is a helpful older figure who is physically stronger than the protagonist, can sometimes be controlled independently and is also looking for a way out the building. One of the endings of the game is reminiscent of A Forgotten Portrait, with Security becoming a painting on display like Garry, and Ann forgetting the whole experience. (At least at first.) However, like Mary, he is secretly an artwork, hiding this fact from Ann throughout the game, with a few hints towards it. One of the endings includes his painting being burned resulting in his 'death,' as is Mary's painting in some endings of Ib.
- Heroic Sacrifice: He helps to dispel the curse on the school, despite knowing it will cause him to go back to being an inanimate painting, because making sure people are safe is his purpose.
- His Name Really Is "Barkeep": Played for Drama variant. He tells Ann that his name is not important and to just call him Security, which is what everyone calls him. It turns out that Security is his actual name, because he is really a Living Drawing.
- Living Drawing: He is a painting come to life thanks to the school's curse. In particular, he is a painting of a security guard, and in keeping with what he depicts, he spends his time protecting humans who wander into the cursed school away from the curse.
- Token Good Teammate: He is the only one of Hana's spirits who refuses to help her trap innocent people in the school, instead offering to help whoever wanders in.
- True Final Boss: Getting the Golden Ending requires you to trigger a fight with him after beating Hana, then escape from him.
Spirits of the School
General
The spirits haunting the school after 9 PM.
- Black Eyes of Evil: Just about all of the major spirits/bosses have pitch-black eyes.
- Co-Dragons: The three chaser spirits all have the same amount of importance under Hana, and help her hunt her victims.
- Post-Final Boss: In the Golden Ending path, after defeating Security, you will have to face Hana's Co-Dragons — Failure, Myra, and Charles — one last time, along with an army of minions. However, the first half of the fight is a maze which is easier than the battles that came before, with only Failure and slow-moving enemies as threats, and you cannot lose the second half as Security will insta-kill any enemy that touches him.
- Vengeful Ghost: Just about all of them were once normal until some tragedy occurred that turned them into spirits.
Hana Itagaki
Principal... I will kill you... I will kill you... I will kill you... I will kill you... I will kill you... You... And this school...
The spirit who runs the haunted school. Once a normal student, she mysteriously disappeared one night, and now haunts the school after midnight, raging at the school.
- Bad Boss: In the Golden Path, she threatens to kill her subordinates if they fail to capture Ann and Security again.
- Big Bad: She is responsible for turning the school into a nightmarish landscape at midnight, turning simple objects into hostile entities and trapping unsuspected people before deforming their appearances. However, Hana turns out to be a Vengeful Ghost whom wants to get revenge on her killer — the principal — but sadly vented her anger at the whole school as well.
- Final Boss: You have to complete her chase sequence to view most of the endings.
- Heel–Face Turn: In the Golden Ending, when Ann and Security lure the principal to the school and let Hana enact her revenge on him, she releases her curse on the school.
- Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl: She haunts the school at night and even has a Japanese name in contrast to the otherwise American names, making her appear to be a Japanese immigrant. Like most, she also has a backstory about being wronged by a man that turned her into a spirit seeking revenge on the living; specifically, the principal killed her for witnessing him exchanging sex for good grades.
- Vengeful Ghost: She was strangled by the principal for witnessing him having sex with Clara, and now haunts the school looking for her killer.
- Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: She was once a normal girl, until she was strangled to death by the principal for witnessing him having sex with Clara, turning her into a Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl out for revenge.
Myra Hess
Listen, I know you are confused about what is going on with the school, but you need to get out of here. Now.
A spirit haunting the Piano Department. She is a gifted piano player.
- The Ace: Of the Piano Department. Unfortunately this makes her less talented classmates resent her.
- Affably Evil: To the extent that she could be called evil. Upon first meeting Ann, she is friendly and gives Ann directions on how to escape. It's only when Myra realizes the truth behind why she ended up there (Ivy drugged her to steal her music and unintentionally left her for dead) that she goes berserk.
- Apologetic Attacker:
- In the Post-Final Boss, she pushes a piano at Ann and then immediately apologizes for doing so.I am sorry... I didn't want to hurt you but Hana said she is going to kill us if we don't bring you to her...
- She even apologizes to the principal for trapping him in the school with Hana just before the Vengeful Ghost of Hana kills him.Sorry, principal...
- In the Post-Final Boss, she pushes a piano at Ann and then immediately apologizes for doing so.
- Dark Is Not Evil: She may be a Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl, but she's pretty docile as long as you aren't Ivy.
- Friendly Ghost: She is nice to Ann and even tries to help her escape. She only attacks Ann when she loses control of herself in a Freak Out and when forced to by Hana.
- Heel–Face Turn: In the Golden Ending, she and Charles agree to help appease Hana and dispel the curse on the school so they can finally be free.
- Horrible Judge of Character: She's completely oblivious about how much her classmates envy her. A hidden cutscene reveals she's unaware of Ivy's animosity towards her, even considering her a friend.
- Minion with an F in Evil: She serves Hana and is supposed to help capture innocent students at the school, but she's far more interested in playing her piano. She only attacks Ann at first in the middle of a Freak Out, and later because Hana threatened to kill her if she doesn't — she even apologizes to Ann.
- Nice Girl: She's immensely polite and kind, only attacking when having a Freak Out over the worst moment in her life (which led directly to her death) or when forced by Hana.
- Only Mostly Dead: She and Charles are stuck in a state of undeath of sorts where, despite resembling spirits, neither are actually dead. When the curse on the school is lifted, they go back to being normal humans.
- Token Good Teammate: While she is willing to attack Ann unlike Security and Success, she is reluctant to do so, only attacking when in the middle of a Freak Out or under threat of death by Hana. Otherwise, she'd much rather just play her piano.
- Save the Villain: In a hidden scene, she saves Ivy, the Alpha Bitch who stole her song and got her trapped in the haunted school in the first place, from Hana.
- Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl: She has this appearance, despite not quite being one like Hana is, as the person who wronged her in life was another woman.
- Vengeful Ghost: She was a gifted piano player who was constructing a particularly fantastic song for a contest, but Ivy drugged her, left her in the school (without realizing that it turns haunted after midnight), and took credit for the song, which ended up winning. Now she spends her days playing piano and raging at the injustice.
- Warmup Boss: She is the boss of the first area. It was originally going to be Solitary who served as the tutorial boss, but they were scrapped.
Success
A spirit haunting the Sculpting Department. It is a statue of a bird-like head. Unlike Failure, it is a friend of Security and tries to help Ann escape.
- Living Statue: Like Failure, it is a sentient statue.
- Ironic Name: It won the sculpture competition, giving it the name Success, but is considered by museum-goers to be hideous, and only won the contest because its creator slept with the principal in exchange for letting her statue win.
- Token Good Teammate: Along with Security, it is the only spirit who never tries to harm Ann and actually helps her escape.
Failure
There's a reason why my creator called me a "failure". Don't even try to fix me!
A spirit haunting the Sculpting Department. It is a broken statue lying in one of the halls.
- Living Statue: It is a statue — or what remains of it — made by a sculptor who created it for a competition.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: The True Ending shows James going back to the Sculpting Department with the intent of repairing the statue, hinting Failure might have a chance to be put back at last.
- Ironic Name: It is a perfectly-symmetrical statue that, in-universe, is the best of the sculptures made for the contest, and would have won easily, but lost to a vastly inferior statue because the creator of the ugly statue slept with the principal. It is called Failure because that's what James, its creator, called it as he trashed it in rage.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Ann and Security offer to help put it back together again with some clay. In response, it chases them, trying to kill them.
- Vengeful Ghost: It was originally just a normal statue created by James for a contest, but ended up losing to a far inferior statue whose creator slept with the principal in exchange for being made the winner. James called his statue a failure and destroyed it in response, causing it to become an angry spirit.
Charles Worth
- What do I want? I just want to play... And wear her clothes!
A spirit haunting the Fashion Department. He is a spider-like creature with a humanoid head and a love of fashion.
- Creepy Crossdresser: As a spirit, he expresses the desire to wear Ann's clothes and tries to trap her in the school forever so he can do that.
- The Fashionista: A rare male example; he rules over the Fashion Department in the haunted school, and loves fashion so much that the reason he ended up becoming a spirit in the first place was that he snuck into the school after the curfew to try on some outfits and continue playing with them, and became a victim of the hauntings.
- "Get Back Here!" Boss: His challenge is a game of hide-and-seek; he will move to one side of a hallway full of Murderous Mannequins, and you must find him. When you do, he will promptly run to the other side of the hall, and you will have to locate him a few times.
- Heel–Face Turn: In the Golden Ending, he and Myra agree to help appease Hana and dispel the curse on the school so they can finally be free.
- Only Mostly Dead: He and Myra are stuck in a state of undeath of sorts where, despite resembling spirits, neither are actually dead. When the curse on the school is lifted, they go back to being normal humans.
- Sissy Villain: He loves fashion to the point of obsession and has somewhat flamboyant speech. He is also a malevolent spirit who kidnaps humans for his boss Hana to imprison their souls, and likes to "play" with them. Of course, even after his Heel–Face Turn, there is no indication he stops being a fashionista.
- Spider People: As a spirit, he has a pale white human head attached to some spider legs.
- Wholesome Crossdresser: As a human, he liked to put on clothes of all kinds, and is seen in flashback trying out a skirt — he's also pretty friendly. It crosses over into Creepy Crossdresser when he becomes a spirit and expresses a desire to wear Ann's clothes.
Solitary
A scrapped spirit that was to serve as the tutorial boss. It is a shadow blob that exists inside a computer.
- Warmup Boss: It would have been the tutorial boss who chased Ann in the computer room and hallway.
Other Spirits
The enemies of the game, an army of inanimate objects who haunt the halls.
- Animate Inanimate Object: They are all living versions of the inanimate objects in the Delta Academy of Arts. They range from living pianos, Living Statues, Murderous Mannequins, and Living Drawings.
- Living Statue: The Sculpting Department spirits are this, ranging from busts to giant chess piece statues.
- Murderous Mannequin: The inhabitants of the Fashion department are headless mannequins with snake-like arms who attack Ann.
Humans (spoilers)
The Principal
She needed some help with her grades and finances. We made a deal, that's all. Everything is consensual.
The head of the Delta Academy of Arts. He is the one who instituted the 9 PM curfew to keep students away from the hauntings in the school that occur at midnight. As revealed, he is also the one who killed Hana Itagaki for witnessing him having sex with Clara in exchange for good grades and threatening to expose it — which he has also done with many other students.
- Asshole Victim: He is deliberately made a detestable scumbag who pressured female students into having sex with him in exchange for favors like good grades and killed Hana to keep this secret, so that when Ann has to lure him to the school and sacrifice him to Hana to release the curse, it comes across as karma.
- Bald of Evil: He is bald and a corrupt principal who trades sex for favors like good grades, and is willing to murder one of his own students to keep her from leaking his secret.
- Chekhov's Gunman: He initially only appears in the prologue as a minor NPC and vanishes after, only being mentioned by Security. However, he is revealed to be the one who killed Hana, turning her into a Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl and the antagonist of the game.
- Even Evil Has Standards: He's a self-serving scumbag who indirectly brought about the plot with an act of manslaughter, turning his victim into a Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl, and has zero self-reflection about this, but does genuinely want to prevent students from getting stuck in the haunted school, personally makes rounds to make sure people aren't still inside, and to his credit, does show up in the best ending when Ann calls for help. This is all a drop in the bucket compared to every horrible thing he's done, and likely on some level to be covering his own ass, but it's something.
- Evil All Along: He is initially portrayed as the Big Good who keeps students from staying at the school after 9 PM to protect them from the spirits haunting it. In truth, the hauntings are his fault because he murdered Hana to stop her from revealing that he sleeps with his students for favors.
- Evil Principal: He is willing to trade sexual favors for good grades, victory in school contests, and other such things, while being uncaring of the students who don't do as well despite turning in better work. He also murders Hana to keep her from leaking his dirty secret.
- Greater-Scope Villain: His murder of Hana for witnessing his Sextra Credit deal with Clara is what turned Hana into the Big Bad who haunts the school. He himself mostly stays out of the plot and only appears in the beginning and end.
- Hate Sink: Manipulating students into having sex with him and murdering the girl that caught him in the act… Hana may be the Big Bad, but the actual villain is the Principal.
- I Didn't Mean to Kill Him: Although not cornered by anyone in particular, just after strangling Hana to death, he says to himself that he did not actually mean to kill her, and that it was basically a spur-of-the-moment thing. It does not make her spirit any less mad when he tells this to her directly.I am sorry! Okay? I didn't mean to do it!
- More Hateable Minor Villain: The Principal, despite his few appearances, is revealed to be the one who turned Hana Itakagi into the Stringy-Haired Ghost Girl who haunts the Delta Academy of Arts. He would trade sex with his students for good grades and other favors, pressuring students into the deal, and when Hana caught him doing it with her best friend, she confronted him, leading him to strangle her to cover it up. He then tells her spirit that its all her fault for not keeping quiet. Though he never directly antagonizes Ann, he is the indirect cause of all the suffering in the game, and when Ann sacrifices him to Hana to quell her rage, nobody mourns him.
- Never My Fault: After murdering Hana for catching him trading sex for favors with students, he has the gall to tell her spirit that it's her fault she died, because she didn't let him get away with his abuse of power.It… it wasn't my fault! You could've walked away, and none of this would've happened!
- Would Hit a Girl: He strangles Hana to death to keep her from leaking his secret sex deals with students.
Ivy
As of now, she seemed so... Perfect and flawless. A good student who does all her work and excels at everything. What if we change that?
A student in the Music Department with a rivalry towards Myra. She stole Myra's piano song to insert it in the contest and win.
- Alpha Bitch: She and her followers express hatred for Myra for being a better musician, which drives her to steal Myra's piano song to use in the competition. Deconstructed; her classmates, who had previously joined her in resenting Myra, find this way too far and downright contemptible.
- Hate Sink: While not as bad as the Principal, there is still nothing redeemable about her; there’s a good reason why even a Nice Girl like Myra hates her.
- Hero of Another Story: A hidden cutscene reveals she went to the school at night in order to search for the missing Myra, only to end up trapped in the ghost school. Myra saves her an brings her home before Hana catches her, with Ivy forgetting what happened afterwards.
- Green-Eyed Monster: What drove her to stole Myra's song.
- Karma Houdini: She took the credit for Myra's piano song and got away with it. Downplayed, as her classmates quickly realized it was stolen and now look at Ivy with scorn; it's heavily implied, even, that by the shared timing of this and Myra's disappearance, they think Ivy killed her. Especially in the Good Ending, when Myra is brought back to life and recognizes her stolen song...
- My God, What Have I Done?: A hidden cutscene reveals she felt inmense guilt for what she did to Myra. It's unknown if this is genuine regret or she just wants to clear her name though.
- White Hair, Black Heart: She has white hair and, while not quite evil, is an Alpha Bitch who drugged Myra and stole her piano song to insert in the competition.
James
A sculptor who created the "Success" statue.
- Creator Backlash: In-Universe, when he learns that his lovingly constructed, perfectly symmetrical statue was rejected for the contest in favor of a much uglier statue (because the creator slept with the principal), he trashes his statue and calls it a failure. The statue then comes to life and spends its time hating itself for failing its creator.
- Expy: He looks like an older version of Shigeo "Mob" Kageyama.
- My God, What Have I Done?: In the Good Ending, he finds out about the principal's deeds and regrets having destroyed his statue, admitting it was a good piece after all.
Clara
A girl who was a friend of Hana.
- Small Role, Big Impact: She only appears in a single flashback and in the epilogue, but her sleeping with the principal, and Hana witnessing this and getting killed by the principal to keep it from leaking, is the reason why Hana became a Vengeful Ghost, kicking off the plot.
- A hidden cutscene also reveals that she is Security's creator, thus inadvertently giving Ann the ally she needed.
