Nightmare Fuel / Identity V

Considering that this is a Survival Horror game, it should come as no surprise that this page exists.

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

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Main Game and Gameplay

• From a Survivor's perspective, going against Yidhra/The Dream Witch. As she is invisible,they have no idea where she could possibly be and where she could attack from. Fortunately though, the feeling can be mitigated if one is playing as Eli Clark/The Seer or Helena Adams/The Mind's Eye as they can see the Hunter's location at the start of the match.

Survivor Backstories/Deductions

• A number of the backstories of both the Survivors are both fairly disturbing and quite depressing.
  • Freddy Riley/The Lawyer ruined Leo Beck/The Hell Ember's life, tricking him into buying a factory with a large debt and tearing his family apart in the process. After being forced to put his beloved daughter Lisa (Emma Woods/The Gardner) in an orphanage, Leo attempted to commit suicide by burning down the factory while he was still inside it. Freddy's reasons for doing all of this? He wanted to have Leo's wife for himself.
  • Kreacher Pierson/The Thief, in the past, presented himself as a kindly philanthropist in charge of a local orphanage. Quite a large number of the children in the orphanage, however, possessed some sort of physical disability (with one of Kreacher's deductions implying that they may have had parts of their body mutilated or chopped off, possibly by Kreacher himself) and, upon being tested by representatives from the local church, all of the children were found to possess some form of mental disorder. While the role Kreacher played in all of this is unclear, it does make you rethink his apparent redeeming characteristics.
    • Word of God has since confirmed that Kreacher was not responsible for the children's disabilities. Feelings of horror can still be conjured, however, when one wonders just how each of the children ended up crippled.
    • Further analysis, likewise, implies that the Church gaining custody of the children may not have actually been a ray of hope, but instead a case of From Bad to Worse...
  • Servais Le Roy/The Magician was the apprentice/assistant of a famous magician, who was reluctant to let Servais perform tricks on stage. In retaliation, Servais murderered his mentor, in order to inherit his role and reputation.
    • However it should be noted that Servais' Character Day letter casts the cause of his mentor's death into doubt.
  • Kurt Frank/The Explorer is a famous adventurer, and charismatic storyteller, who has spent his life travelling all over the world. Or so he believes. In truth, Kurt is a former inmate of the White Sand Street Asylum, whose "adventures" are heavily implied to have actually been delusions produced by his schizophrenia-inflicted mind. This can also be classified as a Tearjerker.
  • Vera Nair/The Perfumer (actually Chloe Nair) murdered her twin sister and stole her identity, under the mistaken belief that her sister was stealing her life's work and patenting it off as her own. In truth the real Vera had actually been trying to help her sister. Chloe is horrified when she finds out the truth after reading her sister's diary.
  • Aesop Carl/The Embalmer, following his mother's funeral, was taken in by an elderly embalmer named Jerry Carl. Jerry was actually a Serial Killer, who believed it was his duty to help people "pass on" to the next life (whether they wanted to or not). Jerry would spend years brainwashing and grooming Aesop to follow in his footsteps. The fact that Aesop later killed him in the same way Jerry had killed his victims, all while claiming to finally understand the "role" his mentor played, implies that he succeeded...
    • In his 2021 Character Day letter, it is revealed that he is planning on killing Victor Grantz/The Postman.
  • Norton Campbell/The Prospector was a hardworking and charming miner who ended up scarred and traumatised after being left the sole survivor of a mining accident. In truth, Norton himself, inadvertently, caused the accident (bringing down the mine and getting his fellow miners killed) while searching for a large amount of gold that was rumoured to be located somewhere in the mine.
  • Murro/The Wildling spent ten years of his life in a cage, completely devoid of human contact, apart from the occasional visits by his uncle Bernard, the ringmaster of Hullabaloo Circus (who is heavily implied to have locked Murro in the cage in the first place). After finally being let out of the cage, Murro was advertised as a feral child that Bernard had found living in the woods, and was forced to perform death-defying stunts while riding a boar. Also doubles as a Tearjerker.
    • Even after escaping from the circus, his life didn't get any better. While waiting to participate in a game held at Oletus Manor, Murro disappeared (allegedly jumping out of a window in his room and running off into the forest). His beloved boar companion was later found dead outside the manor. Murro's fate, and the role the other survivors played in his disappearance and/or the death of his boar is currently unclear.
  • Murro's Character Day Letter reveals that Mike was a frequent customer of what appeared to be an organisation specialising in assassination. His comments about being unable to locate the cranial remains of an unspecified individual, and the fact that man he contacted (Arthur Russel) had previously been implied to research supernatural oddities, doesn't make things look good for Murro, nor does it appear to paint Mike in a very good light. Although the file letters reveal that Mike actually had nothing to do with Murro's death.
  • Victor Grantz/The Postman is implied to have been involved with a criminal organization, who used his role as a postman to traffic goods. A police officer, with an unclear connection to the organization, was later murdered when the organization (or possibly Victor himself) burned down his place of residence. Victor was then forced into silence, with the organization threatening to kill his recently adopted dog, Wick.
    • In one of his deductions, a police report reveals that all of the postmen before Victor who were being used by the mob ended up dead. Had it not been for Victor's relationship with the policeman and his role in rescuing Wick from the burning house, it is very likely that he would have shared the same fate as them.
  • Luca Balsa/The Prisoner was once the protege of a famous inventor. His life fell apart, however, when he and his mentor came to blows, with his mentor being killed in what appeared to be a freak accident produced by Luca's invention. Luca was imprisoned, slandered with hate, stripped of all of his belongings and sentenced to hang. Upon being paroled by the owner of Oletus Manor, Luca decided to accept their invitation to participate in a game being held at the manor. His fate is unlikely to have been a good one.
    • The worst part is that the apparent freak accident that killed his mentor also ended up giving Luca irreparable brain damage, leaving his memories scattered and his once great intelligence dramatically shattered. Even if Luca may have actually murdered his mentor, it's still rather tragic that he ended up suffering because of something he was unable to completely remember.

• For as horrifying and disturbing as the aforementioned examples are, what is perhaps most scary are the deductions that only raise more questions about the Dark and Troubled Past of several of the Survivors and Hunters, or what we didn't see in the Character Diaries. Examples include:
  • Pursuit and Escape (Gardener)
    The hunter and prey are liable to switch places, perhaps even completely out of the blue.
    • Escape (Doctor)
    The reason I saved you was not to take you away, but to experience that feeling of despair once again.
  • Treasure (Thief)
    Riches and treasures won't fall from the sky. You have to go out and create your own wealth.
    Orphan Diary: Kreacher said that there was a new child who came here tonight. He's lucky, only lost the left side. Veronica said he needed some rest. I saw her holding the dirty sheets, covered in red stains. Hope he doesn't miss breakfast tomorrow.
  • Dark Under Light (Thief)
    See the light, shun the shadow. People often fail to see what's rotting beneath the shining surface.
    A photo: In the orphanage, Kreacher Pierson and a priest in uniform are conducting a band of disabled children.
  • Road-blocking "Dragons" (Explorer)
    These giant, fanged... dragons! You can't stop an explorer!
    Actually, I might have just made a mistake.
  • Escape From Reality (Explorer)
    Would you still be passionate after learning the truth of life?
    Journal entry: I want to get out of here; anywhere but here. Just get me out of this school.
    • Everyone Has A Reason (Mechanic)
    Foxes often forget to hide their tails.
    Debt statement for Mark Reznik.
  • Dept Repayment (Mechanic)
    Everyone has to pay the price of their past deeds.
    Newspaper clipping: The local clock merchant has experienced recurring issues with their electricity. The hidden dangers of alternating currents should not be underestimated.
  • Redemption (Priestess)
    The laws of nature are hiding in the darkness.
    I heard it; it's the apocalypse.
  • Embarking (Female Dancer)
    A journey full of hope beats arriving at one's destination.
    At the time, I never expected the cost would be this great.
  • Messenger (Embalmer)
    I believe it's for me, and she's just the messenger.
    A list of items: A few items and an invitation letter. Fern wax from Oletus Manor.
  • Keep An Appointment (Embalmer)
    I can't refuse the invitation. There are too many lost people out there.
    Diary entry: I can finally understand the joy he experiences every time he guides lost people from darkness. I also understand why he was so eager to keep his appointment.
  • The end of Kaspar Hausar (Wildling)
    People are always wondering amongst suspicion, who can be sure?
    Diary 5: Maybe I should learn from Kaspar Hausar, figure out how to escape. Retreated like a prince, but I need assistance... Bernard won't let me go.
  • Downcast (Acrobat)
    Watching a sad face can sometimes bring us some dark pleasure.
    Diary 3: Bernard sent his regards to my beloved little ones. He thought the wounds on Joker's face looked more like "corrosions". His suspicions really hurt me! Of course, I did lose a bottle of strong acid. Maybe I'll have to get another bottle before Bernard finds out about this "mismanagement".
  • Sacrifice (First Officer)
    The costly price of bravery.
    Diary: There were no pirates or storms; just our conscience and our companions. The nightmarish waters had swept them away, but it also awakened the demons flowing through the Badens blood.

Hunter Backstories/Deductions

• Leo Beck was allegedly, at one point, a Survivor. After refusing to write in his diary, however, he was transformed into a Hunter and was later forced to hunt his daughter who he appears to have had come to the manor searching for.
• It's implied, in his character deductions, that the Ripper is a Split Personality of a painter who takes over his host's body when his host falls asleep and the host seems to be aware of his presence. Even worse, it is also implied that the Ripper personality was present within his host since he was a child. Alternatively, the personality is a Psychopathic Man Child.

  • In addition, it seems that Jack is one of the few Hunters who actually enjoys killing people and watching them suffer.

  Jack: I love watching them shiver. So cute.

• Bane Perez/The Gamekeeper was once an affable and friendly man, who was charged with watching over the manor's surrounding forest. During a hunting season, however, Bane was attacked by hunters (one of them a boy Bane had previously shown mercy and kindness to when he had previously snuck into the forest) who proceeded to cut out his tongue and outfit his dying body with the severed head of a moose Bane had raised. Upon being dragged back to the manor by the manor's dogs, Bane was transformed into a Minotaur. From that day forth, Bane became a vicious Hunter, who would show no mercy to anyone who set foot on his land.
  • What makes his story even worse is the crushing realisation that Bane is effectively forced to wear the corpse of what was basically his own child.
  • Hastur/The Feaster is a deity who once resided at the bottom of the lake in Lakeside Village, a village that was the site of several missing children cases. The villagers would often gift their 'lake god' with offerings in return for having their (menial) wishes granted. One day, however, everyone in the village mysteriously disappeared. The only thing investigators found was a mysterious sigil, drawn with blood, within the apparent residence of a visiting author researching the village and its enigmatic traditions.
    • Out of the seven missing children, only one is reported to have been found. Said child was said to have been drenched, speaking gibberish and so mentally damaged that the people who found them required the intervention of clinical psychologists.
    • One of Hastur's deductions reveals that a bottle, containing a letter, was found near the lake. The letter's message?
    Insanity shall destroy the last reign, The Old One shall control the world.
    • In his 2021 Character Day letter, it is revealed in one of the cultist's journals that the offerings were the villagers themselves. It is also implied that others such as the author and Margeretha Zelle's Uncle Eugene and Aunt Marjorie were burned alive for being "blasphemous".
• Joseph Desaulnier/The Photographer was a French aristocrat who, after the tragic death of his brother Claude (a child at the time) during the French Revolution, became obsessed with finding a way to eternally preserve the lives of others. After years of experiments, Joseph believed he had found a way to capture souls in his pictures, a claim that he would tell to anyone willing to listen. Nobody believed him, but, finding themselves enraptured by the eccentric aristocrat, a large amount of people would agree to play model for Joseph. As time passed, however, the number of people in the village where Joseph resided slowly began to dwindle. When a panic-stricken mob forced their way into Joseph's residence, all they found were the lifelike portraits of people who had previously modelled for Joseph, who appeared to be looking right at them.
• Luchino/The Evil Reptilian was an eccentric scholar who, after agreeing to help study a mysterious reptilian creature, was betrayed by his colleague and transformed into a reptilian monster.
• Ann/The Disciple, a former nun, was a woman whose eyes were horrifically altered by a mysterious disease at the same time a plague broke out in her village. Believed to possess the eyes of the Devil, Ann was accused of spreading the plague and made a pariah. One night, while seeking salvation from the Church, Ann was stabbed through the heart and left to die in the woods, becoming fresh pickings for the forces behind Oletus Manor.
• Antonio/The Violinist, based on enigmatic composer Niccolo Paganini, was a borderline supernaturally skilled musician, who was rumoured to have obtained his talent from the Devil himself.
• Yidhra/The Dream Witch. Unlike most hunters, she doesn't have a tragic backstory or Start of Darkness. She possesses others to be her followers and does whatever she pleases and it's malicious even by Lovecraftian god standards. She is also heavily implied to be responsible for Luchino's transformation. Oh yeah, and her bio states that she's been around since before the existence of the first microorganism.
  • Here is a delightful image of her face without the blindfold.
    • Her first two deductions focus on Volcker Berglund (implied author of Lakeside Trail) and his attempts to enter a "fiery cave" (which he would seemingly see whenever he slept). It is implied that potentially coming into contact with two Eldritch Abominations did not lead to him having a happy life.
    Madness: The first step to madness is thinking you're smart.
  • An example that is terrifying due to how it can actually happen in real life. Violetta/The Soul Weaver put up with the abuse that she suffered at the hands of Max (the owner of the freak show she used to perform at) because she viewed him as a father figure and liked how he didn’t pity her. Also doubles as a Tearjerker.
• When Robbie White's/The Axe Boy's deductions aren't heartbreaking, they're pure horror. Imagine dying only for your children to be forced into child labor and then transferred to an asylum for apparent mental disorders. The way Robbie dies is also terrifying: being decapitated by a broken window.
• After accepting a commission from Baron DeRoss, Galatea/The Sculptor's sculpting abilities greatly improved. However, her family soon became concerned as they noticed that she would talk to her statues. After seeing her do it again one night, her father threw one of her statues off a terrace and she decided to jump off as well to go after it, resulting in her becoming hemiplegic. Following this incident, she was sent to a mental institution where she was assigned a single nurse to look after her. Said nurse was later killed by Galatea and turned into one of her works of art.
• Philippe/The Wax Artist was a French scientist who specialized in the (nowadays discredited) practice of Physiognomy, which involves assessing a person's character and personality solely from their outer appearance; specifically, a person's face. As part of his studies, he enlisted the help of his artist sister, Christina, to make wax faces for him, without disclosing what exactly he was using them for. Soon, Philippe left to showcase his research on a scholarly trip, but when he returned home, he was horrified to discover that his controversial practices resulted in the brutal murder of his completely innocent sister. Losing Christina caused Philippe to snap, and he now appears as a hunchbacked figure with half of his body entirely encased in wax, with a wax copy of Christina's upper torso (or maybe even part of her actual body) attached to her brother's body.

• For as horrifying and disturbing as the aforementioned examples are, what is perhaps most scary are the deductions that only raise more questions about the Dark and Troubled Past of several of the Survivors and Hunters, or what we didn't see in the Character Diaries. Examples include:
  • Cat and Mouse (Hell Ember)
    Leo Beck has found joy in this dull position as a hunter.
  • New Face (Smiley Face)
    People often say that there is nothing new if the old remains.
    Thank you, this face is suitable.
  • The Joke (Ripper)
    Hey this looks fun. I don't think it'll cause any harm, will it?
    I love watching them shiver. So cute.
  • A Gift You Can't Refuse (Ripper)
    There is only one way to deny the coming fate, and that is to die.
    Wooden gift box: Contains a piece of dark red meat wrapped in a newspaper. The note says: Send!
  • Pursuit (Ripper)
    Causing a bit of minor trouble is an easy way to destroy order.
    Do you know the benefit of chaos? It can turn into peace. The bad half? Hold on, does he still exist?
  • Prescription (Axe Boy)
    Shock and terror are all a part of healing.
    Hydrotherapy: Water can cleanse the most violent and extreme parts of life. Wash the heads of the patient repeatedly with cold water, and cool their insane heads. Be warned that this operation requires at the very least more than one medical staff.
  • Secret (Axe Boy)
    Every person has a good heart in them.
    What would you do if you learned that everyone's "good heart" varied from person to person?

Main Storyline/Character Diaries

• Emma Woods/The Gardener setting Mr. Scarecrow on fire (with The Thief inside of it, thus killing him) all so that she can reunite with Emily Dyer/The Doctor.
  • What certainly doesn't help is her not being the most mentally stable of people and calling out to Emily in an incredibly creepy tone.
  Emma: I hope you can see the pyre, Emily. I'll be here, waiting for you. Don't disappoint me.
• Kreacher/The Thief's growing obsession with Emma Woods/The Gardener. After only a few days in the manor, Kreacher snaps and attempts to physically force himself on Emma, despite her protests.
  • It should also be noted that there is a high chance that she was one of the children that he cared for in his orphanage, making the whole thing even creepier.
  • While it's still unclear if it was his orphanage she was sent to, Kreacher's 2021 Character Day letter confirms that the two did indeed come across each other after the orphanage had been taken over by the church and transformed into an asylum. Though he does not realise that the two are one and the same, Kreacher has no problem with pursuing her even though she resembles a child he once knew.
• At the end of the trailer for his Character Diary, William Ellis /The Forward appears to drop dead after seemingly consuming poison that was present in the wine he drank.
• In the Magician's Character Diary, if the player chooses to make Servais Le Roy/The Magician not respond to Kurt Frank/The Explorer, Kurt will become frustrated and fucking stab Servais! Especially jarring given that Kurt's 2020 Character Day letter had described him as being non-violent. It doesn't just seem like something meant to be random since Kurt also knocks out William Ellis/The Explorer in his own diary if William refuses to listen to him.
• Considering the reactions of his neighbors and the fact that he wakes up with cuts over his body and near items he would never touch, whatever the hell Orpheus' split personality is.
  • While not as horrifying as the other examples, take a close look at Orpheus' neighbours. The husband, in particular, bears a striking resemblance to a character we've seen before, while his wife resembles a woman connected to said character. And given that said character was the only Survivor to have avoided danger during his assigned game, and we were never told what the prize was for winning a game... Judging by the Mainstory Recall video, however, which replaces the couple with a young boy, it would appear that this part of the storyline may have been retconned.

Time of Reunion

• If Orpheus is right (and Eli's 2021 Character Day letter heavily implies he is), the manor is an experiment. Survivors cannot escape and even if they win, their memories are removed, and they are forced to play another match with different people.
  • The reason why the Hunters powers seem so crazy? Orpheus theorises it's because the hallucinogenic drugs that are unwittingly fed to the Survivors distort their perception of reality.
    • With that being said, it's quite likely that this theory is Orpheus's attempt to create a rational explanation for things he can't explain. Given that, from what can be deciphered from certain Character Day letters, supernatural entities do indeed exist in this world, the sheer scope of what's going on may be even more horrifying than Orpheus realises.
  • Orpheus mentions that losing has consequences and that the only way to stop the game is to die. Kreacher, Kurt, Servais, Naib, Martha and Kevin are seen, repeatedly. Every other Survivor who has been present in a Character Diary, plus any Survivors whose Character Day letters allude to their own games, aren't.

Skins/Accessories

• The Ripper's "Golden Tentacle" skin.
  In the process of blending into the uncanny fog, he finally lost his original shape— The Ripper will be anywhere and everywhere he will be.
• The Postman's "Herald" skin.
  The Embrace recalls his identity from the distant past. Back then, he never thought that the dark secret stumble upon while delivering a message would become his end.
• The Soul Weaver's "Crab Spider" skin.
  Outsiders, if the owner of this forest wouldn't sanction you, then you're heading toward my venomous hunting web instead of treasures in the temple.
• Hastur/The Feaster's "Glutton" skin
  A true predator doesn't know what being satisfied means. Beware the gaze.
• The description for the first group of Survivors' "Dark Side" skins.
  This is one side that has never been shown before, it represents the irreversible past.
• The Soul Weaver's "Toxic Cocoon" accessory.
  Entangled is only one of the many formidable weapons the Soul Weaver has, and don't forget the deadly poison that even in small amounts, can determine the fate of its prey.
• The Ripper's "Soul Devourer" accessory.
  Every time it's wielded, it takes a soul with it.