History Literature / HouseOfHell

''House of Hell'' is the tenth entry in the ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' line of {{Gamebook}}, and notable for taking a departure from the usual formula by not only setting it on Modern-Day Earth, but having you, the protagonist, as an ordinary everyman/everywoman, and shifting the genre from Heroic Adventure to Gothic SurvivalHorror. Written by Steve Jackson, co-founder of ''Fighting Fantasy'' with Ian Livingstone.

* BattleButler: Franklin, though he is quite reluctant to fight. Possibly because [[spoiler:when he takes a single hit, he [[OneWingedAngel turns into a giant demon]]]].
* TheButlerDidIt: A variant. [[spoiler:Franklin the Butler actually is a demon, and the true mastermind behind the satanist cult in the house.]]

* ManBehindTheMan: The Earl of Drumer is NOT the true Master behind the cult, its actually [[spoiler: Franklin The Butler. In fact, it's not clear if the Earl was aware that Franklin was actually a demon.]]

* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler:Franklin the Butler will transform into a massive Hell Demon if you wound him with the Kris Knife.]]

''House of Hell'' is the tenth entry in the ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' line of ChooseYourOwnAdventure Gamebooks, and notable for taking a departure from the usual formula by not only setting it on Modern-Day Earth, but having you, the protagonist, as an ordinary everyman/everywoman, and shifting the genre from Heroic Adventure to Gothic SurvivalHorror. Written by Steve Jackson, co-founder of ''Fighting Fantasy'' with Ian Livingstone.

!!''House of Hell'' provides examples of the following tropes:

* SchmuckBait: Right near the beginning, when the real adventure starts. In the kitchen you see a keyring on top of the stove. Did you really think it would be that easy? [[spoiler: the stove is on, which burns your hand as you pick up the piping hot keys. Your screams alert the residents and it's GameOver]]

* DubInducedPlotHole: The French version translates "Drumer" as "Brume" (fog) but [[spoiler:the secret password, being "Murder" is literally translated as "Meurtre". It is quite a stretch to see it as an anagram, but it shares JUST enough letters to see it as the correct password...]]

* DeathByIrony: While many other books in the ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' series have disappointing endings, the ending of ''House of Hell'' is an exception and fits this Trope. [[spoiler: When you defeat the FinalBoss, the room catches on fire as he collapses, and you manage to flee the House right before it erupts in flames. Clearly, any villains who weren't already killed by now are not so lucky. The final words of the book, the hero's thoughts as the place is destroyed, are "A fitting end... for a House of Hell..."]]

* TheManyDeathsOfYou / HaveANiceDeath: Though nowhere as nasty as books like ''Beneath Nightmare Castle'', many of your character's bad-ends can be quite sleep-depriving...

* HollywoodSatanism: The villains of the story, in a nutshell.

* TechnologyMarchesOn: Playing this book now, you can't help but chuckle at the fact that if your character has ''A Fully Charged Cellphone'', all this pain and horror would have been ''completely'' avoided.

* CoolKnife: The Kris Knife - a wavy bladed knife described as finely polished and razor sharp. [[spoiler:It gives a massive Skill bonus in combat and is the only weapon capable of killing the FinalBoss]].

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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/house_of_hell.jpg]]

'''''House of Hell''''' is the tenth entry in the ''Literature/FightingFantasy'' line of ChooseYourOwnAdventure Gamebooks, and notable for taking a departure from the usual formula by not only setting it on Modern-Day Earth, but having you, the protagonist, as an ordinary everyman/everywoman, and shifting the genre from Heroic Adventure to Gothic SurvivalHorror. Written by Steve Jackson, co-founder of ''Fighting Fantasy'' with Ian Livingstone.

See also Literature/BloodOfTheZombies, written by Ian Livingstone.

* {{Unwinnable}}: The Fear score: Put simply, it's not possible to get through the book alive with a rolled score of 7, since that's the minimum amount of Fear points you must accumulate to get to the end (three of them right at the end, no less).

* MeaningfulAnagram: The Earl of Drumer, whose name is an anagram for [[spoiler: Murder]].

* AndIMustScream

* MeaningfulName: The Earl of Drumer, whose name is an anagram for [[spoiler: Murder]].

* ManBehindTheMan: The Earl Of Drumer is NOT the true Master behind the cult, its actually [[spoiler: Franklin The Butler]].

* GoshDarnItToHeck: ''House of Hell'' was censored to ''House of Hades'' when released in the U.S. Mind you, all of the stuff about a satanic cult, ghosts clutching their blood-dripping decapitated heads, being eaten alive by the living dead, and the infamous illustration of a naked woman about to be sacrificed were untouched. Just instances of the word "hell".

* GoshDarnItToHeck: ''House of Hell'' was censored to ''House of Hades'' when released in the U.S. Mind you, all of the stuff about a devil-worshiping cult, human sacrifice and the infamous picture of a naked woman about to be sacrificed were untouched. Just instances of the word "hell".

* DeathByIrony: While many other books in the ''FightingFantasy'' series have disappointing endings, the ending of ''House of Hell'' is an exception and fits this Trope. [[spoiler: When you defeat the FinalBoss, the room catches on fire as he collapses, and you manage to flee the House right before it erupts in flames. Clearly, any villains who weren't already killed by now are not so lucky. The final words of the book, the hero's thoughts as the place is destroyed, are "A fitting end... for a House of Hell..."]]