History TearJerker / NancyDrew

* In ''"The Haunted Carousel"'', the side plot involves [[spoiler: the late Daryl Trent's attempt to bring happiness to his repressed daughter [[TheWoobie Joy Trent]], using a homemade robot called ''Miles the Magnificent Memory Machine." Through the game, Miles helps to purge Joy's anger against her late mother. [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming This culminates in the discovery of the carousel horse Joy's mother bought for her as a child, along with the last remaining photo of her mother and a letter from Daryl telling Joy how much her parents loved her]]]].
** The historical backstory of this game is pretty sad as well. Rolfe Kessler, the titular carousel's creator, [[spoiler: was in love with and married a woman named Amelia, but his personality was so intense and moody that she could not live with him although she loved him in return. They separated, he wrote letters to her and never sent them, and she died of tuberculosis without ever having reunited with her husband.]]
* ''"Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon"'' has yet another tragic historical plot. [[spoiler: The train's owner, Jake Hurley, was a rich man who wandered through the Old West in search of gold - until he met the beautiful Frenchwoman Camille Voulet. They married, he ''commissioned a custom train to serve as their home'', and they spent their time in happy travels. Then Camille fell, hit her head, seemed to recover, and died unexpectedly.]]
** [[spoiler: Not to mention Jake dying alone in the depths of a mine, and his train operator expiring from a heart attack while attempting to drive the train back to town, presumably seeking help because his boss hadn't come back.]]
** This music piece: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kMDkysmJfgs

* The historical back stories of the games tend to take a turn into the ridiculously depressing:
** In ''"Secret of Shadow Ranch"'', [[spoiler: outlaw Dirk and sheriff's daughter Frances are in love. The sheriff finds out, Dirk gets hanged, Frances leaves Arizona forever without knowing about Dirk's final letters to her, and the sheriff dies alone, full of regret for driving away his beloved daughter. In fact, the paper his final diary entry was written on has stains left behind by the sheriff's ''tears'']].
** In ''"Danger by Design"'', [[spoiler: Noisette Tornade, out of love for Paris and its art, employs the help of her German lover to steal and hide several pieces of beautiful stained glass so they won't be destroyed during World War II. When her countrymen discover her liaison with the German, they immediately accuse her of treason, and though she is acquitted and eventually becomes Director of Public Works in Paris, the suspicion against her never subsides and her lover is forced to leave her forever]].
** ''"Treasure in the Royal Tower"'' centers around the good intentions of Marie Antoinette. Guess how that one worked out.
** ''"Blackmoor Manor"'' is sort of a Fridge TearJerker, when you recall how Jane's father talked about ''his'' father, and you realize that [[spoiler: for roughly ''seven hundred years'', the hidden rituals practiced by every other generation of the Penvellyn family have been causing its members to remain distanced from their own parents and children. All for a rock.]]
* In ''"The Haunted Carousel"'', the side plot involves [[spoiler: the late Daryl Trent's attempt to bring happiness to his repressed daughter [[TheWoobie Joy Trent]], using a homemade robot called ''Miles the Magnificent Memory Machine." Through the game, Miles helps to purge Joy's anger against her late mother. [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming This culminates in the discovery of the carousel horse Joy's mother bought for her as a child, along with the last remaining photo of her mother and a letter from Daryl telling Joy how much her parents loved her]]]].
** The historical backstory of this game is pretty sad as well. Rolfe Kessler, the titular carousel's creator, [[spoiler: was in love with and married a woman named Amelia, but his personality was so intense and moody that she could not live with him although she loved him in return. They separated, he wrote letters to her and never sent them, and she died of tuberculosis without ever having reunited with her husband.]]
* ''"Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon"'' has yet another tragic historical plot. [[spoiler: The train's owner, Jake Hurley, was a rich man who wandered through the Old West in search of gold - until he met the beautiful Frenchwoman Camille Voulet. They married, he ''commissioned a custom train to serve as their home'', and they spent their time in happy travels. Then Camille fell, hit her head, seemed to recover, and died unexpectedly.]]
** [[spoiler: Not to mention Jake dying alone in the depths of a mine, and his train operator expiring from a heart attack while attempting to drive the train back to town, presumably seeking help because his boss hadn't come back.]]
** This music piece: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kMDkysmJfgs
* The backstory of Isis, the titular character of ''White Wolf of Icicle Creek'', is absolutely heartbreaking. [[spoiler: Her mother was shot by a hunter, and she was found by Julius McQuade, who got so tired of humans that he decided to live alone in the wilderness. He saved her life and discovered that she refused to leave him. He tamed (to some degree) and befriended her. Later he had to go to hospital and died there. Last words of his diary?]]
-->[[spoiler: "The possibility that she would think I abandoned her just breaks my heart. She has come to mean the world to me..."]]
** [[spoiler: She probably felt the same way about him, since she kept returning to his cabin in search of him. In fact, that's where Nancy finds her.]]
** Also the source of Fridge Tearjerker, when you realize that the reason why she sticks with Nancy is probably [[spoiler:that she is looking for someone who could replace Julius, and Nancy is the only human who has been in his cabin since he died, so maybe Isis thought that she was somehow connected to Julius]].
** [[spoiler: Julius's own story is equally pitiable: disillusioned with people, living in isolation with only a barely-tamed animal just as lonely as himself for companionship, until he catches pneumonia and trudges for miles to a hospital where he dies on Christmas Day. He had no one to mourn him except Isis, and his body was never claimed.]]
* Reading Alexei's old case diary in ''"Alibi in Ashes"''. Watching what begins as a somewhat goofy and cheerful record of his cases suddenly switch to him detailing his downfall and how no one trusts him anymore is absolutely heartbreaking, particularly as he states he's writing in it again to try and find comfort in the youthful spirit he once had in his sleuthing.
* The overriding atmosphere of ''"Thornton Hall"'' isn't just fear - it's sadness. You never even ''meet'' Charlotte, but her death influences everything and everyone.
** In addition to that, the [[spoiler:[[MultipleEndings ending]] where Nancy chooses not to save anyone. You find out in her letter to Ned afterwards that as a direct result of her actions, Jessalyn and Harper have been hospitalized, Wade and Colton aren't returning her calls, and Clara still hasn't been found. She then admits she doesn't know what to say this time and wishes she could go back and do things differently. The regret she displays is utterly heartbreaking, especially when the actions that lead her there are so [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness out of character]] for someone like Nancy. Thankfully you have two other endings to choose from so it doesn't have to be this way, but its sad nonetheless.]]
* The argument between [[spoiler: Carson and Kate]] in one of the flashbacks from ''"The Silent Spy"'' is particularly heart-wrenching when you know [[spoiler: it's very likely the last conversation they ever had before Kate's death]].
** Nancy's letter [[spoiler:to her mother.]]
*** Not to mention the letter from [[spoiler: her mother to her]].
* ''"Sea of Darkness"'' has a massive tearjerker: [[spoiler: Gunnar wound up losing everything when his wife and child died in a boat accident, so he's become a grumpy old man whose only possessions are literally the clothes and box he holds. It then turns out that his daughter looks like Nancy. You WILL need tissues here.]]
** The whole backstory of the Captain of the ''Heerlijkheid''.
* In ''"Ghost Dogs"'', William Akers' journal entries about how badly-off his family ended up after Mickey Malone's arrest are pretty heartwrenching to read.
* In ''"Secret of the Scarlet Hand,"'' one of the game over sequences [[spoiler:results in Nancy [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath suffocating to death in the monolith.]] A newspaper clip from 700 years into the future is then shown, stating how scientists were baffled at finding ''two'' mummies in the ancient structure. Although disturbing in and of itself, Fridge Tearjerker occurs when you consider how badly her death/disappearance must have affected her father, Ned, Bess, George, and everyone else that ever cared about her. If Nancy's body was only found in the year 2702, then that means they never got a chance to find out what really happened to her. Heck, even if they eventually accepted that she was dead and held any kind of memorial service, they would have had [[NeverFoundTheBody nothing to bury.]] Those are some pretty depressing implications, especially when you consider that this game was rated E for everyone.]]
** To be honest, ''any'' of the Game Over sequences resulting in death or injury are depressing in hindsight. Just thinking about Nancy's family and friends mourning her loss is enough to make you glad that Second Chance is a thing.

* In ''"Secret of the Scarlet Hand,"'' one of the game over sequences [[spoiler:results in Nancy suffocating to death in the monolith. A newspaper clip from 700 years into the future is then shown, stating how scientists found ''two'' mummies in the ancient structure. Although disturbing in and of itself, Fridge Tearjerker occurs when you consider how her death/disappearance must have affected her father, Ned, Bess, and George. If Nancy's body was only found in the year 2702, then they never got a chance to find out what really happened to her.]]

** Also the source of Fridge Tearjerker, when you realize that the reason why she sticks with Nancy is probably [[spoiler:that she is looking for someone who could replace Julius, and Nancy is the only human who has been in his cabin since he died, so, maybe, Isis thought that she is somehow connected to Julius]].
** [[spoiler: Julius's own story is equally pitiable: disillusioned with people, living in isolation with only a barely-tamed animal just as lonely as himself for companionship, until he catches pneumonia and trudges for miles to a hospital where he dies on Christmas day. He had no one to mourn him except Isis, and his body was never claimed.]]

* The overriding atmosphere of ''"Thornton Hall"'' isn't just fear- it's sadness. You never even ''meet'' Charlotte, but her death influences everything.

* In ''"Ghost Dogs"'', William Akers' journal entries about how badly-off his family ended up after Mickey Malone's arrest are pretty pathetic.

* The argument between [[spoiler: Carson and Kate]] in one of the flashbacks from ''"The Silent Spy"'' is particularly heart-wrenching when you know [[spoiler :it's very likely the last conversation they ever had before Kate's death]].

** In ''Secret of Shadow Ranch'', [[spoiler: outlaw Dirk and sheriff's daughter Frances are in love. The sheriff finds out, Dirk gets hanged, Frances leaves Arizona forever without knowing about Dirk's final letters to her, and the sheriff dies alone, full of regret for driving away his beloved daughter. In fact, the paper his final diary entry was written on has stains left behind by the sheriff's ''tears'']].
** In ''Danger by Design'', [[spoiler: Noisette Tornade, out of love for Paris and its art, employs the help of her German lover to steal and hide several pieces of beautiful stained glass so they won't be destroyed during World War II. When her countrymen discover her liaison with the German, they immediately accuse her of treason, and though she is acquitted and eventually becomes Director of Public Works in Paris, the suspicion against her never subsides and her lover is forced to leave her forever]].
** ''Treasure in the Royal Tower'' centers around the good intentions of Marie Antoinette. Guess how that one worked out.
** ''Blackmoor Manor'' is sort of a Fridge Tear Jerker, when you recall how Jane's father talked about ''his'' father, and you realize that [[spoiler: for roughly ''seven hundred years'', the hidden rituals practiced by every other generation of the Penvellyn family have been causing its members to remain distanced from their own parents and children. All for a rock.]]
* In ''The Haunted Carousel'', the side plot involves [[spoiler: the late Daryl Trent's attempt to bring happiness to his repressed daughter [[TheWoobie Joy Trent]], using a homemade robot called ''Miles the Magnificent Memory Machine." Through the game, Miles helps to purge Joy's anger against her late mother. [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming This culminates in the discovery of the carousel horse Joy's mother bought for her as a child, along with the last remaining photo of her mother and a letter from Daryl telling Joy how much her parents loved her]]]].

* ''Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon'' has yet another tragic historical plot. [[spoiler:The train's owner, Jake Hurley, was a rich man who wandered through the Old West in search of gold - until he met the beautiful Frenchwoman Camille Voulet. They married, he ''commissioned a custom train to serve as their home'', and they spent their time in happy travels. Then Camille fell, hit her head, seemed to recover, and died unexpectedly.]]

-->[[spoiler:"The possibility that she would think I abandoned her just breaks my heart. She has come to mean the world to me..."]]

** [[spoiler:Julius's own story is equally pitiable: disillusioned with people, living in isolation with only a barely-tamed animal just as lonely as himself for companionship, until he catches pneumonia and trudges for miles to a hospital where he dies on Christmas day. He had no one to mourn him except Isis, and his body was never claimed.]]
* Reading Alexei's old case diary in ''Alibi in Ashes''. Watching what begins as a somewhat goofy and cheerful record of his cases suddenly switch to him detailing his downfall and how no one trusts him anymore is absolutely heartbreaking, particularly as he states he's writing in it again to try and find comfort in the youthful spirit he once had in his sleuthing.
* The overriding atmosphere of ''Thornton Hall'' isn't just fear- it's sadness. You never even ''meet'' Charlotte, but her death influences everything.
* The argument between [[spoiler:Carson and Kate]] in one of the flashbacks from ''The Silent Spy'' is particularly heart-wrenching when you know [[spoiler:it's very likely the last conversation they ever had before Kate's death]].

*** Not to mention the letter from [[spoiler:her mother to her]].
* ''Sea of Darkness'' has a massive tearjerker: [[spoiler:Gunnar wound up losing everything when his wife and child died in a boat accident, so he's become a grumpy old man whose only possessions are literally the clothes and box he holds. It then turns out that his daughter looks like Nancy. You WILL need tissues here.]]

* In ''Ghost Dogs'', William Akers' journal entries about how badly-off his family ended up after Mickey Malone's arrest are pretty pathetic.

* Nancy and Ned's breakup in ''Two Points To Murder'', book #8 of the ''Files''. It's quite wrenching in the first place, even more so if you've been reading the books since their first inception and all but grown up with this love story. Fortunately, they reconcile a few books later, but it's still hard to take.

* Even if he ''was'' a gangster, William Akers' journal entries about how badly-off his family ended up after Mickey Malone's arrest are pretty pathetic.

* Even if he ''was'' a gangster, William Akers' journal entries about how badly-off his family ended up after Mickey Malone's arrest are pretty pathetic. His final entry, where [[spoiler: he gives up his ambition to find Malone's gold so he can devote himself fully to supporting his wife and children]], is a touching example of how some criminals ''do'' change for the better.

[[/folder]]

** Reading Alexei's old case diary in ''Alibi in Ashes''. Watching what begins as a somewhat goofy and cheerful record of his cases suddenly switch to him detailing his downfall and how no one trusts him anymore is absolutely heartbreaking, particularly as he states he's writing in it again to try and find comfort in the youthful spirit he once had in his sleuthing.

* The backstory of Isis, the titular character of ''White Wolf of Icicle Creek'', is absolutely heartbreaking. [[spoiler: Her mother was shot by a hunter, and she was found by Julius [[McQuade]], who got so tired of humans that he decided to live alone in the wilderness. He saved her life and discovered that she refused to leave him. He tamed (to some degree) and befriended her. Later he had to go to hospital and died there. Last words of his diary?]]

** Also the source of Fridge Tearjerker, when you realise that the reason why she sticks with Nancy is probably [[spoiler:that she is looking for someone who could replace Julius, and Nancy is the only human who has been in his cabin since he died, so, maybe, Isis thought that she is somehow connected to Julius]].

* The backstory of Isis, the titular character of ''White Wolf of Icicle Creek'', is absolutely heartbreaking. [[spoiler: Her mother was shot by a hunter, and she was found by Julius McQuade, who got so tired of humans that he decided to live alone in the wilderness. He saved her life and discovered that she refused to leave him. He tamed (to some degree) and befriended her. Later he had to go to hospital and died there. Last words of his diary?]]

** Also the source of Fridge Tearjerker, when you realise that the reason why she sticks with Nancy is probably [[spoiler: that she is looking for someone who could replace Julius, and Nancy is the only human who has been in his cabin since he died, so, maybe, Isis thought that she is somehow connected to Julius]].
** [[spoiler: Julius's own story is equally pitiable: disillusioned with people, living in isolation with only a barely-tamed animal just as lonely as himself for companionship, until he catches pneumonia and trudges for miles to a hospital where he dies on Christmas day. He had no one to mourn him except Isis, and his body was never claimed.]]

* The argument between [[spoiler: Carson and Kate]] in one of the flashbacks from ''The Silent Spy'' is particularly heart-wrenching when you know [[spoiler: it's very likely the last conversation they ever had before Kate's death]].
** Nancy's letter [[spoiler: to her mother.]]
* ''Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon'' has yet another tragic historical plot. [[spoiler: The train's owner, Jake Hurley, was a rich man who wandered through the Old West in search of gold - until he met the beautiful Frenchwoman Camille Voulet. They married, he ''commissioned a custom train to serve as their home'', and they spent their time in happy travels. Then Camille fell, hit her head, seemed to recover, and died unexpectedly.]]
* Sea of Darkness has a massive tearjerker: [[spoiler: Gunnar wound up losing everything when his wife and child died, so he's become a grumpy old man whose only possessions are literally the clothes and box he holds...it then turns out that his daughter looks like Nancy. You WILL need tissues here.]]

* Nancy and Ned' s breakup in ''Two Points To Murder'', book #8 of the ''Files''. It's quite wrenching in the first place, even more so if you've been reading the books since their first inception and all but grown up with this love story. Fortunately, they reconcile a few books later, but it's still hard to take.

* Nancy and Ned' s breakup in ''Two Points To Murder'', book #8 of the ''Files''. It's quite wrenching in the first place, even more so if you've been reading the books since their first inception and all but grown up with this love story. Fortunately, they reconcile a few books later, but it's still hard to take.

* The backstory of Isis, the titular character of ''White Wolf of Icicle Creek'', is absolutely heartbreaking. [[spoiler: Her mother was shot by a hunter, and she was found by Julius McQuade, who got so tired of humans that he decided to live alone in the wilderness. He saved her life and discovered that she refused to leave him. He tamed (to some degree) and befriended her. Later he had to go to hospital and died there. Last words of his diary? "The possibility that she would think I abandoned her just breaks my heart. She has come to mean the world to me..." She probably felt the same way about him, since she kept returning to his cabin in search of him. In fact, that's where Nancy finds her.]]

* ''Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon'' has yet another tragic historical plot. [[spoiler: The train's owner, Jake Hurley, was a rich man who wandered through the Old West in search of gold - until he met the beautiful Frenchwoman Camille Voulet. They married, he ''commissioned a custom train to serve as their home'', and they spent their time in happy travels. Then Camille fell, hit her head, seemed to recover, and died unexpectedly.]]

* The backstory of Isis, the titular character of ''White Wolf of Icicle Creek'', is absolutely heartbreaking. [[spoiler: Her mother was shot by a hunter, and she was found by Julius Macquade, who got so tired of humans that he decided to live alone in the wilderness. He saved her life and discovered that she refused to leave him. He tamed (to some degree) and befriended her. Later he had to go to hospital and died there. Last words of his diary? "The possibility that she would think I abandoned her just breaks my heart. She has come to mean the world to me..." She probably felt the same way about him, since she kept returning to his cabin in search of him. In fact, that's where Nancy finds her.]]

* The argument between [[spoiler: Carson and Kate]] in one of the flashbacks from ''The Silent Spy'' is particularly heart-wrenching when you know [[spoiler: it's very likely the last conversation they ever had before Kate's death]].

** Also the source of Fridge Tearjerker, when you realise that the reason why she sticks with Nancy is probably [[spoiler: that she is looking for someone who could replace Julius, and Nancy is the only human who has been in his cabin, so, maybe, Isis thought that she is somehow connected to Julius]].

* The overriding atmosphere of ''Thornton Hall'' isn't just fear- it's sadness. You never even ''meet'' Charlotte, but her death influences everything.

* TearJerker: The historical backstories of the games tend to take a turn into the ridiculously depressing:

** In ''The Haunted Carousel'', the side plot involves [[spoiler: the late Daryl Trent's attempt to bring happiness to his repressed daughter [[TheWoobie Joy Trent]], using a homemade robot called ''Miles the Magnificent Memory Machine." Through the game, Miles helps to purge Joy's anger against her late mother. [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming This culminates in the discovery of the carousel horse Joy's mother bought for her as a child, along with the last remaining photo of her mother and a letter from Daryl telling Joy how much her parents loved her]]]].
** The backstory of Isis, the titular character of ''White Wolf of Icicle Creek'', is absolutely heartbreaking. [[spoiler: Her mother was shot by a hunter, and she was found by Julius Macquade, who got so tired of humans that he decided to live alone in the wilderness. He saved her life and discovered that she refused to leave him. He tamed (to some degree) and befriended her. Later he had to go to hospital and died there. Last words of his diary? "The possibility that she would think I abandoned her just breaks my heart. She has come to mean the world to me..." She probably felt the same way about him, since she kept returning to his cabin in search of him. In fact, that's where Nancy finds her.]]

** The overriding atmosphere of ''Thornton Hall'' isn't fear- it's sadness. You never even ''meet'' Charlotte, but her death influences everything.