History VideoGame / MysteryCaseFiles

** The basic premise of ''A Crime in Reflection'' a victorian MirrorMonster - that looks a lot like Gloria Codington - abducting people into a MirrorDimension just screams "''The Countess'' sequel" to many veteran Mystery Case Files players, and the game even acknowledges this numerous times. However, the Shade has no part in this plot, the villain being an entirely new character.

* ChekhovsGag: In ''VideoGame/MysteryCaseFiles Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull'' - the 7th game from the series - if you click several times on the mirror in the Lawson's bathroom, the Master Detective playfully starts to to summon Bloody Mary before changing their mind, saying they'd rather save this mystery for another time. It remained a mere throwaway joke for 13 years and 19 games... [[spoiler:until ''A Crime in Reflection'' came along, in which the Master Detective is confronted to Bloody Mary for real]].

* ChekhovsGag: In ''VideoGame/MysteryCaseFiles Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull'' - the 7th game from the series - if you click several times on the mirror in the Lawson's bathroom, the Master Detective playfully starts to to summon Bloody Mary before changing their mind, saying they'd rather save this mystery for another time. It remained a mere throwaway joke for 13 years and 19 games... until ''A Crime in Reflection'' came along, in which the Master Detective is confronted to Bloody Mary for real

* ChekovsGag: In ''VideoGame/MysteryCaseFiles Mystery Case Files: 13th Skull'' - the 7th game from the series - if you click several times on the mirror in the Lawson's bathroom, the Master Detective playfully starts to to summon Bloody Mary before changing their mind, saying they'd rather save this mystery for another time. It remained a mere throwaway joke for 13 years and 19 games... until ''A Crime in Reflection'' came along, in which the Master Detective is confronted to Bloody Mary for real

* MirrorMonster: In ''The Countess'', the Shade is a corrupting, evil entity that dwells in a creepy, pitch black mirror. Once guarded dutifully by an AncientOrderOfProtectors, it was found centuries later by Lady Gloria Codington, on whose creativity the Shade was kept fed. It also trapped anyone coming close to it into its mirror dimension, where its hapless abductees were enslaved until death and even in their afterlife.

* AnachronismStew: In ''Ravenhearst'', several of the puzzles that keep certain rooms sealed contain technology--including televisions, access card systems, and an ''electric guitar''--that wasn't developed until long after 1895, when Charles built the place. It's unclear whether or not Charles just kept adding to the doors after [[spoiler: he murdered Emma]] or, given that TimeTravel is introduced in later games, was jumping ahead to the future to secure objects that he needed.

** The bonus chapter of ''Sacred Grove'' justifies [[spoiler: Alister's logs]] due to [[spoiler:him having poor memory to begin with and never trusting it for his plans.]]

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler: Madame Fate is a mean-spirited, abusive {{Jerkass}} to her entire staff, gloating with glee as her crystal ball reveals the horrid ways they're all going to suffer--and in many cases die--at midnight. The player probably won't be shedding many tears when Charles Dalimar kills her at the end of the game.]]
* AxCrazy: [[spoiler: Meredith Huxley, from ''Broken Hour'', has, as her father put it, lost her humanity after the death of her children and the operation that granted her immortality. It turned her completely deranged and murderous, having killed countless people over the years.]]

** [[spoiler: Madame Fate herself, but only temporarily in order to task Isis to accompany The Master Detective on her journey to break the carnival's curse. The carnies themselves have been brought back from the dead to suffer another punishment before The Master Detective frees them.]]

* BilingualBonus: Apparently the Master Detective can't read Latin, as a plaque at the beginning of ''Escape'' more or less trumpets the fact that [[spoiler: she's walking into a trap]].

** ''Sacred Grove'' has The Master Detective reminisce on occasion about the case in ''Dire Grove''. The bonus chapter also requires you to [[spoiler: destroy an effigy of Alister Dalimar's heart]] as its final task, which is a CallBack to ''Return to Ravenhearst'' in which [[spoiler: you collect jeweled hearts to access and destroy Charles Dalimar's mechanically-sustained ''real'' heart]].

** In ''Sacred Grove'', where all of the Mistwalkers wear unique animal-themed costumes, the villain [[spoiler: who's actually Alister himself]] wears raven-themed garments.

* DarkIsEvil: [[spoiler: Alister Dalimar]], no denying that.

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Huntsville'' and ''Prime Suspects'' are lighthearted mysteries about silly crimes, with cartoonlike characters (many of whom have [[PunnyName Punny Names]]) and goofy scenes. Then comes ''Ravenhearst'', which features the story of a HauntedHouse, several genuinely disturbing puzzles and objects, and a plot that centers on [[spoiler: a young man who felt so [[EntitledToHaveYou entitled]] to a woman who rejected his advances that he poisoned her, tried to drive her insane, and then ''brutally murdered her with an axe'', trapping her spirit in the manor for over a hundred years]]. It's a massive tone shift that persists throughout the rest of the series.

* DeathByIrony: [[spoiler: The titular Madame Fate foresaw her death and called the Master Detective to help her. Turns out she would've been better off if she ''didn't'' call the Master Detective. See SelfFulfillingProphecy as to why.]]

** In ''Shadow Lake'', Cassandra's visions show [[spoiler: Billy falling from the school's bell tower to his death]]. The (unbloodied) body is actually shown striking the ground.

** [[spoiler: After The Master Detective returns the skulls of Captain Crown's crew in ''13th Skull'', they all come alive -- and then [[GangUpOnTheHuman gang up on the Captain.]]]]
* DemonicPossession: [[spoiler: In ''Dire Grove'', the Banshee possesses four graduate students to force them to take on roles in the ritual that will [[SealedEvilInACan release her from her prison.]] It's reversed once the Master Detective banishes the Banshee once more.]]

* TheDisembodied: Both the ending and the bonus chapter of ''Incident at Pendle Tower'' reveal that both [[spoiler: Millicent and Bobby]], who were thought to be bonafide ghosts for the whole game, are actually this: [[spoiler:Dr. Corman's experiment didn't ''kill'' them per se, but turned them into spirits. And, as shown by the endgame, this is ''reversible'', as both regain their physical bodies when the experiment itself if reversed by the Master Detective]]

* EyeScream: One of the lock-puzzles in ''Escape From Ravenhearst'' requires you to [[spoiler: click a series of realistic, moving eyes. Each time you do so, there's an audible yelp of pain, as if you've genuinely poked someone in the eye.]]

* FightingFromTheInside: Implied with [[spoiler: Allison in ''Dire Grove.'' Though the Banshee ends up successfully possessing her to perform the ritual that will undo the binding spell, the last video tape in the ApocalypticLog--which details how to defeat the evil spirit--is found near the site of that ritual. Since the entrance to the site is only opened to the world after Allison has been possessed, she must have dropped it there ''while'' she was traveling to it, meaning that she was actively resisting the Banshee's influence.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The last line Madame Fate states before the game begins? "Find the soul that seeks to kill Madame Fate." [[spoiler: The killer ends up being Charles Dalimar... who's already dead at the point in the story.]]

* FountainOfYouth: The entire plot of [[spoiler:''The Malgrave Incident'']] revolves around this. [[spoiler:Winston Malgrave asks the Master Detective to gather some rejuvenating dust around Malgrave Island to cure his wife Sarah's deadly illness]]. [[spoiler: As it turns out, though, Sarah has been dead for a long time and the elderly Malgrave only wanted to gather the dust in order to become a young man again.]]
* FourIsDeath: Four graduate students get themselves trapped in Dire Grove. [[spoiler: All four are stuck in frozen stasis and brainwashed into performing an ancient ritual to free the banshee.]]

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* HarmlessFreezing: In ''Dire Grove'', the four graduate students are frozen solid, but still alive and able to recite an ominous MadnessMantra once they're found. [[spoiler: At the end of the game, they're also able to walk to the site of the Banshee's imprisonment and perform a ritual to free her.]] [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] since the freezing is [[AWizardDidIt magical in nature.]]

* TheIgor: [[spoiler: Victor]], in ''Return to'' and ''Escape From Ravenhearst'', crosses this with OverlordJr.

* ItsPersonal: [[spoiler: Why Madame Fate was killed; because the Master Detective freed Emma from Ravenhearst Manor and also because Charles wanted vengeance for being labeled a freak while he was in her carnival.]]
** Retconned in the bonus play of the ''Fate's Carnival'' [=CE=]: [[spoiler: Madame Fate had imprisoned Charles's father Alister, so he killed her and imprisoned her soul.]]
* ItWasWithYouAllAlong: In ''Fate's Carnival'', you wanna know where that special black diary that was needed to stop Alister Dalimar was? [[spoiler: Surprise, you've been holding it since the beginning of the game!]]
** And also [[spoiler: the means of destroying it: your Master Detective badge, which you've presumably been wearing ''since the series began''.]]

** Abigail Dalimar (or at least the mannequin representing her) can be seen lazing about in her bed upstairs, with discarded snacks and untouched leftovers all around her. And the way she gobbles down the [[spoiler: dynamite pie]] is just not right.

** The Amazing Larry (magician): A hack magician who [[spoiler: ends up ''hacking'' himself in half.]]
** Lucy the Bearded Lady: Famed for her glorious beard, [[spoiler: which ends up getting chopped off.]]
** Marlena the Mermaid: Married to Dante the Tattooed Man, she's currently in a LoveTriangle with Fabiano, the Strong Man. [[spoiler: She gets ''caught'' in a net for her troubles.]]
** Art the Carny: Madame Fate has been reducing his cigarette smoking, [[spoiler: and so he dies stuffing his mouth with cigarettes.]]
** Twyla Tangle the Contortionist: Known for twisting her body and getting in and out of tight places, [[spoiler: she gets trapped in a capsule underwater and can't escape.]]
** Bianca the Daredevil Diva: Has tried to get a replacement daredevil due to getting migraines, [[spoiler: when she performs, she gets blown up.]]
** Fabiano the World's Strongest Man: Known for his incredible strength [[spoiler: and then he is unable to lift a very heavy object and dies from suffocation.]]
** Lance the Sword Swallower: Swallows fake swords as part of his act, [[spoiler: then dies when he swallows a ''real'' one.]]
** Armando the Ringmaster: Believes that he should be the one upstaging Madame Fate, [[spoiler: and dies after someone poisoned his drink.]]
** Tabitha the Lion Tamer: Wants revenge on Madame Fate who killed her favorite lion, [[spoiler: and then she ends up under the jaws of her ''other'' lion.]]
** Franco the Excessive: Madame Fate's son who is being pestered to find a wife and thus is making him lose appetite. [[spoiler: He then becomes so hungry that he eats a horse.]]
** Dr. Goodwell the Medicine Man: A snake-oil salesman who takes more of his fair share of funds from the carnival. [[spoiler: He is then captured by his own snake and about to be devoured.]]
** Puddles the Clown: A SadClown who believes that the circus is going cheap and wants it to be like the good old days. [[spoiler: Gets killed when he accidentally shoots himself with a real gun instead of a Bang! flag gun.]]
** Dante the Tattooed Man: Using his body to advertise different circuses, [[spoiler: he dies by hanging himself by the only place without a tattoo--his tongue.]]
** Mao and Amber Tan, the Acrobats: Brother and sister duo who are known to be pickpockets when not performing. [[spoiler: When they do get to perform they fall to the ground without a net to save them.]]
** [[spoiler: Madame Fate: the fortune teller who finds out that she's dying and asks the Master Detective to help find her murderer...only to find out too late that she died ''because'' she brought the Master Detective to solve the case!]]
* KilledOffForReal: In ''Fate's Carnival'', [[spoiler: Franco, Art and Tabitha have been killed off, as all that's left of them are their bones.]]
** [[spoiler: The acrobats are implied to have plummeted to their doom after The Master Detective wakes up all the ravens in the tower.]]
** [[spoiler: Charles and Victor as well, since Alister was seen berating their ghosts with the Black Lantern and don't show up in ''Sacred Grove''.]]
** [[spoiler: ''Ravenhearst Unlocked'' has Alister stab his granddaughter, Gwendolyn, to death.]]

** Same deal in ''Return'', except this time it's [[spoiler: jeweled hearts]] you need to collect.

** [[spoiler: Subverted in ''Escape From Ravenhearst'', where it's clear he was six kinds of AxCrazy before he even met her.]]
** [[spoiler: Alister blames all the trouble that befell Ravenhearst and the Dalimars on Charles falling for Emma, because if he hadn't, Charles would have continued his dark magic lessons with Alister.]]

* MadnessMantra: The ice-trapped students from ''Dire Grove''. Taken to DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment levels with [[spoiler: Sarah]], who recites [[spoiler: "I am the Hunter"]] ''[[BrokenRecord eleven times in a row]]''.

** In ''Dire Grove'', this happens literally when [[spoiler: supernatural forces cause your computer to spontaneously display the unlocking-code for a portal]].

* TheMarvelousDeer: The Forest Spirit from ''Dire Grove, Sacred Grove'' manifests as a blue-white stag with antlers made of ice. [[spoiler: Its child has the form of a fawn with budding ice antlers.]]

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: [[spoiler: While Charles Dalimar himself is clearly supernatural, it's unclear in ''Escape From Ravenhearst'' whether he was actually communing with his father's ghost at the insane asylum, or just imagined it while listening to a raven croaking.]]

** A non-literal example occurs in ''Escape From Ravenhearst'', where your determination to keep poking around in the ruins [[spoiler: gets Emma and the Somersets re-captured, at least for a while]].
** Because the Master Detective returned to the carnival, she [[spoiler: inadvertently frees Alister Dalimar from the Ball of Fate and it's up to her to re-imprison him again.]]

* ThePasswordIsAlwaysSwordfish: When you find the missing keys for the crafted typewriter, [[spoiler: the password you have to enter is always "victor".]]

* ProphecyTwist: [[spoiler: ''Escape'' establishes that Madame Fate was '''right''' that one of her carnival workers would murder her; she was only mistaken in thinking it was one of the ''current'' crew, rather than the "Freak Boy" from generations earlier.]]

* RapidAging: In ''The Black Veil'', the town of Dreadmond falls to a mysterious illness that cause the townspeople to age from approximatively sixty years in a heartbeat. [[spoiler: It turns out this is the deed of the town "benefactor", Richard Galloway, who worships the Goddess of Death.]]

** ''Unlocked'' establishes that [[spoiler: Alister was actually born in ''1547''. Even the Mistwalkers probably had no idea how old he really was when he joined them, and Lily was probably only another in a long list of offspring he'd killed to postpone his death while seeking permanent immortality.]]

* SamusIsAGirl: The Master Detective you play as is revealed to be female at the end of ''Madame Fate''. [[spoiler: It makes the AccidentalMarriage scene in ''Escape from Ravenhearst'' very unsettling.]]

* SealedEvilInACan: [[spoiler: Alister Dalimar is trapped inside the Ball of Fate. His attempt to escape is what brought the Master Detective back to the carnival and when she touched the artifact, she freed him. Madame Fate's ghost tasks her to re-capture him.]]

* SelfFulfillingProphecy: ''Madame Fate'' is about trying to prevent her murder and she asks the Master Detective to help out. [[spoiler: She ends up dying ''because'' she asked The Master Detective for help. Unknowingly, The Master Detective was followed by the spirit of Charles Dalimar, who is not only angry at The Master Detective for freeing Emma, but also has a grudge against the members of Fate's Carnival for how he was treated when he was one of them, as shown in ''Escape From Ravenhearst''.]]

** And the dangling thread is ''finally'' picked up in ''Rewind'', although given how that game involves [[spoiler: TimeTravel and wonky time-vortices]], it's ambiguous as to precisely ''how'' it ties off the loose end.

** By collecting all the morphing objects in the bonus gameplay of ''Shadow Lake'', The Master Detective [[spoiler: receives a ticket to Madame Fate's Carnival, meaning they still have work to do there...]]

** [[spoiler: Also, the missing man you search for in ''13th Skull'' turns out to be a villain, whose equally-villainous family knew where he was all along. Finding him gets you threatened, then him and his family killed by a vengeful ghost.]]

** Played literally in the climax, [[spoiler: when you go to the world of the dead and discover that it is cold and icy, just like your world has been becoming lately]].

* TakeYourTime: At the end of ''Dire Grove'', [[spoiler: the possessed graduate students successfully free the imprisoned Banshee, who immediately begins her revenge plan of [[EvilIsDeathlyCold freezing the entire planet in a perpetual winter.]] The player can take as long as they want in defeating her, though--there'll never be any consequence for delaying the final puzzle.]]

*** It also reveals that [[spoiler: Charles's unexpected appearance in ''Madame Fate'']] was also this trope.

-->'''Madame Fate:''' ''(to The Master Detective)'' I was wrong! [[spoiler: It wasn't them [the carnies]! It was you! This is all YOUR FAULT!!]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The missing Blackpool folks in ''Escape From Ravenhearst'' are seen [[spoiler: tethered to the final house]], but you don't actually see if they got loose after [[spoiler: it blows up and you meet the ex-ghosts in the garden]].

** In ''Ravenhearst Unlocked'', the Master Detective locks [[spoiler: Charlotte]] in the Asylum's storage room. She's well and alive, and responds to the Master Detective's taunts after Tanatos's departure; but she isn't mentioned at the end of the storyline, even with [[spoiler: her sister's death]].

* WhoMurderedTheAsshole: ''Madame Fate'' is all about preventing this trope from occurring. The titular character claims to be an innocent victim of an impending doom...which she blames on her staff, who she outright declares "miserable lackeys." Investigating each suspect reveals that Madame Fate is a BadBoss who mistreats the carnies. Some of them [[LaserGuidedKarma have their deaths coming]], but others seem genuinely innocent or have simple desires, like Bianca the Daredevil, who has been suffering migraines and wants to stop performing some of her stunts to heal (she's perfectly willing to do safer ones), or Tabitha the Lion Tamer, whose favorite lion was poisoned ''by Madame Fate herself'' just because she didn't like cats. As such, it's hard to feel much sympathy for the good Madame considering what a {{Jerkass}} she is to anyone who mildly annoys her, [[spoiler: even when she does die at the hands of Charles Dalimar at the end of the game.]]

* YouCantFightFate: Madame Fate calls in the Master Detective to prevent her murder. It turns out [[spoiler: the killer is at Fate's Carnival ''because'' the Master Detective is there and because Madame Fate requested the Master Detective in the first place. Talk about irony]].
** Shouldn't that be [[IncrediblyLamePun You Can't Save Fate]]?

There are currently twenty-five main games in the series for home computer:

* TearsFromAStone: At one point in ''Fate's Carnival'', the angel statue lighting the path to Madame Fate's trailer [[JumpScare suddenly starts shedding thick, black tears]].
--> '''Master Detective''': "Great, now the angel's crying. The angel ''statue'', that is."

* FourElementEnsemble: The Banshee from ''Dire Grove'' is the vengeful spirit of a young woman, who was sacrificed in ancient times by a farmer (earth), a fisherman (water), a blacksmith (fire), and a hunter (presumably of birds and/or via archery, hence air).

* HauntedHotel: The eponymous Pendle Tower.

There are currently twenty-four main games in the series for home computer:

There are currently twenty-three main games in the series for home computer:

* AnAxeToGrind: [[spoiler: A sketch in Emma's diary in ''Ravenhearst'' strongly suggests that Charles murdered her with a hatchet.]]

* RubeGoldbergDevice: Wiki/TheOtherWiki compares the door puzzles in ''Ravenhearst'' to these. The complex puzzles in the other games may also qualify, as well.

* ChildByRape: Possibly. A reference in ''Return to Ravenhearst'' has been interpreted by many fans (and Wiki/TheOtherWiki) as evidence that [[spoiler:Charles forced himself on Emma's nursemaid Rose, resulting in his equally deranged son Victor]].

* CrusadingWidower: Samuel Crowford blames Bjorn and the Mistwalkers for the death of his wife and the disappearance of his son, so he tries to rally the townsfolk against them. [[spoiler:Most of the town actually don't want to fight and flee instead. The two hunters who stay behind with Samuel are there to ensure he doesn't get into deeper trouble.]]

* WhoMurderedTheAsshole: Madame Fate claims to be an innocent victim of an impending doom...which she blames on her staff, who she outright declares "miserable lackeys." Investigating each suspect reveals that Madame Fate is a BadBoss who mistreats the carnies. Some of them [[LaserGuidedKarma have their deaths coming]], but others seem genuinely innocent or have simple desires, like Bianca the Daredevil, who has been suffering migraines and wants to stop doing some of her stunts to heal (she's perfectly willing to do safer ones), or Tabitha the Lion Tamer, whose favorite lion was poisoned ''by Madame Fate herself'' just because she didn't like cats. As such, it's hard to feel much sympathy for the good Madame considering what a {{Jerkass}} she is to anyone who mildly annoys her.

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Huntsville'' and ''Prime Suspects'' are lighthearted mysteries about silly crimes, with cartoonlike characters (many of whom have [[PunnyName Punny Names]]) and goofy scenes. Then comes ''Ravenhearst'', which features the story of a HauntedMansion, several genuinely disturbing puzzles and objects, and a plot that centers on [[spoiler: a young man who felt so [[EntitledToHaveYou entitled]] to a woman who rejected his advances that he poisoned her, tried to drive her insane, and then ''brutally murdered her with an axe'', trapping her spirit in the manor for over a hundred years]]. It's a massive tone shift that persists throughout the rest of the series.

* HedgeMaze: In ''Black Crown'', the Crown Estate features a very large hege maze, and the Master Detective has to use a dog's guidance to avoid getting lost within it.

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Dear lord, Charles' life was ten types of crazy, it's no wonder he went insane. It almost makes you feel sorry for him when further information about his family is revealed, especially since his father being a lunatic hell-bent on achieving immortality at all costs [[spoiler:including killing his own descendants]] will do that to a guy.