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Despite its charming and colorful appearance, it doesn't take much digging before one realizes something sinister might be lurking in this cheery neighborhood.
As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
In General
- Clicking right away onto the page isn't so disturbing. The website is colorful, cheery, and absolutely nothing feels eerie or out of place.
- Wally was always going to come off as creepy with his monotone voice and slow way of speaking. That's not getting into all the hidden recordings you can find, which all depict him as having a quiet, but manic obsession with trying to talk to you. He also loves to stare at you. A lot.
- His association with spirals and eyes seems to go further than just having a few screws loose, and an obsession with communicating with the viewer...these symbols are usually associated with hypnosis. While the worse Wally has done is affect the sanity of the Restoration Team and the Question-Answerer (which was implied to be unintentional on his part), there are still some implications he knows what hypnosis is and was probably trying to use it his advantage:
- His voice is slow and soft; something hypnotists do is to lower and slow their voice to put their subjects into trance. Granted this is actually how he talks but the symbolism is still there. And some of the things he says in the hidden audio files are more than a little cryptic.
- Spirals can be found on the hidden pages on the website, and the guestbook; spirals are also used as both a symbol, and a tool in hypnosis.
- Wally likes to stare, and some illustrations will have a more...intense stare. In fiction, (and reality to a smaller extent), eyes are more often than not used as a way to hypnotize someone, or as Wally likes to draw them, spirals as the pupils instead (before quickly colouring them in).
- Wally also likes to mention that the viewers have, "looked into his eyes"...
- Though the real kicker are his goodbyes to the viewer after his "It's-For-You! Talking Telephone Toy" conversation.Wally: You have to go too. You have work to do. Remember: Until you hear me again, keep your smile merry, and always know… that I love you, very much. Goodbye…
- It almost sounds like he's giving orders...what was he referring to by "having work to do"?
- He's aware of how visitors on the website find him adorable and sort of "pushes" them to make fanart of him...by showing them how to draw his eyes. From the looks of some of the audio files, the fanart and the guestbook, it seems to be working. All speculation and theory? Pretty much. Suspicious and a little alarming? Definitely.
- His association with spirals and eyes seems to go further than just having a few screws loose, and an obsession with communicating with the viewer...these symbols are usually associated with hypnosis. While the worse Wally has done is affect the sanity of the Restoration Team and the Question-Answerer (which was implied to be unintentional on his part), there are still some implications he knows what hypnosis is and was probably trying to use it his advantage:
- Home is a living house that talks via onomatopoeia sounds like window creaks and door banging. It also has eyes that stare at you, and makes sounds that sometimes seem like he's trying to tell you something. It also clearly leaks some kind of black ooze from its door, and on the website it can be seen that it lies in front of a portal into darkness surrounded by trees. The most it is shown of Home's inside is Wally creepily leering from a side window
◊, in the dark. - The guestbook has 8 pages of numerous people sending messages to the website, both in-universe and out by the way. They're either complimenting the aesthetic of the website, complimenting the art, characters, Wally himself, or just saying silly things. That doesn't sound too bad until you pay close attention to the messages.
- Some bring up that they have a memory of the show despite not recalling much of it, even saying it's almost dreamlike to remember it. Fake Memories perhaps?
- A small number don't seem to fall for it and are quite suspicious of the website. One of them is completely scribbled out. What's Wally hiding?
- And probably the most unsettling are some visitors just sound confused and scared mostly asking where they are right now. And Wally has an "interesting" response to one of them.Visitor: Where am I?
Wally: with me neighbor. - But this one has to take the cake:
- Another interesting thing to note is on some pages, highlighting the text can sometimes show someone else's text behind them. Namely, your favourite neighbor starved for some interaction...Wally: You're looking for me. Silly. Silly.
W a L L y: You won't write back. - Speaking of the viewer's message above, Wally responded with a couple of question marks and x's. If you open a new tab with this png, you get this:Wally: Why are you fibbing? You are not here. I don't see you. Please do not lie to me.
- Was Wally genuinely asking, or is he trying to act like this person is lying? Either way, still creepy.
- In fact, if you open new tabs with the pngs, you get some messages from Wally. A lot of them are...odd to say the least:Visitor 1: HELLO! HELLO! HELLO! HELLO! HELLO! HELLO!
Wally: I can hear you neighbor.
Visitor 2: Why do you like eye contact? (A large spiral covers the question).
Wally: So you will know I am looking at you neighbor. I am talking to you.
Many Visitors: I want to go to this neighborhood!
Wally's responses: You will. You will come with me.
- Some of the concept art is terrifying, especially the page picture of Wally with a human hand emerging from his mouth, several of the puppets' legs dangling from the top of the screen as though they have been hanged (above a slightly distorted Welcome Home logo), and Barnaby removing his head to partly reveal the face of the man inside him wearing a Slasher Smile, which is positively Springtrap-esque.
Prologue (October 2022)
- The character page on the Welcome Home website features a map of The Neighborhood, clicking on the buildings will pull up a character bio for each respective resident. However, clicking on the space just below Wally Darling's house, Home, will send you to page titled So Below
- As of the 7/22 update, a spiral forms under the above mentioned frightening image. If you click it you're taken to a page with an audio file. Unlike the other audio files of the update, which feature Wally, this one features Home. The only noise the player is greeted with is ominous creaking and the sound of its heartbeat.Home: .... . .-.. .-.. --- ("Hello")
- If Home has eyes and a heartbeat, then what else does it have that we haven't seen yet?
- As of the 7/22 update, a spiral forms under the above mentioned frightening image. If you click it you're taken to a page with an audio file. Unlike the other audio files of the update, which feature Wally, this one features Home. The only noise the player is greeted with is ominous creaking and the sound of its heartbeat.
- Across the Welcome Home webpage, one will find certain out-of-place letters. If one puts these letters into the website's URL, different combinations will lead to various unsettling webpages:
- Here you are greeted to a page where Wally's eyes are shaking violently as he tells the viewer to stay quiet out of fear of being overheard by something.
- Here you come to a pitch black page featuring Home, with a gif cycling through Wally's eyes superimposed over Home's own eyes. Under this image, the word "Open" sits ominously.
- There is one special error page you can find using this method. On the page, the typical image of Home is replaced by a telephone. Clicking on it leads to a morose rendition of Beautiful Dreamer, sung by Wally. Throughout the audio you can hear a heavy heartbeat, implied to be from Home itself.
- Here
The July 2023 Update
- If you zoom out enough on the website, you'll find out that a pair of eyes are staring at you, unblinkingly. To make matters worse, they can be found on nearly every non-hidden page of the website.
- There are various cute little bugs hidden throughout the website. Clicking on one takes you to hidden video recordings of a pair of characters interacting. All of the skits are entertaining...except for the fact that Wally is there as well, sitting or standing in a fixed spot. It's implied that he's staring into space, not listening to what anyone's saying. All the videos abruptly end when someone says his name. Is Wally disassociating?
- The final video recording is of Barnaby and Home chatting about the day, which is when Barnaby notices Wally sitting in front of his painting, not moving. Barnaby notes that this is out of character for him and expresses concern for him. This begs the question: were all the videos recordings from a lost episode? Or were all of these happening in the "present day"? And why is Wally acting so strange? What happened to him?
- By the way, to get to this recording, you have to get to this page, which features a weird photo collage of one of the episode scripts. While not particularly unnerving in itself (the collage was there before the update), now there's a photo-realistic roach skittering around the page. you have to click on the roach to get to the video recording.
- The "It's-For-You! Talking Telephone Toy" features responses from all the characters. But if you look at it from the characters' perspective, they get a phone call from someone who's silent and won't talk. Kind of unnerving when you think about it.
- The last character to respond is Wally, who, of course, knows exactly what's going on and responds accordingly:Wally: Hello? Hello? Helloooo? … Ha Ha Ha... I'm only kidding. I know you're there. Did you like my joke? ...I think you were going to say... Yes! …Ha Ha Ha… You know… It is hard to hear you think through this funny phone of mine. It is as though you aren't speaking at all. Maybe it is just a little fuzzy… Like me. Speaking of… Do you know who I am?… Oh, no. Well, that's not neighborly at all. We've never met before. But don't worry. Even though you and I haven't spoken before… I've seen you, every time you have looked into my eyes. I want to know… what did you see? I hope you saw a friend… but I'm not sure you saw a name. Stand still. Let's start over. Ring… Ring… Ring… Click… Hi. I'm Wally. I'm so happy to finally meet you. I think you're the absolute most. [sound of a creaking door] Uh-oh. I have to go now. Everyone is probably thinking about that strange phone call. It is funny to think about… Ha Ha Ha… Don't worry though, neighbor. It will be a little joke… between you… and me. You have to go too. You have work to do. Remember: Until you hear me again, keep your smile merry, and always know… that I love you, very much. Goodbye…
- The last character to respond is Wally, who, of course, knows exactly what's going on and responds accordingly:
- The (main) error page that one kind find themselves on isn't particularly frightening... Except that as of 7/22 update, a few stars will slowly be drawn on the page. Click on it you're taken to this audio. It's only three words long, but that's all it needs to be frightening.
- Speaking of which, several of the new hidden Wally recordings are actually supposed to be heard in a specific order. Putting the recordings in the right order spell out a single sentence: "i will help you understand, i will find a way soon neighbor".
- What he says during these recordings is also disturbing:Wally: I have more eyes than I did before. You know how to draw eyes. You draw mine many times. I know it is thanks to you, neighbor, that I can see. But it is still… I can't… See...Why won't you answer me, neighbor. Why can't I hear you. You know me. You do. Please open. Let me in. LET ME IN.
- What he says during these recordings is also disturbing:
- Speaking of which, several of the new hidden Wally recordings are actually supposed to be heard in a specific order. Putting the recordings in the right order spell out a single sentence: "i will help you understand, i will find a way soon neighbor".
- The last "answer" word on The Playfellow Exhibition page leads to another page called "password please". The page is a photo of hastily scribbled notes alluding to a password that's needed to unlock something. Clicking on the photo leads to a red, worn safe that takes you to a password entry page, and inputting the correct password leads to a "staff only" page that is the stuff of nightmares. Turns out the Question-Answerer and their team have been suffering headaches, fatigue, nightmares, and audible hallucinations of a phone ringing since work began on the exhibition. Also, all the merchandise the WHRP has uncovered is covered in some unknown substance that may be the cause of the team's downward spiral.
- The main document found on the page shows someone (likely the Question-Answerer) recording their slip into madness:I had a dream when I began working on the Playfellow Exhibition. Wally Darling was sitting at the foot of my bed with a rotary phone in front of him, ringing away. It looked just like the little toy phone we were restoring for the exhibit. It kept ringing. Wally stared at me like he was waiting for me to pick up the phone. Just staring, unblinking. The phone ringing and ringing. I couldn't move. I couldn't figure out how to move and pick up the phone. He kept waiting. I couldn't pick up the phone. I keep getting phone calls, now. Or at least, I assume that's what's happening. I keep hearing it ringing. All day, sometimes...I can still hear the phone ringing now. I don't know how to answer the phone. I need to answer the phone.
- There's also a gallery showing what appears to be behind-the-scenes of the Playfellow Exhibition, which includes the walls covered in a strange, dark-red splattering; various items not included in the exhibition that are covered in said strange substance; a notebook with an ominous eye within a red spiral; and copies of e-mails which include backlighted notes hiding the real feelings behind what's going on.
- One email to the exhibition team from the WHRP has the latter warn the former to only touch the exhibition items with gloves on, and to not be "alarmed" by symptoms of fatigue, dizziness, or nausea. The blacklighted note underneath the text reads "I am so sorry". Some have speculated that this note wasn't written by anyone on either team; it was possibly written by Wally, apologizing for what seems to be an unintentional side-effect of the team's restoration efforts.
- At the end of the page is a black hole in the white background, with shaking text that says "it's in here". Clicking it leads back to the regular 404 page.
- The main document found on the page shows someone (likely the Question-Answerer) recording their slip into madness:
- Someone reversed some of Wally's lines. This led to some even more unsettling stuff hidden within. Specifically, Wally saying "He's gonna hurt me", later followed by "I'm sorry".
The October 2023 Update
- There is a featured audio excerpt from a storybook record, "Happy Haunting to Boo and Yours!". It starts off innocent enough, with all the neighbors having gathered for Sally Starlet's Macabre Menagerie of Monstrous Mischief Making. Eventually everyone attempts to share scary stories with one another, only to fail and fall into their usual rowdiness. However, when Sally takes her turn to tell her tale, things immediately start to turn far more ominous.
- Sally's story is about why none of the neighbors leave their houses after dark: apparently something comes at night and eats any puppet who isn't in their home:Sally: Something from deep within the forest, far beyond the hills and mountains… No one knows what it wants or where it's going, just that it is persistent… Just that it arrives here. So many stories have risen about their origins… But I know what it is searching for… what it is searching for… what it is searching for… what it is searching for… what it is searching for… what it is searching for… searching… searching…searchingsearchingsearching-
- Before she can elaborate however, the storybook's audio begins to shift and distort, becoming imperceptible. Then, just as suddenly, the audio returns and Sally continues to recount her tale:Sally: It is looking for neighbors who have stayed out past the daytime, to gobble them up whole. That is why so few live here. It moves through the streets at night, but it doesn't break into homes. However, on rare instances, it will find itself left with an appetite… unsatisfied by its aimless wandering. Even the occasional unfortunate insect that has crossed its path is not enough. Those who have lived through the night say it isn't quiet about it, either. They always say you can hear when it gets closer to you. Do you know what sound it makes? I hear it every night. You can hear it, too, if you listen. Especially if you wait next to your window. First, there's rustling in the bushes. Then, a scratching on the pavement and the walls, as it crawls up. Finally, if you're quiet, you can hear its guttural sound…
- Before she can elaborate however, the storybook's audio begins to shift and distort, becoming imperceptible. Then, just as suddenly, the audio returns and Sally continues to recount her tale:
- Unsettlingly enough, after the record glitches out and readjusts itself, the audio no longer sounds worn and aged. It instead becomes crystal clear, making the fear in Sally's voice incredibly palpable. Then Poppy suddenly walks in offering treats, causing everyone to scream in fright, and the audio's quality returns to normal.
- Sally's story is about why none of the neighbors leave their houses after dark: apparently something comes at night and eats any puppet who isn't in their home:
- Along with the transcript for the above audio, there's a bug resembling a piece of candy that if you click on it, it will take you to a video recording called "listen". It starts out innocently enough, with the characters all having a chat at the gathering, but then after a while, things start to go downhill from there. The audio begins distorting horrifically while the screen becomes heavily pixelated and the corners of darken, flickering on and off. As everything glitches out, a nearby candy apple starts to move on its own. Then all the sudden, it gets a bite taken out of it despite nobody physically interacting with it. Now, who amongst the main cast can eat simply by looking at their food? Whose point of view have we been following through these videos?
The March 2024 Update
- The background on each page has an unsettling amount of eyes staring directly at the viewer. It is also stretched out and blurry, to very exaggerated extremes in certain pages of the site. The webmaster claims they have purged Wally's influence out of the site, but clearly something is very wrong there...
- A cookbook's page features a page with dishes themed around Barnaby... ending on a picture of gory splatters merrily titled "It's a dog! There he is!"
- Though if one is to consider this as being a picture of a hot dog which has been mauled by an actual dog, it becomes Nightmare Retardent instead.
- The collection of the characters on the home page has a very subtle, but incredibly chilling effect added to it. It makes it look like the site itself is breathing.
- The secret website features a series of recorded advertisiments and cartoons. Eventually, Sally asks Eddie to participate in Wally's homewarming party at Home. The mailman happily sits on a couch with a plate of a single pea on his hand, but suddenly he's in the darkness being plagued by a cacophony of sounds and visions from the previous commercials. The scene ends with a worried Frank shaking Eddie to his senses before the mailman dazedly asks to go back home.
Misc./Non-Website-Related Moments
- ClownIllustrations' official portfolio page for Welcome Home is where the project shows its true colors and, oh boy some of it is not for the faint of heart. Highlights include:
- The gallery, featuring several gruesome images like Julie sitting in a field of flowers holding a flower with eyes while an ominous figure looms behind her holding a bloodied hammer; Frank lying in the middle of what appear to be mutilated copies of himself; and several creepy images of Wally, one of which is him standing in front of a giant, stitched together Barnaby that's missing his head. Another is of him in the classic Baphomet pose with several dark figures behind him.
- Another one is a magazine-style print ad for the Talky Telephone, but three of its buttons are held down with black tape and two of them are missing. The description starts out normal, but devolves into...well...Call your favorite neighbors anytime! A delightful message just for you! They can't hear you though. speak up. speak up. speak up. speak up. speak up. speak up. i cant hear you. i cant hear you. (several lines of unreadable overlapping text followed by a long string of seemingly random numbers, with a big red "999" printed in the corner)
- The content warning section features the usual warnings of staring, puppets, gore, unreality/derealization, themes about death, isolation and mental health...
