In this spooky adventure, it's October 31st, and you're a woman living in the small town of Dimpleford. Life was nice and simple until a witch started brewing something EVIL in the park. The ghost of your late grandmother urges you defeat this evil by midnight or else all freedom will be lost!
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 5 of the game.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of an interactive fiction game. Please make an honest effort to play the game before reading this walkthrough.
> w.(The ghost of your grandmother warns you: defeat the evil in town by midnight!)
> w.
Street South
There's a ladder I want you to take to the park for later. Leave your stuff here and pick it all up later.
> drop all.
> w.
Neighbor's Backyard
> x kennel. x ladder. take it.
> e. n. w.
Park East
> drop ladder. u.
Up the Tree
> x squirrel. x balloon.
> d. e. s.
Street South
> take all.
> n. e.
The Local Shop
> x shelves. x oil. x sign.
> x machine.(vends water bottles for British notes)
> x Mrs Green. x magazine. x cheese.
> ask Green about cheese. take cheese.(for free)
> ask Green about witch.
> ask Green about Mr Green.
> ask Green about Beige.
> ask Green about Sam.
> ask Green about magazine.(She loves coins.)
> w. n.
Inside the Church
You only get a handful of turns with Father Beige when he's called away.
> x Beige. x altar.(Beige stops you.)
> ask him about relic.(A ring in his safe.)
> ask him about saint.
After Beige is called away, you can snoop. You also now hear scurrying under the pews.
> x altar. move altar.(passage down opened)
> x pews. x mouse. x iron key.
> give cheese to mouse. take key.
> e.
Vestry
> x safe. x dial.
Use the hint from the scrap of paper to open the safe. The consonants in the word "RURAL" suggests a right-right-left sequence. Your excellent hearing does the rest of the work.
> turn dial right. g. turn dial left.
> open safe. take ring. x it.
> w. d.
Darkness / Spooky Crypt
> light match. light candle.
> x candle. x corners.
> x bones.(You're pushed back by a ghost.)
> x ghost. talk to ghost.(Saint Dimpulus)
> give ring to him.
> look under bones. take coin. x coin.
> ask him about witch.(water is toxic to them)
> ask him about coin.
> ask him about Beige.
> ask him about God.
> ask him about squirrel.
> ask him about grues.
> ask him about broom.
> ask him about Mrs Green.
> u. s. e.
The Local Shop
> show coin to Green.(You trade it for a fiver.)
> put note in slot.(The machine spits out a bottle.)
> x bottle.(closed)
> w. s.
Street South
> unlock gate with key. s.
Spooky Cemetery
> x tree. x fog.
> x graves. take acorn.
> n. n. w. u.
Up the Tree
> drop acorn.(The squirrel leaves.)
> take balloon.
> d. w.
Park West
> open bottle.(noisy CRACK)
> save
> n.
Inside Coven
You can only enter here if you have a broom.
CAUTION: Interacting with the witch too much is dangerous. If you do anything she doesn't like, she transforms you into a bird.
> x witch. x cauldron.
> ask witch about cauldron.
> ask witch about broom.
Time to take her down.
> pop balloon.(using the toothpick; the witch is surprised)
> throw water at witch.(She melts into a frog!)
*** You have won ***
Extras
Characters
Father Beige is the priest in the church. He's also an amateur sleuth.
Mrs Evelyn Green is the co-owner of the local shop. She collects old coins.
The witch is in her coven. She is both evil and physically attractive.
A mouse scurries under the church pews after Father Beige is called away.
A squirrel, vicious and scrawny, lives up the tree in the park.
Found dead:
The ghost of Saint Dimpulus and his bones are beneath the church. He just wants his ring back.
Cameo appearances:
The ghost of your late grandmother warns you that you must defeat the evil by midnight or all freedom shall be lost.
A dust bunny runs out from under your bed.
A man briefly appears at the church to deliver some bad news.
Mentioned:
Sam, your neighbor, is on holiday in Ibiza (lucky girl).
Sam's dog is huge. Logically, its name is "Slaughter". Fortunately for you, it's not home today.
Mr Green is feeling poorly today.
Miss Crackers, Father Beige's housekeeper, has been accused of murder!
Acolytes of the witch are around somewhere.
Snoopy is name-dropped if you try to climb the ladder when it's leaning against the dog kennel.
Garfield is described but not named when you read the newspaper's comic strip.
Credits
This is the response to ABOUT:
This adventure was written by Andrew Apted for PunyComp 2025. It was originally planned for Ectocomp 2025, and hence it has a light-hearted spooky theme, but no horror elements.
This game is quite old-school, it often does what the player says even when their action makes the game unwinnable. However, it is not possible to die in this game, and nobody can be killed either.
There is a time limit in this game, though it is very generous. One strategy is to explore the town for a while, examining things and talking to people, then restart and try to solve the puzzles. The command "TIME" will show the current time, useful when the status bar is unavailable.
The cover picture is based on a public domain photo of a church (sourced from Wikimedia Commons), cropped and modified by the author, with some some text added on top.
Big thanks to my testers: improvmonster, Dark Star, kqr, Allyson Gray.
Thanks also to the people who answered my questions on the forums, especially Fredrik Ramsberg.
Apologies to G. K. Chesterton.
Endings
Game over
if you try to attack the witch.
if you try to kiss the witch twice.
if you ask the witch her too many questions.
if you put incorrect items into the cauldron too often.
if you pop the balloon and don't follow with throwing water afterwards.
if midnight comes and the witch is still around.
You have won
if you successfully throw water onto the witch. She becomes a frog!
If the witch attacks you, you're turned into at least one of three birds: a goose, a duck, or a turkey.
Whenever the witch wins, she eventually takes over the entire world.
Inventory
Items are listed in the order they're acquired in this walkthrough. You have no inventory limit unless you're carrying the ladder, in which case, you can only carry the ladder.
today's newspaper. It's on your lounge room's coffee table.
Read it and its three sections: the front page, the second page, and the comic. The front page warns you about the witch in the park. The second page tells you about Father Beige's relic. The comic is about a big fat cat.
a roll of tape. It's in your lounge room's cupboard drawer.
You don't need the tape.
a single match. It's in your lounge room's cupboard drawer.
In the darkness below the church, light the match, then light the candle (which is already there) (with the match) before the match expires.
a broom. It's in your backyard.
The witch won't let you inside the coven unless you're carrying a broom; she thinks you're an acolyte. Think of it as a membership card.
a scrap of paper. Acquire it by searching the leaves in your backyard.
Read it: it has the word "RURAL" written on it. This is a right-right-left clue for the safe in the vestry.
a calendar. It's in your bedroom.
You don't need the calendar for anything. It just informs you it's October 31st when you walk into your bedroom.
a sturdy ladder. It's in your neighbor's backyard.
You can't carry anything else while carrying the ladder. Also note that the ladder is too bulky to be taken indoors.
Drop the ladder in Park East. Now you can climb the ladder to the top of the tree there.
You can try to climb the ladder in other locations, but only the Park East location is useful.
some cheese on a stick. It's on a metal tray on the counter of the local shop. Take it; it's free.
In the church, after Father Beige is called away, examine the pews to find a mouse holding an iron key. Give the cheese to the mouse: it drops the key, takes the cheese, and you're left with the toothpick.
a toothpick. After you give the cheese on a stick to the mouse in the church, the mouse takes just the cheese and leaves you with just the toothpick.
Inside the coven, pop the balloon with the toothpick. This is one of the very few actions you can do that can surprise her and give you a chance to throw water at her immediately afterwards.
an iron key. In the church, after Father Beige is called away, a mouse is scurrying under the pews with a key. Give the cheese to the mouse; the mouse drops the key.
The key unlocks the cemetery gate.
a golden ring. It's in the locked safe in the vestry. To unlock the safe: turn its dial right, then right, then left (as clued by the scrap of paper).
Oddly, you cannot wear the ring.
In the spooky crypt, give the ring to Saint Dimpulus.
an ancient coin. It's under the bones in the crypt, but the ghost of Saint Dimpulus won't let you near his bones until you first retutn his ring to him.
In the shop, show the coin to Mrs Green. She gives you a five pound note in exchange for it.
a five pound note. In the shop, Mrs Green gives the fiver to you in exchange for the ancient coin.
Still in the shop, put the fiver into the vending machine's slot to obtain a bottle of water. Don't expect any change.
a bottle of water. Buy it in the shop by inserting the fiver into the vending machine's slot.
In the crypt, ask Saint Dimpulus about the witch to learn that water is toxic to witches.
Open the bottle anywhere but inside the coven; opening the bottle is noisy. It is now an open bottle of water.
After surprising the witch (by popping the balloon with the toothpick), throw the open bottle of water at her to win the game.
an acorn. Find it by examining the graves in the cemetery.
Up the tree in the park, show the acorn to the squirrel then drop it. While the squirrel is gone, take the balloon.
a balloon. It's up the tree in park east, but guarded by a squirrel. Show the acorn to it, then drop the acorn. Take the balloon while the squirrel goes after the the acorn.
Inside the coven, pop the balloon with the toothpick. This is one of the very few actions you can do that can surprise her and give you a chance to throw water at her immediately afterwards.
