Night of the Walking Dead is a MS-DOS formerly-commercial text adventure game written with The Quill (I'm not sure how we know this) and is © 1992 by John Olsen. It is part of his Tales of Horror collection.
You are in an old rundown cemetery at the edge of a Louisiana bayou, looking for the grave of your Aunt Bedilia. Can you bring back her locket? Or will you be thwarted by the secrets of the dead?
This solution is by David Welbourn. In 2020, I played this game using the DOSBox emulator.
Note: This game doesn't use short location names; these names are of my own invention.
Notes:
Outside Morgue
> n. w.
Autopsy Room
> exam cabinet. (find a tape recorder)
> take recorder. exam recorder.
> e. e.
Crematory
> exam pipe. (no valve handle)
> exam door. (open; pilot light out)
> w. n. w.
Cold Storage Room
> take tape. put tape in recorder.
> push play. (Coroner says bodies are disappearing and reappearing.)
> e. e.
Janitor's Room
The recorder doesn't mention that it has batteries; you must deduce that the batteries are there all by yourself.
> take flashlight. turn on flashlight. (no batteries)
> take batteries. (They fall out of the recorder.)
> drop recorder. take batteries. put batteries in flashlight.
> e. open door. (locked)
> w. n.
South End of Cemetery
A thrown knife just misses you! And the caretaker falls dead at your feet.
> exam caretaker. (dead)
> take knife. exam tombstones.
Let's tour the cemetery clockwise:
> w.
SW Corner of Cemetery
> exam door. open door. (It won't open.)
> n.
NW Corner of Cemetery
> exam grave. exam coffin.
> e. e.
NE Corner of Cemetery
> exam gravestone. exam hand.
> s. e. s.
Rectory
Because we can only carry up to four items at a time, just leave the book and stapler here for now.
> take book. read book. drop book.
> exam desk. exam stapler. (empty)
> n. e.
Sanctuary
CAUTION: Don't go down into the hole without a working flashlight.
> exam floor. break floor. d.
Darkness / Under the Floor
> turn on flashlight. take flint. u.
Sanctuary
> turn off flashlight. drop flint.
> e. u.
Organ Loft
> exam organ. play organ. (Need to fix the bellows with stapler.)
> exam music. (A dirge.)
> d. w. w. n.
Anteroom
CAUTION: There are dangerous bats in the bell tower. Scare them away by pulling the rope.
> exam rope. pull rope. (Bats fly away.)
> u.
Bell Tower
CAUTION: Don't stay too long up here! The bats will return in a few turns, and if you're still here, they'll kill you.
> take key. d.
Anteroom
Now that you have the key, it's okay to cut this rope and use it elsewhere.
> cut rope. (with the knife)
> take rope.
> s. w. w. n. n.
Misty Path
> unlock door. (with the shiney new key)
> drop key. open door. e.
Darkness / Boathouse
> turn on flashlight. take oars.
> w.
Misty Path
Someone attacks you. Your flashlight is gone! Don't worry; you'll get it back later.
> n.
Dock
> exam boat. e.
In Boat (near cemetery)
CAUTION: It's only safe to cut the boat's rope when you're in the boat and have another rope to tie the boat with. If you ever leave the boat when it's untied, it will float away and be lost forever.
> row. (The boat is tied to the dock.)
> untie boat. cut knot. drop knife. (You won't need it again.)
> row.
In Boat (near island)
> tie rope. drop oars.
> w. n. w.
West Side of Island
There's a dredge here but you can't do anything with it.
> e. e.
East Side of Island
CAUTION: This is a very dangerous location. Always always always go up into the tree as soon as you enter here from the west. Do not stop to examine the owl or the tree. Just go up right away.
> u. (The owl flies away.)
In Cypress Tree
A shadowy figure appears in the fog. Note the bell ringing during your time up here; there may be something new in the bell tower.
> exam figure. (It passes by and walks into the swamp.)
Now it's safe to go down and do whatever you might need to do on the ground. Remember this manuever for later.
> d. w. n.
Shack
CAUTION: Don't go downstairs yet! You don't have the flashlight and it's dark down there!
> take garlic. call anyone. exam bed.
> n. open door. (locked)
Head back to the bell tower with the garlic. The bats hate garlic.
> s. s. e.
In Boat (island to cemetery)
> untie boat. take oars. row. drop oars. tie boat.
> w. s. s. s. e. e. n. u.
Bell Tower
If you're carrying the garlic, you can safely revisit the bell tower; the bats will fly away.
New here: the dead body of the caretaker and your flashlight.
> drop garlic. take flashlight. exam body.
Return to the shack:
> d. s. w. w. n. n. n. e.
In Boat (cemetery to island)
> untie boat. take oars. row. drop oars. tie boat.
> w. n. n. d.
Darkness / Cellar
> turn on flashlight. take shovel. exam shovel.
> u.
Shack
> turn off flashlight.
> s. w.
West Side of Island
CAUTION: This bottle is explosive. Don't ever "drop" it; instead, put it down on things, such as the ground. Also, never make loud noises near the bottle, unless you want to make it explode that way.
> dig. (with shovel; you find a bottle)
> take bottle. exam bottle.
Head to the northeast corner of the cemetary:
> e. s. e.
In Boat (island to cemetery)
> untie boat. take oars. row. drop oars. tie boat.
> w. s. s. e.
NE Corner of Cemetery
> dig. (with shovel)
You find a body of a pauper in a pine box and a lock pick. Then a grave robber steals your shovel!
> take pick. put bottle on ground.
Now that you have a lock pick, grab that lockpicking book from the rectory and (sigh) return to the shack.
> s. e. s.
Rectory
> take book. n. w. w. n. n. n. e.
In Boat (cemetery to island)
> untie boat. take oars. row. drop oars. tie boat.
> w. n. n.
Shack
You must have both the lock pick and the lockpicking book for this to work. Also, you won't need either after this. You can't pick the lock of the janitor's closet door nor the crypt door.
> pick lock. drop pick. drop book.
> open door. n.
Closet
> take ball. (You hear the chapel organ.)
> rub ball. (A voice advises total destruction.)
> drop ball. (You no longer need it.)
Heed the musical cue and return to the organ loft:
> s. s. s. e.
In Boat (island to cemetery)
> untie boat. take oars. row. drop oars. tie boat.
> w. s. s. s. e. e. e. e. u.
Organ Loft
The shovel and grave robber's body are now here.
> take shovel.
> d. w.
Sanctuary
Let's move the flint to the crematory.
> take flint. w.
Vestibule
Around this time, you hear an ambulance siren. It'll be outside the morgue.
> w. w.
South Side of Cemetery
Leave the shovel here for later.
> drop shovel. s. s. e.
Crematory
> drop flint. w. s.
Outside Morgue
An ambulance is now here.
> exam ambulance. s.
Front of Ambulance
> take keys. exam keys. e.
Back of Ambulance
> exam body. e. n. n. e.
Janitor's Room
> unlock door. drop keys. open door. e.
Janitor's Closet
There's a little confusion if you try to "exam staples". When the game says "It's empty", it's saying the stapler is empty, not the box of staples.
> take handle. exam handle. take box.
Let's go light the crematory furnace:
> w. w. s. e.
Crematory
You're attacked. You've lost the handle.
> w. n. w.
Cold Storage Room
The valve handle and ambulance driver's body are here.
> take handle. e. s. e.
Crematory
> put handle on pipe. turn on pipe.
> take flint. light pilot. drop flint. exam door.
Now, how do you feel about fixing the organ and playing it?
Grab the recorder and the stapler on the way there.
> w. n. e.
Janitor's Room
> take recorder. w. n. e. e. s.
Rectory
> take stapler. put staples in stapler. exam stapler.
> n. e. e. u.
Organ Loft
> staple bellows. drop stapler.
> take music. play organ.
Let's try to record organ music on the recorder.
> take batteries. (They fall out of the flashlight.)
> take batteries. put batteries in recorder.
> push rewind. push record. play music.
Before you play, you're attacked yet again. The music is missing.
> push stop.
Head back to the island:
> d. w. w. w. w. n. n. n. e.
In Boat (cemetery to island)
> untie boat. take oars. row. drop oars. tie boat.
> w. n. e.
East Side of Island
The music is here, but DON'T take it yet! Go UP!
> u.
In Cypress Tree
> wait. d.
East Side of Island
> take music. w. s. e.
In Boat (island to cemetery)
> untie boat. take oars. row. drop oars. tie boat.
> w. s. s. s. e. e. e. e. u.
Organ Loft
> push rewind. push record. play music. push stop.
> push rewind. push play. push rewind. drop music.
You're probably wondering what good the recorded music is. Well, head to the crypt door, and grab the shovel on the way:
> d. w. w. w. w.
South Side of Cemetery
> take shovel. w.
SW Corner of Cemetery
You are attacked again! Now the recorder is missing.
> n.
NW Corner of Cemetery
> dig. (with shovel. Grave robber's body and tape recorder found.)
Unfortunately, if you just take the recorder back to the crypt door, you'll be attacked yet again and you'll have to re-dig here. Burn this body in the crematory. It's heavy, so drop everything else first before trying to take it.
> drop flashlight. drop shovel. take body.
> e. s. s. s. e.
Crematory
> put body in furnace. close door. push button.
> open door. exam furnace. (The grave robber is gone for good.)
> w. n. n. n. w.
NW Corner of Cemetery
> take recorder. take flashlight.
> s.
SW Corner of Cemetery
> push play. (The crypt door opens!)
It's probably dark in there, so move the batteries into the flashlight:
> take batteries. drop recorder.
> take batteries. put batteries in flashlight.
> w.
In Door of Crypt
You are attacked again! Now the flashlight is missing. Of course it is.
> e. n.
NW Corner of Cemetery
> take shovel. e. e.
NE Corner of Cemetery
> dig. (with shovel. Pauper's body and flashlight found.)
Let's burn this body too.
> drop shovel. take body.
> w. s. s. s. e.
Crematory
> put body in furnace. close door. push button.
> open door. exam furnace. (The pauper is gone for good.)
> w. n. n. n. e.
NE Corner of Cemetery
> take flashlight. take bottle.
> s. w. w. w.
In Door of Crypt
> turn on flashlight. d.
Inside Crypt
I did not expect a telephone here.
> exam coffin. open coffin. (too heavy)
> phone anyone. (Yes, it's a working phone.)
> put bottle on lid.
> u.
In Door of Crypt
Let's, uh, head back to the shack:
> turn off flashlight. e. e. n. n. n. e.
In Boat (cemetery to island)
> untie boat. take oars. row. drop oars. tie boat.
> w. n. n.
Shack
> call crypt. (You hear a distant explosion.)
> s. s. e.
In Boat (island to cemetery)
> untie boat. take oars. row. drop oars. tie boat.
> w. s. s. s. w. w.
In Door of Crypt
> turn on flashlight. d.
Inside Crypt
> exam remains. take locket.
> u.
In Door of Crypt
> turn off flashlight. e. e.
South Side of Cemetery
You're attacked again! Now the locket is missing. Back to the shack:
> n. n. n. e.
In Boat (cemetery to island)
> untie boat. take oars. row. drop oars. tie boat.
> w. n. n.
Shack
The body of the caretaker is here, pointing under the bed.
> exam bed. (Locket found.)
> drop flashlight. take body.
Back to the crematory:
> s. s. e.
In Boat (island to cemetery)
> drop body.
> untie boat. take oars. row. drop oars. tie boat.
> take body.
> w. s. s. s. s. s. e.
Crematory
> put body in furnace. close door. push button.
> open door. (The caretaker's body is gone.)
Go back and get the locket:
> w. n. n. n. n. n. e.
In Boat (cemetery to island)
> untie boat. take oars. row. drop oars. tie boat.
> w. n. n.
Shack
Leave the flashlight here. You don't need it any more.
> take locket.
Let's go get the keys from the janitor's room and drive outta here.
> s. s. e.
In Boat (island to cemetery)
> untie boat. take oars. row. drop oars. tie boat.
> w. s. s. s. s. e.
Janitor's Room
> take keys. w. s. s. s.
Front of Ambulance
You're attacked. The keys are missing. Sigh. Back to that island.
> n. n. n. n. n. n. n. e.
In Boat (cemetery to island)
> untie boat. take oars. row. drop oars. tie boat.
> w. n. e.
East Side of Island
Ignore the driver's body and keys! GO UP.
> u.
In Cypress Tree
> wait. d.
East Side of Island
Time to burn this body too.
> drop locket. take body. w. s. e.
In Boat (island to cemetery)
> drop body.
> untie boat. take oars. row. drop oars. tie boat.
> take body.
> w. s. s. s. s. s. e.
Crematory
> put body in furnace. close door. push button.
> open door. (The driver's body is gone.)
That's the last of them. Go back and get the locket and keys:
> w. n. n. n. n. n. e.
In Boat (cemetery to island)
> untie boat. take oars. row. drop oars. tie boat.
> w. n. e.
East Side of Island
Ignore the locket and keys! GO UP.
> u.
In Cypress Tree
> wait. d.
East Side of Island
> take keys. take locket.
> w. s. e.
In Boat (island to cemetery)
> untie boat. take oars. row. drop oars. tie boat.
> w. s. s. s. s. s. s. s.
Front of Ambulance
> drive.
The sheriff and district attorney meet you at the city limits. When they find the locket in your possession, they sign the legal documnets which release your inheritance.
Congratulations! You lived through the Night of the Walking Dead! You have taken several turns.
*** END OF GAME ***
There's no score, but you might want to know:
The characters in this game are little more than their names and almost all the people involved are dead.
From selected parts of the associated README file:
SHAREWARE
These games are Shareware, and are copyright (c) 1992 by John Olsen. If you play them, register by sending your $20 (US) Shareware fee to:
John Olsen
P.O. Box 181
Newberg
Oregon 97132
USABy sending your Shareware fee, you are compensating the author for his time, effort, and creativity. This will encourage further efforts. And by sending in your Shareware fee, you also will become a registered user and receive maps, hints, and full solutions to all three adventure games. Specifically ask for SOLUTION KIT #1 to make sure you get the proper solutions, hints and maps for all of these games.
TECHNICAL STUFF
These games are copyright (c) 1992 by John Olsen. You are free to use, copy and distribute DEAD, LEGACY, and PHANTOM for NON-COMMERCIAL use if:
- They are not modified in any way.
- No fee is charged for use.
- Only a nominal fee not to exceed ($5) for expenses and handling in copying and distribution.
If you distribute DEAD, LEGACY, and PHANTOM to friends, associates, or to a computer bulletin board system (BBS), please distribute the file HORROR30.SDN rather than the individual files for DEAD, LEGACY, and PHANTOM.
All endings end with END OF GAME. You're also told how many turns you took.
You will die
You will lose
You will win
Also, you can make the game unwinnable
You have a carrying capacity of four items.
Your possible inventory, in the approximate order you'll pick them up:
This walkthrough was funded via Patreon with