House of the Midnight Sun
 a vampire's tale 

You begin as a vampire hunter, carrying nothing, in front of Castle Dracula.

There's lots of things to examine in game; try to look at everything you can. Sometimes "listen" and "smell" will give interesting responses too.

Take anything and everything you can. There is no inventory limit in this game. You may wish to use Inform's "inventory wide" command to make a very long inventory more manageable.

[The Dead Forest]

Examine: castle, window, door, crest, vine, thorns, trees, sap, sky, path, undergrowth, earth, archway, walls/cracks/stone/tower, moss.

Try: open door. climb vine. climb tree.

>west.

[The castle graveyard]

Examine: grave, inscription, mist, raven, coffin/lid (skeleton (pocket (bottle))).

Try: raven, hi. search skeleton. take skeleton.

>open coffin. take bottle.

>east. south.

[Deep in the Forest]

Examine: glow, castle/building/turrets.

>west.

[forest pond]

Examine: pool, water, mosquitos.

Try: swim (or drink water). examine bottle (after filling it).

>take water (or fill bottle). east. south.

[A forest clearing]

Examine: cottage.

>west.

[A derelict cottage]

Examine: hole/floor.

>down.

[A collapsed cellar]

Examine: roots, mud.

Note: This room is dark; you'll need the bottle of water to see by.

>west.

[A tiny room]

Examine: tinderbox/box, mud, voice/woman.

Try: listen. dig mud.

>take box. e. u. e.

[A forest clearing]

Examine: snow.

Note: A blizzard now covers the forest.

>sw.

[Behind the cottage]

Examine: straw, fire/smoke (after fire is lit).

Note: You know the verb "strike" if you examined the tinderbox. The command "burn straw" won't work.

>strike box. ne. n. n. w.

[The castle graveyard]

Note: The man of ice does not seem to be examinable. Head directly back to the fire. The blizzard will end when the creature is dead.

DANGER: If you delay too long, the creature will catch and kill you!

>look. (or anything else, like "wait")

>e. s. s. sw. (+50 pts when creature dies)

[Behind the cottage]

Examine: shovel.

Try: dig mud (when holding the shovel).

>look. take shovel. ne. w. d. w.

[A tiny room]

Examine: hand (when it's there).

DANGER: Don't take, pull, or touch the hand, or you will die!

>dig mud. e. u. e. n. n. w.

[The castle graveyard]

Note: This is a one-way trip; don't leave your stuff behind.

>dig mud.

[Below graveyard]

Examine: slime, brick, water, stone.

Try: smell. drink water.

>look. west.

[Devils Cave]

Examine: graffiti, woman.

Try: kiss woman. undress woman. ask woman about woman.

>take woman. east. north.

[A Brick Passageway]

Examine: rats, web, spiders.

>north.

[The nest of rats]

Examine: rats.

Try: listen. take rat.

Note: You cannot get past the rats until they are fed.

>drop woman. down.

[Underground waterfall]

Examine: notice/sign.

Note: There's also bats and a waterfall, but most commands aren't permitted because of the noise of the waterfall. The sign is a hint that the verb ENTER is needed.

>enter waterfall.

[A hidden passageway]

Note: The waterfall (and the noise) are also on the other side (of course). Use "enter waterfall" to cross back, should you ever want to.

>north.

[The Western end of the Smugglers cave]

Examine: water.

Try: swim.

>east.

[The Smuggler's cave]

Examine: gate, chains, pirate (cigarette).

Ask the pirate about: pirate, key/lock, door, castle, vampire, Count, croc/crocodile/Lenore, sewer, rat.

Also try: give anything to pirate.

DANGER: Don't hit or kiss the pirate, or you'll die!

Note: You can't light the pirate's cigarette with your tinderbox. The key isn't there until the pirate is taken care of.

>pull chain. east.

[The Eastern end of the Smugglers cave]

Try: listen.

>up.

[Wet stone steps]

>up.

[The Southern end of a Wet Passage]

Examine: notice, croc, chain, padlock.

Try: listen. kiss croc.

>x notice. x padlock. set lock to 1845. (+50 pts)

>d. d. w.

[The Smuggler's cave]

Examine: croc, key.

>take key. e. u. u. n.

[The Northern end of a Wet Passage]

Examine: door.

Note: You will, of course, need to have the key.

>open door. n.

[The chamber of dust]

Examine: girl, blood, web, dust, slab, window.

Try: kiss girl. talk to girl. undress girl. pull girl.

Note: You can neither help the girl, nor receive anything from her just yet. Come back here later.

>up.

[A cramped passage]

>up.

[Castle kitchens]

Examine: hook/bull (saw), flies, table, oven (pot (head)), sink (tap, cog, spider), flagstones/floor, walls/tiles, window.

>x bull. look in bull. take saw.

>x sink. turn tap. (+50 pts.) take cog.

>east.

[Pantry]

Examine: shelves, cupboards (sugar).

>open cupboard. take sugar. w. n.

[The Grand Dining Room]

Examine: door/doors, furniture, portraits, tapestries, table, rats, window, forest.

>west.

[The Great Hall] (middle)

Examine: walls/panels, Reaper, pattern/floor, ceiling, vine, window/light, forest, gallery.

>west.

[Castle Entrance]

Examine: doors, vine, thorns, table, bugs/insects, carpet/floor, thorn (after you've cut it, and after you're out of danger of being spiked).

Try: open door. cut vine.

Note: You must have the meat saw, in order to cut the thorn. You lose the saw after the thorn is cut.

DANGER: When you cut the thorn, the vine moves about! Grab the thorn and get out of there if you don't want to be impaled!

>cut thorn. take thorn. east. north.

[The Great Hall] (north end)

Examine: ice (Pestilence charm), door, inscription, painting.

>x ice. put bottle on ice. look. take all.

>up.

[Grand Staircase]

Examine: nest/wasps, staircase/bannister, carpet, window.

>drop sugar. up.

[Upstairs long gallery] (north end)

Examine: hall, angel, window, wolves, bannister, carpet/floor.

Note: The eastern door is locked until later. I don't know what triggers it open; agreeing to the witch's bargain, maybe?

>south.

[Upstairs long gallery] (middle)

>south.

[Upstairs long gallery] (south end)

Examine: door.

>south.

[The Master Bedroom]

Examine: girls, curtains, door, bed, wardrobe (tapestry), table/draw.

Try: listen.

DANGER: If you let them stay long enough, the ghostly women will kill you! Examine stuff after they're gone.

>open curtains. (+50 pts.)

>open wardrobe. take tapestry. x tapestry.

>west.

[The nursery]

Examine: pentagram, basket/crib, arrow/floor.

>push crib. west.

[A Secret passage] (bottom of stairs)

Examine: torches.

>up.

[A Secret passage] (middle of stairs)

Examine: web, spider.

>up.

[An Alchemists laboratory]

Examine: man/wizard, furnace, books, bottles, parts, walls/inscriptions.

Try: listen. talk to man.

Note: Examining the man is the trigger to get the man to ask the yes/no question. You cannot get any info from the man until you've got the woman in the next room to stop screaming.

>examine man. yes. west.

[Frankenstein's laboratory]

Examine: woman, beds, body, figure/monster, apparatus/board, cables, rack/holder, lever, diffuser, window, rain, ledge.

Try: hit/kiss woman or monster.

>enter window.

[Ledge]

Examine: wolves, cable, window.

DANGER: Down is fatal!

>climb cable.

[roof]

Examine: roof/tiles, winch, kites, hunchback (hand (tube)).

Try: touch hunchback. kiss hunchback.

>take tube. down. enter window.

[Frankenstein's laboratory]

DANGER: Don't stick around when the monster animates. He will kill you!

>put fuse in rack. pull lever. east.

[An Alchemists laboratory]

Examine: War charm (when you get it), vortex (once created).

Talk to man about: man, monster, magic/alchemy, castle, vampire, Count, horsemen/charms, tapestry, key, witch/cave/skulls, vortex.

Note: If you never look at the man again, you won't get the War charm!

DANGER: Don't hit the man, else he'll kill you.

>examine man. ask man about horsemen.

>ask man about witch. enter vortex.

[The room of sadness]

Examine: water, cat, candles, chains, writing, door.

Try: smell. hit cat.

>open door. s.

[A secret passage]

Examine: toad.

>se.

[Room of skulls]

Examine: skulls, roots.

>sw.

[The Castle Dungeon]

Examine: witch, blanket, cauldron, fire, wand, skull (when you get it).

Ask witch about: castle, Count, treasure, horsemen/key/hell, tree/life, Carmilla, cat/Pluto, torture/Jack/Ripper.

Note: I have no idea how you're supposed to know to ask the witch about Jack the Ripper when you haven't met him yet. I guess you're supposed to visit the Torture Chamber, then come back here to ask about it.

>ask witch about torture. west.

[A gloomy passage]

Examine: blood.

>open door. s.

[A torture chamber]

Examine: brazier/fire, straw, chains, passageway, instruments, rack, maiden, pit, board, straps, blade/pendulum, table (letter, grapes), rats.

Try: smell.

Note: You can take the letter and grapes, but you don't need them.

DANGER: Do not try climbing the chain unless you have the cat's silver skull! If you don't have the cat's aid, Jack the Ripper will kill you!

>climb chain.

[The Pit, and the Pendulum]

Examine: straps, blade, man.

>look. drop skull. (+50 pts.)

[A torture chamber]

>climb chain.

[Top of the chain]

Examine: chain, ceiling, passage.

>west.

[Windy Passage]

Examine: door.

>open door. n.

[the Castle art gallery]

Examine: Poe/door, Mona Lisa, art, mould, cabinet (green key).

>open cabinet. take key. west.

[ante-room]

Examine: statue, door, wallpaper.

>pull wallpaper. west.

[Glass passage]

Examine: window, shadows/wolves, door.

>open door. west.

[The southern end of a walled garden]

Examine: lawn/grass, bed/flowers/garden, turret/fire.

>north.

[middle of a walled garden]

Examine: pond, toad, statue/wolf.

>north.

[Northern end of a walled garden]

Examine: tree, apple (worm) (when you get the apple).

Try: climb tree. listen.

>talk to tree. look. take apple. south.

[middle of a walled garden]

Examine: werewolf, blood/mess, man (when appropriate).

>south. give apple to wolf. (+50 pts.)

>s. e. e.

[ante-room]

Note: The green key from the art gallery is for this door. It leads into the Great Hall, to the north (not south).

>open door. n.

[The Great Hall]

Examine: clock.

>n. n. u. u. e.

[Ante-chamber]

Examine: wallpaper.

>east.

[A haunted bedroom]

Examine: spiders, floor, bed, mattress, painting/ship, door.

>pull painting. south.

[Bathroom]

Examine: toilet, glint, handle, fittings, tap, tub, spider, Famine charm (when you get it).

DANGER: Attempting to take the coin is the trigger for the sewer creature. Timing is critical. You cannot flush too early or too late!

>search toilet. x green coin. take it.

>z. z. z. flush toilet. (+50 pts.)

>take coin. n. n.

[Tiny tunnel]

>down.

[Long Passageway]

>down.

[Jetty]

Examine: ship, plank, cave, sea.

Try: listen.

>up.

[Gangplank]

>up.

[deck]

Examine: crabs, rail, mast.

>south.

[stern]

Examine: rigging, pirate, bats.

>down.

[Below Deck]

Examine: table (chart), door.

>take chart. open door. south.

[Captains cabin]

Examine: desk, corpse (uniform, key, bottle), window, globe, chest (spy glass, log).

Try: turn globe. hit/kiss corpse.

DANGER: Don't drink the bottle! It's poison! (one dose only)

>search corpse. take silver key. take blue bottle.

>unlock chest with silver key. open chest.

>take spy. x it. take log. x it.

>n. e.

[Crew Quarters]

Examine: hammocks, antidote (when found).

Try: search bluebeard. search isaac.

Note: The antidote is for the poison found with the captain. The name "Hartnell" is from the log.

>search hartnell. take antidote. w. n.

[Forward Compartment]

Examine: ropes/equipment.

>s. w.

[Galley]

Examine: table (message, pot).

Try: smell.

>e. u. n.

[deck]

>climb mast.

[Crows Nest]

Examine: deck, island.

Note: Remember the 128 degrees figure when using the spy glass.

>x spy. d. n.

[Ships bow]

Examine: winch.

>turn winch. s. s. u.

[Poop Deck]

Examine: wheel.

>set course to 128. d. n. n.

[Ships bow]

>turn winch. s. d. d.

[A small sandy island.]

Examine: tree, ship (head (cork)).

>climb tree.

[Tree top]

Examine: nest (seed)

>search nest. take seed. d.

[A small sandy island.]

>x ship. x head. x cork. take cork.

>u. u. climb mast.

[Crows Nest]

Examine: jetty.

Note: Remember the 180 degrees.

>x spy. d. n.

[Ships bow]

>turn winch. s. s. u.

[Poop Deck]

>set course to 180. d. n. n.

[Ships bow]

>turn winch. s. d. d. s. u. s. w. w.

>s. s. s. w. w. u. u.

[An Alchemists laboratory]

>enter vortex. s. se. sw.

[The Castle Dungeon]

Examine: Devils key (after it's created).

Note: Don't forget to TAKE the key!

>give seed to witch. x coin. take it. x key. take key.

>w. s. climb chain. w. n. n. n.

[The Great Hall] (north end)

>unlock door with devils key. n.

[Castle chapel]

Examine: devil statue, angels, organ, pipes, keyboard/keys, stations, saints, rubble, benches, altar, pulpit.

>north.

[Stone steps]

>up.

[Belfry]

Examine: storm/clouds, building/castle, forest, wolves.

Try: listen.

Note: "x spy" gives no special message here. Didn't see anything useful to try here, yet.

>d. s. e.

[The chapel pulpit]

Examine: pulpit, lectern, door.

>open door. n.

[base of clocktower]

Examine: pendulum/chain, weight/disk, door, ceiling/hatch.

>climb chain.

[high up in the clock tower]

Examine: beams, machinery/cogs/wheels, storm, spindle/shaft, face/clock, chain, hatch.

Note: When the clock strikes midnight, be in the chapel.

>put cog on spindle. d. s. w.

[Castle chapel]

Examine: crossbow (when you find it).

Note: The inscription on the devil statue refers to midnight and the witching hour, which is a hint that it has something to do with the clock.

>z. look. take crossbow.

There's not much reason to think of it, but now that it's midnight, go visit the woman in the chamber of dust to see if anything's happened with her.

>s. s. e. s. d. d.

[The chamber of dust]

Examine: woman (both before and after killing her), spiders, blood.

DANGER: Don't delay too long in shooting the girl, else she will give birth to a horror that will—need I say it—kill you.

>shoot girl. (+50 pts.)

>take thorn.

Return to the chapel...

>u. u. n. w. n. n.

[Castle chapel]

Note: If there was a clue as to which note to play, I missed it. I chose "C" by chance.

>play organ. play C. west.

[Draculas tomb]

Examine: mist, coffin, crest, dial, faces, altar.

>x altar. put tapestry on altar. x tapestry.

>x coffin. x dial. set dial to 2539.

Dracula rises!

Examine: man/Count Dracula (before and after), glass key (after), blood (after).

Note: "kill dracula" won't work. You must "shoot" him.

DANGER: You can be killed by Dracula if you delay too long. Some might see that as an honour.

>x man. shoot count. (+500 pts.)

>look. take glass key.

>e. s. s. s. s. e. u.

[The castle library.]

Examine: books, mice/spiders, inscription, cabinet, door.

Note: The cabinet is empty.

>unlock door with glass key. s.

[srorrim fo moor]

You have won, but at what price?