Newspapers in Interactive Fiction![[top]](../img/top20x20.png "top"){kind=small}
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Let's look at some newspapers and newspaper clippings!
"Newspaper" icon by Smalllike from Noun Project (CCBY3.0)
Art D's Next Batch Adventure (1997)
> examine paper (@ Outside Castle)
One story is particularly interesting. Apparently the King, reported to have developed an obsession for breadsticks, has departed on a journey to find the best breadstick in the kingdom. It's a big kingdom, so he's likely to be gone a long time.
Arthur Yahtzee: The Curse of Hell's Cheesecake (2000)
> x newspaper (@ Garden of Eden)
You can't understand it, it's written in some ancient language. Oh well, it's probably just gossip and sensationalism.
Aunt Nancy's House (1997)
> x newspaper (@ Kitchen)
Today's copy of "The New York Times".
Beneath: a Transformation (2007)
> x newspaper (@ Cell)
It's a tattered, yellowed newspaper. It looks fairly worthless.
The Bloody Mess (1999)
> x newspaper (@ Hold)
The paper is dated a week from today. For some reason, the print is smudged and you can't read it but you can make out the headline: STOWAWAY FOUND DROWNED ON BOARD OIL TANKER.
Blue (2011)
> x newspaper (@ Plain)
The one you though worth saving. It has the famous X-ray of a human skull, and in it, small, segmented worms, grey and unfocused. But they aren't grey. They're blue, so blue. You saw them crawl out of your father's ears, fat and satiated, bulging and slow. He had stopped screaming by then, but you hadn't.
BSE (1996)
> x clippings (@ Lab Six)
A particular article, marked in bright blue highlighter pen, catches your eye. The headline reads simply:
DAIRY FARMERS BREED COW WITH SIX UDDERS
"Liz and Ned Brown from Yorkshire yesterday announced a triumph of genetic engineering - a cow able to produce six times more milk than an ordinary heifer..."
You remember the story, but you also remember that you didn't believe it at the time.
Bullhockey 2: The Return of The Leather Whip (2019)
> x discarded newspaper (@ Small Kitchen)
You can barely see it. It is lying at the very bottom of the bin. You can't make out any of the words. It must have just been tossed into the bin--you don't see any stains on it--Natalie would never do this--she usually has it out for you to read on Saturday mornings such as this.
> x trashed newspaper (@ Small Kitchen)
It's the edition dated Saturday, March 11, 2017.
You re-read the article about Mabel on the top half of the front page...
WOMAN ESCAPES PRISON UNIT
Authorities Baffled
No Evidence of Break-Out
Bunco County--Residents are advised to be on the lookout for the above inmate, a Mabel Margaret Maybre. She is believed to have escaped the local unit yesterday morning, possibly in a shipping van as it left the back of the prison kitchen that day. However, several non-inmate workers, including the driver of the van, said they found no evidence of anyone having been in the back of the van. The driver said that he heard no strange noises while driving.
"That's the only way she could have gotten out", says Warden I. M. Lowe-Downe. "We found no tunnels, no secret passages, no signs of cutting or digging," he said. He also said that Inmate Maybre frequently worked in the kitchen, helping to prepare breakfast for the other inmates, although she was not scheduled to work that morning.
One of the guards, speaking anonymously, stated with certainty that Maybre is likely to be found alone, as a thorough search and head count revealed no other inmates missing. "In my 40 years of prison work, this is the most unusual escape incident I have ever been aware of," said the guard.
Maybre has been sentenced for multiple business fraud offenses and financial crimes, but also kidnapping and torture. Though she is likely to be unarmed, she must be considered dangerous and anyone who has seen her or has any information about her whereabouts should call the police department immediately.... [if unsearched, add:] There is something odd about this newspaper, like some of it has been torn out...??
> x new newspaper (@ Community Area)
It's just a very new-looking version of the newspaper you looked at this morning. You turn the front page and read the section again--
This is the "society page"--really more of a gossip column--which is filled with gunk about who did and said what, often of very local importance (if of any importance at all). The part that was torn out of your copy is as follows--
NEIGHBOR OF CONVICT MAYBRE TELLS ALL, JUDGED "INSANE" BY POLICE
"They won't listen to me," says woman.
Bunco Springs--A local woman, claiming to be the next-door neighbor of another woman recently convicted of kidnapping, among other offenses, spoke to the Sentinel yesterday. She claims to have witnessed "strange goings-on" on the property of the convicted woman, including the appearance of a "giant bird" and various out-of-the ordinary "rituals" being performed nearby. "I was having nightmares, right up to the time [Mabel Maybre] was taken in. Even past that time. She appeared to me threatening me to keep my mouth closed!", said the woman, matter-of-factly. "[The police] won't listen to me, they think I'm crazy!"
She told us of her woes during the time the woman convict's house was occupied--"I wasn't happy. Before that I was having parties, with guests. She made me not want to do that any more. I didn't even want to go outside!" She shed tears during our interview.
"Imagine all the hurt and pain she caused others!", she said, alluding to the number of people who have come forward, claiming to be the victims of the convicted woman.
[The neighbor gave us this interview on condition of anonymity]....
This woman must be Mrs Lockridge, Mabel's next-door neighbor. You wonder whether you can go have a chat with her, maybe she can tell you something useful..??
Bullhockey! (2018)
> x newspaper page (@ Cluttered Passage)
It's actually ripped and wadded up, very yellow and faded. On one side are sale ads for various things from antique-looking push mowers to men's hats to drawing lessons. On the other is a cartoon of a rather elaborate-looking machine, made of various odd parts, lined up in a kind of circle, with each part making the next one do something. At the center of this is a character named 'Professor Butts', pulling the pieces into place, all to achieve a rather mundane result--though the 'machine' is far too complex for you to immediately understand, the goal seems to be to put away the professor's laundry...or some such thing. Without Natalie, you wish you had something like this...
The cartoon is signed by Rube Goldberg.
> x local newspaper (@ Wheel Platform)
The one headline you can read from here--ELECTION '16: FAKE FLARE OR REAL HAIR??
Cacophony (2009)
> x newspaper (@ Work Room)
The only part that really catches your attention is the picture on the front, of the Chimera Corporation building. Indeed, you feel that this picture is the reason for the paper's presence here.
> x newspaper picture (@ Kitchen)
The picture depicts the Chimera Corporation building.
Causality (2003)
> x proper newspaper (@ meadow)
Newspaper.
"Last days: A review of why the Asteroid has not been deflected.
The asteroid was first spotted in 2043. Due to its distance form the earth and low albedo, the observations needed to fix its orbit were only taken in March 2095. The asteroid has been on a highly eccentric elliptical orbit which extends almost as far as neptune's orbit It has only been visible from the southern hemisphere which accounts for its late discovery. Two attempts were made to deflect the asteroid. The Socialist African State sent a fusion bomb to the asteroid late 2095 with the power to vaporise a large enough chunk to push the remainder away from the earth. The failure of the warheads to detonate, caused by the virus that has been devastating the worlds communications systems caused this mission to be aborted. The second attempt was a last resort measure taken by the ESA. A mars-earth transport vehicle was fitted with enough plutonium to cause some damage to the asteroid. A human crew member, was onboard to control the mission, it was hoped that he might have been able to locate the SAS fusion warheads instead of having to use the low power fission bomb onboard. All hopes that this mission might be successful were removed late 2096 when the "Ark1" blew up unexpectedly. The blackbox communication showed evidence of an engine malfunction, but the size of the explosion indicates that the plutonium warheads must have been detonated. The asteroid is now set to hit earth today, 15th October 2097, at 6:17, local time, in the Indian ocean.
Today's weather has been removed in place of a full length review of survival tactics in order to keep complaints of 'bad-taste' down to a minimum."
> x tabloid (@ meadow)
Tabloidy newspaper. "Could the asteroid be Elvis?" you think probably not, but you don't have the musical or physics background to be certain
> x newspaper (@ Room)
Todays newspaper, or some newspaper since you have no idea of time.
5th July 2091 The important bits tell you that the CWM has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack on the University of Windhoek last week. Ah one that interests you: the Antarctic Research Base sent out a mayday signal two months ago. The single survivor, Natalie Warsham, is now in a critical state, suffering from an unknown virus. The military have disclosed that she was working on a virus in the months leading up to this incident. It is suspected that the virus in question is the MN390 virus that is being developed by the military. The other two occupants of the base were found dead. MN390's incubation period is still not known. Several of the original rescue team have been taken ill. Quarantine measures are to be put in place. It is not known how many people have been exposed to the virus. Several stories refer to the recent communications problems.
You recall that the virus was released in febuary 2091. The mars mission was sabotaged 2090.
The Chinese Room (2007)
> x newspaper (@ Second Chamber)
It's a rather damp and extremely boring edition of The Times from 1957. The only interesting item in it is a piece about an ongoing unsolved crime -- the theft of a priceless paracentric key from the key exhibition at the International House of Keys, loaned to the museum by the H.G Wells Reenactment Society.
The one witness to the theft, a recently-engaged young security guard, said "I don't know how the bugger snuck past me -- all I know is, there was a flash of light from the exhibition room, the alarm goes off, I rushes in, and he clunks me one. Don't know what with, but it laid me out for hours -- I was lucky he didn't have a proper weapon with him."
Citizen of Nowhere (2019)
> x newspaper (@ The Bar (Inside The Mash Tun Tavern))
Today's copy of The Empty Herald, the local newspaper.
The front page headline reads ' Lost Under Seige by Somewhere forces! - Prime Minister taken prisoner! - Fears of a full invasion!"'
(to read newspaper, type 'read newspaper'.
Clusterflux (2019)
> x newspaper clipping (@ Den)
It's dated a few years ago and shows a patient in a hospital bed surrounded by doctors. The headline is Frontotemporal Trauma and Acquired Savant Syndrome. It's about a mechanic named Blaine Wyatt who suffered severe brain trauma but survived only to begin displaying unbelievably advanced skills in math and technology. While hospitalized, he even dismantled the medical equipment in his room and rebuilt them, somehow making them more efficient. Specialists have commented that Wyatt's Savant Syndrome is the most profound case they've encountered. Alarmingly, after convalescence in a private institution where doctors could study him, Wyatt disappeared despite the building having tight security.
The article continues on about the syndrome but doesn't seem to mention Blaine Wyatt again.
The Damp Camp (1999)
> x newspaper (@ Camp site)
The paper is old, maybe two weeks. You can't remember what day it is after being in this hell hole for a while The pages are starting to go brown around the edges and the pages are now dog eared. What a stupid thing to have on a camp site.
Dessert Island Adventure (2022)
> x clipping (@ Halfway up the Lighthouse)
It's an article announcing the discovery of the “sesame” spell. You remember your grandparents telling you how inconvenient opening things was before the universal opener spell was discovered.
Digging thru Doctrine of the Dead (2004)
> x clipping (@ Ad Hoc Laboratory)
It has a picture of you, a budding young scientist. Unfortunately, it is a picture of you getting thrown out of a reputable scientific lecture, the bulge of your vestigial tail visible through your white robe. It says nothing about your goal to prove that your race, the Ferret People, are not as savage as the monsters lurking about, or that you can make a valuable contribution to post-human society.
It's just as well, tho. Until you have proof of your newest theory, no scientist on Earth would believe you... just yet.
[if notes untaken:] Your recent notes are visible beneath the clipping.
Dr Horror's House of Terror (2021)
> x newspaper (@ Guard's Break Room)
It's a red top. In the low light, you can just make out the headline on the front page - "Actor missing after police search".
Eduard the Seminarist (2007)
> x newspaper (@ Street)
An Escape to Remember (2006)
> x newspaper (@ Warehouse)
You scan the headlines... investigation of bank scandal... troll labor leaders calling for pay hike... princess recovered after falling in well...
It's the same old news you always hear.
Ghost Train (2003)
> x newspaper (@ A First Class Carriage)
"The Illustrated London News." Dated December 1935.
Review of the year:
March 29th - Stalin and Anthony Eden (Lord Privy Seal) met in Moscow to discuss German rearmament.
April 11th - The agricultural heart of the USA is paralysed by dust storms.
May 19- TE Lawrence 'Lawrence of Arabia' died in a motorbike accident in Dorset he was 46.
May 19th - The Silver Jubilee of George V (69) and Queen Mary is celebrated throughout Britain.
A Peace Ballot in the UK showed 11 million in favour of the League of Nations and a reduction in armaments.
June - General Election in UK Stanley Baldwin (Conservative) took over from Ramsay MacDonald and Clement Attlee became leader of the Labour Party.
Winston Churchill spoke out in favour of rearmament in the face of a Nazi threat.
September 3rd - Sir Malcolm Campbell set world land speed record of 301 mph in Bluebird a 12 cylinder Rolls Royce engine, 5 tons of weight, on the beach at Bonneville Salt flats, Utah.
October 2nd - Abyssinia invaded by Italy with ground and air forces.
October 20th - End of Communist army's 'Long March' under Mao Tse-tung.
November - The Post Office introduces the first Greetings Telegram.
> x newspaper (@ The Station's Waiting Room)
The Illustrated London News 1849:
(Saturday, March 24, 1849)ADVERTISEMENTS
GOOD FEMALE SERVANTS are obtained at the CITY DOMESTICS' BAZAAR, 33, Ludgate-hill, which is conducted by a Lady of the highest respectability. Servants with good characters will find it the best office to get a respectable situation. Open from Ten till Four, Saturdays excepted.
DU BARRY'S REVALENTA ARABICA FOOD, at a mere nominal expense of 6d. per day, which is amply saved in other food, speedily and effectually restores the functions of the stomach, intestines, liver, of the nervous and sanguiferous systems, however seriously impaired, to health, vigour, and regularity. The best food for infants and invalids generally, as it never turns acid on the weakest stomach. - DU BARRY and Co., 75, New Bond-street, London; Hedges and Butler, 155, Regent-street; Fortnum, Mason and Co., 182 and 183, Piccadilly, purveyors to her Majesty the Queen; Abbiss and Co., 60, Gracechurch-street; Moore, 109, Strand; Moore, 109, Strand; James Revell, 272, Oxford-street; Barclay; Edwards; Sutton; Newberry; Sanger; Evans; and through all respectable tea-dealers, grocers, Italian warehousemen, booksellers, druggists, chemists, and medicine vendors in town and country. Agents and the trade will please apply to Messrs. DU BARRY and Co. - N.B. Let no one be imposed upon by spurious compounds under a close imitation of name.
S PARKLING CHAMPAGNE, 42s per Dozen; Pints 24s, from Epernay and Rheims. Gordon's Golden Sherry, 30s; Superior, 36s. Amontillado Sherry, 48s and 60s. Old Port, from first-rate shippers, 30s, 36s, 42s, according to age. Pure St. Julien Claret, 28s per Dozen. - HEDGES and BUTLER, Wine Importers, &c., 155, Regent-street.- N.B. Pale Old Cognac Brandy, 60s per Dozen.
NO MORE PILLS nor any other Medicine. -- Dyspepsia (Indigestion) and Constipation, the main causes of biliousness, nervousness, liver complaint, flatulency, distention, palpitation of the heart, nervous headaches, deafness, noises in the head and ears, pains in almost eve asthma, dropsy, scrofula, consumption, heartburn, nausea after eating or at sea, low spirits, spasms, spleen, general debility, cough, inquietude, sleeplessness, involuntary blushing, dislike to society, unfitness for study, loss of memory, delusions, vertigo, blood to the head, exhaustion, melancholy, groundless fear, indecision, wretchedness, thoughts of self-destruction, and insanity, effectively removed from the system, by a permanent restoration of the digestive functions to their primitive vigour, without purging, inconvenience, pain, or expense, by...
Haunted House (2011)
> x press clippings (@ Upstairs bedroom)
Society news from the mid fifties regarding Shirley McDaniel, heiress of the McDaniel fortune.
Hero, Inc Part 1: Calling All Heroes (1997)
> x newspaper (@ Fairhaven General Store)
FAIRHAVEN DAILY HERALD
Serious Fraud Suspected In Fairhaven Bank!
Rumours are spreading that the Fairhaven Savings and Investment Bank is under investigation for serious fraud. Many customers are complaining that their bank balances have mysteriously run into overdraft. Bank officials are hotly denying the rumours, blaming them on mass hysteria caused by the water shortage.
Bedlam in School!
Teachers from the Fairhaven Public School are complaining that shrinking budgets and lack of resources have turned classes into a nightmare. "I don't know what to say," said the teachers' spokesperson, Sally Knight. "I can't control my students, and it's getting worse. We need help desperately!"
'Hydrophobia' Grows As Water Shortage Worsens!
Fairhaven is heading into the third dry week of the longest-running water shortage in town history. The Council met today to decide urgent solutions to the problem which has their best experts baffled. "We have no idea what's happening," observed the Mayor. "All our pumping equipment seems to be breaking down for no reason. It's just plain bizarre."
The paper ends with a series of full-colour advertisements for the Nytemare Video Plaza.
History Repeating (2005)
> x newspaper (@ Science Lab)
It's a framed newspaper from 1963. The main story is about the opening of the school.
Kook U (1997)
> x newspaper article (@ Library)
March 31, 1982, Wednesday, AM cycle
DATELINE: PITTSBURGH
A disbarred Butler County attorney who admitted stealing $28,000 from a client was sentenced to up to 23 months in prison Wednesday by an Allegheny County Common Pleas Court judge.
John Grubor, 36, of Butler, broke down and cried after Judge Robert E. Dauer imposed the 11 -to-23-month prison term to be served at the state Correctional Institution at Greensburg, Westmoreland County.
The judge also ordered that Grubor spend five years on probation after completing the prison sentence.
Grubor pleaded guilty last month to one count of theft by failure to make required dispostion of funds entrusted to him. He admitted he bilked a client out of $28,000 in a workmen's compensation settlement.
The state Supreme Court disbarred Grubor as a result of the theft.
The Legend of Horse Girl (2022)
> x newspaper (@ Laundry)
It's an old edition of the "Santa Diablo Seritaph" with a big frontpage headline that reads: "PRESSES STOPPED!! JUDGE BUYS NEWSPAPER OFFICES!!" The accompanying article reads "The Santa Diablo Seritaph will cease production after today's issue as per the orders of our beloved local judge and new owner of the Seritaph, Lazarus Dives Esq. When reached for comment, the judge said he plans to shutter the paper and tear down the office for a new snake oil mine. Judge Dives is well-known locally for his tough-on-other-people's-crime stance and also for being impervious to death dealt by any man born of woman. The judge credits his incredible longevity and success in business to Satan."
Letters From Home (2000)
> x newspaper (@ Attic)
Light into Darkness (2016)
> x newspaper (@ Void)
The front page story is of a woman who killed her daughter with a broken bottle for no discernable reason. The village mentioned in the article is the one where you and your family stay in the summer.
Mean Streets (2015)
> x newspaper (@ Department store - general store)
Motel California (2011)
> x newspaper (@ Foyer)
The newspaper is out of date by several weeks and is yellowing in its old age.
> x cage liner (@ Room 106)
An old news paper lines the bottom of the cage. The newspaper is opened to the comics and a partially filled in crossword puzzle. Actually, only one across answer is filled in with the letters, "DMLFLMNORYL".
The bear says, "What do you expect? I'm a bear. You should be surprised I can even write."
The Mouse Who Woke Up For Christmas (2018)
> x newspaper page (@ Middle of the Garden)
The discarded front page of a recent edition of the local paper.
[This is followed by a drawing of the page. Its text reads: "Daily Blah. Grand Opening of PETCETERA. New Pet Store Opens on Boxing Day."]
Old Jim's Convenience Store (2019)
> x newspapers (@ Inside The Store)
They're just full of yesterday's news.
The oldest hangover on Earth (2015)
> x newspaper (@ Entry hall)
Oh, look, the New York Times. Maybe you're in this place, New York?
Opening Night (2008)
> x newspaper (@ Alley)
Return to Ditch Day (2004)
> x newspaper (@ Bookstore)
The California Tech is the student newspaper. It's only a few pages, so it wouldn't take long to read.
Search for the Sacred Stone (2005)
> examine newspaper (@ Bad Part of Town)
It's a couple sections of today's newspaper.
La Seine (2009)
> x newspaper (@ Près du parc)
Your French isn't great, but even you notice that something is strange about the paper. Aha, there it is. "La Presse - dimanche 20 juillet 1884." Yeah, it's pretty old. From the various headings, you can tell there are articles on neo-impressionism, champagne, and optometry. Unfortunately, your grammar doesn't match your stunning ability to recognize simple cognates, so you're unable to read the articles themselves.
Shades of Gray: An Adventure in Black and White (1992)
> x clipping (@ Gutter)
The clipping from your wallet is a newspaper report dated May 2, 1957. It describes the death of Senator Joe McCarthy
> x newspaper (@ Sidewalk)
This is a copy of the Washington Post dated Tuesday, October 8, 1957.
There are four articles on the front page:
THE QUEEN'S VISIT TO WASHINGTON, D.C.
SPUTNIK IN ORBIT
HOFFA'S ELECTION AS PRESIDENT OF THE TEAMSTERS
AMERICAN AID TO HAITI
So, You've Never Played a Text Adventure Before, Huh? (2014)
> x newspapers (@ Basement)
They must be in there as padding to protect something else, but you can't see what.
The Surprising Case of Brian Timmons (2013)
> x clipping (@ Sitting Room)
WOONSOCKET HERALD- The police report few leads concerning the mysterious grave robbing at Our Grace Cemetery last night. The desecrated grave was located in one of the oldest parts of the cemetery; the pre-revolutionary headstone was so worn that the identification of the grave has been deemed impossible. Due to the fact that very few burial records from that time remain, the police have been unable to identify the missing body.
> x blood-stained newspaper (@ The Lobby)
The headline says something about President Harding having a radio in the White House, but blood covers most of the paper and not much else can be read. It's pretty disgusting and the more you try to read it, the more your stomach turns. But you do see your horoscope stating that this is your lucky day for romance.
Tears Keep Getting In My Dr. Pepper (1999)
> x newspaper (@ Cabin)
Strange, the newspaper has tomorrow's date. You notice a small story on the front page, "Man lost at Sea, Teenaged Stowaway Returned Home: After a thorough investigation we found nothing to indicate any connection between the two events, Captain Richards stated in a press conference...
Truth (2014)
> x today's newspaper (@ Reading Room)
An urgent headline says "GIANT SANDWORMS DESTROY CITY". The actual article goes on to describe a study on how caterpillar infestations reduce cabbage harvests.
Waystation (1995)
> x newspaper (@ Dim Alley)
The paper appears to be the "Efric Intergalactic News."
Zozzled (2019)
> x newspaper clippings (@ Closet)
The yellowing articles all describe ghost sightings, some as far away as Egypt and France, some not two blocks away.
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