NANCY DREW: MESSAGE IN A HAUNTED MANSION

from Her-Interactive

Walkthrough by WITCHEN=O)
November 2000 Preliminary Tips: 

1. Exhaust all conversation opportunities; ask everything of everyone.
2. If people aren't where you expect them to be, reset the alarm in your (Chinese)bedroom according to the clipboard schedule in the dining room.
3. People don't move around.  If they are in the mansion at all, they will be where you saw them last.
4. If you get stuck, go to the parlor and call everyone on the telephone list.  If there's still no new action, reset the alarm again.
5. There is no difference in story line between junior and senior detective levels, except the puzzles are more difficult to solve at senior level.

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After the introduction, you find yourself in the Chinese guest room; Nancy's room.

Rotate your view around from the center of the room, until you can see a tapestry hanging on the wall to the left of the door.  Walk over to the poem and notice the highlighted words. Hmmm, these look significant.  It might be a good idea to make a note of them.  Turn to your right and find Nancy's luggage.  Use the key in your inventory to unlock the upper suitcase and check out Nancy's journal entries.  You will be coming back to this several times.

Moving further to your right, notice the little, green, jade dragon sculpture resting on the fireplace mantel. Examine it in close up and see the Hanzi symbol meaning DAUGHTERS, on the base.  Make a note of the symbol beside the appropriate word on the list of highlighted words you got from the tapestry.

Leave the room and go forward then left at the hall intersection. Go left again to find yourself outside Abby's door.  Knock on the door and talk to Abby about everything.

Go down to the dining room, by turning right from Abby's door and going around the corner of the hallway to the right.  Go down the stairway to the carpeted hallway and enter the double paneled door at the end of the hallway.  Not the one with a stained glass window.

Get acquainted with Rose.  She will eventually ask you to solve a wood inlay puzzle that is on the floor behind where she is sitting.  Click below the china closet to get to the puzzle.  There is one subtle trick to solving this apparently easy puzzle.  When you place a tile it must highlight before you snap it into place. Note:  Be cautioned that there are six small, right triangles that can be rotated in different directions, so they are interchangeable inside the puzzle frame.  If all the pieces are fitted correctly, there shouldn't be any white lines showing between the pieces or around the edge of the puzzle.

When you have successfully completed the wood inlay puzzle, go back and talk to Rose again.  She will talk to you about some additional tile work (this time its ceiling tile) that needs to be completed.  Go look at the tea set on the sideboard to the right of the door where you came into the room.  See the clipboard.  Make a note of the names and the times those persons are supposed to be in the mansion.  It will come in very handy later in the game.  While you are in the vicinity of the sideboard, check out the drawer on the right below the tea set.  Examine the fire insurance policy. Particularly note the Hanzi symbol for FIRE and, as with the symbol for the word DAUGHTERS,  enter the symbol for the word FIRE to your word list from the tapestry in the Chinese guest room.

Leave the dining room and go left toward the door with the stained glass window.  Place your cursor over the door to the right of the one with stained glass. This is the door to the cellar.   Go down the stairs and talk to Charlie. Exhaust all conversation.  Then, come back up the stairs and go into the main entry hall through the stained glass doors.

Look around until you find the painting equipment under some scaffolding.  Move the paint roller pan around until you come up with a paint scraper.  Turn around and enter the door to the parlor, directly behind you.  Look around in the parlor and check out everything.  You should find some dead roses and some interesting documents in a box on the sofa in front of the fireplace.  There is a directory listing from an old telephone book (note the name "Valdez") and a legal document concerning the sale of the mansion.  Go to the cabinet in the corner that is painted with roses.  Open the door beneath it and find note the fire extinguisher.  Nancy will comment about knowing where it is.

Go to the writing desk in the corner to the left to the single door where you entered the room.  Open the drawer on the lower left side and read the letters.

Call Emily (and the others, if you like) and learn about Hanzi symbols.

Go back to your room (Chinese guest room) either by way of the spiral staircase in the hallway to the dining room, or by the double grand stairway in the main entry hall.  Remember to watch and listen for ghosts.

Open your suitcase and look at your journal entries again.  Then go to the clock radio on the table to the left of the bed and set the alarm for noon.  Just press "alarm," use the up and down arrows to find the appropriate time, then press "set" to activate the alarm.  The alarm will sound a "beep, beep, beep" immediately, signaling the time for you to rise from your nap and start sleuthing again.

Go to the parlor again (where the telephone is) and find the double wood doors. This is the study.  Enter the study and talk to Louis, the antique dealer.  Turn left when he dismisses you (he's very busy) and examine a book left of the standing world globe, entitled "Legends of San Francisco."  The book contains valuable information on an actress of the Victorian era, named Lizzie Applegate.

Scan the room and find a Mah Jong set opened between two green chairs.  Note the Hanzi symbol for the word FOUR, write the symbol down on your word list from the tapestry in the Chinese guest room.  (Be sure to copy down all Hanzi symbols!)

Face Louis' desk and off to the left of it, in the bookshelves, you will find a hot spot.  Move the books on the shelf to find a ceramic tile. Click on it an put it in your inventory.

Go out of the study, the parlor and back upstairs to Abby's room.  She will tell you about a seance she has planned for that evening.  She is holding the seance in the cellar.  An appropriately spooky spot, don't you think?   You will immediately attend the seance in the cellar via a cutscene. And, you will hear the supposed spirit of "Valdez" speak.

After the seance you will wake up back in the Chinese guest room; your room. Check the clock. It is ten p.m.

Go downstairs to the cellar to do some exploring while you have a chance to be alone.  Go to the small table to the right of the fireplace at the end of the room. Find the compartment in the pedestal of the table. Open it to find a smoke machine, a film projector, and a tape cassette.  Take the tape.

Back out of the table scene and turn to your left to click on the cash register sitting on the bar of the old saloon. Push a cash register key to open it.  Take the key you find in the cash drawer.  Then, back out of the scene and turn to your right to find a work table with a tool box sitting on it.   Look in the tool box and take Charlie's screwdriver.

Return to the area just below the stairway.  Open up the piano bench to find the sheet music for the song, "Swanee River."  Also note the Hanzi symbol for RIVER.  Remember! Write it down in the appropriate spot on your word list.

Go back up to your room and set the alarm for 6 a.m.  When you wake up, go around the bed and pry open the bed post finial (watch for the hot spot) with your paint scraper.  You will find the key to an antique writing desk.

Leave your room and find the area where the ladder is standing in the hallway.  Ascend the ladder and scrap away at the ceiling tiles with your paint scraper.  You will find a hidden trap door.  Use the skeleton key you found in the cellar cash register to open the trap door.  Climb up into the attic.  Wow, its really creepy up here.

Scan around the room and open the antique writing desk (red top) with the key you found in the bed post.  Find a play bill for "The Bandit's Treasure."  Find a sheet of music for "The Bandit's Treasure."  Notice that five of the music notes at the top of the page are darkened with a circle.  Find the letter signed by E. Valdez. Interesting.
Find the Hanzi primer (book) with the Hanzi symbol for BEGINNING written out several times as if someone were practicing.   You know where to copy that symbol down.

Look around the attic some more and find a heavy old flat iron (the kind used for ironing clothing) in a small chest.  Find a crowbar in an old tool box. Then find a second ceramic tile on top of a wooden barrel, along with several colored bottles.

Try to leave the attic by pulling on the rope attached to the trap door.  Oh gad! It was rotten and it broke away.  How will you get out of here? Are you trapped up here forever? Maybe you are destined to become the next ghost haunting the mansion. Eeek!  Well now, calm down and think a minute.   How about trying that crow bar you just now conveniently discovered? Oh great!

Go back downstairs all the way to the cellar.  Play the darkened music notes you found on the "Bandit's Treasure" sheet music.  The notes are BEGAG.  In front of you, you have seven notes you can play; left to right number 1 through 7.  If you can't read music, just hit 6 2 4 5 4.

You will be presented with the opportunity take to a piece of paper piano music roll from the area behind the doors on the upper part of the piano. The paper is laying on on the bottom of the compartment.

Leave the cellar. Go all the way back up to the attic, using the ladder and the skeleton key.   Go to the antique desk again and open it.  Place the partial music roll from the player piano on top of the lyrics section for the song "The Bandit's Treasure."

Decipher the letters you see through the punched holes in the music roll:

F I N D D I E G O O N S T A I R S
 

Leave the attic and go to the double grand staircase.  Stop at the landing. Look at the banister in front of you.  See those letters carved into the bottom of the spindles?  Guess what?  You have to rotate the spindles accurately in order to get the correct message to spell out: D I E G O   This puzzle is more complex in the Senior Detective mode, with a wider variety of turning spindle options.  But, the principle is the same.  Just keep turning and changing which spindles you turn, until you get DIEGO to appear in the right order.

You will find a gold Hanzi symbol wrapped with a scroll, in a secret compartment under the banister.  The scroll is actually a letter from E. to Diego.

Go back down to the dining room and talk to Rose again.  She will ask you to fix the dumbwaiter.  Remember those white boxes on the walls in the main and upstairs hallways?  Go to the one on the main floor, outside the dining room.  Open it to find a broken rope hanging down.  Attach the old flat iron you found in the attic to the rope.

Go upstairs to the other dumbwaiter in the hallway. Open it.  You will find a third ceramic tile and, on a broken tea cup, the Hanzi symbol for EYE.

Go to the Chinese room again and examine the journal in Nancy's suitcase.  As you turn to the door to leave the room again, someone quickly slips an envelope under the door.  Open it.  Ewwwww.  Sounds like someone is trying to get you out of the mansion before you discover what's really going on with all these so-called accidents that Charlie is getting blamed for.

Go down to the parlor.  You will find that the box of papers on the sofa is smoldering and smoke is filling the room. MOVE QUICKLY. Turn and take the fire extinguisher out of the cabinet with painted roses.  Click on the flaming box to hear Nancy yell "Fire! Then, as fast as you can move,  grab your fire extinguisher out of inventory and and click on the box to put out the fire.  If you don't make it in time and it is "too late," just go to your Menu and hit Second Chance.  You will get one!

Afterward, you find yourself in a conversation with Rose about the fire in the parlor.  Then, go back to the parlor and look at the semi-burned papers in the bottom of the box.  You should recognize some of the content from the letters you read in the left hand drawer of the writing table with the telephone.

Go back upstairs to the Chinese room. You will overhear a heated argument between Rose and Abby as you go down the hall.  Look at the journal in the suitcase again.  Then, set the alarm for 10 a.m.

Go back down to the study, off of the parlor, where you first found Louis.  Go stand in front of the fireplace.  Put the three ceramic tiles you have found in their appropriate places under the fireplace mantle.  Pull on the left andiron, the Phoenix birds, to reveal a secret passage opening in the bookshelves.

Enter the secret passageway and and find a painting of a little girl in a yellow dress.  Click on the little gold name plate at the bottom of the frame. You will see the Hanzi symbol for CHILD.  You know what to do. :)

Look up to your right to find a lantern. Take it.  Find a loose brick above the lantern and move it and a sliding cover, to see eye holes.  Peek through and watch suspicious activity on the part of Louis. Click to the right of the opening to close the slider and click again to exit the scene.

Leave the secret passageway and return upstairs to the Chinese room. Set the alarm for 7 p.m.  Then, do back to the cellar and use the crow bar to pry up the grating in the bottom of the fireplace there.  Is it dark down there or what? Probably spiders under there, at least!  Descend to a tunnel area under the floor. Use your lantern to light your way.  You will find Charlie's secret living space.  He hasn't been living with friends at all, has he?  Wonder why he lied?  Read the postcard from Charlie to his Mom and Dad.  Find a computer diskette and take it.  Find a Chinese food take out box with the Hanzi symbol for KING on it.

Go back to the Chinese room and set the alarm for 3 p.m.  Go down the hall and enter Abby's room.  She is out of the mansion at this time.  By the way, are you seeing and hearing ghosts, from time to time?  Or do you think it is just your imagination?

In Abby's room, look around until you find a spider charm in a black jewelry box on the shelf under Abby's stereo system.  Unlock the armoire (freestanding clothes closet) with the spider charm.  Find an elaborate public address system. Play around with it and have fun playing all the ghost sounds.  Insert the tape cassette from your inventory and hear the Valdez sound track from Abby's seance. What a fake! Why is Abby doing this?

Look around the room and find a two-way mirror on the wall that overlooks the hallway. This is the mirror that shows the ghostly female figure when you are walking down the hallway.  Snoop around on Abby's desk and then open the drawer to find a package of MoonStone incense with the Hanzi symbol for MOON on the wrapper.

On the stand in the corner, with the picture of Abby and a male companion, find a book about the Chinese Zodiac signs and the correct order of the animals.  Might be a good idea to write down the names of the animals in order. Or, save your game here so you can pop right back and take a look at this page in the book.  It'll come in handy later, believe me!

You will need to replace the spider in Abby's jewelry box before you are allowed to leave her room.

Go back to the study (where Louis hangs out) and play the maze game on his laptop computer.  Just click on the maze game on the screen. You don't need a user name or password to enter the maze game.  Wander around in the maze until you come across a blue pool on the floor.  Walk into the pool and you will be presented with a menu that allows you access to some of Louis' files.  Find the list of all Louis' security codes.  You need the combination for his briefcase, at least.  (I wrote all the numbers down, just to be on the safe side.)

When you have completed that, put the diskette into the laptop (back out twice) and look at Charlie's outline for his upcoming college term paper. Another interesting bit of information, huh? (Note:  Be sure you first put the diskette into the slot on the bottom right side and enter the laptop password.)

Go to Louis' briefcase and use the combination to open each side of the lock.  The left side takes the first four numbers.  The right side takes the second set of four numbers.  Use the middle, grayish, area of the lock to establish the correct codes.

When you have opened the briefcase, you find a book.  Note the reference to "Gum Bo Fu".

Go to the parlor. Call Emily.  Get as much information as you can about Gum Bo Fu.  Emily doesn't know that much, but tells you to go around and talk to everyone you can about it.

Go down to the cellar and talk to Charlie.  (You may need to run upstairs and reset the clock here to make sure Charlie is in the cellar when you want him to be.)  Charlie will tell you he had nothing to do with the fire.  You will automatically return his term paper computer diskette.  Charlie will talk about his term paper and tell you that there were many rumors about a robbery.  Charlie says that he thinks El Diablo isn't a real person, but a composite of several notorious outlaws.  He also tells you that he doesn't have a clue as to what Gum Bo Fu is.

Go talk to Louis in the study.  (You may need to run upstairs and reset the clock here to make sure Louis is in the study when you want him to be.)  He says its a shame that those papers were lost in the fire.  Ask Louis about Gum Bo Fu.  Louis will ask you where you heard about Gum Bo Fu.  If you tell him you found it in a book, you are in trouble.  But then, you always get a  Second Chance, so go ahead and try it if you like.  Otherwise, choose to tell him that you saw it in a magazine instead.  Louis will tell you that Gum Bo Fu means "House of Great Books."

Go talk to Rose in the dining room. She will tell you that everyone is leaving the mansion for a while. She also says she has taken down a tapestry in your room and that a letter has come for you.  She has left it is your room as well.

Go up to the Chinese room and find the letter from Emily on the chair beside your suitcases. Pick it up and read it.  Discover that Gum Bo Fu doesn't mean "House of Great Books" at all!  Louis lied to you.  Gum Bo Fu means "Gold Treasure Mansion!"  Wow! Now we are getting somewhere.

See that the Hanzi symbol for GOLD is also written on this letter.  If you are playing in junior mode, the first symbol (gold) will highlight when you place your cursor over it.  If you are playing in senior mode, it will not.

Turn and go to the right side of the bed.  The tapestry on the lower part of the wall is gone, as Rose explained.  Find the hot spot.  Find that the wooden tiles can be pushed in.  These are the same little Chinese symbols that you saw in the Zodiac book in Abby's room.  Push the tiles in in order.  Find the safe behind the tiles.

The combination lock reflects all of the Hanzi symbols that correspond with the highlighted words on the tapestry beside the door.  Okay then. Here's where that list of words and their equivalent symbols comes in handy. Input the Hanzi symbols in the order of the words as they are shown on the tapestry.  Press the arrow after each symbol is lined up under the arrow.  You turn the dial by moving your cursor left or right of the lock until you see a yellow swirled directional arrow. Then click to move the dial on the lock.

You will find Lizzie Applegate's and Diego Valdez' marriage certificate.  Put the gold Hansi symbol you found under the stairway banister on the pyramid box.  You will be presented with the Flip Puzzle.  Change all the moons to suns.  The puzzle is very easy in junior mode.  In senior mode, there are more squares, which complicates the puzzle significantly.  However the solution is as follows, where a number is the square to click on:  (It isn't necessary to click the numbers in order, just click on the correct squares.

XX1X
2XXX
XXX3
X4XX

Next you will be presented with the bane of most all adventure gamers, a dreaded slider puzzle.  There is no solve for this puzzle, either in junior or senior mode.  The senior slider is much more complex, with more tiles, than the junior version.  The way I solved it was to run down to the main hall again and sketch the Phoenix bird painted on the hardwood floor.  That really expedited the solution.

When you have solved the Phoenix slider you will be rewarded with a huge red jewel. Put it in your inventory. It is a missing eyeball from the Phoenix finials on the grand staircase.  Go to the Chinese room and set the time for 4:00 p.m.  Then go down and put the red jewel in the appropriate eye socket of the Phoenix finials.  Then, go to the Phoenix symbol on the floor and use your crow bar to remove the floor boards.  WOW!  You will get a smack on the head and wake up to see Louis taking the hidden treasure of gold coins from beneath the floorboards. That rotten Louis!

QUICKLY, run up the staircase to your immediate right. Go up across the landing and down the other side to the clamp where you see the twisted rope holding the crystal chandelier. Click on the rope, at the clamp, three times.  You will see the effect of your action. Move as quickly as you can.  The chandelier will come crashing down, pinning the conniving Louis under it. He is trapped and will have to face justice for his attempted thievery!

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