Mystery poster
Horrible History of Household Hell is one of many playable mysteries that can be carried out in order to defeat the Old God of a playthrough.
Introduction[]
"There are many old mansions around this town, OOO manor is one of them. Supposedly haunted by the family of four, who disappeared without a trace one summer. But is it the only tragic event that took place there?"
Side Quest: Building History[]
To finish the side quest, the Seaside must be investigated 2 times. The Seaside is only investigated once during the main mystery progression: the player will have to investigate it a second time on their own. The Side Quest is required to be completed if the player wishes to get Endings A or B.
On completing the Side Quest, the following text will be displayed on-screen:
"You've learned the cliff the mansion was built on is famous for its extensive cave system. You've decided to rent some books that might help you." (+ SHIOKAWA HERALD (A), + ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL)
Inspecting the Architect's Journal will display the following text on-screen:
"'(...) One house owner, however, decided to make use of the cave tunnel. 'It's a natural concert hall' he claims. (...)'"
Inspecting the Shiokawa Herald (A) will display the following text on-screen:
"An article covers a group of scientists from Tokyo. They were exploring and mapping weird cave formations, found in the cliffs. (...) The search of the missing team of scientists continues. The only clue so far is a code, written on a cavern wall: '___Hz'"
The blank contains a 3 digit number that must be memorized in order to achieve Endings A or B.
Mystery Progression[]
In total, there are up to 13 investigations the player may need to do:
Should the player wish to complete the side quest of 2 Seaside investigations, 14 investigations total may need to be completed, as the Seaside is already explored once during the procedure of the mystery.
Investigation 1: School[]
"Friends you've talked with, are not sure where the mansion itself is located...
You have to find the mansion first. A trip to the library may shed some light on it."
Investigation 2: Downtown[]
"The building was supposed to be somewhere near the cliffs. You copy the mansion's photo from the newspaper and prepare to leave..."
Investigation 3: Seaside[]
"Comparing different mansions with the sketch, you finally find the one. There's only one problem...
You will need a strong rope to enter the mansion through the high window."
Investigation 4: Mansion[]
"You make it through the window. This is the abandoned mansion, your friends have talked about... let's explore it!."
Investigation 5 and Onwards: Mansion[]
From this investigation onward, the player will be locked to a 3x3 grid of Mansion tiles. They will be unable to investigate any other location, and must continue investigating the Mansion to progress the mystery.
The game will display either of the following 2 texts while the player is investigating the Mansion.
- 1. "You've heard a weird noise coming from the locked study. You must find the key!"
- 2. "Keep looking for a key!"
When the text: "This must be the place where the key is!" is displayed, the game will alternate between displaying this text and the first text above until the Study Room has been found.
Final Investigation[]
Study Room[]
"You aren't sure what to expect. The sturdy door to the study opens with a creak. The dark, dusty room is empty but something feels wrong; a faint draft perhaps. You move the rotten carpet aside to reveal a secret passageway cut directly into the cliff rock."
There is only one option, which is to "Make Your Way Down". This brings the player to the Underground Chamber.
Underground Chamber[]
"Following a strange song, you discover a hidden passage that leads you to an underground chamber connected to the sea. You can't find the source of the sounds, but then it hits you. The acoustics of this place make the waves sound like the most beautiful serenade. Mesmerized, you step closer to the stone altar at the end of the room.
There are two options: "Step Closer" and "Explore Some More".
Selecting "Step Closer" while on this screen will instantly bring the player to Ending C.
Selecting "Explore Some More" will bring the player to the Cavern Depths.
Cavern Depths[]
The text displayed will change depending on whether the player has a light source, for example the Flashlight.
If the player has no light source:[]
"You try to explore the side corridors, but it's too dark. If only you had some source of light..."
The only option the player has is to "Return to the Main Corridor", which sends them back to the Underground Chamber.
If the player has a light source:[]
"You follow a winding corridor until you stumble upon something really strange. Someone has set up a series of vintage-looking speakers, all connected to a single unit. The speakers must be the source of the sounds. You see a knob, allowing you to change its frequency..."
On this screen will be an additional number slider, where the player can input the frequency earlier shown in the Shiokawa Herald (A).
When the correct frequency is input and the player chooses again to "Return to the Main Corridor", the text for the Underground Chamber will change to the following:
"Acoustics of the underground caves make the waves and the machine tone create a ghastly melody, shaking you to the bone. As you move closer to the stone altar, you scream in terror. You are not the only one charmed by the sounds..."
The only option the player has is to "Prepare for Combat", which starts a fight with Oetaru.
Oetaru[]
Oetaru is a special combat encounter, like with Something Truly Evil or Nameless Horror - the options to KICK, ATTACK or STRONG ATTACK are disabled, while 2 new context options specific to Oetaru are available: "Sacrifice your Ally" and "No Hope!".
It is intended for the player to sacrifice an ally to appease Oetaru and resolve the combat, or run away if they have no allies to kill. Defeating Oetaru the conventional way - by reducing its large amount of health to 0 via bullets, thrown items, and spells - will give the same outcome as choosing "No Hope!".
If the player is unable or unwilling to appease/escape/defeat Oetaru within 3 rounds of combat, Oetaru will kill the player with a special game over ending. Unlike in Spine-Chilling Story of School Scissors or Freakish Fable of a Frightening Flood, this is not a mystery ending.
Sacrifice your Ally[]
"kill your follower on an altar in an attempt to appease the enemy"
Selecting this option will end the combat and show the following text in the log: "You throw (ALLY NAME) on the altar and stab them in the chest!" (-3 REASON)
The event The Cycle Continues is shown, and Ending A is obtained.
The Cycle Continues[]
"The coiled body of a gargantuan beast disappears under the waves once again, perhaps... satisfied? You have little doubt another family will try to move in the future and be lured by the beast so you destroy the speakers and set fire to the whole mansion..."
Ending A is shown after the player selects the only option, "Siren Sounds Get Louder...".
No Hope![]
"run from the horrible beast like a coward"
Selecting this unique action will end the combat and show the The Inner Coil event, resulting in Ending B. Choosing the standard run action also works.
The Inner Coil[]
"Almost tripping over the countless human bones, you decide to run from the cave. The haunting melody continues to follow you as OETARU begin its reign of terror in the waters surrounding SHIOKAWA..."
Ending B is shown after the player selects the only option, "Continue".
Endings[]
There are three available endings in Horrible History of Household Hell, plus a special bad ending if you lose to OETARU.
Ending A: Inner Coil[]
This ending is achieved after having a light source and doing the side quest, exploring the Cavern Depths and tuning to the correct frequency, then sacrificing an ally to Oetaru.
"The coiled body of a gargantuan beast disappears under the waves once again, perhaps... satisfied? You have little doubt another family will try to move in in the future and be lured by the beast so you destroy the speakers and set fire to the whole mansion..."
"Unholy chants coming from the caves connected with the mansion must have driven the family insane. You, however, decided to take your fate into your own hands. Burning down the mansion will prevent any future family from moving in and discovering the terrible secret of the cave system..."
Ending B: Beast Awakened[]
This ending is achieved after having a light source and doing the side quest, exploring the Cavern Depths and tuning to the correct frequency, then running away from Oetaru.
"Almost tripping over the countless human bones, you decide to run from the cave. The haunting melody continues to follow you as OETARU begin its reign of terror in the waters surrounding SHIOKAWA..."
"Unholy chants coming from the caves connected with the mansion must have driven the family insane. Awakening OETARU almost made you share their fate. You decided to run, afraid of the dire consequences. THE INNER COIL always gets its victim and the fishermen look so tasty..."
Ending C: Mystery Buried Deep[]
This ending is achieved after choosing to "Explore Some More" at the Underground Chamber without having tuned the correct frequency.
"Unholy chants coming from the caves connected with the mansion must have driven the family insane. With no to the outside world, they fed on what they had; themselves. However, this doesn't explain the fresh corpses and wet tracks around the altar..."
Bad Ending[]
This ending is achieved for staying for 3 turns on Oetaru without choosing the context actions or killing Oetaru unconventionally.
"As the sounds get unbearably loud, your knees suddenly collapse. Your inner ears burst and steaming blood starts gushing from your auditory canal, nose and mouth! You are dead even before your head hits the ground..."
The final log entries after this ending show that your cause of death is "Inner ear bursted".