Haunted House Solution

⚠ Spoiler Warning — This page contains the complete solution to Haunted House. Try to escape on your own first!

About this Haunted House solution

This solution is for Haunted House on the TRS-80 Model I/III. It originally appeared on Steve McCoy's website at www.simology.com, but his site no longer exists. Used with permission. Solution by Steve McCoy, September 5, 1998. Map by Branden Robinson.

Foreword

This game originally came out in the late 70's and early 80's. It was released by Radio Shack for the TRS-80 Model I or Model III.

Since I'm a huge fan of adventure games — and this is one of the few I first played on my first computer during my Christmas break from high school in 1980. My parents had purchased the Model III as my Christmas present and Haunted House was included along with others. This game is very dear to my heart, as are most of these classic text adventures.

This game is based on getting into a Haunted House — or more to the point, once you're in the house, how do you get out alive!

Like many adventures of the time, you tend to die over and over. Every wrong move can result in your death. The games didn't allow for saving each step, so you have to start from scratch each time you "choose poorly." This walkthru will smooth out each phase or step of the game. I hope this helps you on your quest.

Key Dangers & Items

Dangers

Key Items

House Map

Map of the Haunted House by Branden Robinson:

Complete map of the Haunted House showing all rooms and connections
Complete House Logical Map (by Branden Robinson) — click to enlarge

Part One — The First Floor

Game Start: Outside the House

HAUNTED HOUSE! YOU ARE AT THE OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE. THERE IS A CRUMPLED PIECE OF PAPER ON THE GROUND. THE FRONT DOOR IS CLOSED. :

Get the paper and read about the magic word PLUGH. After saying the magic word you get:

YOU MATERIALIZE INSIDE THE DOOR. YOU ARE AT THE FOYER. :

The Living Room

Head east from the foyer. Be careful — any move other than West to leave will end in death!

:E YOU ARE IN THE LIVING ROOM. A KNIFE IS LEVITATING IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROOM. THERE IS A MYSTERIOUS SCROLL ON THE GROUND. : :GET KNIFE OK :GET SCROLL OK :READ SCROLL IT SAYS, "THERE IS ESCAPE FROM THE SECOND FLOOR!"

This is the clue that points you to the exit from the second floor.

The Kitchen

:E YOU ARE AT THE DINING ROOM. :S YOU ARE AT THE KITCHEN. A BUCKET OF WATER IS ON THE FLOOR. :

You can get the bucket of water or not — it won't change the final outcome of the game. Be careful and don't drink the water. Now head south again.

The Breakfast Room & Suit of Armour

:S A SUIT OF ARMOUR HERE FLEES WHEN IT SPOTS YOUR KNIFE YOU ARE AT THE BREAKFAST ROOM. :

The knife keeps the armour at bay. Head east to the Servants Quarters.

The Servants Quarters — Getting the Key

This room is tricky. You must navigate in specific directions to get trapped and reveal the key.

:E YOU ARE AT THE SERVANTS QUARTERS. THERE IS A CABINET ON ONE WALL :S YOU ARE AT THE SERVANTS QUARTERS. :N YOU ARE AT THE SERVANTS QUARTERS. :W YOU ARE AT THE SERVANTS QUARTERS. :OPEN CABINET OK THERE IS A KEY IN IT. :GET KEY

Now navigate out of the room with the key:

:E YOU ARE AT THE SERVANTS QUARTERS. :S YOU ARE AT THE SERVANTS QUARTERS. :W YOU ARE AT THE BREAKFAST ROOM.

Free at last! Now head for the bedrooms to get the rope.

The Secret Passage — Getting the Rope

:N YOU ARE AT THE KITCHEN. :N YOU ARE AT THE DINING ROOM. :W YOU ARE AT THE LIVING ROOM. :W YOU ARE AT THE FOYER. :W YOU ARE AT THE EAST END OF THE HALL. :N YOU ARE AT THE GREEN BEDROOM. THERE'S A PANEL ON THE WEST WALL :GO PANEL YOU ARE AT THE SECRET PASSAGE. A ROPE IS NEARBY. :GET ROPE OK

The Locked Hall Door

:W YOU ARE AT THE BLUE BEDROOM. THERE'S A PANEL ON THE EAST WALL :S YOU ARE AT THE WEST END OF THE HALL. A LOCKED DOOR BARS THE WAY SOUTH. :

Since you have the key from the servants cabinet, you can go through the locked door.

:S YOU ARE AT THE MASTER BEDROOM A WALL OF RAGING FIRE BLOCKS THE WAY EAST :

The fire is just trying to scare you. Walk right through it.

:E ARE YOU JUST GOING TO WALK RIGHT THROUGH THAT RAGING FIRE? :YES OK YOU ARE AT THE LIBRARY. THERE IS A HOLE IN THE CEILING.

Climbing to the Second Floor

First floor map of the Haunted House
First Floor Map — click to enlarge

Drop the rope — it will magically extend up through the hole.

:DROP ROPE OK INSTANTLY THE ROPE UNWINDS AND LEVITATES TO THE HOLE IN THE CEILING! :CLIMB ROPE YOU DROP EVERYTHING YOU HAD TO CLIMB THE ROPE TO THE SECOND FLOOR. YOU ARE IN A DIMLY LIT ROOM. THERE IS A HOLE IN THE FLOOR. THERE IS A MAGIC SWARD ON THE FLOOR. :

(Note: The game actually spells it "SWARD" — that's not a typo in this walkthrough, that's what the original game says!)

Part Two — The Second Floor

Second floor map of the Haunted House
Second Floor Map — click to enlarge

The Magic Sword & Killing Ghosts

Get the sword and start dispatching ghosts.

:GET SWORD OK :READ SWORD AN INCRIPTION READS, "GHOST KILLER." :E YOU ARE IN A DIMLY LIT ROOM. THERE IS A GHOST HERE. :KILL GHOST YOUR MAGIC SWARD ENABLES YOU TO KILL THE GHOST. :W YOU ARE IN A DIMLY LIT ROOM. THERE IS A HOLE IN THE FLOOR. :S YOU ARE IN A DIMLY LIT ROOM. THERE IS A GHOST HERE. :KILL GHOST YOUR MAGIC SWARD ENABLES YOU TO KILL THE GHOST. :N :W YOU ARE IN A DIMLY LIT ROOM. THERE IS A GHOST HERE. :KILL GHOST YOUR MAGIC SWARD ENABLES YOU TO KILL THE GHOST.

The Immune Ghost

One ghost cannot be killed with the sword — you must outwit it instead.

:W YOU ARE IN A DIMLY LIT ROOM. THERE IS A GHOST HERE. :KILL GHOST THE GHOST IS IMMUNE TO YOUR ATTACK! :S THE GHOST WILL NOT LET YOU PASS!

You need to go South to escape, but this immune ghost blocks you. The trick: drop the sword, then make a specific sequence of moves to slip past.

:E YOU ARE IN A DIMLY LIT ROOM. THE BODY OF A DEAD GHOST IS ON THE FLOOR. :E YOU ARE IN A DIMLY LIT ROOM. THERE IS A HOLE IN THE FLOOR. :DROP SWORD OK :W :W YOU ARE IN A DIMLY LIT ROOM. THERE IS A GHOST HERE. :S YOU ARE IN A DIMLY LIT ROOM. THERE IS A GHOST HERE. :N YOU ARE IN A DIMLY LIT ROOM. THERE IS A GHOST HERE. :W YOU ARE IN A DIMLY LIT ROOM. THERE IS A GHOST HERE. :S YOU ARE IN A DIMLY LIT ROOM. THERE IS A RUSTY OLD SIGN LAYING ON THE GROUND. :GET SIGN OK :READ SIGN THE SIGN SAYS, "THERE ARE THREE EXITS FROM THIS ROOM. ONLY ONE IS TRUE.... YOU MUST KNOW, BUT NOT BE BURDENED BY, THIS CLUE!" :

The Final Trap — and Escape!

This is the author's final trick: you can leave from any exit (W, E, or S), but if you are carrying the sign you fall to your death — it's too heavy! Drop it first.

:DROP SIGN OK :S YOU WALK THROUGH A DOOR AND FIND YOURSELF ON A BALCONY. YOU CLIMB DOWN A TREE AND ESCAPE TO SAFETY! CONGRATULATIONS! YOU MADE IT!

That's all, folks! <grin>

— Steve McCoy, 1998