Night House will probably be pretty intuitive even for people new to interactive fiction, but there might be a few stumbling points. Most of the verbs you need throughout the game will automatically appear in the tab to the right. There are a few exceptions. For example, at a few points in the game, you might need to ask a character questions ("ASK [X] ABOUT [Y]"), give an object to a character ("GIVE [X] TO [Y]"), or use different objects together (There are several different ways that you could do this depending on context, but "USE [X] WITH [Y]" is generally a safe default in any situation.

If you're stumped, the encyclopedia and the computer in the den will often contain clues or hints if you ask the right questions. Later in the game, the baby monitor in Davey's room will also have a lot of information to give you. All you have to do is ask.

Night House is not a totally linear game, so it's possible to perform some of these actions out of order. I organized this walkthrough more as a list of questions you might encounter as you play through the game rather than a straight walkthrough, so hopefully that's more helpful. But if you encounter any other questions or problems, please feel free to contact me by email ( thenewmeat@hotmail.com ), on Twitter (@thenewmeat) or just on the IF Comp forums (I'm Bitterkarella there!)

Thanks for playing!
Bitter Karella

How do I get downstairs?

Your first priority should be to find the bathroom and relieve yourself. Once you've done that ("USE TOILET" should work for that end), you'll be able to explore the rest of the house.

How do I get under the porch?

You'll need to unscrew the vent to wriggle your way through the shaft and get under the porch. You'll find a screwdriver in the kitchen junk drawer to help you do that. Once you have the screwdriver, try "UNSCREW VENT."

How do I turn on the computer?

Put that mysterious Nightmare floppy disk into the computer. There are a couple ways to phrase this, but "PUT NIGHTMARES FLOPPY DISK IN COMPUTER" will work just fine. Once you've done this, you can investigate different topics by typing "ASK COMPUTER ABOUT [X]." Since the disk is titled "Nightmares," ASK COMPUTER ABOUT NIGHTMARES is probably a good starting point.

How do I get into the garage?

You won't be able to get into the garage while it's dark, so what you need is a flashlight to illuminate the situation. You'll find a flashlight under Jamie's bed, but it doesn't work until you've found some batteries. Luckily, you might find some batteries if you investigate the dresser in your parents' room; open the magic wand to reveal the batteries. "PUT BATTERIES IN FLASHLIGHT" to get a working flashlight.

How do I get into the car?

You need some keys to unlock the car. You might find some if you search that nest under the porch.

How do I get into the basement?

Your parents warned you to stay out of the basement, so you're going to need a really compelling reason to ignore those instructions. But if you read the roadmaps in the car, you might find a message that would give you cause to check out the cellar.

How do I open the cardboard box in the basement?

You need to cut it open, so try using the safety scissors you found in Jamie's bedside table. There are a few ways to phrase this, but "OPEN BOX WITH SCISSORS" should work fine.

Is there something under the cardboard box in the basement? I can't move it!

"EMPTY" the box after you’ve opened it. Now it should be light enough that it will move if you "PUSH" it.

How do I investigate this pit in the basement? It says there're noises down there, but I can't make them out.

You need a way to do some further investigation. Try using the baby monitor that you can swipe from your parents' room. There are a few ways to phrase this, but "DROP BABY MONITOR IN PIT" should work just fine. After you've done this, you can go upstairs to have a nice chat with the things down in the pit through the baby monitor in Davey's room. Try "ASK BABY MONITOR ABOUT" various topics. It should have some enlightening things to say.

What should I ask the baby monitor about?

You can try all sorts of topics, but you might want to ask the baby monitor about itself, about you, about the ghost, the house, the pit, your family, the "game" mentioned on the road map, and about your name.

How do I get into the attic?

You can't reach the trapdoor with just your hands, but that grabber claw in the steamer trunk in the basement might be just the tool for the job. Try "OPEN TRAPDOOR WITH GRABBER CLAW" and you'll get access to the attic.

How do I get outside?

You can't go outside in your pajamas; you'll get soaked! But if you investigate the sewing machine in the attic, you'll find a heavy linen shift – just the thing to help keep you dry! "WEAR SHIFT" and you'll be able to go up on the roof… and out into the backyard.

Is there something behind the drywall? How do I get past the drywall?

You’ll need to remove the nails if you want to take it down. Use the alligator bottleopener you found in the cardboard box in the basement. There are a couple ways to phrase this, but "OPEN DRYWALL WITH BOTTLEOPENER" should work just fine.

How do I get into the hallway closet?

Once you get into the backyard, you'll be able to find a leverlock key in the wall cabinet in the shed. You can use that to unlock the hall closet.

How do I find the ghost again after meeting him in the hallway?

You'll eventually need to find that ghost again, but he might be a little tricky to catch at first. In the attic, if you move the loose floorboard to find your secret cache of Dinocopters action figures you'll also find a map to the garage. After reading it, the ghost will helpfully be hanging out in the garage for the rest of the game. You might want to visit him and have a chat. If you "ASK GHOST ABOUT" various topics, you might figure out what he wants.

What does the ghost want?

He wants his Dinocopters Atari cartridge.

Where can I find the ghost's Atari cartridge?

The spider in the attic crawlspace has it.

How do I get past the heap?

If you ask the baby monitor about the heap (or look it up on the computer), you'll learn that it does not like light. Shine the flashlight at the heap and it'll move aside so you can pass.

How do I get rid of that thing crawling around the house?

If you've done some investigation on the computer and with the encyclopedia (as well as talking to the baby monitor), you probably know a little more about what you're up against. But the real clues for how to deal with Catskin will be on those stray book pages you found in the attic crawlspace and in the cardboard box in the basement, where some child from the 1920s describes building a decoy to trick Catskin. That's what you'll have to do.

How do I build a decoy?

The pages will tell you that the kids built a decoy using a coat, an old hat, and a pumpkin. You'll find a coat in the hallway closet and a Halloween jack-o'-lantern in the backyard shed. A hat might be trickier, but the traffic cone in the garage looks A LOT like a witch's hat, doesn't it? And those newspaper clippings seem to indicate that Catskin has previously attacked kids wearing that style of hat on Halloween…

But you'll also need a base for your decoy. In the attic, "PUSH DUMMY" twice to shove the dressmaker's dummy out the window. You'll also need to clamor up onto the roof to push it off the roof. Next go out into the backyard and poke around until you can find where the dummy landed. PUT JACK-O-LANTERN ON DUMMY will get you started, then try putting the coat and the cone on the decoy. Once it's ready to go, "PLANT DECOY" to set it up.

The decoy isn't working. It says it doesn't smell right. What should I do?

You know what would really help your decoy smell right? Some bloody defrosted ground beef. If you're wearing the mittens from the hallway closet, you can finally take that frozen beef out of the freezer. Defrost the beef in the oven and you'll have a nice portion of bloody raw meat. Pour that all over your decoy and you should convince Catskin to go for the bait.

How do I get the Atari cartridge from the spider?

The spider will drop the cartridge if you give it something else to eat. Once you're wearing the mittens, you can also pick up the dead raccoon under the porch. Give that to the spider and it'll drop the cartridge. Use the sticky detached tendril left over from the fight between Catskin and the ravenous maw and you will be able to pick it up.

What do I do with the Atari cartridge?

Give it to the ghost in the garage. Before he fades away, he'll give you a vitally important piece of information.

What do I do with this vitally important piece of information?

Go back to the baby monitor and ask about it. The baby monitor will tell you what you need to do.