The Lonely House

"Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within. . . and whatever walked there, walked alone."  

--Shirley Jackson

This 6 hour LARP creates a haunted house story for 2 GMs and 13 players, in the vein of “The Haunting of Hill House,” “Betrayal at House on the Hill,” and other classic horror scenarios.  It's suitable for play at home or at a convention, and contains detailed instructions, rules, plots, and characters.  The system is very rules-light, designed to be friendly to new players and to make game-mastering a fun process of narrative creation.

It is the fall of 1962, and Dr. Sam Hawthorne has invited you to spend a night on an island in North Carolina's outer banks, in a house long reported to be haunted. Hemlock House has been a hospital, a smuggling den, and an abandoned wreck. It has been host to murder and to suicide.

Now, within its walls, a group of scientists, psychic sensitives, and skeptics will attempt to prove the existence of the paranormal and discover what lies beyond the veil. From different walks of life, and for various reasons you 13 have come to answer this question: Is the tortured history of Hemlock House a statistical anomaly or the sign of dark power?

Can you survive a night in this cursed place? Is the evil in the building itself or merely in the hearts of those who wish to unlock its secrets? This .pdf is one giant spoiler for the larp (obviously) so we don't recommend buying/reading if you intend to play in the future.