Phantasmagoria Curiosities

WARNING: Spoilers!

If you have played Phantasmagoria, you may have noticed some strange and interesting things that really do not have much to do with the main plot. We definitely have noticed some and decided to post them here.

Why are the letters Carno and Marie wrote still sitting in desk drawers? Carno and Marie should have sent them to Jeremiah and Gaston already, shouldn’t they? — Mako Thunderbird

How did the lens piece end up so far away from the telescope near the greenhouse? — Mako Thunderbird

Why was the attic boarded up in the mansion? — Mako Thunderbird

How did the key to the fourth floor get on the other side of the door? — Mako Thunderbird

Who painted the “original” painting in the conservatory as seen in Chapter 1? Note that the paint is fresh. Furthermore, who keeps adding to the painting from chapter to chapter? There are no paints in the conservatory or any other room in the house. — JDHJANUS

When Adrienne checks herself in the dining room mirror, look at what is reflected in the right side of the mirror. Is it a door archway, a chair shadow, or … a ghost?! — Kimmie (4-11-2003) When Adrienne pulls the nail from the floorboards after rescuing Harriet, the hammer is in her hand. However, when she gets up to go to the ladder, it is not in her hand, and this is before you can put it back in your inventory. — Nosferatus Coffin (10-28-2003)

When Adrienne visits Harriet and Cyrus in the barn in Chapter 6, Harriet is tying up her bag. When she has fully tied it, she starts retying it! This was probably just to keep her there while Adrienne was still visiting them, but Sierra could have made it more realistic, you know? — Make Thunderbird (10-28-2003)

When Adrienne is in the General Store and looks at the donation cup on the counter which says, “Help the Helpless,” the guy on the cup looks like an axe murderer or an escaped convict. Not exactly the kind of face that is conducive to charitable giving. Heh. — Nosferatus Coffin (10-28-2003)

Lou Ann mentions that Malcolm’s house is almost a mile from town, so why does Adrienne walk to his house instead of driving there in her car? — Slava (11-5-2004)

  • Lou Ann said that the house is on a dirt path, and looking at the path on the screen, it seems that you can only travel on it by foot. It’s too narrow for a car, and plus, Malcolm is a hermit and probably would want a home that a passing car cannot easily reach or disturb him. — Kimmie (11-5-2004)

When Adrienne exits the general store, look at the Open/Close sign, and it will show that the store is actually closed when it is open. — Nosferatus Coffin (10-28-2003)

Malcolm lived in the tower room with a bar on his door, probably so Carno could keep him locked up in his room. However, when Adrienne lifts up the bar and opens the door, she pushes the door in (not pull it out towards her and the bar). So what was the point of that bar?! — Kimmie

How did someone manage to lock the door on the top floor and leaving the key inside the lock? How is that possible if there is no other way in or out of that room? — madkatzm (11-09-2003)

Lou Ann’s mentions that Malcolm is 110 years old, and as we all know, Phantasmagoria takes place in 1995. When Adrienne takes the photo of Malcolm and Carno, it reads, “Carno and Malcolm, 1897.” Yet, when Adrienne takes the photo to Malcolm’s house, Malcolm says he was ten when it was taken! That means he would only be 108, not 110! — Mako Thunderbird (10-28-03)

  • If it is indeed true that what Lou Ann and Malcolm are true, it could just be that Malcolm cannot remember exactly how old he was. I mean, he is rather old, and to remember the exactly how old he was in a photo taken almost a century before is asking a bit much, I think. *grin* I can’t even remember how old I was in some of my own photos. Does Malcolm say he was 10 or just around 10 years old?

On one of pages of Lou Ann’s scrapbook, it said that Carno stayed in hospital for two weeks, but next page says that he left the hospital after about eight days. — Slava (11-5-2004)

In the nursery, there is a teddy bear on top of the dresser. Considering how teddy bears were invented in 1902 and Sophia died in 1889, how can there be a teddy bear in that room? — Ilsaingrid (7-25-2004)

  • Lou Ann mentioned that after the Carnovasches, at least one other family inherited that estate, though they never lived there, but maybe they visited and left that teddy bear there. — Kimmie

Considering how the first television broadcasts started in the 1930s or so, why is there a television in the bedroom? The Templetons who inherited the house in 1910 weren’t interested in living there, and no one lived in that house after Carno. — Slava (11-5-2004)

  • By the looks of the television model, it seems very modern, so it may be Adrienne and Don’s television that they bought with them when they moved into the estate. — Kimmie (11-5-2004)

When Adrienne looks at the swirling wine casket in Chapter 6 and sees Victoria’s head bobbing about, she runs in terror from the basement back up into the pantry. Was her terror only because of seeing the mangled face of Victoria, or that she was actually drinking Victoria’s blood and not the wine? In Chapter 1, Adrienne tasted wine from the same casket and commented on how good it was. — Nosferatus Coffin (10-28-2003)

Look in the vanity mirror in Marie’s room in Chapter 6, and it will show Gaston and Marie. As Marie leaves the room, Gaston sits in a chair close to the secret passage and reads a book. Then Carno sneaks out of the passage, grabs Gaston and drags him back, and the chair is left alone. Where is this chair in the present day? — Mako Thunderbird (10-28-2003)

How exactly was the demon contained inside the box until Adrienne set it free? It came out of Carno’s body while he was dying, but what caused it to enter the box, and why could it not exit? Surely it would take more than merely putting heavy book on top of the box to keep inside such powerful creature, which can pass a chasm and break sturdy bolted door! — Templeton

Adrienne goes over to the desk and finds her laptop smashed in Chapter 7. However, after that scene is over and she is back in player control, facing the doorway, the laptop has vanished. — Nosferatus Coffin (10-28-2003)

Lou Ann mentioned that the family who inherited the estate in 1910 had electricity installed, but it is doubtful that old outlet would be compatible with Adrienne’s notebook. However, her notebook would have worked on batteries for too many hours before being smashed. — Slava (10-5-2004)

Attempt to leave the house through one of the two doors in Chapter 7. As they slam shut, you can hear the sounds of a car door opening and closing. What do you suppose that was?! — Mako Thunderbird (10-28-2003)

Adrienne finds photos of herself in Don’s darkroom, but the photos have no actual background of the house. Obviously, if Don was following her around, capturing quick snapshots of her, it seems doubtful she was posing in front of a white backdrop every time. — madkatzm (11-09-2003)

Before the intense altar room scene, if Adrienne examined the magic book, she just turns some pages and mentions that “it has been long since Latin class” for her. However, during that altar room scene, it takes her very few seconds to find the correct page with the spell she needed, and suddenly she became almost fluent in Latin. How can it be?! — Templeton (2-16-2003)

  • Maybe the page that Adrienne wanted was already dog-earred by Carno. When you see something that you have not studied in awhile, it can quickly jog your memory. That and a 500 pound drooling demon worm! — Sixth Sense (2-16-2003)
  • Maybe Carno reads the section on how to get rid of demons a lot and over time, the book’s binding folds out at that section, so when Adrienne opens it, the book just opens to that page! Or perhaps we don’t see it, but Don bookmarked that page in the dark room. Adrienne’s rusty Latin skills suddenly start improving during a very intensive life-or-death moment … dunno why, but the image of the girl at the organ in the movie “The Goonies” keeps on popping into my head. It’s been a while since her last music lesson. — Kimmie (2-16-2003)

If someone stands inside the protective circle in the altar room, demon cannot hurt them. However, if Adrienne stands inside the circle without the book, the demon can still hurt her. What’s up with that?! — Bootsams (10-28-2003)

When the Demon knocks Don to the floor and Adrienne runs to him, Don’s hair is all askew. However, when they exit the darkroom and into the hallway, his hair is back in a ponytail and looks perfect. — Nosferatus Coffin (10-28-2003)

It seems that the person on the box cover of the is a woman, but why does she have no head? – Sueally (10-28-2003)

  • I think it might be a spirit from one of Carno’s shows. – Mako Thunderbird
  • At the end of the game, there are all those pictures of Adrienne without her head. I think that it was a hint to the end of the game like in Starship Titanic. — Bootsams
  • If you think about it, all of the wives (and Adrienne) were (or could be) killed by some sort of head trauma. Hortencia was killed by the little hoe in her mouth. Leonora had her head twisted and neck snapped. Regina choked to death with food shoved down her throat. Victoria got head slammed into wine bottle. Marie and Adrienne had their head sliced open by giant blade. — Nosferatus Coffin
  • According to Don, the head wasn’t important to the woman as much as the body! — Bootsams

Observation on a repeat of the past into the present: Carno thought (well knew) that Marie and Garson were having an affair, so he tried to kill both of them. Don thought Adrienne and the phone dude were having an affair and tried to kill them. – Mako Thunderbird (12-6-2001)

Observation: In Lou Ann’s shop, there is the exact same type of gramaphone that is also in the Trophy Room. Also, look near the top of the painting in Chapter 1. The shape is the same as the ectoplasm over the baby’s crib. — Nosferatus Coffin (5-25-2002)

Observation: It seems interesting that Carno’s mother Ana died the same year that Carno’s sister Katya was born (1860). I suppose we are to assume that she died in childbirth. Also, Katya only lived for 2 years, the same as Sofia. I wonder if there is any relevance to that? Hmm. — Nosferatus Coffin (6-10-2002)

Observation: Some of Carnovasch family members can represent the seven sins. — Nosferatus Coffin (2-15-2003)

  • Lust: Marie would seem to be the best wife for this one, seeing that she was getting in on with Gaston.
  • Gluttony: Victoria would seem to be the best wife for this, seeing that she was a lush.
  • Sloth: Regina would seem to be the best wife for this one, seeing that she always was hungry and eating and was quite fat. Although, gluttony would also qualify.
  • Wrath: Hard to really say on this one. Gaston would qualify best for this one, seeing that his wrath (via the firepoker) ended up killing Carno.
  • Greed: Carno would qualify best for this one. His greed, though not monetary, was for ever-increasing power through his magic.
  • Envy: This one is tough. While you could say Don (and Carno) were envious of their wives’ relationship with Mike the Phone Guy and Gaston, it is really more jealousy then envy. However, it sort of fits.
  • Pride: This one is probably the toughest. Carno himself I suppose would seen as the most prideful because of the demon posession. He saw himself as clever and invincible and very full of himself.