The game begins on April 29, with the player Mr. Crowhurst (whose first name remains unknown) receiving a message from his brother, Pete Crowhurst, an
architect working on the redevelopment of an abandoned
train station and
hotel in Dowerton,
Dorset. Pete pleads for his brother to come to Dowerton, as something is wrong and he needs help. He mentions he is working with two
ghost hunters, and says "I think whatever they were hunting has found them. I think it's found me, too." He then says "it" is outside the door, whispering his name, and he feels compelled to let it in. As the message ends, a door is heard opening. The player heads to Dowerton by train. He falls asleep, and awakens in a train tunnel, where he hears the voice of a young boy, Timothy Pike. The boy guides him to the station, telling him he has lived in the area "since 41," and mentioning "the others are hoping you can help them. One of them knows you, your brother ain't it? He's the new one, only just arrived." He also says "it" doesn't know they're talking yet, but soon will. The player finds Pete's
PDA, in which he writes about Nigel Danvers and Polly White, the ghost hunters. As the player explores the hotel, he discovers why it originally closed; its reputation never recovered from the night of April 29, 1947, when the guests and staff vanished. As the player explores, it becomes apparent the area is haunted by the spirits of the people who vanished in 1947, amongst others (including a
Roundhead soldier who died in the original inn during the
English Civil War, Timothy, Polly, Nigel and Pete). The player learns George Crabtree, the owner of the hotel in 1947, was suspected of murdering the others and then fleeing. However, Crabtree had learned of an
evil in the hotel and was planning to imprison it by using twelve symbols to recite an
incantation. Each symbol was on a piece of
vellum, which he distributed amongst the staff and guests, most of whom thought he was mad. The player discovers "it" is known as the Dark Fall, and was accidentally released by Crabtree and his friend Arthur while they were in the cellar trying to solve the mystery of the disappearance of the soldier from the Civil War. In his journal, Crabtree writes, Arthur enlisted in the army, and was killed during
World War II, but Crabtree worked to re-imprison the Dark Fall. In a journal entry dated April 29, 1947, he writes he is ready to use the symbols to recite the incantation. The player also finds Polly's electronic journal, in which she writes Nigel discovered a secret room in the cellar. However, several days later, they feel a "conscious" presence outside their door; Polly hears it calling her name, but Nigel hears it calling his. In her last entry, dated April 29, she says Nigel disappeared as they were fleeing from the cellar, and although she was able to get back to their room, she has decided to go out and look for Nigel and Pete. The player ultimately finds his way into the antechamber and discovers the final journal entries of Crabtree, who speculates the Dark Fall may be connected to
Hela, the being appointed by the
Norse god
Odin to guard the
souls of the dead, but writes "if so, I fear that this 'guardian' gave up watching over the dead, and has acquired a taste for the living." He had come to believe the Dark Fall sustains itself on the pain of the souls it has trapped. In his final entry, Crabtree worries he may be incapable of imprisoning it. The player enters the central chamber, resisting the Dark Fall, and recites the incantation, imprisoning it, and releasing the trapped souls. Timothy thanks him, and before he departs, tells him things may not have turned out as he thinks. All evidence of the spirits trapped by the Dark Fall throughout history disappear. The game then cuts back to the opening scene, as the player receives a message from Pete. In the message, Pete begins by saying he has something very important to tell his brother, but then forgets why he rang, and says the redevelopment of the hotel is going well, and he will be home shortly. ==Development and release==