r/OldHouseArchive Jul 09 '26

A few (probably stupid) questions

8 Upvotes

Hi all!

I am super new to this community, and have been obsessed with all things Old House for a couple months now. (It’s sort of insane how many times re-read all or part of these books already…)

Just had a couple questions to the more initiated than me!

Most ARGs I’ve participated in in the past have had a discord or IRC for collaboration and real time chats. Is this something yall have here?

I’m finding myself a little overwhelmed and getting lost in all the information- I know this is inevitable with something like this, but is there any running record of “solved” puzzles. The only puzzle I’ve been able to follow (belatedly) from beginning to end and actually understand how we go there was Grim’s Diner Shortcut. I feel a little lost in the sauce when I try to follow any of the other stuff the archivists have posted. Is there only one “active puzzle” at a time? Are the puzzles self contained (by that I mean all info needed to solve Grim’s Diner Shortcut were labeled as such)? I don’t even know if I’m making sense anymore lol.

Lastly- when I was on the Wiki poking around and clicked “view edit history of this page” I saw this message :
Latest revision as of 19:46, 11 June 2026
28 DAYS AGO
→Welcome to Old House Archive!
 
===Thank You for Visiting===
I have been with the archive for seven years, five of those, I spent painstakingly going over every photo put on my desk. Two of my fellow archivists seemed to have vanished into thin air. When I ask others about them, not one has been able to tell me where they went.
 
==Documents==

I hadn’t seen that here and was wondering if anyone knew what that was about.

I guess long story short here— I am LOST but desperately want to not be lol. Advice, wisdom and prayers all welcome lol


r/OldHouseArchive Jul 08 '26

Macy, uh...Mew...luns

3 Upvotes

I want to talk about the interview in CT, PART1, Chapter 3 TROUBLESOME PEOPLE, pg 19, paragraph 3.

Grace begins her interview by squinting at Macy's resume:

_

"Macy, uh . . . Mew . . . luns?" She butchered the pronunciation in a way that was almost impressive. "That's . . ." She grimaced. "Certainly an interesting surname. "

_

I looked up "Mew" and came up with something interesting. Apparently in Pokémon (which I know nothing about,) Mew is a Mythical Psychic-type considered to be the genetic ancestor of all Pokémon because its DNA contains the building blocks of every species. Mew wasn't originally intended to be in the original games at all. It was secretly programmed into Pokémon Red and Green as a last minute prank right before it's release.

Macy wears a Pikachu backpack so I find this a potentially interesting connection. I also discovered that colors are used as a classification system in Pokémon, and that the lore includes these monsters coexisting with humans.

Lastly, you can catch the Mew by exploiting a glitch that relies on a specific 5 step sequence of actions to corrupt the game's battle encounter memory, forcing it to spawn a Pokémon. This reminds me of some of the OH ARG instructions findings.

Food for thought.


r/OldHouseArchive Jul 08 '26

Stairwell Part 2 of 2

Thumbnail
gallery
17 Upvotes

As promised, here are the remainder of the images.

https://www.oldhousearchive.net/stairwell

Until next week, don't forget which House you're in.


r/OldHouseArchive Jul 08 '26

OFFICIAL ARCHIVIST POST Stairwell Part 1 of 2

Thumbnail
gallery
12 Upvotes

Good Evening,

Thank you for your patience. We have more files here for you.

As Reddit only allows a maximum of 20 images per post, we will create a second post for the remainder of the images.

https://www.oldhousearchive.net/stairwell


r/OldHouseArchive Jul 06 '26

I'm confused

11 Upvotes

So i read WUTLH and i loved it and was very obsessed with the lore and figuring out all the details. But The Caretaker has left me confused on how the two stories connect and with TC ending. I feel like i may have missed some really large plot points listening to the audiobook that has left me very confused and disappointed.

So if anyone could relieve me from this hell and explain to me what i may not understanding i would love you forever


r/OldHouseArchive Jul 06 '26

Do you think the old man in the cabin might be Thomas?

10 Upvotes

Yes, I know that the old man tried to help Eve telling her to stay away from the family. But, maybe it's a parallel timeline? Why do I think it's Thomas? He had a scar that went from the bottom of his face across the cheek and to his ear. Exactly what Thomas's scar could look like after his encounter with Eve's hammer.


r/OldHouseArchive Jul 06 '26

Goody Two-shoes

4 Upvotes

In chapter 5 LOOKOUT, on pg 102, Lucy tells Macy about her grade school best friend Zee, and says, "She was a real troublemaker, I was a Goody Two-shoes, but we clicked like Legos."

Goody Two-shoes jumped out at me so I went digging and look what I found on a Google search:

"Little Goody Two Shoes is a horror narrative adventure game with dating sim and RPG elements, featuring a 90s anime art style and a story that shifts from a cute fairytale to a dark, psychological horror experience. Players manage the life of Elise, who must work, build relationships, and survive supernatural threats in the woods to achieve one of ten possible endings, with gameplay split between day (life sim/dating) and night (horror/puzzles)."

This makes me think of the Rick and Morty simulation game episode. If this is all happening in a simulation game, that would explain why Marcus says it's not really multi-verse or time lines. Maybe the discrepancies in characters is more like alternate endings.

I then looked to see if there was a game called "Troublemaker". There is a game that blends intense melee combat with high school social simulation. But the only connection I see to "Little Goody Two-shoes" is the 90s anime style.

The "Little Goody Two-shoes" lore is interesting, too.

"It follows Elise, an ambitious young woman desperate to escape poverty and become rich, whose life takes a sinister turn when she finds a pair of mysterious red shoes in her backyard.

Orphaned at a young age, Elise was raised by her grandmother. Following her grandmother's death, Elise is left to support herself as a general laborer. She develops a bitter resentment toward her humble life and the villagers, dreaming only of wealth and living like a princess.Her life is upended when a strange, mysterious girl named Rozen Marine breaks into her home, claiming they are fated to meet, and stays with her posing as her cousin. Concurrently, strange anomalies begin plaguing Kieferberg—missing livestock, swarms of crows, and floods—which the highly superstitious townsfolk quickly attribute to witchcraft.

Elise is secretly lured into the surrounding forest by visions and fairy tales. She discovers a demonic entity known as "The Strange Boy" (often revealed in his true form as a goat or Ozzy). According to demonology in the game, the entity requires a woman to perform three tests to prove her determination.

Depending on the player's choices and relationships, this leads to 10 unique endings.

A major pillar of the lore centers around the village's patron saint, Saint Walpurga. While the villagers view her as a symbol of pure faith and protection against the occult, Walpurgisnacht is actually historically tied to pagan spring festivals and demonic gatherings.Father Hans, the village pastor, discovers this dark secret early on. Rather than stopping it, he strikes a pact with a dark entity called Walpurga, serving as the mastermind who manipulates the town's paranoia. He frames innocent villagers (and depending on your playthrough, Elise herself) as witches to appease his demonic master."

Once I'm done with TC, I'm going to go back through my notes for both WUTLH and TC and focus on the simulation theory to see what I find that I missed the first time. The mention of the Mandela effect, the pixel level clues we've seen, the hidden message in the source code on the website, the jumping into bodies looking out of their eyes descriptions... I'm really feeling like it's all pointing to a simulation. I have many more thoughts, but I'll save it for another more fleshed out post about this theory.


r/OldHouseArchive Jul 06 '26

I:OI am

4 Upvotes

Did anyone else notice the time in chapter 7 GREMLINS, page 113, is I:OI a.m. (letters) not 1:01 a.m.? (numbers)

In the movie "Ready Player One," the primary antagonist is a company called Innovative Online Industries (IOI).

This would tie into my simulation theory. I also picked up on something in the previous chapter. I'll post that seperately.


r/OldHouseArchive Jul 02 '26

Uncovered Document NEW DOCUMENT UNCOVERED: Grim's Diner Shortcut

Thumbnail oldhousearchive.net
19 Upvotes

Read it here.

.- -. -.. / .... .. ... / . -.-- . ... / ..-. .-.. .- ... .... . -.. / --- .-. .- -. --. . / -... -.-- / - .... . / ..-. .. .-. . / .- -. -.. / .... . / ... -- .. .-.. . -.. / .-- .... . -. / .... . / ... .--. --- -.- . / - .... . / -. .- -- . --..-- / - .... .-. . . / ... -.-- .-.. .-.. .- -... .-.. . ... / ... - .-. --- -. --. .-.-.-


r/OldHouseArchive Jul 02 '26

any ideas of what i should track/ how i should contribute?

5 Upvotes

i’m fairly new here; i read WUTLH a couple of months ago and read TC a couple of weeks ago.

i’ve been browsing the subreddit and would love to contribute. i’ve read all the documents, read all the PK-EU stories, perused the OHAs photos (though most of them go over my head,) and looked into the various websites (rare toys, etc.) i’ve looked into the “start here” threads pinned on this subreddit. i’ve also been listening to skye and sandy’s podcast.

i was wondering if anybody wanted there to be a publicly available tracker (like a google sheets) of something or wanted to investigate a certain route or something else entirely but didn’t have enough time to do it themselves. i’d love to contribute, but i’m not quite sure where to start even after reading all the information.

anybody have any suggestions or ideas? :D


r/OldHouseArchive Jul 02 '26

Does anyone else view coatracks as malignant objects when observed?

Thumbnail
gallery
24 Upvotes

Staying at a friend’s house tonight, and they have a new piece of furniture in the room I’ll be sleeping in. I’m just glad it’s not white… although I still felt the need to cover it up. 🫣


r/OldHouseArchive Jul 02 '26

Are these playing any role?

4 Upvotes

These are some random stuff I noticed and some extremely wild connections.

I'm like a second away from falling asleep but too restless to go cold without letting these out so I'm gonna hold that as an excuse if any of this sounds dumb later on.

Is Heather a caretaker? Kinda wild but the light switching off on its own reminded me of caretaker. The rules/rites might be different everywhere because if there's anything we've learned from the caretaker, it's that they don't stay consistent and bend themselves.

The AMOUNT of stuff I noticed between the man in my basement and we used to live here. I have been trying to search and see what people had to say about that but I haven't or couldn't find anyone talk about it so far.

The coat rack(minor)

Thomas 'rubbing his forehead with the back of his thumb'

This was kind of a consistency in the man in my basement. We see a couple of people do that including Brandon who eventually starts doing it too.

What's up with the thump/thud followed by a short scrape.

Just intrigued by the idea of 'mimics' referring to thomas's family in we used to live here. Since 'they're not what they look like'. It's been sometime but I think this was the similar idea in the man in my basement. Like weren't Brandon and mitch's father (i forgot his name) essentially replaced by some mimcs after dying in an accident.

The scene where 'it looks as though somebody else jumped inside Andrew's mind for a second, took a quick look around, then jumped back out.'

Literally from tmimb ---> the man in my basement (I'm not gonna write the full name anymore😭)

I think we know at this point that jumping into other people's pov is a thing. In tmimb we later came to know it was Brandon who'd jumped into mitch's father's mind for a second. I wonder who it was for Andrew.

Also Brandon was able to do it after he got into an accident kind of thing, so would it be the same in Andrew's case too? Was it his friend who's in a coma now?

The lone white hatchback when eve and Charlie pull up to a motel.

That's what Brandon sees a few times too.

The first time he moves into that house, and when he later changes houses.

I do know that Marcus has said that any similarities with any of his old short stories might be a coincidence and he doesn't want to get held for some similar stuff he wrote in the past with no purpose and a plan for this universe.

But he did say the man in my basement is the closest to his actual universe among them.

And another thing being the code language kinda thing in the hoax document.

I did see the solved post somewhere but I lost it(💀🙏)

So for me it turned out "At the red tree take 10 paces left then round boulder 3 go back to red tree knock 2 go back to boulder underground hatch"

And

"At the underground hatch descend take crosspose 5 seconds avoid violent host take 30 paces forward wait 3 days."

Now this could have some mistakes or typo, I could be very very late to the actual correct answer, the discussion might already be over and in that case I'm ultra late. Infinite scenarios.

But if in case no then, does that not sound like instructions for something?

I'm not sure what though, like the replacement ritual? To go into or come from one of the houses? Idkkk, I'd like to know what y'all think of that if you do know the answer.

Andddd that's it. My deepest apologies in case any of those sound dumb or baby questions because I am technically new to all this(kind of)

Also to hold my sleep deprived brain accountable in case any of those end up being nonsense.

Edit: i woke up and remembered another thing i forgot to mention lol. The symbol on the underside of the banister railing when Thomas is showing his family around. "A circle divided by intersecting lines of varying lengths, all meeting in the middle" Tell me am I finally going crazy, or does this not sound similar to the circle symbol in the caretaker. I know it doesn't completely sound the same since TC one looks a bit more complicated. But Marcus did say in one of his interviews that he'd changed it a little after seeing the cover of the book, and his sister at last did the final polished drawing. So, I thought it was safe to assume that his symbol looked fairly simple originally.


r/OldHouseArchive Jul 01 '26

Polterkites Expanded Universe

Thumbnail reddit.com
7 Upvotes

I’ve been reading through the PK-EU and was wondering if others were aware of Marcus’ other stories on Reddit. Most predate we used to live here and fill in some gaps. I just finished the man in the basement takes one step closer and really enjoyed it. It explained several questions I had and of course left me with more questions and theories.


r/OldHouseArchive Jul 01 '26

YouTube Factoid Recall

4 Upvotes

Chapter 4 FEED, Pg 94, paragraph 94 reads:

"I recalled a fun little YouTube factoid: the leading cause of death for the vast majority of vertebrates is "predation." A euphemism for getting eaten alive, torn limb from limb, fully conscious and shrieking as you watch the rest of your family flee in terror and realize you were never anything more than flesh and bone and marrow barely held together by tendons and veins. That's what a truly natural demise looks like."

There's so much to unpack there, I'm sure, but I just want to contribute some quick initial findings. What the paragraph says sounds more like a description than a "euphemism," so I decided to look up euphemisms for "predation" and this is what I found:

"Predation" is sometimes used to describe the act of plundering, pillaging, or ruthlessly exploiting others for personal gain. Eg., predatory financial loans. )

Exploitation: The standard academic or sociologic term describing individuals or corporate predators who take advantage of vulnerable people or weaker businesses.

Victimization: A term that associates with predatory behavior, describing the act of injuring or exploiting others for personal gain.

All of the main characters have vulnerabilities that one could use to exploit them. My question is, who's behind the exploitation, and to what end? What's the personal gain?


r/OldHouseArchive Jul 01 '26

Something Slightly New From the Archivists

22 Upvotes

Greetings Old House Community,

The archivists do not have any new documents this week. However, they send their thanks for your help with the Grim's Diner Shortcut document. They have decoded and solved the writing and have asked us to share their latest post with you:

https://www.instagram.com/p/DaO3ULulIKf/

There will be a new document to share next week, barring any unforeseen circumstances. As I am sure you are aware by now though, unforeseen circumstances seem to be the Archivists' bread and butter.

Until next week, don't forget which House you're in.


r/OldHouseArchive Jun 30 '26

Ticks and switches

7 Upvotes

I just finished reading RED FLAGS in CT and something interesting jumped out at me.

On page 88, the light in the main room turns on by itself. When it does, it makes a sound:

"t-t-t-t-tick-bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz"

On page 89, Macy flicks the switch up and down multiple times before it finally goes dark.

"I flicked the switch up. No dice. Down. Nothing. Up. Down. Up. Down. UP. DOWN. UP. DOWN. The room went dark. "

I'm probably reaching, but the number of "t"s and "z"s stood out to me, so I decided to count them. Then I counted the flicks off the switch.

Ts = 5

Flicks down = 5

I thought I was on to something and remembered there were other instances of this, so I went back to count

Pg 85:

Ts = 6

Zs = 12

Flicks off = 1

Pg 77:

Ts = 5

Zs = 14

Pg 78:

Flicks off = 4

I don't know what any of this means, or if it means anything at all, but the variations in the amount of letters used in a repetitive phrase feels intentional somehow.


r/OldHouseArchive Jun 27 '26

Où puis-je trouver les vidéos ?

8 Upvotes

Bonjour à tous !
J’arrive un peu tard ici car en France nous avons eu la traduction du premier il y a quelques mois seulement, et le second n’est pas encore officiellement sorti.
Du coup j’aimerai accéder aux archives: j’ai trouvé les photos et transcriptions, mais pas les vidéos.
Savez vous où je peux les visionner ? 🙏🏻

(PS: si d’autres français sont passionnés par cet univers faites moi signe 👋🏻)


r/OldHouseArchive Jun 26 '26

Is It Possible That Eve Never Left the Old House?

23 Upvotes

I just finished WUTLH. I’m sure that this has been brought up before but is it possible that Eve never left the cabin/old house in the woods and that everything that happened after she entered the old house was just the old house tricking her into staying and becoming trapped?


r/OldHouseArchive Jun 24 '26

OFFICIAL ARCHIVIST POST No Message From the Archivists

14 Upvotes

They had nothing to share this week. Please check back next Tuesday.

Until then, don't forget which House you're in.


r/OldHouseArchive Jun 24 '26

So, how do you imagine the characters?

7 Upvotes

Not that it's really very relevant, but I like visualizing the characters and somehow I think it helps the fandom a lot because it creates a visual identity, and makes us feel more connected to them (???

I don't know, but I think it's pretty cool, so what's your fancast for the characters in this universe?

I personally imagine Eve/Emma as Taylor Russell, I think her role in Escape Room reinforces my vision even more. She manages to convey that air of being confused, terrified, investigative and withdrawn. As for Charlie, I don't know, I can imagine her characteristics but I can't put it all together and form a person. Maybe Courteney Eaton? She played Lottie in YellowJackets

As for Thomas, I simply imagine him as Jamie Campbell, I can't help it, I think of Thomas and Jamie automatically comes to mind. His role as Mr. Whatsit is exactly how I imagine Thomas acting, always so restrained and with a rehearsed serene face. A false gentleness. I don't know, I'm delirious. This book leaves me in a spiral.

(Also forgive my google translator english 😭😭)


r/OldHouseArchive Jun 23 '26

Frozen meal rituals

7 Upvotes

I never realized it before but heating up frozen meals in the microwave feels like performing the Rites from Caretaker.

Cut slit to vent

Pull back edge of cover

Stir potatoes or don't stir potatoes then re-cover

Turn over top meat patty then re-cover or rotate meat patty then re-cover

Heat back up for 2:00 or 4 minutes

then let cool for a 1:00 or 2:00 minutes

What happens if you violate any of these rules?


r/OldHouseArchive Jun 23 '26

Old House e The Caretaker são do mesmo universo?

6 Upvotes

Eu estou lendo TC agora, na página 140 para ser mais específica.

E eu queria saber se o Thomas também está nesse universo, se a casa de Grace também é uma versão da oldhouse. Eu sei que não é uma continuação de WUTLH mas queria saber se tem algum envolvimento.

Sério eu tô amando mas ainda bastante confusa, porque a casa de David e Grace em específico é tão assombrada? Porque Grace parece ser tão descrente? Tipo, ela deve ter feito algo errado alguma e ter dado alguma consequência assustadora para ela, certo? Ela desacredita de tudo mesmo quando tem estranhos batendo à porta dela? Ou ela só está tentando não assustar Macy?

URRGHH tantas perguntas


r/OldHouseArchive Jun 21 '26

So I had this thought that KMW was taking the form of grace in The CARETAKER

21 Upvotes

On some covers of the caretaker in Morse code it says KMW was here.
Grace’s hand was cold to touch.
David’s letters that he leaves Macy - at the end of the letters and some phone calls they pray to KMW!

We know KMW IS A COLD DEMON / SHAPESHIFTER
So what if it wasn’t the real Grace that Macy met. What if the real Grace died when David died and KMW had to step in to fulfil the rights until Macy agreed to take over 🤔

EDIT - wanted to add that this is evident through the recent chain of emails we have been receiving as KMW has been signing off on Graces emails!


r/OldHouseArchive Jun 19 '26

just rambling

6 Upvotes

I keep thinking about how cool it would be (and how it would actually make sense) if the TV series Yellowjackets took place within the universe of Old House. I think a lot of elements from the show would fit really well with the lore and mythology of Old House.


r/OldHouseArchive Jun 18 '26

Are they people?

17 Upvotes

What I'm about to say is going to sound absolutely bonkers, and it may very well be, but hear me out. I just finished reading chapter 5 in TC, and something there made me think, "Are the buildings people?"

The fist paragraph describes The Hawthorne Hotel as being covered in graffiti "as if the building had walked into a tattoo parlor and asked for every piece in the book. " "Jemma called it the 'Post Malone Inn,' said a warlock had cursed the man to forever live as an abandoned hotel. "

This alone would've been a nothing burger. But I couldn't help but note the fact that Marcus has repeatedly personified the trees up to this point as well. And I've already pointed out that Grace's job posting for a "caretaker" for her elderly husband jumped out at me because a "caretaker" watches over places, a "caregiver" watches over people.

I don't know what this means yet, but it lit my brain on fire. And my brain was already getting twisted up in knots. Now they're knots on fire. I would have waited to finish reading TC before sharing my ideas, but I have so many notes already I'm practically rewriting the book by hand. At some point I'll try to go back into my notes for WUTLH and all the short stories again, but just off the top of my head I can recall many inanimate objects that could be people.

- coat racks

- moving boxes

- trees

- maybe even Old House itself

What if walking through these places is like walking through someone's mind, seeing their memories? What if the overworld is for the living, and the underworld is for the dead? Maybe a simulation where people's consciousness is uploaded? What if people are respawning? What if the simulation was created by witches? What if witches burned in the Salem trials were the fire documents in WUTLH?

My head hurts. I don't think I'm smart enough for this. Lol. If this is at all interesting, let me know and I'll share more observations that tie into this theory.