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Jon Tomas Vard is a former priest from Poland,Kudowa Zdrój and the main protagonist of the FAITH series. On a journey to complete a botched exorcism, Jon relives traumatic memories and traverses through dangerous situations to defeat the unspeakable evil that plagues him.

This page is complete, but it's missing citations and requires grammatical checking. Give it a month or so until everything is set. As of Feb. 16th, the entire page is complete, but "the tunnels await" sub-section of "October 30th, 1987" section and beyond lacks citations and generally needs to be spell-checked.

Appearance

John is a young man with short hair and bangs, standing at 6”2. He is always seen wearing priestly clothing, including a silver clerical collar. Some cutscenes shows that he wears blue jeans. In the game's art style, he is entirely a deep blue color except for his clerical collar.

When possessed, his color scheme turns purple due to an evil entity, red, combining with his normal color, blue. When injected by a mysterious substance, his entire body briefly turns red and boasts an eerie, wavery smile.

John's real color of his outfit and hair is unknown. Looking back at some artwork posted by New Blood, he's supposed to have black hair and a black priestly outfit. But take that with a grain of salt, it could just be a talented artist's description on how he's supposed to look.

Personality

John's personality gradually changes depending on which ending you, the player, achieve in each chapter. Overall, before Chapter I begins, John's mental state is in shambles, filled with self-loathing and guilt over a failed exorcism, among other stressful matters. There's an underlying implication throughout the series that he's somewhat suicidal, secretly wishing for things to have changed all the way back to his first exorcism. As the series progresses, he tries to remain noble despite encountering demons, monsters, and various evil forces. In his journey, everything he goes through serves as both a test of faith in God and in himself.

Witnessing chaos, whether he brought it upon himself or not, John remains unusually quiet. Sometimes, when he talks to others, he appears reserved and lacks human emotion. It seems like there is a lot going on in his mind, and he generally keeps to himself. By the end of his journey, he breaks out of his shell and begins to open up to his new demon-fighting ally or love interest.

There are various hints throughout the series that John harbors violent thoughts towards people he considers to be Satanists or cultists, imagining himself maniacally murdering them in hopes of dispelling evil and in some kind of twisted way for them to repent. Although he keeps these intrusive thoughts to himself, the hidden demonic entity that controls his nightmares subtly brings them up as a way to mentally torment him, as if he had truly committed those crimes. These thoughts become a reality after he is forcefully injected with a substance, causing him to lash out in a crazed, drug state that's heavily similar to how Thralls would typically behave, who're low-ranking cult members a part of the Eternal Order of the Second Death. In general, whenever John is influenced by anything demonic, it appears that his violent thoughts are manipulated and manifest as a potent force.

According to his psychiatric doctor, John suffers from mild anxiety and acute coulrophobia, which is a fear of clowns.

Biography

John's backstory up to Chapter I is not entirely clear, plenty of his history are taken from flashbacks and notes but, by applying context surrounding their locations, they aren't 100% reliable. Below is an attempt to summarize John's past and how each entry affects how he reacts to his environment in later chapters. Additionally, his biography is essentially an in-depth recap of every chapter from his perspective since he's the protagonist (So, anything else that doesn't completely relate to him won't be explained at all). It's best to play through each chapter before reading this to understand some context.

1953

Considering how John was 33 years old in 1986[1], if we subtract "33" from "1986", we will get his birthyear of 1953. We aren't exactly sure what day or month he was born, but its rest assured he was born to a woman named Meredith[2][3] and an unnamed father in Poland,Kudowa Zdroj,Apartament Sjesta River [4].

Dialogue in Chapter III[3] implies that Meredith apparently got sick and passed away at some point in John's early childhood. It's suggested from the same dialogue that John tried to help her, either by prayer or some other methods, but was unsuccessful. John believes that he's somewhat responsible for not helping her and feels guilty over the whole circumstance. John's father is absent for unknown reasons, so we're going to assume that John was going through foster care services until there was a stable area to live in.

Mid 1950s

Although this entire section here is undated, Note #12 from Chapter II[5] indirectly reveals that every event surrounding Snake Meadow Hill Church was occurring around the 1950s. Three important events happened during this timeframe, so we're going to split them off in three sections: Early 50s where orphans were taken by the Cornfield Maze Demon[6] (this will not be thoroughly explained here), Mid 50s when John was an orphan staying here (this would make him about 3 or 4 years old), and Late 50s when a staff member returned to the cornfields in a hopeless search for the orphans that were taken so long ago[7] (this will not be thoroughly explained here).

Sometime in the mid 1950s[8], a Church in Sterling, Connecticut[9] became active again roughly a couple of years after a rumor of six orphans murdered by a "thing in the cornfield" winds down[6]. The building, Snake Meadow Hill Church, gets restaffed by new staff members and volunteers who know nothing about what happened to the six original children (except for one[8]). The orphanage is reopened as well. More importantly, a woman named Miriam Bell, who went by Sister Bell to her peers, was hired to clean up the area and become a caregiver for any oncoming orphans since, apparently, she was highly recommended as a suitable worker from the administrative office in Hartford, Connecticut[8]. Her arrival marked the full reopening of the orphanage; Down the line, John got transferred to live there.

We only know history behind the Church from notes in Chapter II Prologue. Although we're jumping the gun a bit, it's more than likely that Prologue was John's nightmare, so we cannot 100% discern that everything stated within this section as factual considering that John's thoughts & feelings may impact what's written in the notes (this unreliable narrating becomes relevant regarding important notes in Chapter II[10][11]). The series never directly states that John was temporarily living at the orphanage, but there's plenty of references that greatly enforces he was there. More of this will be heavily explained later on in this page, but to summarize, Snake Meadow Hill Church's constant reappearance in nightmares[12], hallucination sequence of John staying inside the Church[13], and quotes from Miriam[14] & Peekaboo Demon[15] all enforce he was an orphan, making him about 3 or 4 years old at the time.

Considering John was born in New York, the reasoning behind him transferring to a different state is unknown. It would logically make more sense to stay within that state instead of travelling elsewhere. The best explanation we can conjure could be that Snake Meadow Hill Church's orphanage had a good reputation before it closed in the early 50s. Since it was reopening, it would probably suit John best to relocate into a refurbished orphanage instead of whatever that was available in New York.

Regardless of everything, John moved into the Church's orphanage. He eventually met another orphan named Lisa Pearson and the two quickly become close friends. Once again, the only evidence we know that Lisa was an orphan here was her appearance in two hallucination sequences depicting young versions of the duo holding hands and staying within the Church. There is no other note (directly[16]) stating she was an orphan. Being childhood friends would make sense considering Lisa reaches out for John's help in 1987[17][18], but that won't be detailed until way later.

CreepyChurch
YoungJohnAndLisa

A couple of months pass and now the orphanage was full of eight children (the original note states "six children", but we'll go over this number later on)[19]. Sister Bell begins to exhibit odd behavior with them, and it's highly suggested that she acts as a motherly figure particularly towards John[14][15], but staff members ignore her mannerisms considering that she's been doing an excellent job as a caretaker so far[19]. One night, her and six of the eight orphans disappear, leaving no traces behind[20]. In the morning, there's only two children left, presumably because they were sleeping while the others vanished. This time, the Church cannot keep the situation a secret and the authorities got involved, likely because volunteers found the body of an unnamed old nun somewhere in the building[20].

An unnamed detective was assigned to solve the case[20]. He gets accompanied by the new head runner of the Church, Father Clarke, to search for the missing children and Sister Bell by driving around the farm roads late into the night. The detective also wishes to solve the sudden death of the unnamed nun[20]. Getting eerie responses from the remaining kids, finding what appears to be dolls made out of sticks surrounding the building[21], and driving around hopelessly in the middle of the night, the detective feels that the atmosphere of the Church was affecting him.

One night at 2:00 AM[22], the detective and Father Clarke wake up to what sounds like an old woman cackling nearby the kids' bedroom. When they investigate, they discover that the cackling emanates from a painting of the Virgin Mary. Suddenly, they hear a loud noise coming from the chapel. Upon arrival, they see Sister Bell dragging the remaining kids down into the basement. Father Clarke stops the detective from drawing his service weapon, tells him something about doing God's work, and ventures into the basement alone. To make sure no one gets in or out, Clarke seals the basement. The detective anxiously waits for Father Clarke to return, but upon hearing unspeakable demonic noises emitting from the basement, he writes a note to anybody that reads it that the Devil was real, and nobody should go down that basement.

From Clarke's perspective[23], he writes down his final memoir on a torn-off page from the Bible before encountering Sister Bell, feeling as if she's waiting for him in anticipation just beyond what's there in the darkness. He remarks that time doesn't flow correctly down in the basement since his watch was stuck on 2:00 AM. He laments that God's work can only do so much to protect him from things unspeakable. He finishes his memoir by calling himself a foolish old man as his ears bleed from the screeches of an unknown demon.

The detective and Father Clarke's fates are unknown, but Clarke was more than likely killed by whatever lurked in that basement. Regardless, the orphans have disappeared indefinitely, the public doesn't know that Sister Bell did not truly disappear, John and Lisa are still somehow alive despite getting taken, and the Church ceases operation for the second and final time.

To reiterate, this entire story was taken from notes in Chapter II Prologue, and John & Lisa are not mentioned at all even though there's plenty of evidence that they were orphans during the mid 50s, hence why we replaced Prologue's original note stating, "four missing kids (two remaining)" with "six missing kids (two remaining)"[20]. We don't know if this is due to either a writing error (which most likely is since Note #7 mentions "The creepy twins." even though any word mentioning "twins" were replaced with "kids" in Version 1.3 of The Unholy Trinity) or John intentionally neglecting any mention of him or Lisa.

Additionally, these two remaining kids mentioned in Note #5, #6, and #7 cannot be John and Lisa. We're jumping the gun again, but in Chapter II Prologue, we see six stick dolls (that are supposed to represent the missing children) situated around Miriam[24] and in Chapter II we see the same stick dolls in the basement of Snake Meadow Hill Church[25]. John and Lisa are still alive, so they cannot be the six stick dolls detailed earlier. It's best to assume they disappeared around the same time when Miriam and four other children vanished. This is certified by Note #33 in Chapter III[16], but that won't be explained until later.

Even though the duo were intentionally granted to escape, they are figuratively haunted from the six orphans that "disappeared"/killed[24][25]. As of now, Miriam's motive with the orphans is unclear and there's no concrete proof as to what prowls in the basement. In the end, she did something unexplainable to John and Lisa that makes them walk away as, what somebody named Gary Miller will soon describe it, "husks"[16].

Effigies gif

September, 1986

John's story flashforwards from the mid 1950s to now, 1986. There wasn't a follow-up regarding the investigation surrounding what happened to those orphans and the death of the unnamed nun. The incident and anything correlating to Snake Meadow Hill Church fades into local legend[5]. Judging by John's future actions, his anxiety and introverted personality seems to have been jumpstarted after whatever Miriam did to him back in the 50s. Since he made quick friends with Lisa, we can assume he used to be outgoing as a child, but now as an adult, he's reserved and standoffish towards anyone.

John does not seem to have many friends, but at some point, in the span of roughly thirty years, John buys a house and lives for most of his life somewhere in Sterling, Connecticut (we're assuming this because in Chapter II he primarily dreams of demonic events surrounding Sterling[11][5][26] and it doesn't take him long in Chapter III to drive anywhere within Sterling, this won't be brought up until later). He eventually meets a woman named Molly (whom he later marries down the line[27]) and gets a career as a Catholic priest a part of the Vatican/Catholic Church. This would rather seem a random occupation choice, but we can assume that he's held faith in the Lord ever since his mother passed away. John and Lisa seemingly part ways; Lisa tried to keep in touch, but her letters[17][18] that we'll go over later on suggests that John intentionally ignores her and never responds, presumably to ward off any bad childhood memories of his time with Miriam and whatever happened inside Snake Meadow Hill Church.

Sometime in September, a man named Bob Martin returned to his house[28] after finishing his servicing months in Nicaragua[29] as a missionary. When he gets home, he sees his wife, Cindy, mentally unstable[29] and his daughter, Amy, silent and standoffish[28]. Cindy's mental state has noticeably worsened and fully believes her deceased twin sons, Nate and Jason, are still around and encouraging her to look for "replacements"[29]. However, Bob focuses entirely on Amy's condition, believing that something supernatural has taken over her.

With no other choice, he and Cindy contact the Catholic Church to see if an exorcist can arrive to relieve Amy[30], despite the family never being religious[10]. Father Allred, an experienced priest and exorcist, is sent to do the job. Analyzing the situation before performing the exorcism[31], Allred came to the conclusion that Amy's possession was stronger than what he's used to, so he contacts the Catholic Church for an assistant. John is assigned to take on the grueling task, even though he's never performed an exorcism before[30]. Allred tried to urge Bob and Cindy to have the exorcism be performed away from the house, preferably the decrepit shed nearby[31], because he understands how overwhelming it can be for family members to witness an exorcism and his actions may come across as harsh to their loved ones. However, the parents refuse and were set on having it done inside the house, presumably to periodically check on Amy. Allred reluctantly agrees and schedules to perform the exorcism on September 21st.

September 21st, 1986

(The majority of this section consists of nightmare sequences from the first failed exorcism in Chapter III. These sequences are narratively unreliable because we don't have a full understanding of what transpired on that date. Therefore, the citations included here are based on certified events documented in notes by John himself, which can be found in Chapter I.)

Father Allred and John drive to the Martin House late in the night to perform the exorcism[31].

Ch3 cruise

Trying to spark a conversation and getting to know him, Allred reminds John that the exorcism is top secret and asks if he's ever done an exorcism before. John's on-the-edge and gives one-word answers, such as, "No, Sir." Noticing his nervousness, Allred reprimands him that it's 'Father' not 'Sir' and reassures that everything will be okay if he follows his directions. Additionally, Allred gives him advice that he should not trust what he sees or hears. Reaching the destination, the two park outside, open the door, and Allred introduces himself to Bob and Cindy[32]. John anxiously darts his eyes and has a stern look on his face.

OpenDoor

John doesn't say anything, and Cindy remains quiet. Bob's a nervous wreck and shamefully tells the two that he had to tie Amy in the basement[32]. Allred tries to comfort him and says that the Lord's servants are here, but Bob mutters, "... If you say so." The parents stay upstairs while John and Allred walk below. In the basement, Amy sits idly in her chair[32] and tilts her head down while Allred tries to ask how she's doing. With no response, Allred instead addresses the demon directly in Latin, "RESPICE AD ME, DAEMONIUM." (which translates to "LOOK AT ME, DEMON"), which elicits the response, "HELLO, PRIEST." Father Allred then begins the exorcism.

AmyWatches

John paces around and blankly stares while Father Allred attempts to exorcise her. Amy can only kick her feet and laugh (or scream) as the session goes.

AmyScream

Allred gets annoyed and demands John to recite the prayer of exorcism from a nearby book.

JohnBook

Upon reading the fourth verse, Bob and Cindy walk downstairs to see the commotion, inadvertently preventing him from completing the exorcism (this mess-up is referenced way down the line[33]). Sensing Cindy's horrified silence, Amy's demon tries to call out to her, chanting "Mother, Mother!" Allred commands John to take her parents back upstairs since the demon is trying to afflict her[34].

John relocates the two and Bob tries to spark a conversation; saying that whatever is going on with his daughter is not her, but John sourly mumbles, "...I don't know what to tell you." with a lack of human emotion. He instructs them to wait upstairs while he goes back down to assist Father Allred. In the basement once again, John finds Allred unconscious and notices that Amy is nowhere in sight[34]. Shortly before Allred collapsed, he wrote "Take it" and "Save her" with his own blood. John picks up Allred's crucifix and says, "Don't worry, Amy. I'm coming."

Ch 3 fl john cross grab

John searches up and down on the 1st Floor for Amy, Bob and Cindy have strangely disappeared. However, he occasionally spots Cindy hiding behind furniture and sees Bob seemingly trapped in a mirror in the master bedroom (it's unclear if this genuinely happened or was just a weird occurrence in a nightmare of his first exorcism).

PossessedCindy Attic
Bobby in mirror

If John investigates the family portrait in the foyer, the portrait is tampered. Bob and Cindy's eyes and throat were scribbled out. There's a gaping hole over Amy's face and an insignia of a demonic deity named the UNSPEAKABLE is on top of her (it's also unclear if this genuinely happened or was another weird occurrence of a nightmare.)

FamilyPortrait2

Exploring the 2nd Floor with no luck, John investigates the attic. Passing through mannequins and boxes, he enters into the main attic and spots Amy standing still nearby a window. The entire room is cold, and dead silent[35].

Ch 3 fl amy in attic

John approaches and urges her that they need to return back downstairs so that she can feel better, but her demon retaliates and asks if Meredith got better[35]. John is shocked and uncomfortably stays quiet. The demon ponders that he could not save her, but John interrupts and shouts, "That's enough." The demon tries to get under his skin by mentioning that Meredith is in the room with them, but John ignores the goading and remarks that he's going to complete the exorcism right then and there. The demon questions him if he's going to do it all by himself and John starts to get nervous. Provoked into using his crucifix, John calls out for Bob and Father Allred, but with no response, he gets scared and stays silent[35]. The demon mocks him once again, "NOBODY'S COMING, PRIEST."

AmyZoop

John attempted to restart the exorcism in the attic, but Amy's Demon was far too powerful. She knocks him out after a brief struggle and flees. Awakening, John haphazardly places mannequins around the entrance to the main attic and vows to never return back in there based on what he's witnessed (we don't know what happened in there either, but whatever he saw is subtly brought-up again in Chapter III[36]).

Ch 3 fl mannequins

Despite of everything, he still wishes to resume the exorcism, so he explores the house again looking for her. In Amy's bedroom, John is horrified when he comes across Cindy's corpse, laid nearby a strange doll[37].

DeadCindy CloseUp

Investigating the master bedroom on the 1st Floor, he also finds Bob's strangled body.

DeadBob CloseUp

Amy apparently gutted their innards and strangled them while John was knocked out[38] (it's never specified if John was unconscious in the attic, but it's very unlikely Amy was capable of fleeing and killing her parents while John was upstairs in such little time). By this point, John is deeply frightened and feels like he needs to leave the house immediately before getting himself murdered. However, Father Allred's status is unknown since he was merely unconscious, he does not want to leave him behind, so John musters courage and ventures down into the basement again (the alternate version of walking out of the house is not canon, this will be brought up in the Chapter III section).

Investigating the area, he hears Father Allred shouting from a distance, "Everything will be alright, Father Ward. Please come quickly!" John follows his voice and notices that Allred's body was tampered and has hollow eye sockets. Allred begins to speak again, but suddenly, Amy appears and has his head on her lap. She opens Allred's sockets, and they begin to bleed, so it's likely that she killed him while John was knocked out in the attic[38].

Annieareyouok

She continues to manipulate Allred's body to ask for John's help. Afterwards, she stands up and crawls on all fours to rush John to finish him off. Shortly before he gets ambushed, the lights suddenly cut off on their own, and the entire house goes dark.

Ch 3 fl amy ambush

Vulnerable and terrified, John has reached his breaking point and freaks out wondering if he will never escape the house alive. Seeing the corpses of her parents, her raw demonic power, and mimicking Father Allred's voice was all too much to bear. He prays for God to come rescue him. With no response, he then pleads for anybody else to come. Suddenly, a mysterious white entity manifests before him.

AngelEntrance

Using Shakespearean English (this will be important regarding the UNSPEAKABLE), the entity says that it hears him, and asks what he wishes. John breaks down to it and says that everything he just dealt with is too much for him, he's very afraid, and just wants to escape the house alive. The entity questions about the girl, but John pleads that he just wants to go home. The entity gives him a disclaimer that, if it leads him to safety, then the girl's fate will be sealed, implying that the demon possessing her will have a stronger restraint on her and will likely never be exorcised. Exhausted, John repeats himself that he just wants to go home. The entity forces him to swear on it and John obliges.

AngelIdleSpeak

John inadvertently doomed Amy by making a deal to who he thought was a holy figure. There were signs that this entity is not what it seems, but John was too afraid and mentally drained to comprehend the gravity of his situation. With this deal done, he's able to walk out of the house alive without getting ambushed and staggers towards paramedics and the police outside.

Ch 3 fl emergencyservices

Apparently, the entity used its supernatural power to contact emergency services. There's no other hint that Father Allred, Amy, her parents, or John rang them up. Everything above except for the White Entity's appearance is mentioned and verified by John's notes in Chapter I. You could assume that this figure is something exclusive in nightmare sequences. but this is ruled out in one of the endings for Chapter III.

Aftermath

John stumbles out of the house and feels disoriented on what he's been through. Amy seemingly settled down and the two get arrested when the police find the bodies of the deceased. A note found in Chapter II suggests that the police currently suspect that John was the culprit behind the murders[39], probably because they find it unlikely a teenage girl like Amy can overpower three adults. Unfortunately, John's a mental wreck and doesn't provide a straight narrative on what he's encountered. He's fixated on what he dealt with in the attic[39].

September 22nd, 1986

For the time being, Amy and John have been admitted to a mental institution called Yale Psychiatric Institute, presumably because both are deemed too mentally unstable to be incarcerated or to stand trial[40]. The head administrator of the institution, Dr. McGlashan[41], assigns an experienced psychiatrist and counselor named Dr. James Spinel[1] to take care of John with the hope of obtaining a clear account of what transpired inside the house. Any and all information extracted from him will be provided to the police and the Martin Family Attorneys, as they are working to solve the murder case[39].

Dr. Spinel creates a new patient intake form[1] for John and conducts the initial consultation[39] (hence why this section is dated September 22nd, the day after the failed exorcism). During this session, John was non-responsive for the first half-hour and provided an inconsistent account of the exorcism events, mentioning that Amy was in the basement and then seemingly teleported into the attic. Dr. Spinel makes a note in his records that he will need more sessions with John to gain a better understanding of his current mental state and to provide information for the Martin Family Attorneys[39]. He plans to commence the treatment process tomorrow.

September 23rd to October 22nd, 1986

For the next month, Dr. Spinel initiates a treatment process for John to help him regain his sanity.

During a counseling session, Dr. Spinel observes that John is suffering from delusions[40]. At this point, Dr. Spinel and others believe that there were never any supernatural occurrences during the incident and John committed the murders. He records that, in John's mind, he believes he's a hero sent by God to protect the innocent and that he attributes evil spirits and paranormal occurrences to make sense of his actions. Dr. Spinel believes John is doing this in an attempt to evade the consequences of his actions. Dr. Spinel suggests an in-vivo approach, prescribing medication to combat John's anxiety and help him come to terms with the truth. Interestingly, John somehow became aware that Amy was in the same institution as him and became hysterical, prompting Dr. Spinel to recommend relocating Amy elsewhere. It's unclear whether this relocation occurred or not.

As the murder case remains pending, an obituary found in Chapter II[10] reveals that Bob and Cindy's deaths were officially ruled as an accident. Due to the severity of their injuries, an open-casket funeral, where attendees can view the corpses during the funeral service, was not possible. Instead, a public, closed-casket memorial was held for them on the 24th.

Between these two dates, John experiences a severe mental breakdown during one of Dr. Spinel's counseling sessions regarding the events inside the Martin House. With no other option, orderlies had to restrain John in a straitjacket and place him in a padded room to calm him down. Remarkably, John had a marker with him, and during his manic episode, he frantically drew crucifixes on the walls. Eventually, John exhausted himself, and Dr. Spinel resumed counseling sessions as usual. This event is not directly revealed in any notes but occurs in a later sequence in Chapter III.

Psych Room 1

October 23rd, 1986

John writes a letter to Dr. McGlashan requesting his release from the institute[41]. He states that ever since he began his treatment thirty days ago, he has come to terms with what truly happened inside the Martin House on September 21st. Thanks to Dr. Spinel's counseling, he now accepts the truth that nothing supernatural occurred within the house. Instead, Amy was pressured and driven to kill her parents due to their controlling nature and Father Allred's use of old church rituals believed to dispel evil. He reports that his nightmares have ceased, and he generally feels at peace ever since he accepted the truth. He concludes his letter by respectfully requesting release from the institution, preferably in exchange for future appointments with Dr. Spinel.

October 31st, 1986

Dr. Spinel officially releases John from his care[42], expressing satisfaction with John's progress after completing his required counseling and treatment. Dr. Spinel believes that John is now prepared to reintegrate into society, meaning that John is no longer under suspicion for the murders of Amy's parents and Father Allred. It's unclear whether John had any future appointments with Dr. Spinel. Even though he has been cleared, Dr. Spinel notes some of John's ongoing conditions: mild anxiety and acute coulrophobia (fear of clowns). Interestingly, this detail about his fear of clowns is subtly referenced down the line.

At first glance, these notes establish that John was mentally disturbed after his experiences with Amy. However, they are discovered primarily in conjunction with either paranormal occurrences or violent acts committed by John. In Chapter I, John's request letter can only be found after he confronts a demon with a personal connection to him[41]. In Chapter II, two notes are found after John draws a pentagram from his bleeding eye[39] and deliberately lures a child to be taken by the same demon mentioned earlier[40]. Another note is discovered after John awakens from an intense demonic nightmare[42]. The reference to his restraint, as mentioned in the section covering September 23rd to October 22nd, is only revealed after John is attacked by a demonic spirit loosely connected to his time as an orphan.

Taken together, the locations where these notes are found strongly suggest that John was traumatized and mentally manipulated during his stay at Yale Psychiatric Institute to make him believe that nothing supernatural occurred. He associates anything related to the institute as demonic in nature. In the 1980s, while mental patients' health and conditions were gradually improving, the standards and practices were not the same as they are today. Cases like these, where patients were coerced into believing or behaving in specific ways by staff, were not uncommon during that era, and such conditioning could have a lasting negative impact on a patient.

Aftermath

Either during or after John was released from Yale Institute, it is implied that there was a consensus that Amy was the murderer. Although the case was officially deemed an accident (as revealed by the obituary found in Chapter II[10]), she was temporarily relocated to a mental institution[4]. John was also denounced as a priest by the Catholic Church[4]. The exact reasoning is unknown, but it's reasonable to assume that they were aware of what actually happened inside that house. However, they likely didn't want the public to know that demons are real and capable of overpowering two trained priests. If this assumption is accurate, it creates a loophole where if John ever reveals that something supernatural truly did occur, he may be perceived as mentally deranged.

Now that Amy is secure and out of the picture, John returns to his house with Molly, whom he eventually marries down the line[27]. On the surface, it may seem that John has moved on from the failed exorcism, but his future actions throughout the series[43] strongly suggest that he never truly got over it and believes that Amy is still possessed somewhere out there. With this in mind, we can assume that the Catholic Church had a significant influence on the course of the murder case, to the extent that John had to deceive Dr. Spinel and write a request letter to Dr. McGlashan accepting the "truth." Although all of this remains somewhat vague, it is subtly referenced in another note found in Chapter I[41].

As an important footnote, the series creator, Airdorf, revealed in an interview with YouTuber Wendigoon[44] that John's request letter was actually written by a cult, which serves as the primary antagonist force in the series. This revelation is based on the similarity in formality between John's letter[41] and another letter falsely attributed to Lisa[45]. The cult orchestrated this manipulation to expose John to their influence, making him vulnerable for potential use in the future. This significant narrative detail might feel somewhat abrupt in the plot, especially considering that Chapter I was developed in 2017, and the revelation regarding falsely written letters and Lisa's role was not introduced until Chapter III was released in 2022. Moreover, because most people would typically write formal letters when addressing authority figures or medical professionals, this detail was easily overlooked and not adequately developed in Chapter II, the Prologue, or Chapter III. A plot reveal of this magnitude should have received more emphasis. Until Chapter IV further elaborates on this connection, we will continue to assume that John alone wrote his letter.

To reiterate, John associates anything related to Yale Psychiatric Institute demonic in nature but doesn't wish to entirely forget what happened to him. He harbors any psychiatric note he has and stores them in filing cabinets. All of these cabinets are exclusively secured in a room and the door is locked so that nothing can accidentally slip out. John psychotically hanged crucifixes on the door, presumably as an attempt of warding off any bad memories that seep into his head, but unfortunately, the experience lingers in his mind.

Filing room

Lastly, with a clear mind, dialogue in one of the endings of Chapter III[46] reveals that John drew conclusions that the white entity he was speaking to in the Martin House's basement be the Devil and was tricked to making a deal with it. He still holds on to the belief that he can still somehow exorcise Amy but feels immense guilt for inadvertently dooming her. The White Entity is more than likely a demonic entity. It preyed on John's vulnerability and fear, seeking to strike a deal with him to ensure that Amy's demon would never be exorcised. Notably, in Christian and Catholic traditions, holy figures or the Lord typically do not directly communicate or appear before individuals. Additionally, some Christian and Catholic circles caution against entities claiming to be 'angels of light,' as they believe such beings could be Satan attempting to deceive. In the case of FAITH, the White Entity is actually filenamed as 'Angel,' which alludes to a Biblical reference to when Satan was an archangel before he and his rebellious angels were cast out of Heaven for defying God. Although John was somewhat correct that the entity is the Devil, in the future, he never puts the pieces together that the entity is one of many aliases that the UNSPEAKABLE is in control of (please check White Entity's wiki page, this will not be explained here).

(Adding this bit here for flow) From a note in Chapter II[11], there's an implication that a man named Gary Miller, the main leader of a cult stationed in Sterling, Connecticut, called the Eternal Order of the Second Death, and his cult members have been anticipating Amy's return by sacrificially murdering people around the community. Gary's original intent was to get Amy possessed by a demon[47][48] that can aid the process of the Second Death, a cursed ritual where cult members carve a hole into a victim's face, creating a portal to Hell[49][50], and having a chance of the Antichrist emerging from the portal to wreak havoc on Earth[51][52]. Despite numerous plans and strategies[47][53][54], he did not anticipate Bob returning home so soon, nor an exorcism being performed. Now that Amy is restrained, he has no choice but to stall in hopes that she would return. All of these sacrifices are known to the public of Sterling and are marked as a wave of killings. The Sterling Police Department has been finding these bodies but isn't able to locate the culprits.

September, 1987

(This section is taken from Chapter I's Game Description[55], dialogue in Chapter II[56], and the reappearance of an enemy in Chapter III, otherwise it's never outwardly stated.)

Almost an entire year has passed since the failed exorcism. John has been living in peace with Molly for quite some time. However, at some point in September, he experiences a vivid dream where Amy reached out to him, asking him to return to the Martin House on the anniversary of the exorcism to finish what he started. Preparing himself in his dream by exorcising a Red Demon, he wakes up, grabs his old priest outfit and collar, and gets ready to return to the house.

The Red Demon's encounter sometime before Chapter I begins is not directly stated. However, the demon reappears in October of '97/Chapter III, cementing the fact that John encountered it at some point. This demon only appears in the Tutorial Section. Since the Tutorial seems disconnected from any location in the series, it's best to assume for now that it was a dream (until we receive concrete proof stating otherwise).

September 13th, 1987

(This section is taken from the "Murderer" Ending newspaper in Chapter I. As an important footnote, some important narrative details are only directly revealed in a text document found in the files of Faith: The Unholy Trinity called "FAITH - TheStorySoFar". We're going to use this text document as reliable evidence because, for some strange reason, it sheds light on barely explored details; Primarily explaining when and how Amy became possessed in 86' and had the Second Death performed on her in 87'. This detail, among other things, are vaguely hinted in notes and causes unnecessary confusion.)

John is not involved on this date, but a newspaper article in Chapter I[4] reveals that Amy somehow escaped from a mental institution (we don't know if she's kept in Yale Psychiatric Institute or some other unnamed one) and returned to the Martin House (either on the same day or a couple of days later, it's not clear[48]). Unfortunately, Gary and his cult have been prowling the forest surrounding the house in hopes that Amy, his perfect vessel[54], would return (this fact is loosely implied in Note #18 from Chapter II, particularly regarding the satanic-like style of murders since '86[11]). When she does, the cult pins her down and performs the Second Death ritual on her in the basement where the exorcism originally began[48][57]. The way the ritual functions, this is the day that Amy dies, and she can never be fully exorcised (this detail is not important until the "New Journey" Ending of Chapter III[58]). From this point onward, she has a gaping hole in her face. Cultists manipulate the wildlife and use them as sacrifices to put into Amy's gaping hole[48] (this detail indirectly explains why Gary and his cult members only appear in "The Offering" Ending of Chapter I, but this is certified in "FAITH - The StorySoFar".txt file[48]), likely to enhance the summoning of the Antichrist, which is the cult's ultimate goal they have been pursuing for decades[51][52]. The results of these rituals might be Gray Demons, which appear to haunt the area[59] and presumably possess the deer that graze there (because as we'll see soon in Chapter I, nothing explains their erratic behavior towards John specifically[60]).

The word choice from all newspapers in Chapter I endings suggest they were publicly released the day after Chapter I, September 22nd. This newspaper states that Amy broke free from a mental institution nine days ago, hence why this section is "September 13th".

Before September 20th, 1987 (Chapter II Prelude)

(This section is the opening gameplay section of Chapter II, which we'll nickname "Chapter II Prelude" to differentiate the actual gameplay of Chapter II)

John is not involved on this date, but we briefly switch to another priest named Father Garcia, who has been attempting to relieve a teenage boy's possession named Michael Davies in his deteriorated apartment basement. Father Garcia has been pressured by his supervisor, Cardinal Gifford, to return Michael to his parents since they haven't seen him in roughly three months[61]. Garcia ignores the request and never responds to Gifford's letter[48][62], even though there is an implication that he will consequently be denounced as a priest[61]. He knows that Michael is far too aggressive to be released back into society[63]. Unfortunately, restraining Michael in a bed with no sunlight for three months in a basement has drastically changed his body, slowly transforming him from a normal-looking boy into an anemic, hairless, pale humanoid who hardly resembles his old self.

Michael.day1
Michael2weeks
Michael3months

Garcia wakes up in his decrepit bedroom sometime before the 20th (this will be explained in the "September 20th, 1987" section), rereads Gifford's letter, and traverses below to begin another exorcism. Garcia tries to ask how Michael is doing, but the demon persists and shouts how "they" (Michael's Parents and Cardinal Gifford/Catholic Church) will kill him when they'll see what happened to his body. Garcia shakes off the threat and proceeds with an exorcism, causing Michael to spout blood and thrash uncontrollably on his bed.

I-WANT-TO-GO-HOME

Suddenly, Michael breaks off his chains and gets into a crawled position. The lights cut off on their own before anything else happens. The lights turn back on as Garcia is about to walk upstairs, catching a glimpse of Michael crawling away like a four-legged spider.

Father Garcia rushes upstairs and notices the polaroid photo titled "3 Months" is nowhere in sight, Michael took it likely because it's the only photograph showcasing how unrecognizable he is. For some inexplicable reason, an easter egg in Chapter I enforces that Garcia intentionally took a clown nose from his bedroom closet[64] and steps outside to survey his surroundings. He horrifically sees Michael partially eating a bystander. Michael senses somebody is staring at him, so he stops eating, slowly turns around, and gives Father Garcia a small grin as a singular eyeball rolls out of his mouth.

TutMikey

Father Garcia is bewildered and asks what he's done. Michael pauses briefly and promptly leaps out of a nearby window, proclaiming, "I HAVE THE BODY OF A PIG!" He scurries away into the dense woodland of Connecticut. Garcia regains composure and vows that Michael cannot run away from God and will face the Almighty. Notably taking off his priestly collar[65], Garcia sprints out of the apartment building to catch up to him and resume the exorcism, but he's long gone.

Although this is not shown in gameplay, Garcia returns to his apartment room and writes a reply to Cardinal Gifford[63]. He respectfully explains that Michael needs his help more than ever and that he cannot comprehend the importance of the work being done. Garcia continues, stating that great progress has been made with Michael over the past couple of weeks, and they cannot let up the fight against the demon afflicting him at such a critical time. He provides another reason for not allowing Michael's parents or the Catholic Church/Vatican to see him: the demon has strained Michael's body, making him unrecognizable. To avoid any confusion, Garcia attempts to enclose a picture of Michael taken during one of the many exorcism sessions.

This reply letter is the same letter from the "Father and Son" Ending Note in Chapter I. The photograph is missing because it's the same photograph Michael stole during his escape. Garcia has no choice but to stall until he finds concrete evidence of Michael's whereabouts.

September 20th, 1987

(This date comes from an unused note that used to be dropped by Michael in the indieDB standalone version of Chapter I ((There are three minor versions of Chapter I dating all the way back to 2017 that primarily changes what kind of note Michael would drop if scared off by the crucifix ten times. Chapter I in Faith: The Unholy Trinity is fundamentally based off of the itch.io version because we get Cardinal Gifford's letter)) Akin to "FAITH - TheStorySoFar".txt file, the series narrative is still influenced by outside sources that are never stated in game. This note explains why Father Garcia/Gray Figure ever shows up in Chapter I, because it's unexplainable otherwise and causes unnecessary confusion. Read the Unused Content or Chapter I wiki page for specifics.)

On a Sunday night[66], a Sterling local named Cherise Wan spotted what she describes as "A Naked White Man" crawling like a spider near the woodland of Snake Meadow Hill Road. She contacts the Sterling Police Department about what she's witnessed, believing that it was a human rather than an animal, but authorities weren't able to locate the person. Her story is then published in the local news the next day[66].

Since September 21st takes place on a Monday, this means that Michael was crawling around Snake Meadow Hill Road by September 20th at the latest. The moment when he ripped off his chains during Father Garcia's exorcism session is undated, but it took place at the very least before September 20th.

September 21st, 1987 (Chapter I)

It's the anniversary of the failed exorcism. Wan's report is published to the local newspaper in the morning, where Father Garcia likely read and connected that Michael is somewhere nearby the road. He plans to park around the area later that night to find him.

Before driving back to the Martin House to finish what he started, John feels it's his courtesy to leave a letter behind for Molly[38]. In the letter, he tries to tell her the true version of what happened a year ago, hinting that if he never returns, the Catholic Church will tell her their own version of what happened to him. He recaps that, in reality, Amy cut the power to the house, strangled her own parents with their gutted intestines, and murdered Father Allred with her own hands. Delusionally, he states that he's obligated to return to the Martin House since his recently occurring nightmares are real, and he believes he can still exorcise Amy. John ends his letter by expressing his love for her and apologizes, implying that he expects to die in the house and sees his mission as a form of elaborate suicide.

While not explicitly stated, Gary and his cultists have temporarily left the house to gather more sacrifices to place into Amy's face hole. They've locked the front door and hidden the key in a nearby shed in case someone else decides to disrupt their plans. (This information was retrieved from "FAITH - The Story So Far".txt file in the Goodies Folder[48]).

Now, it's nighttime, and John hops into his silver sedan, driving down a dark road. He monologues that it's September 21st, 1987, a year since he entered the Martin House. He reminds himself that he has to finish what he started but worryingly remarks, "...What I am about to do has not been approved by the Vatican," proving that he still holds respect for the organization even though he's no longer an ordained minister[4].

Intro to ch1

Arriving at his destination, John pulls over to the side of Snake Meadow Hill Road, nearby fresh tire marks in a clearing (cult members typically drive in pick-up trucks[67], so these tire marks might've originated from them). He parks, gets out, and ventures into the dense woodland.

Ch 1 intro parking

The forest appears to have a mind of its own, as it feels like he's walking in a loop. This is likely because the property surrounding the Martin House is influenced by demonic entities[59], thanks to Gary's meddling. While he walks around hopelessly, Michael suddenly appears, butchers a nearby deer, and attempts to ambush him. With three months of blatant torture, Michael is especially violent towards anyone who looks like a priest, as his captor, Father Garcia, dresses like one. In this case, Michael confuses John for Garcia because he's wearing a priest's collar. Michael cannot withstand being near crucifixes and unwillingly crawls away when faced with one, angrily shouting obscenities of the Lord in the process. However, if John isn't fast enough and gets caught, Michael releases his anger and gruesomely tears John's torso in half. (We, the player, are shown a rotoscope cutscene right before Michael does this.)

Mikecrawl

Walking along the edge of the road and narrowly avoiding being run over by a speeding semi-truck, John spots a gray figure hiding behind a tree. This figure is Father Garcia, but he's not wearing his priest's collar. The reason behind his missing collar is unclear, but as a speculation, we could suggest that Garcia intentionally removed it so as not to scare Michael away.

Gray figure road easter egg

As John approaches, Garcia is startled and quickly darts in the opposite direction since he wasn't expecting anyone else to be in a dense forest in the middle of the night. In the rush, he accidentally drops his red clown nose, which John picks up. The item seems useless at the moment, and the rationale behind Garcia owning it remains unclear. The most plausible explanation might be that Garcia wanted to appear non-threatening to Michael so that he could return to his basement. Remember, Michael is a teenage boy.

Looking for the house, John comes across five pebbles arranged in the shape of a pentagram with the corpse of a wild fox at its center. A voice booms, 'CHAOS REIGNS!' as he investigates. Though he tries using his crucifix, nothing happens, so he presses onward.

Ch 1 fox discovery

While purifying a puddle of water, a spirit is exorcised, and a note falls. Upon picking it up, the note reveals Cindy's worrisome account of redirecting two lost adults back to Snake Meadow Hill Road[68]. She expresses her unease about the situation and considers retrieving Bob's rifle from storage (this'll be relevant soon), as he was away in Nicaragua when she wrote the note[29] (she falsely believes that he's stationed in the Middle East[37], but that won't be explained here).

Finding and purifying a pile of animal bones, another note is left behind where Cindy updates Bob on how things are in a letter[69]. As another year of homeschooling begins, Cindy brings up that Amy wishes to go to a real school, but she dismisses her wishes and chalks it up to cabin fever. More importantly, she mentions how the twins, Nate and Jason, have no problem occupying their time at home since, one day, they excitedly walked into the house with their hands covered in blood. Following them, she comes across the horrid remains of a deer. She assumes that they were touching the dead deer and wonders if the sight could be linked to a coyote problem. She ends the letter saying that all of this happened just a day after the twins' birthday and can't wait for him to come home.

Wandering through the trees, John somehow spots Nate and Jason jovially running around in the forest.

Twins ch1

Remember what was stated earlier in the "September of 86'" sub-section; Cindy miscarried the twins[29] at some point in her pregnancy around May of 1980 (Nate and Jason were supposed to celebrate their 6th birthday on May 3rd, 1986[70], so Cindy miscarried them around May of 1980), so seeing the Martin Twins here is nothing more than an illusion. Their inclusion specifically in this Chapter is harder to figure out compared to their future appearances in the series because this Chapter takes place in the real world (there are multiple theories suggesting that Chapter I is nothing more than a dream or some kind of false reality, we'll disprove this theory later on), there's no feasible way John would be able to see these twins.

Even though the forest itself is highly suggested to be haunted[48] or susceptible to paranormal activity[71], that doesn't entirely justify the illusion of these twins. The series doesn't yield concrete answers about this, we're only left to speculate. We could suspect that John canonically picked up Cindy's letters and notes scattered throughout the Forest (it's difficult to figure out whether a pickable note is canonical or not since we, the player, can choose to ignore them and never pick them up) and believed the Martin Twins were real because Cindy talked about them as if they've always been around. This is somewhat supported by Gary's word-choice in Chapter III[72] but we'll go over that much later.

John follows their trail that somehow leads him to the Martin House, looking as if it's been abandoned ever since the first exorcism. He peeps through a broken window and spots Amy floating away, now knowing that she's in there waiting for him.

House amy float ch1

John tries the front door, but it's locked, so he wanders back into the woodland to look for a key. He stumbles across an old shed and spots a note left behind where he himself jotted down what was happening during the exorcism a year ago. John noted about how the Martin House is roughly a hundred yards away from Snake Meadow Hill Road. It was difficult to see since it's dark out and the gravel path is obscured by grass. Thankfully, Father Allred was able to navigate through the trees. John made note of an old shed to the right path of where they were driving and recalls how Allred urged Bob and Cindy to have the exorcism performed away from the house since he knew the rite would look harsh to family members. We can find more of John's recounts of his exorcism throughout the Martin House, but they won't be detailed here. Their purpose is to reliably tell us what occured during the exorcism because the entire event is generally left in the dark.

John enters the shed and spots a key. Michael peers through a broken window and spots John; He joyfully crawls out of scene and prepares to ambush him. Just as John is about to leave with the key in hand, Michael tries to attack him, but he's repelled by his crucifix and flees.

Mikey shack

John backtracks to the Martin House, unlocks the front door, and enters.

Ch 1 foyer

Now in the foyer room, the entire house is eerily silent, but Amy is somewhere in there. As he explores the household, he picks up various notes that he wrote down on what he experienced during the first exorcism. He walks into the master bedroom and sees a silhouette of Amy stalking him in the mirror.

Amy mirror ch1

In the living room, John spots the gray figure once again, who's spying at him from outside a broken window. The figure gets startled again and runs away in a panic when John approaches. Father Garcia likely believed Michael was somewhere inside the house but gets startled when he comes across John again.

Gray figure window easter egg

With no sign of Amy, John walks up to the second floor and explores. Exorcising a rubber duck in the bathroom, a note drops where Cindy feels stressed about how the entire house feels slanted and believes Amy's condition is worsening[28]. Additionally, at night, she hears voices around the house, so she keeps the twins inside. She wants to contact a doctor about Amy but doesn't want to leave the twins behind. Even if she could live with that herself, her car keys are missing, and the phone line is unavailable during the day. The letter ends with her expressing relief that Bob is coming home tomorrow. By the time John eventually finds Amy, he's thoroughly convinced that the twins are real because they frequently appear in his dreams, and Chapter III is entirely centered around them.

John has no choice but to investigate the basement. Walking to where his first exorcism started, there's a Second Death ritual marking on the ground with lit candles and bloody satanic symbols.

Ch i second death sign

A trail of satanic symbols gets closer and closer to him when he attempts to get any closer to the middle of the marking. Suddenly, he sees a vision of Amy slowly emerging from underneath her bed (this cutscene sort of just "happens" and John is "magically" teleported to Amy's bedroom. We're going to go with "a vision" instead).

Tumblr po3wy2ZiIl1uze48zo2 r1 540

John hurriedly rushes upstairs and points his crucifix at Amy's bed, remarking that, "She is here." In one of the rooms, Amy appears, and her demon throws various degrading sentences at John while she attempts to kill him, but he prevails.

Four amys

The door leading to the main attic is unlocked and she flees. John follows in pursuit and confronts her in the main attic. He sees Amy floating motionlessly in silence with a white sheet covering her head. John draws near and expresses concern. He asks what happened to her, but her demon ignores him and asks if her face is pretty. John musters determination and says that he's here to finish what he started. Amy's demon booms, "SHE IS MINE, PRIEST!" and a fight begins.

She is mine priest ch 1

As John begins his exorcism, Gray Demons emerge from outside the house and try to chase him. He avoids them and Amy takes off her sheet, revealing her gaping hole.

AmyRemovesSheet

Amy splits into three copies of herself in an attempt to disorient John and ambush him. John purses, and eventually, she staggers as a red human arm emerges from her face portal.

Tumblr po4k3rqSLm1uze48zo2 540

A satanic pentagram manifests on the floor and Amy becomes more aggressive as she tries to kill him. Occasionally, a Gray Demon emerges from her portal and beelines towards John.

Shadow phase 3

Fortunately, John bests her, and the arm shrouds back into her face. Amy eerily floats idly in defeat.

Ezgif-5-943361e83b01

Heavily weakened by the crucifix, Amy seemingly goes limp and stumbles towards the attic window. John gets closer to check on her and she suddenly flings herself out of the window. John rushes downstairs and out of the foyer to check on her, but notices that there's a rifle nearby, the same weapon that was mentioned in a note by Cindy[68], and the words, "KILL HER" written backwards in blood. John picks up the weapon and remarks that there's only one bullet left.

Ch 1 kill her

With the rifle in hand, John has an option of walking to the master bedroom and checking the mirror. Instead of seeing Amy like before, there's a reflection of a freakishly tall demon looming right behind him. John decides to shoot the mirror, and it cracks. Every time he fires the rifle, a new one respawns back in the foyer room. Shooting the mirror for the third time, an elongated red arm emerges from the rubble and drags John within.

Ch 1 mirror demon area

Seemingly dragged into some kind of pocket dimension littered with skeletons, the demon (named the Mirror Demon in the files) garbles, "FILIS MATER PROFANI!" which roughly translates to English as "MY UNHOLY MOTHER!" It floats towards him, and a battle begins. During the fight, it attempts to catch John by surprise by teleporting around the room in sporadic fashion. Every time it gets close, the aberration effect (if the visual effect is turned on, that is) becomes stronger and distorted. Whenever that happens, it generally establishes that the enemy has immense demonic power (for example, this detail is shared with Miriam in Chapter II) since plenty of demons that John will eventually come across do not share this trait. Eventually, John bests the demon with his crucifix. It garbles, "I WILL SEE YOU AGAIN!" as it disappears. Banished, it leaves behind a letter John wrote nearly a year ago where he requested Dr. McGlashan to be released from Yale Psychiatric Institute[41]. After reading it, John pops back into the real world, and the mirror remains destroyed.

The fight against the Mirror Demon is entirely optional, and it's unclear whether this encounter is canonical, as John never comments on or references it in future chapters. For now, we'll consider it non-canonical until we gather more substantial evidence. However, the context surrounding the demon's appearance holds significance. It's the only enemy that, despite not being a major character, reappears frequently and seems to haunt John. From the context surrounding this encounter, we might interpret the demon's appearance as a representation of John's current state of mind, particularly regarding his feelings about Amy. Despite feeling capable of exorcising her, John failed, and he remains unaware of her current condition, considering the possibility of her death after leaping from the attic window. Currently, John experiences immense guilt and struggles with the temptation to end her suffering, along with his own, by shooting her. The Mirror Demon's presence looming behind him in the mirror symbolizes its attachment to John, manifesting when he's emotionally vulnerable, even though it hasn't possessed him. Given that he's currently at his lowest point, he begins to reevaluate his time at the institution, specifically the moment when he requested to be released.

Whether John fought against the Mirror Demon or not, he grabs the rifle in the foyer and steps outside, with a small intent of fatally shooting her to end it all.

"Murderer" Ending

John comes across a severely weakened and bloodied Amy not too far from the house. She's standing motionlessly in a pool of her own blood, no longer able to fight back or even reacting to John's presence. John draws near and makes up his mind. He aims the weapon at her stomach and fires, killing her instantly.

Ch 1 amy dead

He shambles back to his silver sedan and drives away, contemplating on what he just done. As he drives, a state trooper signals their siren and pulls him over.

Murderer ending

The officer heard the gunshot from earlier and associated the noise with poachers illegally hunting the wildlife. John becomes nervous and uneasy as he's approached by the officer, muttering, "I've killed her." When further questioned, he claims, "there was a demon inside her."

John is taken to Sterling Police headquarters for further questioning, where he confesses to killing Amy. Subsequently, the police locate her body in the woods and attribute all of her injuries (gunshot wound to the stomach, injuries from jumping out of the attic window, and the hole carved into her face) to John's actions. Due to his priestly clothing, authorities ask the Catholic Church for comment, but they only state that he is not an ordained minister. This arrest was published[4] in the local newspaper the next day, the 22nd, revealing that Amy has been missing ever since she escaped a mental institution nine days ago, on the 13th. John's fate is not overtly stated, but it can be assumed that he is imprisoned for his crimes and won't be released anytime soon.

"Father and Son" Ending

Wandering around, John comes across the Gray Figure/Father Garcia, who is standing near the old shed from earlier. Apparently, after Father Garcia got startled near the Martin House, he retained his posture and took a breather around the shed. It's also the last location Michael was prowling around. For some reason, John decides to shoot him in the stomach before he can run away, killing him instantly. John hops back into his car and speeds away.

Gray figure dead

Driving back home, he attempts to recite a prayer to calm his nerves. However, he gets interrupted by Michael, who apparently snuck into his car and hid in his backseat. Michael confuses John as Father Garcia again and shouts, "FATHERRRR...!" He holds John's head upright and slashes his throat repeatedly with his clawed hands. Bleeding profusely and dying, John loses control of his vehicle and swerves offroad. As the screen fades to black, we can hear the car crashing.

Fatherandson ending

Although we, the player, are shown a response letter that Father Garcia sent to Cardinal Gifford about Michael's condition[63], nothing else is shown after this scene. It's extremely obvious that such an incident resulted in John's death. Michael probably died as well from the brutal car crash.

"The Offering" Ending

Looking for Amy, John comes across the sacrificed fox from before. For some reason, he shoots it and heads back to his car. Speeding away, the atmosphere on the road is eerie, and the trees in the distance are replaced with red-robed cultists. As more and more appear, there's a particular red-robed cultist holding a trident standing in the middle of the road. Behind them is wood ablaze with fire, so there's no way he can drive any further or run the person over, so he brakes. Before anything happens, the screen fades to black.

Offering ending

We're shown a letter that Gary sent to Amy back in 86'[47] where he entices and essentially grooms her to attend a get-together staff members are holding at the birthing clinic she used[53] to intern at. Beyond that, John's fate is left a mystery, though it's likely not a positive outcome.

The person with the trident is Gary, who, along with other cult members, was on their way back to the Martin House. However, they knew somebody unintentional was within the property since they saw the sacrificed fox disturbed. The fox is closer to Snake Meadow Hill Road than the Martin House, nor where Amy is bleeding out.

"The Hunter" Ending

Meandering through the woodland, John spots a deer grazing in the clearing. For some reason, he decides to shoot it. Although not shown here through gameplay, he intentionally harvests sections of the corpse and stuffs it in his trunk[60].

Deer dead ch1

Driving back home, John attempts to recite a prayer to calm himself. However, before he can finish, a deer pops up on the road and stares directly at him. Just before he crashes into it, the screen cuts out, and fades into his car utterly wrecked. He swerved off-road to avoid hitting the deer but lost control, ultimately colliding with a tree. John, now mendaciously alive, bears severe wounds and is crippled from the crash. The atmosphere feels sinister as other deer surround him. Fortunately, his crucifix lies a few feet away. Desperately crawling towards it to fend for himself, one of the deer suddenly rears up on its hind legs just as he's about to grab it. It bellows a demonic roar and charges straight towards him. Before anything gruesome can occur, the screen cuts to black.

Hunter ending

The screen fades to a newspaper article. Titled, "UNIDENTIFIED BODY DISCOVERED NEAR WRECKED CAR"[60], the article is about the discovery of a wrecked car near Snake Meadow Hill Road and the body of someone who has yet to be identified. A Sterling local found and reported the crash site to the police, and a spokesman from the Police Department comments that the body had been dragged deeper into the woods after being flung out of the windshield. It was then that the body was "mangled beyond recognition". Investigators believe that it was the work of coyotes. Police point out that there were parts of a white-tailed deer in the trunk of the car. The article ends by stating that a hunter would have gotten 75 lbs. of meat from a white-tailed deer, but the victim of the crash was only able to carry about 25 lbs. instead.

The ending proves that the forest is cursed, and the wildlife there are influenced by something demonic. We can only imagine the severity of John's corpse after the incident, almost as a way of payback for shooting a deer for no apparent reason. It's never explained why John intentionally separated parts from the deer carcass and stored them in his trunk, as he's not known to be a hunter in any way. He might have done it to avoid wasting meat he could use in the future or perhaps felt remorseful about shooting the deer. Referring back to John's Personality tab on this wiki page, he tends to have violent thoughts towards anyone or anything that is demonic, so this might have been a way of lashing out his anger. Alternatively, we could theorize that he has a phobia of deer if we apply the context of their appearance in future chapters. It's really tough to say.

(Chapter I's version of John isn't too fleshed out compared to how he acts in future chapters, so his character development is still in progress since the story is relatively well-rounded/simple in design. As the series progresses, things get more intricate and complex.)

"When Faith Endures" Ending

Not too far from the house, John finds Amy bleeding severely from her injuries. Although tempted, he disregards the backward lettering inside the house and decides to head back home. He feels that his work with Amy is done, intentionally disregarding the fact that he's leaving her to die alone from her injuries without seeking help.

Getting close to his car, Michael accosts him from beyond the trees and tries to kill him one last time. With no other choice, John shoots him in self-defense. Bleeding and crying in pain, Michael staggers onto the road but is suddenly run over by a speeding semi-truck, splattering and killing him instantly.

End of Michael

The screen fades to John driving away from the property. He recites a prayer and pauses briefly, contemplating what he just experienced. He talks to himself, saying that he cannot explain what happened in that house. However, he tries to remain optimistic and expresses that he can only have faith that he did the right thing. He speeds back home, and the chapter ends on an upbeat note. Considering how Chapters II and III unfold, this ending is canonical.

When faith endures ending

The screen fades to a newspaper article released the next day, September 22nd. Titled, "POLICE, ANIMAL EXPERTS INVESTIGATE 'CHUPACABRA' REMAINS FOUND NEAR STERLING"[73], the article is about how the Sterling Police Department is requesting the help of animal experts from the University of Connecticut after a motorist found the remains of an unidentified animal, nicknamed 'The Chupacabra' by locals, scattered on Snake Meadow Hill Road. The Police initially investigated the scene because the motorist reported the carcass looking like a human. Upon arriving at the scene, the Police come to the conclusion that it's some kind of animal. A spokesperson for the Police Department states that authorities want to identify the animal, whether it's an exotic pet or an animal with rabies, to ensure public safety. The article concludes that, although animal experts are not stating what kind of animal it is, they have concluded that the animal was anemic, hairless, and suffered from The Rickets, a Vitamin D deficiency that only occurs in children and animals who do not receive adequate sunlight.

Aftermath

Currently, we don't know how the Gray Figure/Father Garcia reacted to either finding Michael's ran-over corpse that night or discovering it the next day from the article. Regardless, he stops searching for Michael. Unfortunately, the backgrounds of Michael's parents and Cardinal Gifford remain a mystery.

Surviving the horror of the house and the forest, John feels guilty for leaving Amy in the forest to die from her injuries instead of getting help. He initially believed he could free Amy from possession, but now he feels like an utter failure. His faith in God and himself has diminished from this experience, with his golden crucifix appearing to have degraded into a silver color. This color change only appears to him; in reality, it's still golden. The symbolism of this change signifies how lowly he thinks of himself.

Cutting to Gary and his cult, they find Amy barely alive near the Martin House. Unfortunately for them, they weren't able to stop John in his tracks like they did in 'The Offering' Ending. This is likely because the sacrificed fox was closer to Snake Meadow Hill Road compared to Amy. With how the Second Death ritual works, Gary cannot use her gaping face hole to bring out the Antichrist since she's almost dead. He orders his cult to relocate her to a secluded area called the Crucible[74] in hopes that she may recover while they reconfigure their plans for the Profane Sabbath, an event on October 31st when demonic activity is at its peak and the preferable time to summon the Antichrist[75]. It's never explained how the cult found out about John's name and where he lives, but they start to stalk and target him for meddling with their plans.

Escaping the house alive, there's a lot of context clues that the UNSPEAKABLE attached to John's head since he was within the house and Father Garcia for being nearby the property, which all culminates to Chapter II Prologue. (The meaning behind the UNSPEAKABLE's appearance will be elaborated in the Chapter II section.)

September 22nd to September 27th, 1987 (Chapter II Prologue)

On a night not long after his second failed exorcism with Amy, John falls asleep and experiences a strange dream that takes him back to a place of his childhood, Snake Meadow Hill Church.

The dream seemingly begins immediately after Chapter I's "When Faith Endures" Ending, where John stands nearby his wrecked car unscathed after speeding away from the Martin House.

Ch2prologue intro

There's a wrecked teal pickup truck nearby with a Thrall driver inside, who appears to have broken their neck after the crash but maintains an eerie smile.

Smiley

From context clues, the Thrall was ramming right towards John in the same lane. John managed to swerve out of the way in time but crashed into a tree, and the Thrall lost control of their vehicle, colliding with another tree. While John had his back turned to them, the Thrall was surprisingly still alive. They exited their car and darted into the adjacent cornfield, leaving behind a trail of blood.

Thrall wreck missing

With nothing else to do, John decides to go after the Thrall to see where they ran off to. Following the blood trail, he catches a glimpse of the Thrall running away. In a clearing, he comes across a scarecrow with an uncanny smile. If he leaves the area and checks the scarecrow periodically, a hole appears on its face, and it steadily gets wider and wider.

Spr CH2P scarecrow01 3

If John decides to go back and check on his car, someone has set it on fire (or perhaps the engine has combusted into flames), so now there's no way he can escape. John presses onward and meanders through the fields. However, he notices that something invisible is causing some of the corn around him to trample before his eyes. Thinking fast, he brandishes his crucifix at it to reveal a shambling demon with an inverted cross etched in the middle of its body. It becomes visible and begins to target him directly, telling him to, "BURN IN HELL!" The only unique trait this demon has among others John will encounter in the future is that it floats nearly faster than him. After a while, John fends it off with his crucifix. The demon is not banished, though; it shouts, "WE KNOW WHAT YOU DID!" and floats away in defeat.

Corn demon screenshot

There's a concurrent theme in this chapter and Chapter II (especially in Chapter II[56]) where all the demons know about John's insecurities and personal issues. The quote from this demon (named the Cornfield Maze Demon in the game files) is a reference to how John perceives his failure to exorcise Amy for the second time and leaving her to die in the woods as a sin. This feeling of worthlessness becomes more prevalent in Chapter II.

John moseys around and discovers the corpse of a Rottweiler in the middle of a clearing. There are also two tall objects that vaguely resemble humans. Although not (directly[21]) stated, these objects are called stick dolls; their significance and ties to John will be elaborated upon soon.

Dog dead ch2 pro

Purifying the corpse, a spirit gets exorcised, and a note is dropped[76]. Written by an unnamed staff member working at Snake Meadow Hill Church around the early 1950s (remember, Note #12 in Chapter II indirectly confirms that every event regarding this church occurred in the 50s, so we're going to split anything related to it into three time periods: early 50s, mid-50s, and late 50s), they discuss how they found this corpse near the edge of the fields two nights after the dog, Greta, darted into the cornfield. The staff member and six orphans they're taking care of were steadily getting scared by ominous noises emanating from the cornfield for the past couple of nights. Greta decided to break their containment and follow the noise since it seemed to be getting close to the church; now, she's dead. The staff member remarks that something is out there.

Walking past the body, John comes across six small gravestones next to a statue of a saint. Two stick dolls loom behind the statue.

Statue ch2 pro

Purifying the statue, a note is dropped detailing the staff member mournfully burying the remains of the six orphans they were taking care of nearby a statue depicting St. William. Despite warning them not to go anywhere near the fields, they disobeyed, and their scattered remains were intentionally left at the front door of the sanctuary. The staff member believes it's their fault for not trying hard enough to prevent them from entering the fields and wonders if they should've nailed boards over their quarters. With so many scattered remains, after gathering as much flesh as they could fit in a box to bury, the staff member plans to leave the ministry. The note ends on how they no longer believe in the Devil; whoever killed the children was much worse.

Even though it's not explicitly stated, the Cornfield Maze Demon is likely the culprit since it tried to butcher John in the fields as well. However, since every note John will pick up in this chapter and Chapter II are dreams, it's unknown how he would have known about this event since he was not an orphan when the demon was killing others. Regardless, moving forward, John finds Snake Meadow Hill Church in a dilapidated state among dead weeds. With nothing else to do, he enters inside.

Ch2 prologue

Death Awaits

The interior looks like it's been abandoned for years; paintings on the walls look weathered, and there are cracks on the ground. Near two statues holding crucifixes lies a note written by the same staff member from before[8].

Church entrance ch2 pro

Apparently, the Church shut down after the incident involving the six orphans, but a couple of years have passed, and now it's the mid-50s. The staff member details that the building is getting restaffed with new members and volunteers who do not know about the prior incident, including a woman named Sister Bell, who was highly recommended by the main office in Hartford, Connecticut, for being a good cleaner and caretaker of children. With her newly recruited, the Church reignites operations again, and the staff member assumes they're the only person left who knows what happened to those six children. Eventually, they'll be gone, and the prior incident will fade into obscurity. The note ends by mentioning that there will be a new group of orphans, three arriving next week and another three the following month.

Investigating the left area, there is a red chalice on a lone bench. John purifies it and a demon (fan named as the Chalice Demon) emerges, who somewhat looks like a human but blood gushes from where its head should be. Its attack pattern is oddly similar to Amy's, except it doesn't make four copies of itself but will either teleport to the side or in front of John to butcher him.

LoreDemon screenhot

John fends it off surprisingly easily. It gravely shouts something indescribable and disappears in defeat, leaving behind another note[19]. The staff member comments on some strange behavior Sister Bell exhibits with the children, even though they don't mind too much since she is such a good caretaker and seemingly knew where everything is as soon as she got hired. When the other three orphans come in, she is elated. She teaches them new dances and songs, even though the Church doesn't teach anything beyond the hymns. Particularly, the children dance around her in a circle while she looks upward to the sky as if talking to someone. On another occasion, the children stand still in a line nearby the cornfield while Sister Bell talks to them.

Walking forward, there is a gigantic crucifix left on a lone table in the hallway. Reading it as if you're making a cross, it says, "thou shalt not kill", giving a hint on how to progress. One of the wooden crucifixes on the wall falls down on their own.

Spr CH2P CL cruxClue 0

In the apse, there is a seal covering an entrance to the basement. Close by lies another note[20], written by an unnamed detective who sourly states that he has to solve a missing and murder case right before retirement. Apparently, Sister Bell and four of the six orphans vanished. An unnamed old nun was found dead within the building as well. All the other staff members refuse to cooperate with him since they're fearful and superstitious about the situation, except for the head runner Father Clarke. The pair drive along the farm roads late into the night looking for Sister Bell and the others, but their search is fruitless. Interrogating the remaining two kids who did not disappear, potentially because they were sleeping while the others vanished, he asks where Sister Bell could be. After some thought, one of them suggests that he should ask her directly.

Exploring the right area, there is a gigantic pile of rubble on the floor nearby a painting depicting the Virgin Mary. Sometimes, if John exits and reenters the room, he spots a glimpse of some kind of stalker shulking into the rubble. This figure is called a Shadow Crawler, and they originate from an indie game called Shadowcrawl[77], so their appearance is solely an easter egg.

Crawler rubble

Exorcising the Virgin Mary painting, a spirit is casted, but nothing else seemingly happens. Just as John prepares to leave, a thrall emerges from the rubble and chases him with a sharp pair of scissors (or a dagger, hard to tell). John fends them off quickly with his crucifix and they flee, thanking him for purifying them by either shouting, "BLESS YOU, CHILD!" or "I HAD NO CHOICE!" If he doesn't ward them off in time, the thrall grabs hold of him and shanks him in the neck with their scissor repeatedly. They declare, "CHAOS REIGNS!" as John gets stabbed to death.

CHAOSREIGNS

Back in the apse, there is a brand-new note[21]. The detective jots down how, in the morning, he found four life-sized dolls made out of branches surrounding the building. He tries not to think too much of it, believing hoodlums or a group of weirdos placed it there, but the twins were fixated on them, and claims Sister Bell was standing among them. However, the detective never sees her. As late-night drives continue and dealing with the creepy kids, the atmosphere of the Church starts to get to him. The note concludes with his account of a recurring nightmare where people painted in red stare back at him as he looks at the cornfield.

Exploring the left area, John catches a glimpse of another Shadow Crawler observing him outside through a broken window and promptly hiding. At the far end of the room lies a confessional booth, and nearby is a purple skull on top of a table. The skull reverts back to its natural color when purified.

Spr CH2P CL relic 0

Preparing to leave the room, another thrall leaps out from the confessional booth and attempts to ambush him. John fends them off and returns to the apse, picking up a new note[22] where the detective jots down what recently happened. At 2:00AM, he and Father Clarke woke up to what sounds like cackling coming from the kids' rooms. Upon investigation, they find out that the noise was emitting from a portrait of the Virgin Mary. A little on-the-edge, the two hear commotion coming from the chapel, and upon arrival, they Sister Bell dragging the children down into the basement. The detective tries to withdraw their service weapon, but Father Clarke stops him and wishes to best Sister Bell with the power of God. Clarke seals the staircase leading to the basement so that nobody can enter nor exit. The detective has no choice but to wait until Clarke came back, but he gets nervous as he hears loud demonic noises. The note ends that, as a disclaimer to anybody reading this, the Devil is real, and nobody should unlock the seal.

Going upward to the chapel, there are a couple of thralls sitting idly on benches. John spots four stained-glass windows on the wall depicting a saint, a dove, a cross, and, more importantly, somebody who had the Second Death performed on them.

Spr CH2P CL secondDeathStainedGlass 1

John exorcises it, and a spirit is cast, but the thralls start to uncontrollably twitch their heads and mutter something along the lines of, "In nomine spiritum Satani..." (Roughly translated to English as, "In the name of the spirit of Satan...") If John still stays in the room, they get up and gang on him, regardless of whether he brandishes his crucifix or not. In the apse, the seal leading to the basement is removed, so John decides to walk below.

Darkness Surrounds Thee

The entire basement is pitch-black. John walks down the narrow staircase and finds a lone flashlight. He grabs it and ventures deeper. Entering the next room, it's seemingly barren besides a couple of skeleton remains strewn around. John walks down towards the middle of the room and nearly bumps into a demon (called the Basement Demon in the game files) standing idly in the darkness. It shouts, "GOD BLESS THE EARTH!" and playfully says, "HERE I COME!"

Basement demon screenshot

While fighting it in the dark, he occasionally spots a stick doll, the Martin Twins holding hands, one of the Martin Twins erratically running around, and another Shadow Crawler. Upon banishment, it references the Martin Twins and shouts, "THEY ARE MINE FOREVER!" before promptly disappearing in defeat. There's nothing else in the basement, so John starts to head back upstairs. Exiting the room, he sees a vision of the nun, Miriam/Sister Bell, shuffling backward into the darkness.

MiriamCutscene2

There's a brand-new note nearby the staircase:

HERE IS THE RITUAL OF THE DOOR TO HELL.

LET NO BROTHER OR SISTER UTTER IT.

HE THAT IS MASTER OF SPIRITS,

LET THREE SPIRITS THAT FOLLOW THE DRAGON BE PUT INTO THE EFFIGY OF THE ACCURSED.

ONLY THEN CAN IT BE PURIFIED. YOU WILL KNOW IT IS TIME WHEN ITS EYES GLOW RED.

TO ENTER THE UNSEEN WORLD, DESTROY THE PURIFIED EFFIGY WITH FIRE.

THEN SHALL THE DOOR TO HELL BE OPENED.

 
— Note #8: Ritual of the Door to Hell, Chapter II Prologue

Now upstairs, John spots one of the Martin Twins running away.

"HERE I AM!" Ending

If John decides to follow the child, he will find them standing in front of the altar holding hands. The thralls are situated back on their benches and remain calm. Getting closer, Miriam suddenly appears in front of him. She shouts, 'HERE I AM!' and mutters, 'My little one...' before John awakens from his nightmare.

Here i am ending
"GET OUT!" Ending

With the 'Ritual of the Door to Hell' note in mind, John has the option of exiting the church and walking all the way back to the scarecrow from earlier.

Spr CH2P scarecrow01 4

Exorcising it seemingly does nothing besides removing the eyes, but this is one of the crucial steps to completing the ritual. Walking back to the car, John lights himself on fire from the wreckage and runs all the way back to the scarecrow to transfer the flame. As he burns, the Martin Twins stand behind it, and nine children emerge from the cornfields.

Get Out ending burn

Before he succumbs to the flames, the screen cuts to an area littered with stick dolls. John turned into a creature looking similar to them as well, except he has red eyes and can only crawl. This transformation is called a Wretch in the game files (which is the "husk"[16] referred to from earlier) and this area is known as the Unseen World (based off of the word choice from the "Ritual to the Door to Hell" note). As of this chapter, very little information is given about this area, but more information will be provided as the series progresses.

Unseen World

Aimlessly crawling around, John sees Miriam standing idly in front of six stick dolls, which are supposed to be a representation (either figuratively or literally) of the orphans she took all those years ago.

Unseen World Prologue

Once he approaches, she slowly turns around and boasts a wicked smile with her mask-like. She screams, "GET OUT!" and the nightmare ends.

MiriamCutscene3
Aftermath

The nature of Chapter II Prologue, whether it's a dream or not, is intentionally vague. Snake Meadow Hill Church is nearby the Martin House since both locations are on Snake Meadow Hill Road[31], so theoretically, it's possible that John crashed his car and explored the church. For now, we're going to say it was a dream since John's fate after any of these endings is unclear. Besides, it's unlikely that Miriam would have been capable of teleporting willy-nilly nor John's sudden transformation into a Wretch and instant transportation into the Unseen World. It's unknown which ending is canonical since it's never directly brought up again, but either way, Miriam's physical appearance was the sole reason as to why John woke up from his dream. From this Prologue to Chapter II, John's crucifix is still silver, so this entire nightmare did not affect him very much, but it goes to show how his dreams seem to be demonically influenced.

Between these dates, it's implied that all events that we'll come across in Chapter II were occurring around Sterling, Connecticut, where three young people were found decapitated nearby a cemetery[11], three paranormal investigators turned missing after exploring Snake Meadow Hill Church[78] and remains from a traveling couple were found nearby a sewage ditch[79]. These separate events were released to the public via newspaper or television, and John relives through those experiences thinking he can make a difference. Remember, this is a theory, but we'll include some elements from this as if they are canon (Based on a comment Airdorf made in a Discord server, this seems to be the intention.[80])

In the background, basing off of minute details in Chapter II[81][82], there's an implication that in a sewage system called the Candy Tunnels, cult members performed the Second Death ritual on Miriam in an inner sanctum (called Malphas' House based off of a title card) since Amy is still unresponsive, and the Profane Sabbath is drawing near. Unfortunately, they did not take Miriam's age into account; she's very well into her 70s or 80s by this point and could not withstand the effects of the ritual. After it was complete, she's unconscious as well, so her body is relocated to the Crucible for now in hopes that she may recover[83]. With Amy and Miriam unresponsive, Gary is left alone to figure everything out. The only possible candidate as a vessel at this point is John since he's able-bodied and young just like Amy, so his future dreams are more oriented towards his evil urges in hopes that he would willingly induct into the cult (otherwise, they'll do it anyway by force[84]).

Regardless, John steadily loses his sanity as he experiences vivid nightmares, where his next one heavily suggests that the UNSPEAKABLE somehow attached to him ever since he reattempted to exorcise Amy[7].

(This is a side note for clarification, but the reason why Prologue happens between the 22nd to the 27th is that it's a prologue. Chapter II takes place a week after Chapter I[11], so John suffers this nightmare between two dates. Generally, a lot of events happen between Ch I to II.)

September 28th, 1987 (Chapter II)

A week has passed after John's second failed exorcism with Amy. Sleeping in his bed, John experiences his worst nightmare yet.

It's 2:00 a.m.

It's 2:00 A.M. The dream begins with John stranded in the middle of five pebbles that are in the configuration of a pentagram.

Its 2am

Meandering through the woods, he sees a horrific sight of a severed deer on a large coniferous tree.

Oh deer

This grisly sight goes to show that John somewhat has "issues" with deer, considering that this is a dream. This somewhat relates to him deciding to randomly shoot one back in one of the endings in Chapter I. He passes the corpse and unlocks a gate leading to a cemetery called Gallup Cemetery. Walking through gravestones, he has no choice but to enter a tomb (aptly named Save Family Tomb because you can save in there) since every other gate in the area is locked. Before going in, he reads what seems to be instructions on how to receive the UNSPEAKABLE's blessings[85]:

Dearest Disciple,

Verily, not everyone who says LUCIFER, LUCIFER, shall inherit His kingdom.

You must first conjure His demon.

You must then serve His demon.

You must then walk among the children of men as His demon.

Thus shall you receive the blessing of the UNSPEAKABLE. Return to the Save Family tomb whenever you are in need of rest.

- Gary

 
— Note #4: UNSPEAKABLE's Blessing Instructions, Chapter II

This is the biggest indication that John's dreams are demonically influenced. Taking canonicity into consideration, this is the first time he's ever heard of Gary and the UNSPEAKABLE, there's no way he would've learned anything about them. With this note in mind, John enters inside.

Enter the Spirit House

Inside the tomb are three naked thralls sitting on a bench, immobile, and possibly dead. One of them is a woman with long hair, the other is a bald man, and the last one is a man with unkempt hair. All have pure white eyes and satanic symbols etched on their bodies; they appear to be avoiding making eye contact with John, probably due to his priestly clothing.

Save family tomb interior

Looking at a mirror at the end of the tomb, his reflection opens his eyes and eerily grins while presenting a key.

JohnMirror

We're not entirely sure what this cinematic means. For all we know, it shows us that John has been walking around with his eyes closed until he looked into the mirror. We'll try to analyze what this mirror scene means later.

Spirits flee from the thralls' bodies and dart to opposite directions of the cemetery. Four skulls on the back wall light up. Exiting the tomb, all the gates that were previously unlocked are now locked; however, if he explores the upper area, there's seemingly nothing. With the spirits fleeing to other areas around the cemetery, John has a new goal: locate and banish them.

Walking to the right and purifying a purple skull, a gate opens. John can exorcise a nearby gravestone that drops an obituary[10], detailing the deaths of Bob and Cindy, a summary of their life, and their upcoming funeral service. Interestingly, the obituary ends that the two are survived by Amy, Nate, and Jason, which gives clarification that John thoroughly believes in the twins since every note he'll pick up in this dream is influenced by his thoughts and feelings. In the real world, the obituary would not have mentioned the twins, they never existed.

Going inside the unlocked gate, a demon makes its presence known behind a tree by stretching a fleshy appendage. It shouts, "I'M AN ANGEL!"

ImAnAngel

After making a beeline towards John, it teleports to a different location and moves up and down in a wave-like pattern to kill him.

Umbilical screenshot

John bests the demon, and it screams, "VIOLATOR!" before it bursts into a pool of blood, leaving behind a note.

This note[86] details a woman who had an unexpected pregnancy and is seemingly judged by everyone, including her doctor. Every time she visits her doctor's office, she witnesses a strange woman giving her a warm smile. After a doctor visit, the woman lost her baby, either through a miscarriage or abortion. She sees the strange woman again, who gives her another warm smile, but it wasn't as friendly as before. One day, the woman comes across the stranger again in the middle of a path; the stranger suddenly became pregnant and beckons her into the woods. In a clearing, the woman meets Gary.

With the intro & death quote from the demon (named the Umbilical Cord Demon in the files), its fleshy appendage, and how it resembles a fetus, there's an implication that the woman was sexually assaulted by somebody but was shamed for it by her loved ones and the community, as if it was her fault. Her story proves that Gary prefers to coerce people by manipulating their emotional vulnerability to do his bidding. If John decides to return back to the tomb, the female thrall is missing.

Sandra

Walking to the left and going down, clouds of mist surround the area. Going to the middle of the area makes a demon appear from nowhere, making unintelligible, child-like screaming. It frantically darts from one cloud of mist to another as if it's deeply frightened and trying to hide from something.

Mist screenshot

John banishes the demon, who bellows one final cry before bursting into a splatter of blood and leaving behind a note.

The note[87] is written by a distraught child who recently lost their grandfather. The child recounts how, one day, their stepmother promised them that they can see their grandfather again. In desperation, they agree to follow her, so the stepmother drops them off at one of her friend's houses at night. They're led into the basement, and they see their grandfather standing motionlessly. At first gleeful, the child notices that it's not their real grandfather, but the door behind them is locked. The note ends how, even though their memory is vague on what happened next, they're pressured by the stepmother's friends about fulfilling a debt and doing some kind of work.

Applying the circumstance behind the Umbilical Cord Demon's note, the child was unwillingly forced to join the cult at such a young age because they didn't know any better. It's implied that the child grew up to become a thrall since, if John decides to return back to the tomb, the bald thrall is missing.

Angel(Fixed)

Before entering the area with the cloud of mists, John spotted some statues. These statues indicate what directions he has to take, so he walks upward. Walking right, up, left, up, a demon spawns on top of what looks like a casket, shouting, "WELCOME, SINNER!"

Grave screenshot

The attack patterns are oddly similar to the Mirror Demon's back in the Martin House, yelling something unintelligible every time it teleports. Upon banishment, it says, "I WILL VISIT THEE SOON." and bursts into a splatter of blood.

It leaves behind another note[88], written by a troubled individual who discusses their future plans. They state that they no longer have to endure physical assault by their drunk father nor humility by everyone else who makes fun of their bruises and decline into drug addiction. To get back at them, they willingly induct themselves into a cult where they get to practice drawing pentagrams and performing rituals, proudly stating that their mind explores forbidden worlds of knowledge and power. The note ends with their plan; they will lure everyone who humiliated them and, 'Then I will show them my power.'

Unlike the other two notes where people inadvertently submit to the cult, this person willingly did so to get back at everyone who ridiculed them. All of this goes to show how Gary's cult members generally don't think for themselves; their past struggles and hardships greatly influenced their reasoning to do Gary's cause. If John returns back to the tomb, the thrall with unkempt hair is missing.

Troy(Fixed)

With all three demons banished, John returns back to Save Family Tomb. A nearby statue distorted into some kind of strange shambling mass for some inexplicable reason.

Save family tomb alt

John enters the tomb and notices that all the thralls vanished, but his reflection in the mirror looks as if it's a separate entity and staring him down.

Save family tomb alt interior

John draws near, and the reflection tilts his head up and opens his eyes. He makes a wide grin before stabbing himself in the eye with the key. His smile turns into anguish as he collapses to the floor.

Cine mirrorJohn

As his right eye bleeds, the fourth skull stops glowing and the same key from the reflection manifests onto the floor.

This cinematic is difficult to transcribe, the best reason we can muster is that it's a demon mimicking John's reflection, and its "defeat" caused the fourth skull to stop glowing. The mirror itself vaguely resembles the Mirror Demon's head, so that might be the intention. Figuratively, the reflection could also represent John's more sinister side since this dream is oriented around his thoughts and feelings. Again, this cinematic is vague, and we'll probably won't get answers soon.

Regardless of everything, he walks behind the tomb and unlocks a gate, revealing more of his surroundings. His eye suddenly stops bleeding. Walking up some more, one of the trees suddenly grows arms and limbs and runs away in fear.

Tree demon runs

John follows its trail and comes across Snake Meadow Hill Church. Behind it is a cornfield. In the distance, he spots a glimpse of a purple child walking further into the field, and there's a note nearby the entrance[89]:

SHE GUARDS THE DOOR TO UNDERGROUND PURGATORY

EYE HATH NOT SEEN HER

CHILDREN FEAR HER

 
— Note #10: She, Chapter II

With nothing much else to do, John decides to enter the church.

Snake meadow hill church ch2

Confess Thy Sins

The church looks like it's been inactive for years; the walls and flooring are breaking down, and cobwebs are everywhere. More importantly, the interior and the surroundings of the church are different compared to John's dream the other day, likely because his memory of the building is hazy on some attributes. On the ground, there are eight candles, with two of them always being lit.

Church entrance ch2

There's a note right out in the open[5] that details three paranormal investigators logging how many nights they're going to be staying in Snake Meadow Hill Church. They're planning to record any paranormal activities on camera so that they can release the footage to TV stations for profit. Besides hearing the same stories of children getting dragged into the cornfield by evil spirits and secret tunnels underneath the chapel by the locals, they heard a new story about playing the "Spindly Lady Game," a game where they apparently summon the spirit of a woman who used to take care of the orphans back in the '50s (this is the "old woman found dead in the building" referred to back in Chapter II Prologue[20]). Learning a rhyme on how to summon her, the trio plans to play the game once they settle down for the night.

Walking to the left there's a confessional booth and a purple skull on a table. Purifying the skull, it reverts to its natural color and a note drops[90].

Church confession booth ch2

On their third night, the writer frantically jots down on what happened. One of the paranormal investigators named Lars is stuck behind the basement door, another named Henry hasn't returned, and their tapes are missing. The writer wishes they never came inside the building, but states that they can't leave anyway. From context clues, the trio probably got attacked by the Spindly Lady, and Henry tried to dart out of the building for help. Since there's a large cornfield nearby, it's likely that the Cornfield Maze Demon attacked and killed him considering that it still lurks within the premises. During the confusion, Lars gets stuck in the basement. It's unclear what's truly in the basement since we've only seen it in John's dreams, and the layout of the interior changes since his memory on the building is hazy, but Lars likely starved in the basement or killed alongside the writer by the Spindly Lady.

John feels compelled to open up about what has been on his mind lately, so he enters the confessional booth. Inside, John introduces himself and requests someone, whom he assumes is associated with the ministry, to pray for him. The unknown person gravelly asks what sins he has come to confess. John recounts his failed exorcism with Amy a year ago, admitting that he broke his vows to God and the ministry by failing to exorcise her demon. A year later, Amy reached out to him again[55], but he could not complete the exorcism and left her to die in the forest. He asks to be forgiven for his current and past sins.

Booth screenshot

The person in the confession booth tells him that he has spoken well and gives him a penance: "BRING THE CHILD TO ME," saying that if he does this, then God will forgive him. This person concludes their advice by saying that John should give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. Notably, this person does not seem to respect the Lord, as they use "he" instead of "He." None the wiser, John disregards this strange request and expresses thanks, ending with, "May God's mercy endure forever.

Bring the child to me

Whoever this individual is will be revealed in the "Initiation" Ending. After this, John pops up behind the confession booth, in a room with two boarded doors and a painting of the Virgin Mary. Purifying it, a note appears[91]. On their first night of investigation, the paranormal investigators discovered a secret passage behind the confessional booth. More significantly, they caught an EVP of what sounds like laughing, so they plan to review the sound once they make it back to town.

Exiting the room and exploring the building, John purifies a stained-glass window depicting a Second Death vessel in the chapel and it drops another note[92]. On their second night, the paranormal investigators were recording themselves playing the Spindly Lady Game and were able to capture footage of one of candles lighting up on its own after Lars walked into the room. They're ecstatic and are planning to release this footage to TV Stations. This is the last time these investigators are mentioned, but it's interesting to point out that John's dream came up with these notes rather than notes relating to his experience as an orphan back in the 50s, so this means that the likely disappearance of the trio was released to the public via newspaper or television in-between Chapter I and II. This is all just assumption, though, but Chapter II has a running theme of John dreaming of recent events that somewhat tie back to the cult[11][79].

Scouting the area, John discovers a room adorned with hanging crucifixes. Suddenly, they all tumble to the floor simultaneously, unveiling red markings on the wall that read, "Watch The Candles."

Watch the candles

To move on, John has no choice but to play the Spindly Lady Game, so he takes the notes he read in consideration and watches the candles. Upon entering the same room as the spirit, she materializes elsewhere and shouts, "THRALLS WILL SLASH!" before charging at him.

Spindly lady ch2

John evades her attacks and banishes the spirit, who labels him a heretic before vanishing in defeat. With her gone, a seal leading to the basement is lifted, prompting John to explore below.

Darkness Surrounds Thee

At the end of the descending staircase lies a memoir from Father Clarke[23]. In it, Clarke expresses how he knows his time is running out. He senses Sister Bell is waiting for him in anticipation just beyond the room. He notes that time does not flow correctly in the basement, his wristwatch doesn't move past 2 A.M. Clarke laments that God's work can only do so much since he's in where only the faintest light shine and protect him from things unspeakable. The memoir ends with him begging for God's help and calling himself a foolish old man as his ears bleed from the screams of a demon.

The entire basement is dimly lit, but John spots a silhouette of Amy floating away and markings on the floor. Upon further investigation, the markings are actually satanic symbols that go in a clockwise direction.

Unknown

Walking to the next room, the area is pitch black, and demonic hands block the exit. On the floor are satanic symbols. John attempts to solve the puzzle by stepping on the symbols in the correct order, but he accidentally steps on the wrong one during the process. The satanic symbols fade away, save for one, and he feels an overwhelming demonic force getting closer to him. Returning to where he started, he sees a glimpse of a wiggling mass of flesh with multiple arms shrouding into the darkness. This is the first time he sees the UNSPEAKABLE in its true form.

Ch 2 unspeakable retreat

Following the sequence of satanic symbols, John steps on each one correctly and proceeds to the next room. In that room, he comes across six stick dolls and the words "MOTHER OF DEMONS" in red markings scribbled onto the floor, connecting to Miriam's abduction of six orphans years ago.

Mother of demons room

Climbing a staircase, he emerges outside the church. Surprisingly, the church always had a secret tunnel leading to the middle of the woods.

Outside church ch2

One of the satanic symbols associated with the Eternal Order of the Second Death is scribbled on the door. It's best to assume that Snake Meadow Hill Church has always been associated with the cult, it coincides with the stain-glass of a Second Death vessel and the haunted cornfield, but we're not given so much information to jump conclusions like this.

The shed locked itself, preventing John from returning to the graveyard, cornfield, or church. Roaming through the woods and witnessing deer frantically fleeing, John discovers a grisly site: the same three thralls back in Gallup Cemetery are now decapitated and their bodies are strewn around a circle. In the center of the circle lies a newspaper clipping[11]. With nothing else to do, John decides to read it.

DeadTrio

Titled "THREE MURDERED IN LATEST WAVE OF RITUALISTIC KILLINGS," the article discusses the Sterling Police Department's discovery of three young people's bodies a few miles from Gallup Cemetery the day before, officially termed a ritualistic murder. The victims, Sandra Attwood, Troy Ingles, and Angel Nogales were stabbed multiple times and ultimately died in some kind of paganistic ritual. They were decapitated postmortem. Interestingly, the article includes the phrase "Pandemonium Regnant," suggesting that something else is in control of the newspaper. The article further mentions Sterling residents reporting a desecrated tomb and blood trails leading into the woods. However, investigators haven't confirmed if these incidents are linked. Authorities note similarities in the arrangement of bodies and blood-written symbols to a series of murders in Sterling since 1986. The article oddly attempts to connect these recent killings to last week's murder of Amy, allegedly committed by John (this proves that Chapter II takes place a week after Chapter I). Reportedly, he impersonated as a priest to lure her into a false sense of security and shot her in the stomach.

The article goes on to mention that investigators are urging Sterling residents to report any findings to the police. However, a sudden shift in tone advises against mourning the victims, describing them as "degenerate devil-worshipping thugs addicted to crack cocaine who hated their parents." This abrupt change seems to address John directly through the newspaper, suggesting that this is what he wants the police to believe about the victims. The voice questions the need for an investigation, asserting that they got what they deserved. It then presents a narrative as if John committed the crimes, claiming he did the community a favor when he found the victims getting high in the desecrated tomb, stalked them through the graveyard, and killed them one by one whilst disregarding their pleas for help. The voice claims John stabbed their drug-addicted bodies and decapitated them, as that's supposedly how you kill a snake. The tone becomes more aggressive, proclaiming that John did not kill the snake and cannot kill what cannot be killed. It taunts John, asserting that he failed to kill Amy and that he cannot disrupt its works because it's the work of the Eternal Dragon.

Spiraling into further chaos, the voice refers to Amy once again, "EVEN NOW SHE IS AT THY DOOR. HER HAND IS AT THY THROAT, AND YET YOU SEE HER NOT. I WILL CLAIM THY SOUL, FOR I AM THE G O D O F T H I S W O R L D." The remaining article repeats "PANDEMONIUM REGNANT" in a loop, and an inverse cross formed with the numbers "666" is displayed. Suddenly, purple text from Amy appears, informing John that she's here. Turning away from the article, Amy's demon declares, "YOU ARE MINE, PRIEST!" and the three decapitated bodies inexplicably stand up, their beheaded shoulders engulfed in fire. Cultists wander in the background, and Amy locks eyes with John.

AliveTrio

Abruptly, John's face contorts in anguish and agony as his body melts into the Wretch.

Cine MikeInAgony

This spiraling newspaper, which is mandatory to read to continue Chapter II, yields a lot of important information regarding who caused the article to spiral, what kind of person John is, and the nature of the dream as a whole. To set things off, we can accurately associate the spiraling voice in the newspaper came from the UNSPEAKABLE. Comparing to every character John will eventually come across, nobody in the series feels mighty or egotistical enough to call themselves the God of this World, but the label would perfectly describe the immense power the entity possesses. Additionally, it's important to point out that the label, "God of this World", is one of many common nicknames for Satan[93]. Since we know that the White Entity seen during the initial exorcism of Amy back in 86' is Satan (check its wiki page here), we can associate the two as the same, or at the very least claim the entity is an alias (there's more evidence that this voice is the UNSPEAKABLE, but it doesn't entirely relate to John, so please check its wiki page here).

The word choice of the voice when it stated that John failed to kill Amy indirectly reveals that something unseen was within the Martin House during Chapter I. The only people that were inside the house during that time was John and Amy, Father Garcia was peering through a broken window but was at least near the property[94], and Gary and his cultists were temporarily out of the area to gather sacrifices[48]. The remaining mystery of who wrote "KILL HER" backwards can now be associated with the UNSPEAKABLE, it's the only viable option. For further evidence, when the voice stated that John cannot kill what can't be killed heavily suggests that whatever demon is possessing Amy is a manifestation of the UNSPEAKABLE. Remember that the UNSPEAKABLE is a demonic deity, whatever it can do is fair game. It would be strange for it to enforce John to kill Amy, but we can assume that it was intending for John to get arrested so that he's out of the picture, as we can see in the "Murderer" Ending of Chapter I. All of this is speculation, but the way Chapter III enfolds somewhat enforce that Amy's Demon is not some regular everyday demon that John regularly exorcised, its strong, and it cannot be simply casted away (this'll be explained way later).

The paganistic murder of the thralls are never mentioned again at all after this sequence. The voice stated that John was the one who killed them, but the aggressiveness of its tone and the way it tried to convince him that he murdered Amy a week ago invalidates its claims, but it's interesting to analyze the depravity John supposedly went through to kill the victims. Although he tries to be righteous and do what's best, it's clear that he holds large disdain towards anybody who he thinks are satanists or associated with some kind of demonic cult, even to the point where he dreams of psychotically murdering them in the name of the Lord. Even though anybody associated with the cult would kill him on sight, John tries to push his dark urges into the back of his mind and knows that killing is immoral. This dream, although his life is not entirely in danger since he's simply sleeping, proves that the UNSPEAKABLE is trying to mentally break him by making him believe that he killed Amy a week ago (remember, he left her to bleed out in the woods without getting help) and unwrap long-suppressed thoughts of murdering who he thinks are irredeemable. The reason why it's doing this will be brought up in the "Initiation" Ending. This kind of maniac behavior is brought back in full force in Chapter III.

The only remaining mystery of the article is what the voice meant about being "at thy door" and "her hand is at thy throat, but you see her not". We can speculate that, figuratively speaking, Amy is haunting John since he believes he committed a sin by leaving her to die alone in the middle of a dense forest. The thought of not doing the right thing, even though he tried to justify himself, is slowly eating him away. "At thy door" is tough to configure. It may be a reference to the "Ritual of the Door to Hell" note back in Chapter II Prologue[95], possibly implying that Amy is damned from passing away due to both her possession and the Second Death ritual performed on her. This vital newspaper article is open to many interpretations and it's hard to form accurate conclusions, but in the sake of this wiki website as a whole, we're going to use the note as evidence that the UNSPEAKABLE is behind everything.

Cutting back to John, he's teleported back to the Unseen World as a Wretch. Nothing but stick dolls dot the landscape.

Unseen World

Crawling around aimlessly, he comes across an underpass with a traveling couple attempting to fix their truck. John crawls under the bridge and he somehow converts back to normal like nothing happened.

Overpass ch 2

John meanders in confusion and comes across an entrance to a sewage tunnel. Red markings are scribbled on the top of the entrance that reads "candy tunnel". There're three stick dolls on the upper level of the entrance. John feels prompted to enter inside and explore.

Candytunnelentrance

Death Awaits

The sewer system is littered with beer bottles, syringes, skeletons, and other drug paraphernalia. Graffiti is also on the walls too, looking like the sewers is typically occupied by the homeless, drug addicts, or even gang members.

Candy tunnel entrance

John purifies one of the skeletons he encounters, and it releases a newspaper article[26]. Entitled "MULTIPLE OFFICERS WOUNDED, FOUND DEAD IN SEWER TUNNEL SHOOTOUT," the article is an official report detailing that several officers were injured, with one killed, in a shootout approximately ten minutes after raiding the sewers. Law enforcement suspected a serial killer named Joe Baumann, also known as The Candy Store Killer, was shulking in the tunnels. The article concludes without certainty about the number of wounded officers or Baumann's fate but mentions ongoing efforts to address the casualties.

Purifying another skeleton yields a different newspaper article[79] titled "2 MORE DEAD DISCOVERED OUTSIDE 'CANDY TUNNEL' NEAR STERLING." This article reports the discovery of two additional bodies in the drainage ditch under Snake Meadow Hill Road (this may very well be the traveling couple seen earlier). It provides a brief history of the Candy Tunnels, noting their usual occupation by runaways, addicts, and the indigent. However, since May, a total of five bodies have been found in the drainage ditch. The article concludes with Sterling residents urging the police to raid the sewers, believing the killings are linked to the Candy Store Killer, who has been active in Connecticut and Rhode Island over the past year. Connecting these two articles reveals that these events were occurring in close proximity to each other. John sensed a demonic connection to the Candy Tunnels, prompting his dream exploration of the tunnels as if he could make a difference[80].

Continuing his exploration, John observes a thrall darting through the pipes. As he enters a room with four pillars, he notices that each pillar holds distinct parts of a sentence. As he pieces the words together, the graffiti spells out, "When You See It, DON'T MOVE." Moving into the next room, he encounters blood surrounding a particular pillar. Although John tries to exit, a demon abruptly materializes from behind the blood-stained pillar.

Peek appear ch 2

It shouts, "MOTHER?" and stumbles towards him. A singular blood-shot eye protrudes from its hands attached to its face to stare down at John, tempting him to twitch. John stays absolutely still and the demon eventually stumbles away.

Spr CH2 cine peekaboo01 0

Alternatively, if John tried to use his crucifix or even move an inch while it stumbles away, the demon sensed him moved and becomes highly irritated as its eyes dilate and the hands open up, revealing some kind of bloody mass where its mouth should be. The fingers abnormally elongate, and it shouts, "YOU WHORE!" It picks up speed and butchers John.

Spr CH2 cine peekaboo03 0

John follows the bloody trail from the demon and finds that it leads into a wall, hinting that it's a tangible evil spirit that can phase through solid mass whenever it wishes.

Pelo room ch 2

Entering the broken pipes and turning right, there's a sizable hole on the ground with three skulls and blood scattered around. Unfortunately, there's no way to approach any closer as it's enclosed. John can only peer through the pipes to catch a glimpse of where the demon might have stumbled into. There's a note nearby written by an unnamed police officer who documented what he witnessed during a raid on the tunnels by his colleagues[96]. He describes the entity they are dealing with as inhuman, recounting how he saw a beast dragging the remains of another officer named Jenkins into its lair. This is when he "understood," expressing indifference by suggesting that child-runaway prostitutes and people with GRID (an outdated and discriminatory term for AIDS) can return to the tunnels to satisfy the beast's thirst for killing, for all he cares.

Screenshot 20221203 063313

Walking all the way to the left, John discovers a note from someone who hides their stash behind the pipes[81]. The note mentions that the hiding place is ideal because most people don't venture beyond the first pipe, except for "those strange people with their bodies painted red[21] and their eyes like animals." According to the note, this group passes through into the deeper areas of the tunnel system twice a month. Occasionally, they hear an old woman laughing, chanting, yelling, and something inhuman. The note concludes by stating that whatever they hear emanates from something truly massive. After reading it, John is nearly jumped and ambushed by a thrall but manages to scare them away with his crucifix. This "old woman cackling" is referring to Miriam and the "something inhuman" as the Peekaboo Demon. Since the stash mentioned the laughter sounded like it came from an old woman, we can confirm that this happened rather recently.

Navigating the pipes, John delves deeper into the tunnel system and notices a blood trail originating from an alarming graffiti that pleads for God to save them.

God please help me

He follows the trail, which leads to a dark room. After spotting a flashlight and picking it up, John sees the Basement Demon floating in the middle of the room. It utters, "GOD BLESS THE EARTH," before declaring, "HERE I COME!"

Basement demon ch2

During the exorcism, he occasionally glimpses Nate and Jason holding hands, a stick doll, and satanic symbols on the ground. As he banishes the demon, it references the Martin Twins, proclaiming, "THEY ARE MINE FOREVER!" before vanishing.

Leaving the room, a thrall runs away from behind a pillar into another sewer pipe. John follows their trail and uses his flashlight again since it's pitch-black (if he somehow didn't have it with him, the thrall would jump him in the dark and shank him to death). Encountering the thrall again, they exclaim, "HE'S HERE!" and flee. John follows in pursuit.

DOMUS MALPHAS (MALPHAS HOUSE)

John finds himself seemingly transported into a sanctum, with no way to return to the sewer system. Despite the unsettling atmosphere and complete darkness, the area is better maintained compared to the others he has visited, hinting at recent occupancy by a large group. Discovering the words "they hate the light" scribbled on the floor, he heads to the right since a locked door blocks his path upward.

They hate the light in darkness

In this room, three unnaturally tall cultists (referred to as Blind Ones in the files) steadily shuffle toward John in the darkness. They retreat slightly when his flashlight is pointed directly at them and move even faster when the crucifix is used. However, they cannot be banished. In the middle-upper area, there's a portrait of Miriam, so John purifies it while keeping the cultists at bay.

Blind one ch2

Occasionally, he spots what appears to be Nate and Jason Martin holding hands and running around frantically. When the portrait is exorcised, the next room opens. Inside, John picks up a key, avoids the cultists, and returns to where he started. Opening the door, the candles on the wall light up. As he's about to enter the next room, Miriam appears right behind him, shouting "HERE I AM!"

Miriam appears ch2

Miriam mutters "My little one..." and stumbles towards John to grab his neck. Just within reach, she recoils in pain and disappears. Behind her is the Gray Figure who slowly walks toward John with his crucifix raised.

MiriamCutscene1

The Gray Figure approaches John and reassures him not to be afraid. We, the player, recognize him as Father Garcia. However, John remains unaware of this, seeing Garcia only as a gray outline, likely due to the unclear sighting in the forest a week ago[97]. As mentioned before, every event we witness is influenced by John's mind, from layouts and notes to locations and Father Garcia's appearance. An interesting detail is that the figure wears a clerical collar, possibly suggesting that deep down, John knows he's not a malevolent figure. The figure proposes that they can collaborate to banish her if John protects him while reciting the 91st Psalms. Pairing up, John halts and appears uncomfortable as he stares at a marking of a Second Death ritual in the next room.

Ch 2 sec death marking

Recognizing John's growing agitation, the figure confides in him, assuring him that what happened to Amy is indeed true, but he is not a murderer. The figure acknowledges that there wasn't much anyone could have done but expresses hope that Amy's soul is now at rest. John remains silent, choosing not to speak up as they press onward. In this dream, it seems the Gray Figure/Father Garcia's speech symbolizes John reassuring himself that he did his best to exorcise Amy and must hold onto the hope that she is now at peace. John's silence, however, confirms that he still bears the weight of guilt.

The pair corner the nun in the next room. Miriam slowly turns around and makes a wide grin with her mask-like face. She promptly screams at the two to "GET OUT!"

MiriamCutscene3

The Gray Figure begins reciting the 91st Psalms. As he does so, John protects him by fending off an oncoming wave of thralls from doorways.

Miriam phase 0

Eventually, as the figure wraps up his prayer, the lights cut off on their own as Miriam howls. John wards off Miriam in the dark, and the lights come back on after a while.

Miriam phase 1

As a last act of defiance, Miriam's attacking patterns and movement become more frantic as she tries to kill the gray figure and John. Her attack patterns are a combination of every demon John has faced up to this point, such as the Umbilical Cord Demon's wave-like movement and the Graveyard Demon's sporadic teleportation, to name a few.

Miriam phase 2

However, the two prevail, and Miriam stumbles. She screams in agony as her body evaporates into the Red Demon, the same demon that John briefly saw a couple of days or weeks before venturing into the Martin House (the Tutorial section). The demon promptly transforms into the UNSPEAKABLE, establishing that the Red Demon is nothing more than a manifestation. The deity emits dazzling red lights, causing John to jolt awake from his nightmare in a panic.

MiriamCutscene4
WitchDefeated

Before we get into the separate endings, the meaning behind Miriam being an alter ego for the UNSPEAKABLE is difficult to describe. Basing off this theory with a comment made by Airdorf[98], the intention could be that John perceives Miriam as the UNSPEAKABLE since the entirety of this dream was influenced by it. Posing as John's temporary motherly figure all those years ago would be the best way for the UNSPEAKABLE to get into John's head. All of this was done in hopes that he would willingly submit into the cult, because otherwise they will eventually use him as a vessel for the Second Death by force (heavily implied in Chapter III's "The Offering" Ending).

"Road to Redemption" Ending

In this alternate ending, John either accidentally left the Gray Figure unguarded and was killed while fighting Miriam or fulfilled one or two of the requirements to receive the UNSPEAKABLE's blessing.

John jolts out of bed and finds a letter at his front door, signed by Father Garcia[99]. In it, Garcia vaguely alludes that he knows the kind of actions John performed in his nightmare, telling him that everything is not lost, and his soul can still be saved. He urges John to stay vigilant and wait for future updates from him as he needs to gather more questions about their predicament. Garcia ominously ends his letter with, "They are watching you."

Driving off to an unknown destination, John expresses uncertainty if he really did the right thing. He's not sure what is real or not anymore and can feel a dark shadow looming over him. Feeling that his faith is becoming weak, he wonders if finding Nate and Jason will help him with whatever he's looking for. As he speeds away, a thrall in a bronco follows his trail.

Ch 2 ending 2 thrall

This ending is unique since John has a vague idea of what to do next, and he's still alive. However, it's not canon since this letter Garcia sent to John is not found in Chapter III. Garcia's letter suggests that the two experienced the same nightmare where they cooperated to take on Miriam, but in this ending, it seems like John intentionally let him die during the battle, hence why he believes John's soul can still be saved. This suggestion further proves that John's nightmare is focused entirely on his evil urges.

"Initiation" Ending

In this alternate ending, John reads a note nearby Save Family Tomb that instructs the reader on how to receive the UNSPEAKABLE's blessing. In order to be blessed, he has to, "conjure His [Lucifer's] demon," "serve His demon," and "walk among the children of men as His demon."[85]

After banishing the three demons scattered throughout Gallup Cemetery and stabbing himself in the eye inside Save Family Tomb, John staggers back to a circle of five pebbles in the middle of a dense woodland. He draws a satanic symbol from his bleeding eye, and upon doing so, a demon lunges after him from the woods.

Initiation demon

Banishing it, the demon shouts, "CHAOS REIGNS!" and disappears. It leaves behind the New Patient Initial Consultation written by Dr. Spinel nearly a year ago[39], who jots down in his notes that he needs more sessions with John so that he has information to report to Martin Family Attorneys.

Recalling the confessional booth encounter and the discussion about penance, John exits Snake Meadow Hill Church after banishing the Spindly Lady. He ventures into the cornfield, where, while examining a scarecrow, a child emerges from the outskirts and positions themselves right behind him. They ask him, "Will you help ME?" the child follows John wherever he goes.

Doomed child appears

Avoiding direct confrontation with the child, as they would accuse him of being a bad man and run away, John entices them back into the church and guides them toward the confessional booth. During this process, he glimpses a silhouette of Amy floating away.

Amy silhouette doomed child

As he approaches the booth, a disembodied gray hand emerges from the curtain, pulling the child within. Subsequently, it seizes John as well. In another pocket dimension, the entity is revealed as the Mirror Demon, greeting John with, "FILIS MATER PROFANI!" before engaging in a fight.

Mirror demon ch 2

After banishment, it declares it will see John again and vanishes. It leaves behind another psychiatry note by Dr. Spinel[40], who advocates for an in-vivo approach with John to comprehend the gravity of his situation.

Lastly, after transforming into a Wretch and crawling around the Unseen World, John reaches the drainage ditch near the entrance to the Candy Tunnels. Instead of crawling under the overpass, John crawls downward and goes up an incline. Nearly getting run over by the same speeding semi truck from a week ago, John butchers the traveling couple and then returns back to the overpass. He turns back to normal and proceeds as usual.

Initiation couple dead

With all conditions complete, John progresses through his nightmare by exploring the Candy Tunnels, an inner sanctum, and defeating Miriam with (or without) the Gray Figure.

The only detail to mention here is that John has the option of picking up a note found at the end of a hallway in the inner sanctum, where the wording suggests that the UNSPEAKABLE wrote it (because the entity tends to only use Old English or Latin, other characters in the series don't do this)[100]:

WELL DONE THOU GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT

WE SHALL VISIT THEE SOON

 
— Note #23: Faithful Servant, Chapter II

Awakening from the nightmare after defeating Miriam, the atmosphere in his house feels off, and Father Garcia's letter is nowhere in sight at the front door. John wanders to his kitchen and notices that his backdoor leading to his backyard is wide open. John decides to walk outside.

The screen fades to John, who took off his priestly collar, walking towards the middle of a pentagram. Gary, thralls, and cultists loom in the distance. Fanfare begins to play as the UNSPEAKABLE steadily descends from the sky and approaches John.

Initation

John tilts his head up and stares at the deity. For some reason he's missing his eyes. His hollow eye-sockets begin to bleed and the screen fades.

John bleeding
Interpretation

Clearly this ending is non-canonical since the entirety of Chapter III would've played differently. John willingly ditched his ways of being a Christian (hence why he removed his collar and Father Garcia's letter is missing) and inducted himself into the cult by performing actions that would please the UNSPEAKABLE. The nightmare's focal point, that was more-than-likely orchestrated by the UNSPEAKABLE and Gary, was to have John initiated into the cult so that he wouldn't inadvertently disrupt their plans, like in Chapter I, and may even be a suitable vessel for either the Second Death or for the deity to possess (more on this in Chapter III). In a way, the UNSPEAKABLE guided John to perform actions under Lucifer's name, but it was all up to self-ambition to do these deeds. In this ending, John indulged into his urges, which would explain how grotesque the newspaper article describes about the three young people who were found murdered nearby Gallup Cemetery[11].

Judging by the UNSPEAKABLE's grand appearance, the conditions for the deity to appear on Earth explained in Chapter III, and the inconsistency of the backyard, this entire sequence is still nothing but a dream. The UNSPEAKABLE can only interact with others through dreams and intense hallucinations. The cult's secondary goal, besides summoning the Antichrist onto Earth, is the UNSPEAKABLE possessing a body. Sooner or later, John will wake up after his initiation dream and become a cultist.

As a footnote, Dr. Spinel's psychiatric notes appearing after John banishes the Pentarox (the demon that lunged after him when he drew a pentagram with his own blood) and the Mirror Demon correlates to how anything revolving around Yale Psychiatric Institute is associated as demonic in nature in John's eyes. His trauma and what he endured during his time at the institute is subtly brought up every time he performs one of the actions under Lucifer's name (or satanictry in general) or in an emotional state (this is amplified in one of the endings in Chapter III).

"Go Forth With Faith" Ending

Jolting awake from the vivid nightmare, John stumbles out of bed and finds a letter left behind by Molly, his now ex-wife[101]. Molly wrote that she's sorry, that she "can't do this anymore" and she'll always love him. Apparently, while John was sleeping, Molly couldn't handle her husband's declining mental health and left. We're not given specifics as to why she's done this. She was supportive when John was initially accused of murdering Amy's parents and Father Allred back in 86', was there for him when he was released from Yale Psychiatric Institute and stayed with him for nearly a whole year. Recalling back to John's alarming letter he left behind for Molly shortly before Chapter I's events[38], where he essentially feels obligated to return back to the Martin House because he believes that Amy was waiting in there for him (which, while this is true, no one would've known about this since Amy was in a mental institution before September 13th when she escaped[4]), it's safe to assume that he was declining again and couldn't handle helping him anymore. Maybe this one near-delusional letter was the final straw for her, it's tough to say, as she is never again referenced after this.

Distraught after her departure, John has the option of walking to his kitchen and finding his official release form from Yale Psychiatric written by Dr. Spinel[42]. John would never haphazardly leave a psychiatric note around, he has a storage room for that. Best we can assume is that he was reading it shortly before he gone to bed and Chapter II's events took place, because placement of these psychiatric notes has a running theme of being associated with demonic activity. The form's placement here could symbolize how he's been "released" from his vivid nightmare and won't be vigorously targeted such as this for a while. Although his life was not in danger since he was sleeping, the nightmare's focal point of him being initiated into the cult represents how vulnerable he was to seep into his urges.

John checks his front door and notices a letter was slipped through his mail slot; addressed by somebody named Father Garcia[102]. Garcia explains to him that they together must act fast since an event called the Profane Sabbath (October 31st) is approaching; the one day when demonic activity is at its peak. Strangely, Garcia continues that they must find Nate and Jason Martin before "they"/the cult uses them to summon a great demon named Malphas. Garcia concludes his letter that he's currently in the process of discovering their whereabouts and that they cannot let "them"/the cult do what they did to Amy.

For another inexplicable reason, John hops into his sedan and drives to an unknown destination, probably to clear his head. John monologues to himself that his nightmares are steadily getting worse. He states that ever since he left the Martin House, he has been haunted by visions of demons (which certifies why Chapter II Prologue ever happened). John tries to form closure with Amy and concludes that his work with her is done, however Nate and Jason are now in danger. John regains composure and builds confidence to press on by stopping the summoning of Malphas. He remarks that the "workers of darkness" grow stronger as the Profane Sabbath draws near. His anxiety reels back in and notes that this upcoming journey will be his greatest test of faith yet and pleads for God's mercy. With that, he drives off.

Ch 2 ending 1 john
Aftermath

The series has yet to reveal how Father Garcia "magically" knows who the Nate, Jason, and Amy are and what happened to her. A plausible theory we can conjure is that Garcia experienced the same vivid nightmare as John after returning home from being around the Martin House. Like how Chapter II concluded, Garcia likely gained assistance by John during his dream, except this time in his perspective John would be nothing but a "blue figure" since he never truly saw John's face. This theory coincides with the word choice in the "Road to Redemption" Ending note and the UNSPEAKABLE being the mastermind of it all. Unfortunately, we have nothing to explain how he knows about the cult, who Malphas is, or how he got John's street address.

To reiterate, the vividity of John's nightmare and how susceptible he was to be initiated into the cult mentally drained him. The circumstances surrounding the death of three young people nearby Gallup Cemetery, the disappearance of paranormal investigators who attempted to explore Snake Meadow Hill Church, and the evil lurking in the Candy Tunnels that seemingly killed an innocent couple proved how he is not in control of his environment and increasingly demonic activities have been occurring ever since he entered the Martin House. His faith in God and himself has significantly drained from this nightmare, so for now on, he perceives his once silver-colored crucifix into a dull, bronze color.

The only remaining grace for him at this point is the chance that he has an ally who somewhat understands his predicament (unlike Molly), the potentiality of saving the Martin Twins who seem to be just within reach and preventing Malphas' summoning. Despite of his attempted closure with Amy, his perceived failure still lingers in his mind. John has no choice but to stall until he receives further instructions or feedback from Father Garcia. The time this'll take is grueling.

October 28th, 1987 (Chapter III)

An entire month has passed with no updates from Father Garcia. John leaves Garcia's letter nearby his bed to remind himself what he's waiting for[102]. John also carries Molly's departing letter with him wherever he goes[101] (when you begin Chapter III, Molly's Letter is the only note John has in his inventory), proving that he's still distraught over the recent divorce.

Into the early hours of October 28th, John begins to experience vivid nightmares of his first exorcism as the event of the Profane Sabbath draws near. Everything experienced in this nightmare is relatively the same as described back in the "September 21st, 1986" section. Interestingly, there are a few outliers; There's a drawing on the refrigerator apparently signed by Amy herself that depicts Snake Meadow Hill Church and two stick dolls nearby the front entrance. There's also four X's underneath the church.

Church Drawing

If John ever attempts to enter the Martin Twins' bedroom throughout any of these nightmares, he stops and thinks to himself, "I don't remember anything beyond this room."

Specifically in this nightmare, where he and Father Allred confront Amy in the basement, John awakens in a panic from the nightmare by briefly recalling the instance when a human arm emerged from Amy's gaping face hole nearly a month ago (Chapter I), proving that this occurrence still persists in his memory.

Tumblr po4k3rqSLm1uze48zo2 540

All of these details prove that these nightmares are John's attempts to remember the events of his first exorcism, which is worrying because John could inadvertently remember events incorrectly and treat them as factual. Since we, the player, only know a majority of the exorcism from an unreliable narrator like John, it's difficult to transcribe what truly transpired on that day.

To explain why Snake Meadow Hill Church would ever appear in a place like the Martin House, we can piece together that John's experiences within the church when he was an orphan still lingers in his mind, since he frequently dreamt of that place in Chapter II and Chapter II Prologue. Amy supposedly drawing and signing that picture of the church is misleading, however. Amy was about 16 years old during the first exorcism[4], meaning that she was born sometime in 1970, roughly two decades after Snake Meadow Hill Church ceased operation[22]. There's no way Amy would ever know about that church, let alone knowing what a stick doll is and drawing it. Her parents are technically old enough to potentially have been orphans living in the church but that's nothing more than a stretch and there's no evidence supporting that. Recalling back to another drawing of a cultist and a shadowy figure supposedly drawn and signed by Nate Martin[103], even though we know Cindy was the one who drew it because the twins never existed and she's known to experience delusions like this[29], it's best to assume that John's mind came up with the drawing and indirectly tried to distance himself from the church by having Amy's name on it instead. It's all tough to say, but it's best to assume that all of this is nothing more than a weird occurrence.

John jolts out of bed and rereads Father Garcia's letter[102].

Ch3 Bedroom

He walks to the front door and finds his long-awaited new letter from Garcia[104]. Father Garcia updates John that he has yet to locate Nate or Jason Martin. He combed through the foster care system, assuming that they're currently residing with family members ever since their parents were killed, but he has had no luck. While he tries to find more information, Garcia instructs John to investigate a clinic Amy used to work at, believing that the cult might summon Malphas somewhere within the building. Garcia finishes his letter, exclaiming that they must disrupt the cult's plans by locating Malphas' summoning site. John mentally prepares himself and drives to the clinic.

Exterior clinic

John parks to the side of the road and sees a lone police officer stationed right outside the boarded-up entrance to the clinic. The officer stops him in his tracks when he tries to enter, reprimanding that, "This ain't no place for you, preacher." If John walks on the side of the road in a straight line, the road and buildings loop, signifying that there's an unforeseen demonic force in control of the environment, just like The Forest from Chapter I, the Cornfield in Chapter II Prologue, and so on. If John's not swift enough when crossing the road, he can get run over by a speeding thrall in their Bronco or a semi-truck barreling down the road, the same truck that splattered Michael's carcass back in Chapter I.

Truck splat ch3

If John decides to investigate an alleyway, he seemingly spots a corpse of a dead bird, looking as if somebody snapped its neck.

Screen Shot 2020-03-28 at 6.44.50 PM

The bird's head wiggles whenever he looks away and stays stationary when looked at. When John prepares to exit the alleyway, a thrall standing right behind him gets startled and flees, shouting, "I KNOW NOT WHAT I DID!", implying that they unconsciously killed the bird, proving that most individuals involved with The Eternal Order of the Second Death generally don't think rationally.

Sneaking through a broken fence gate, there's a poster nearby about a music festival called Beelzefest. The song titles indirectly provide hints on how to encounter something in the basement of the clinic.

CALLING ALL METAL FANS

BEELZEFEST 1987 ROCKS THE HELL OUTTA HARTFORD

FRIDAY NITE 10 P.M. - 2 A.M.

Featuring appearances by: WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE TRUST NO CORPSE THE HORROR IS DEAD BASEMENT II RETURN TO BONDAGE AMONG THE BLOODIED LYING STILL IN SILENCE MOTHER OF SHADOW and THE DOOR TO AFTERBIRTH Adv. Sale Tickets $3 Adm. at Door $5

 
— Note #5: Beelzefest Poster, Chapter III

John trespasses into the clinic while remaining undetected from the officer by jumping through a broken window.

You Feel Watched

The clinic appears to have been completely abandoned for some time. Wooden beams cover the front door entrance, as if the building was shut down by an organization, which would partially explain why there's an officer patrolling the front entrance.

Clinic entrance

There's a fax note nearby the abandoned front desk[53], written by Gary and intended to be delivered to somebody named Rhonda. Gary reminds her that she needs to keep her desk tidy and ensure that either he or another woman named Tiffany is notified whenever the Department of Health attempts to call the front desk. He reprimands her that they cannot afford another surprise inspection. He continues that he himself needs to be contacted directly whenever they hear back from Amy and exclaims to keep somebody named Jeffrey out of sight. Gary ends his fax with, "Remember: Gary Loves You." This, among everything else detailed here, all enforces that Rhonda and any other worker in this clinic are cultists/thralls a part of the Eternal Order of the Second Death.

Walking down a dark hallway, John purifies an IV drip, which promptly drops a note[105]. Written by an unnamed clinic worker, they haphazardly state that a pill does not dissolve well in the IV drip. Due to the pill's weakness, patients are waking up prematurely before some kind of process is complete. The writer is worried that patients will eventually realize they're all experiencing the same hallucinations. The note ends by suggesting making the pill stronger through a concentrated, injectable version. This odd note becomes relevant later on in Chapter III.

Ch 3 iv drip note

Exploring the premises, there's a door leading to the 2nd Floor boarded with wooden beams. John finds a crowbar in a storage area and attempts to remove the beams himself. Just before reaching the door, he's suddenly knocked down to the ground by a powerful red creature that smashes through the wooden beams. Although the game itself is vague about what this creature is, looking into the game files reveals that it is called Jeffrey. For now, we're just going to refer to it as the creature. John tries to crawl away, agitating the creature. It wails as it drags John into the doorframe.

Jeffrey crash

Somehow, the creature managed to knock John unconscious, without killing him, and strapped him onto a gurney. The creature carefully wheels him to an operating room scattered with dead bodies on gurneys.

Captured

John comes to and panics as he hears the wails of the creature steadily getting closer. Harrowingly avoiding the creature's sight, John tries to wheel out of the operating room but gets saved by the police officer from outside the building, who likely heard the commotion while standing outside and jumped through a broken window to investigate. Bewildered by the situation, the officer unstraps John from the gurney and asks him what's going on. The two temporarily pair up since the officer is planning to take John back to his patrol car so that he can properly explain himself.

Now, near the boarded entrance, the officer confiscates John's crowbar and attempts to remove the wooden beams from the front door, but the duo suddenly gets ambushed by the creature again, who leaped out from one of the windows. John weakens the creature with his crucifix while the officer aims and fires. After some time, the creature finally drops dead.

Jeffrey dead

John retrieves his crowbar and removes the wooden beams over the front door himself.

HalfLife

Now outside, the officer prepares to direct John toward his patrol car but catches thralls celebrating while burning his vehicle. The officer deserts John and chases after the fleeing thralls, whom he merely refers to as hippies. If John decides to check the alleyway, he'll find the officer's corpse instead of the dead bird. Given how thralls typically attack, it's safe to say that the officer was overpowered and shanked in the neck multiple times. John remains emotionless.

Cop dead

Sensing that there's something else hidden within the clinic, John rereads the Beelzefest poster and decides to venture inside again.

Back nearby the operating room, John straps himself onto a gurney and lays still among a pile of corpses, just like what the Beezlefest poster was alluding to.

Locked door clinic

As he lies there, the locked door nearby him suddenly opens on its own, revealing that there's a descending staircase towards the basement. Before John can unstrap himself to explore, he senses something staring at him. Tilting his head to survey his surroundings, John sees that one of the corpses is sitting upright. A bloody sheet slips off their head, revealing a gaping hole where their face should be, akin to a Second Death victim. John seems unfazed and blankly stares as the corpse gets out of its gurney and moves around mystically. Eventually, the corpse emits a low, feminine wail and pushes John down the staircase.

DemonDance

He screams as he plummets all the way down the flight of stairs, eventually crashing into a wall. The gurney is broken beyond repair, but he's still alive. Strangely, the corpse doesn't pursue him.

John recollects himself and hears something that sounds like a baby crying. He follows the source down a long hallway and spots a woman standing in the upper middle of a dark room. John approaches and notices that the woman is cradling a baby.

Mother and Child pre skull reveal

John draws near in an attempt to initiate a conversation with the mysterious woman, but she hushly whispers to him to be careful and not wake up the baby. John whispers back and tells her that he's looking for twin boys, Nate and Jason, and questions her if she has seen them. The woman replies that they now belong to Gary. John asks who Gary is, and she tilts her head to face him directly, replying that Gary is a normal human being just like him and her.

MotherAndChild

Freaked out by her inhuman skeletal facial features, John awkwardly pauses and states that he's leaving. The woman seems surprised and asks him why he's leaving so soon, continuing that her babies haven't eaten in days and questions if he wants to meet them. The baby she's cradling turns its head to look at John, boasting an eerie, demonic grin.

MommysBaby

A battle ensues. While the woman stands there, hordes of babies steadily crawl out of air vents in the room and target John. Although plenty of babies can surround John and hang onto his body, they can't kill him, only slowing him down. John can purify these babies, who promptly disappear, and a spirit leaves their body. More and more hound on him. As John attempts to exorcise the woman, another horde of babies leaps out of the air vents and surrounds the woman as some kind of makeshift shield. In the midst of all this, particular babies with red eyes sporadically come out of the woman's body and crawl towards a corner of the room. If John's not quick on his feet and doesn't exorcise them in time, the baby would horrifically contort into some kind of abnormally large version of itself. The baby would chuckle and cheer maniacally as it tries to hound towards John and kill him.

Mother fight example

Despite everything, John prevails and defeats the woman. All the babies in the room crawl towards her and surround her entire body. Seemingly out of nowhere, the woman and her babies promptly disappear into thin air, potentially indicating that they're all spirits and not demonic creatures.

John staggers out of the room and intends to drive back home. As he walks down the dark hallway to ascend the stairs, he spots a letter left behind by Gary himself[106]. Gary congratulates John but states that the twins are not in the clinic. He mocks John's faith by threatening him that he should perform the works of his God while it's still daytime since the night will come soon. Gary finishes his letter with "Gary Loves you." John exits the building and drives back home, with no sign of the twins or Malphas' summoning site.

At first glance, this entire adventure was pointless, but we, the player, are shown a cutscene where a satanic symbol fades out of existence over a hole in the ground. This hole is the entrance to the Crucible. As we'll find out soon, and scouring through the game files, Malphas created satanic symbols to block entrance to the Crucible, which functions as some kind of safe haven. Although more will be explained much later, these symbols are attached to vessels of The Unholy Trinity. If one of the vessels is defeated, like the woman lurking within the basement clinic, the symbol will disappear, weakening the barrier over the Crucible[107].

This might seem like we're jumping the gun a bit, but one of the endings in Chapter III reveals that Miriam is residing within the Crucible, in some kind of vegetative state. Since she is, rather bluntly, the mother of all demons and demonic creatures prowling the Connecticut area[108][25], she needs to be protected at all costs. If she ever dies, every demon and demonically influenced individual will disintegrate out of existence, which is what we'll see soon.

Crucible two symbols

October 29th, 1987

John jolts awake from a nightmare after he picks up Father Allred's crucifix when Amy escaped from her restraints.

Ch 3 fl john cross grab

John staggers out of bed and finds multiple letters near his front door. One of them is from Father Garcia[109], who instructs him to investigate an apartment complex in New Haven, suspecting that Malphas might be summoned there. He can't go there himself for some reason and encourages John to do so. The other letters are from Lisa, his childhood best friend. One of her letters vaguely describes her current predicament, stating that "they" are watching her, and mailing letters is the only way she can contact him[17]. She pleads for John's help and continues that her situation is getting worse. Lisa wrote down her full address and apartment number. She left an addendum at the bottom of her letter, stating that if, somehow, she doesn't answer her door, he can retrieve her spare key from her friend named Tiffany.

Lisa's second letter indicates she's in a more dire situation than before[18]. She mentions that she's unsure if he's receiving her letters but hopes he'll be at the apartment very soon, implying that John may have intentionally ignored her letters long before this current predicament. She continues, expressing a desperate need for his help, stating that "they" are in the apartment, and she sees "them" all the time. She can even hear "them" in the darkness, resulting in sleep deprivation. She urges John to come straight to her apartment room when he reaches the complex. She concludes her letter by cautioning that her friend Tiffany cannot be trusted and that her neighbors shouldn't be talked to; they're preventing her from leaving. John keeps these letters, prepares himself, and drives to the location.

John reaches his destination and parks in the parking lot. There's the same Bronco from one of the endings in Chapter II and the one seen yesterday. Additionally, there's a truck resembling the same one that crashed into John in Chapter II Prologue, all signifying that thralls are occupying the building.

Ch3 Apartment

John enters inside.

Among the Damned

The interior seems to be in good condition, but it's eerily silent and there's no sign of activity.

Apartment entrance

Walking towards the left area, John finds a letter on the floor. Supposedly written by Lisa, this letter is very formal and has a unique writing tone compared to the other letters John has received[45]. It is very similar to John's letter where he requested Dr. McGlashan to be released from Yale Psychiatric Institute[41] (for example, "don't" is replaced with "do not", full names are used, somewhat specific over trivial matters, etc.) "Lisa" formally greets John and apologizes for worrying him, stating that she is perfectly fine. She wasn't feeling like herself but is now much better. She tells him that he shouldn't trouble himself to visit her; she's currently taking an extended vacation out of the country, so she won't be there. John talks to himself aloud, "I should check my other notes from Lisa," and further explores the building. He can investigate anywhere except for the basement. If he lingers there for too long, two hands originating from the Peekaboo Demon gouge his eyes out, killing him.

Handies

Taking the elevator to Room 3B, Tiffany's Room, John finds the spare key mentioned in one of Lisa's letters. A blood trail leads to a locked door. John prepares to leave the room, but the static from a nearby TV briefly changes to Tiffany's face before defaulting to static. Her face has a red, gaping hole, signifying that the cult performed the Second Death on her.

Room3b

Now outside the room, John hears something in the distance repeatedly stomping.

Taking the stairs to Room 5B, Lisa's Room, there's a large pentagram covering a door, preventing anybody from entering or exiting the room.

Room 5b seal and pic

John enters the bathroom and finds a note left behind by Gary[110]. Gary mentions that if the reader wishes to remove the Seal of Alu, their answer lies in a blood-stained dagger and the "face hiding in the deep dark." He ominously concludes his note, stating that only those who've ascended the highest point can descend into the lowest depths and adds, "Remember: Gary Loves you."

Room 5b bathroom

Close to the note lies a blue key that unlocks Room 10M. Purifying the seal seemingly yields nothing, and the door remains locked, but a picture materializes next to the door that gives a rough description of what to look for. Surprisingly, John had to purify the seal to find these items; not doing so means they'll never appear.

Rough face and dagger

John takes the elevator to Room 2A and finds the blood-stained dagger. If John investigated this room before attempting to purify the Seal of Alu, the dagger would not be stained with blood and cannot be purified. John purifies the dagger, causing one of the two symbols on the seal to disintegrate in Room 5A/Lisa's Room. There's a staircase underneath a table in the room, but currently, there's no way to access it.

Bloody dagger

There's also a note left behind written by Tiffany, who states that every initiated follower of the cult knows that in order to bring about the Second Death, a selected person must sacrifice seven * (considering the cult's ties with the clinic, it's safe to say that this is supposed to be newborns) by passing them through the * (probably a portal) carved out of the impure vessel's face. Thus, the UNSPEAKABLE will reward the * (probably the selected individual) with the Second Death. Tiffany continues that such was the fate of Amy, whom she promptly describes as a whore and states that Gary, her beloved, has set his sights far too low. Tiffany concludes that she will surpass her.

If John attempts to take the elevator to Floor 7, the lights flicker, and nothing happens. If he takes the elevator to Floor 8, he can find a note left behind that ominously states that those who keep knocking on forbidden doors will be visited by the one who guards it[111]. The right hallway on Floor 8 lacks a descending staircase that should have led towards Floor 7; there's only a brick wall instead. A message is scribbled on the wall, stating that there is a 7th Floor.

Yes7thfloor

Alternatively, the words "there is no seventh floor" are scribbled on a brick wall if John attempts to walk from Floor 6 to Floor 7th instead of finding an ascending staircase.

No7thfloor

If John investigates Room 8A, he can find a note left behind by Gary[112], who makes an announcement to his followers that Tiffany has gone against the will of the UNSPEAKABLE. He thought he could trust her, but he was wrong. He continues that they'll proceed with the original plan; they'll use the woman in Room 5A (Lisa) as their vessel. He goads her pious friend (it’s unclear if they are referring to John or Tiffany) to rescue her; the UNSPEAKABLE will crush them both.

If John takes the elevator to Floor 5, there's another ominous note[113] that states if the reader likes to play games, then the 1st Floor is a great place to start. However, they'll need to know the rules of the game first and beware that if the reader has a susceptible soul, then they'll be pulled in. This message indirectly explains both a rare encounter whenever John enters the elevator and how to access the 7th Floor. Whenever John attempts to use the elevator to reach a floor, there's a small chance that the door will open to a lavender-colored lady wearing a kimono. The lady will slowly enter the elevator and stand behind John.

Elevator lady full pic

John cannot look at this lady or use his crucifix at all, even if the crucifix isn't directly facing the lady. Using the elevator again seemingly doesn't work, so John has to exit the elevator immediately and reuse it. When he does so, the lady seemingly vanishes and doesn't appear again. If John ever looks at the lady, she ambushes him. Her face deteriorates into what a dead body would look like: wrinkly skin, sunken eyes, and rotting teeth.

ElevatorLadyJumpscare

While John explores the area, he finds a kiddie drawing of some kind of horrid creature. This drawing, signed by a child named Timmy, labels this creature as his "eLivAtR FrieNd" or "Elevator Friend." There are Roman numerals displayed in the bottom right: I, IV, II, VI.

Spr TimmysDrawing2 0

If John takes the elevator to Floor 9, he can purify a jack-o-lantern, dropping some kind of newsletter by the Williams Family, dated October of '87[114]. In summary, this newsletter is addressed to family and friends of the Williams Family, inviting them to a Halloween party in Room 9B. The writer, Debbie Williams, sets out a reminder that the party is family-friendly. She wishes to avoid any tricks like the power going out from last year's party, prohibits alcohol and cigarettes, and requests guests to avoid bringing anti-religious or Satanic imagery. Apparently, Timmy was traumatized from last year's party, so these disclaimers are heavily encouraged.

More importantly, the newsletter continues that Timmy has a new imaginary friend and advises the reader to roll with it. Timmy's therapist apparently said that coping mechanisms such as these are healthy for him. The newsletter concludes that she's excited for everybody to meet Mr. Miller at the party, who's taken Timmy so well and has become like a part of the family.

Taking the elevator to Floor 10, John enters Room 10M with the key he found in Room 5A. Before he enters, there's a message next to the door written in blood stating, "Sacrifice What You Cling To." Inside is a dumbwaiter and instructions on how to use it[115]. There's also a monitor feed of a camera pointing towards the descending staircase of the basement. With nothing else to do, John mutters, "So be it," and places his crucifix onto the dumbwaiter. He watches the crucifix plummet all the way down to the basement.

Dumbwaiter

Notably, the crucifix appears brown, even though in reality, it's still a gold color. The majority of cinematics in this game are from John's point of view, and since his faith in God and himself has severely dwindled at this point, he imagines the color being brown. If this cutscene was in any other angle, the color would've been gold.

Now that John is completely defenseless, he decides to check the monitor before leaving the room. The monitor shows the Peekaboo Demon standing nearby the entrance to the basement. It was lurking within the basement but saw his crucifix plummet all the way below. It drags the object away from the dumbwaiter and is attempting to target John since he's vulnerable.

Peekaboo tv

Attempting to walk down the building through the stairs is impossible; stick dolls block the way. John is forced to use the elevator to retrieve his cross, but the elevator automatically stops at Floor 4 and cannot go down anymore. A thrall chuckles and runs away when the elevator door opens.

Thrall elevator

John walks to the right and notices a note on the floor, simply stating that "Gary lied to us. When you see it, RUN."[116] In the next room lies a camera and a decimated thrall displayed on the ground, likely the same one that briefly saw John in the elevator. Next to the corpse lies a message written in blood, "I SAW IT."

I saw it message

John picks up the object and exclaims that it's a camera. The power of the entire building promptly shuts down.

John traverses through the darkness with the flash from his camera. In the meantime, there are chances of him seeing multiple things: A blood trail from himself (very similar to how he stabbed himself in the eye in Chapter II), a flashback of the Martin House's attic during the first exorcism, a thrall running towards him, satanic symbols materialize around him, and Malphas himself turning around to stare him down.

MalphasCutscene1

Satanic symbols occasionally materializing around him are very similar to how Michael materialized satanic symbols when he broke off his chains during Father Garcia's exorcism. A note found later on in Chapter III will explain the gravity of this later[117]. Taking the staircase down to the Third Floor, the rest of the hallway is blocked by more stick dolls, so John enters Room 3B/Tiffany's Room to bypass them. The door leading to Tiffany's bedroom is now unlocked, and John heads inside. The room looks relatively normal, but there's a secret makeshift entrance that connects to Room 3A. In between Room 3A and B lie three thralls twitching their heads, who are idly standing around some kind of altar.

Altar and thralls

John sneaks past them undetected and, in the next room, comes across a large hole on the ground surrounded by dead thralls and a green person with their head missing, who was probably a tenant. There are two skulls surrounding the hole, meaning that this is where the Peekaboo Demon was summoned, just like in Chapter II. This implies that, after the Sterling Police Department raided the Candy Tunnels[26], all cult activity within the sewers relocated to the apartment complex to remain undetected by authorities in between September 28th (Chapter II) and October 28th (Chapter III).

Screenshot 20221129 111207

John walks out of the room and takes the staircase to the Second Floor. Once again, stick dolls block the way, so he goes inside Room 2A. The staircase underneath a table is now available to walk through. It's yet another secret entrance, but halfway through walking, John senses something following him every time he uses his camera flashlight; he sees glimpses of something briskly walking towards him. By the third time he flashes the camera, the Peekaboo Demon begins to give chase.

GIF peekaboo

Navigating through the darkness with the camera, John escapes its chase and comes out of Room 2B. The demon stops pursuing him for some reason. John takes the staircase down to the basement and picks up his crucifix. The power promptly comes back on. John explores the right area and comes across an inverted cross made out of blood and satanic symbols; this is a marking of the Second Death, proving that this is where Tiffany performed her makeshift Second Death ritual on herself, probably assisted by thralls who defected from Gary.

Ch 3 second death mark apartment

Nearby lies a note from Tiffany that's supposed to be addressed to Gary, enticing him to meet her in the Unseen World since she has gone "beyond."[118]

Nearby the marking lies a mask as well, the same mask that was used by Tiffany to perform her ritual. John purifies the object, causing the Seal of Alu in Lisa's Room to dissipate.

Mask

The last notable detail to mention here is messages written in blood, stating "not seven" and "SEVENTY times seven". This message is both a callback on instructions on how to perform the Second Death ritual found in Chapter I[50] and what Tiffany has done to surpass Amy, but this doesn't entirely relate to John so we're going to ignore that here.

Not7
70times7

John attempts to leave the basement, and the Peekaboo Demon materializes in a room cluttered with candles. It makes one final attempt to kill off John by sporadically teleporting around the room to catch him off guard. As it does so, some of the candles on the ground light up, indicating where the demon is. In the midst of all this, the demon spurts several degrading words towards John when it's repelled by the cross, such as "PULL OUT YOUR EYES," "YOU CAN'T HIDE ANYMORE," and "BETRAYER." Eventually, the demon exclaims, "YOU BELONG TO HER," and disappears, defeated.

Ch 3 peek battle

"In regards of John's character, it's important to decipher the Peekaboo Demon's quotes since they all tie back to him. It's safe to bet words such as "SHE IS ALWAYS WITH YOU!" and "BETRAYER" tie back to John and Lisa's time as orphans at Snake Meadow Hill Church when Miriam took care of them. We're still unsure what completely happened to them and the motive behind it all, but it's rest assured that the duo got lucky and escaped with their lives, but Miriam did something to them that caused them to become Wretches[16]. This is more apparent with a note in Chapter III that'll be explained later[16], and it's backed up with another quote of, "I KNOW YOUR SECRET!". Quotes such as, "YOU CAN'T HIDE ANYMORE" directly reveal that the cult has been following John and Lisa nearly their entire lives; Miriam will always be a part of them, and running away from their past won't do any good anymore.

John staggers out of the room and begins to ascend the staircase out of the basement. As soon as he reaches the First Floor, he's suddenly ambushed by the demon Alu.

Alu ambush

He shouts, "YOU ARE MY SLAVE!" as it possesses John, causing him to spout blood and thrash uncontrollably.

JohnPossession

Now that John's possessed, the color scheme of his body turns purple since a demon, red, merged with his normal color scheme, blue. We're unsure if purple color indicates an individual as possessed, but it certainly does in this case. John opens his eyes and sees Malphas glaring at him.

Johns purple eyes
MalphasEnlarged

John appears to be disgruntled and unemotionally stares back at him.

John possessed

The screen suddenly cuts to John's horrifically mangled face. Some of his teeth was torn off, his eyes are missing, and his left chin is torn apart.

John posessed 2

The screen cuts again to Malphas, who replaced his eyes with John's and has blood protruding from his inner mouth. Safe to say that Malphas left his "mark" on John by biting his face off, as some kind of "warning".

MalphasCutscene3

John becomes uncontrollable for a couple seconds as he moves around randomly. John eventually comes to and shakes off his possession.

Possessed john screenshot

Now that the power's back on, the elevator is controllable again. If John returns back to the altar he found earlier, he can purify it, which promptly drops a note where Gary makes an announcement to his followers that they've been graced with the presence of another demon, Alu[119]. He's unsure why he's here but clarifies that he placed his seal over the vessel's door. Gary suspects that all of this may be Tiffany's doing, which we can presume as either to hog all the attention to herself as a Second Death vessel or in an attempt to save her friend from the cult by preventing anybody from entering her door and using her, but continues that it may well be a test of their faith in the UNSPEAKABLE. Gary encourages his followers to continue taking their pills (a callback to the note found in the clinic regarding converting pills into an injectable version[105]) and seals themselves in brick and mortar. The announcement concludes that if anybody sees the so-called priest, they're allowed to capture and eviscerate him over an altar, preferably still alive.

If John returns back to the secret passageway between Room 2A and B, he can purify a graffiti of an eyeball, and it promptly drops a note. Gary makes another announcement to his followers that they'll be hosts to a "Very Special Visitor" (Peekaboo Demon), who is here to pave the way for the summoning of the UNSPEAKABLE[120]. Due to its special nature, the visitor has full access to the entire complex, including their apartment rooms, bedrooms, and so on. If one of them is lucky enough to encounter it, it's best to avoid the visitor and never communicate with it. They must stay out of its way, preferably by hiding in a dark or dimly-lit area. Gary continues that one of them will be blessed to find the visitor making a hole in their apartment room. They're strongly advised not to enter the hole it makes, no matter whose voice they hear down there, and to contact him if they suspect one of their fellow followers fell into the hole; their remains will be retrieved in a timely manner.

Room2b secret passage

John takes the elevator all the way back to Lisa's Room and enters the now-unlocked door. Five stick dolls are deliberately placed nearby the corners of the room, and Lisa idly stands in the middle. John approaches and says that he's relieved to see her alright. Lisa unemotionally asks what took him so long, and John shamefully doesn't offer a reply. Lisa continues and says that it's so dark, she can't see the light anymore. John comes up with a reasonable excuse and says that he got there as fast as he could. He awkwardly suggests that they need to leave, but Lisa's voice gets gravelly and says, "I'M NOT LISA!"

Im not lisa

Lisa, possessed by Alu, shambles towards John in an attempt to butcher him. John temporarily slows her down with his crucifix; Alu leaves her body and flees into one of the five stick dolls. Lisa gravitates towards him for safety. If John successfully purifies the same stick doll Alu is hiding in on time, the demon gets stunned long enough for John to deal damage before possessing Lisa once again, repeating the cycle. If John takes too long to find the correct stick doll, Alu makes a beeline towards him and possesses him. Lisa stands in shock as John tries to fight off the urge to kill her; we, the player, are shown white speechless text of somebody saying, "FIGHT IT, JOHN!", which is strange considering that the only person who speaks with white text in the entire series is somebody who (physically) isn't in the room. Eventually, Alu leaves John, repossesses Lisa, and the fight continues.

Fight it john

If John doesn't resist the evil urge to kill Lisa while possessed, he gets too close and seemingly decapitates her instantly. John temporarily reverts back to his normal self and horrifically mutters, "Oh my God! Lisa, I'm so sorry." His body turns purple, hinting that he's still possessed, and shouts, "THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT!" He seemingly gets over the possession and can proceed as usual. Alu doesn't leave his body after this. This alternate choice of killing Lisa becomes relevant later down the line for an ending, but for now, we're going to continue as if he never did this.

Lisa killed

John banishes Alu, who makes a low growl and floats away. Lisa runs out of the room and John follows. In the next room, the two have a proper conversation. Lisa lights a cigarette to decompress and thanks John for being there to count on.

Lisa gif

She explains that a man named Gary Miller runs the apartment complex and mentions how he's trying to resurrect a horrible demon (Malphas). Lisa urges John to stop Gary. John tries to ask if she needs a place to stay, but Lisa immediately shuts down his attempts and says that she'll be fine and that he has to get going. John does so and explores the rest of the apartment complex, sensing as if a seal was broken somewhere beyond after banishing Alu, even though he's capable of leaving the area whenever.

Recollecting on the note he found about summoning the one who guards forbidden doors, John presses the 7th Floor button in the elevator multiple times. As the lights inside the elevator flicker repeatedly, he sees a vision of the abnormally tall Elevator Friend.

Elevator friend cameo

Now throughout the building, the demon will peer at John from corners and behind objects in an attempt to ambush him. It simply scurries on the wall and escapes every time its repelled.

Elevator demon

Eventually, after enough repulsion, the demon cheerfully exclaims that it'll see him in his dreams and vanishes. It leaves behind another drawing by Timmy, who's holding hands with the Elevator Friend.

Elevator demon note 2

There's Roman Numerals on the bottom left of the drawing: II, X, V, I. With this and the other drawing in mind, John inputs these numbers in the elevator and ascends to the Unseen World version of the 10th Floor, as hinted by the note left behind by Tiffany back in the basement[118]. Unlike the real 10th Floor, the floor is eerily barren and seems off. One of the two rooms only has a window peering out to a red cross in the air.

Hidden 7 Floor Outside

This red cross, parallel version of the 10th Floor, and the elevator lady's appearance are all nods to the Elevator Game, a ritual where somebody can enter an alternate version of the tenth floor in any building and supposedly communicate with spirits[121].

John enters a doorframe and follows a trail of satanic symbols. At the end of a dark room lies a woman standing motionlessly in the dark.

Tiffany Room Pre-Boss

Sensing someone standing behind her, the woman, Tiffany, believes that Gary is in the room with her and calls out to him. John mistaken her for Amy, making Tiffany disappointed that Amy was even mentioned and says its not her, she's just "The Rejected Vessel". John questions who Gary is, but Tiffany replies with a vague answer that he's a human being just like him and her.

Tiffany roto 1

The lighting in the area grows a bit brighter, revealing her eviscerated head. Tiffany tells John that she did this to show Him (Gary) what he could do for Him. John panics and questions if she did this to herself.

Tiffany missing head

Tiffany responds that she is the first to perform the Second Death ritual on themselves willingly (this is a large contradiction that won't be explained until later) and continues that she's done more for Gary than Amy has ever done. The lighting in the area grows a bit brighter, revealing a gigantic demon situated on her beheaded shoulders. She proclaims that now she has gone "beyond" and calls herself the "Daughter of the UNSPEAKABLE".

TiffanyCutscene

Tiffany's demon slowly turns its head around and screeches.

CINETiffDemon

A battle ensues. Tiffany sporadically teleports around the room and hovers towards John in an attempt to kill him.

Tiffany Boss Room

Once John uses his crucifix enough times on her, her demon ricochets off the room multiple times, releasing large amounts of spirits from its body. Recalling the message found earlier in the basement, regarding "not seven" and "seventy times seven", we can assume that Tiffany gathered more-than-necessary sacrifices to perform her makeshift Second Death ritual, hence why she botched it and looks like this.

Eventually, the demon releases a final burst of spirits and vanishes.

Tiffany demon defeat

Tiffany's body goes limp and collapses to the ground. John staggers out of the room and prepares to leave. He hears skittering behind him and turns around in horror to see Tiffany's body contorted into some kind of spider and charging towards him. John acts quickly and exorcises her. She screeches and bursts into a puddle of blood.

Spider tiffany

There's a new note left behind by Gary[122], who mocks John for wasting another day to help a hopeless soul (Lisa) but congratulates him for getting rid of Tiffany. Gary's been meaning to kill off Tiffany for a long time ever since she rebelled against the cult and hid within the Unseen World but hasn't had the time to deal with her, probably because he's preparing for the Profane Sabbath. Gary wonders what side John is on since he indirectly helped him and concludes that they'll see soon enough. He ends his letter with, "Gary Loves you".

John returns to the elevator but notices that the buttons are inactivated. There's a hole on the ground and the words "damnatio memoriae" scribbled around it (this is Latin for "Damnation of Memory").

Exiting Hidden 7th Floor

John leaps down the hole three times and lands himself onto the 7th Floor. From now on, there's no way to return to the Unseen World. As the Latin phrase puts it, the entire floor was, in a sense, erased from memory. This act of erasing memory becomes important in one of the endings in Chapter III.

JohnHole

The 7th Floor is eerily barren. Sometimes John can catch a glimpse of the Elevator Friend and Timmy Williams holding hands and walking away.

Elevator friend wit timmy yaaaay

There's only a singular unlocked door on this floor, John enters inside and sees a large idol of something vaguely resembling the Elevator Friend. In the middle of some kind of pentagram is a body of a child, Timmy, who's been holding hands with his friend throughout the complex. Around the body is some kind of fleshy substance, seemingly from the Elevator Friend itself. Although it's kind of difficult to tell, there's a singular black eye on a butcher table and a wheelbarrow filled with flesh.

Timmy's sacrifice

John purifies the large idol, causing Timmy's body to fade in-and-out of existence and promptly vanishes. Since we don't see a spirit leaving Timmy's body, it's safe to assume that Timmy has been dead the entire time and has been nothing more than some kind of apparition. A note materializes nearby a chair[123]. This short note, presumably written by Debbie Williams, Timmy's mother, states that "He" (probably Gary) promised them so much and proclaims that they want to see their boy again. The note concludes that the "replacement" is almost complete, just need a few more bodies.

This note regarding replacement somewhat ties back to Cindy's bizarre quest to find replacement for her twin sons, Nate and Jason[29]. This tie back greatly suggests that Gary has a hand in all of this. Nothing else seemingly happens in this room, but John doesn't see Timmy nor the Elevator Friend after this.

John takes the elevator back to the First Floor, exits the building, and drives back home. This adventure appears to be another uneventful day since there was no signs of Malphas' summoning site, despite seeing visions of him, and the Martin Twins are nowhere to be found. We, the player, are shown a cinematic of another symbol fading out of existence around the entrance to the Crucible.

Crucible one symbol

October 30th, 1987

John once again suffers another recurring nightmare of his first exorcism. The nightmare ends when Amy was about to ambush him in the attic.

AmyZoop

John jolts out of bed again and finds a new letter from Father Garcia[124]. Garcia states that he's been getting bizarre reports of children exhibiting strange behavior at a Daycare Center somewhere on 4th Street. This time he's adamant that if they find Nate and Jason, then they'll find Malphas' summoning site as well. Garcia doesn't come up with an excuse as to why he cannot accompany him to explore the building, concluding that they don't have enough time and he must investigate the premises.

Before driving to his destination, John has the option of spying on his neighbors. He had the option of doing so for the past two days, where the neighbors would be watching normal TV programming, but this time it appears that an evil force is influencing the neighborhood, probably because the Profane Sabbath is just a day away. The TVs are broadcasting flashing images that are subconsciously trying to influence the viewers about the cult. The TV is capable of broadcasting an image of a red chalice, a red bird, the word "KILL" flickering, Amy writhing uncontrollably, and Tiffany staring coldly. The parents and children watching this don't react and continue staring at their TVs.

Amytv
Tiffanytv

John hops into his vehicle and speeds away.

As John almost reaches his destination, he spots a police car blaring their sirens. Believing that he's signaled to pull over, he does so, but the vehicle zooms right past him. John hops out of his car and follows the officer's trail to check the commotion. After walking a bit, he sees seven police officers, with their weapons drawn, preparing to shoot anybody who opens the front door of the Daycare Center. There's blockades and police tape around the entrance to ensure nobody would escape.

DaycareFront

So far, the series has yet to fully elaborate as to why the Sterling Police Department are preparing to raid the Daycare Center. Since it's so late into the night, it's unlikely Father Garcia caught wind of this event on the TV or newspaper and wrote John a letter about how he should investigate the area. This, among other strange details[104], suggests that Garcia may very well be a police officer, but we're getting off track. The best we can propose as to why there's so many officers here is that the Police Department potentially connected the death of their fellow officer back nearby the Clinic to the Daycare Center. Thralls murdering that officer only brought attention to themselves, all culminating up to here. Contradictory, this event still happens even if John skips on investigating the Clinic, which means that the officer may very well still be alive (unless the officer was destined to be killed by the thralls no matter what happens) but that's irrelevant.

The officers are fixated towards the front door and completely ignore John. John sneaks behind them and crawls through a hole in a chain fence.

Daycare back with john

There's a note nearby that simply states:

A riddle, priest.

How do you make a portal to Hell? ㅤ Come see me and I’ll show you.

 
— Note #30: A Riddle, Chapter III

The word choice perfectly indicates that Gary wrote this riddle. John enters the building via an unlocked backdoor.

The tunnels await

The building is empty other than children's drawings, toys, and other objects. A drawing can be found left behind on a table:

FallenStarDrawing

The eerie red figure with wide eyes implies that the children are somewhat influenced by cult or demonic activity. The red, falling star becomes relevant later. As a minor footnote, there's chalkboard hung on the wall that illustrates somebody partaking in the Second Death ritual. It's difficult to tell, but there's a hand sticking out of the face.

Daycare chalk board with john

John walks downward to the next room and comes across a gory sight. The bodies are laid nearby some kind of sealed entrance and four symbols, a Moon, a Chalice, a Bird, and a Star. Four decimated bodies of Thralls lay on the ground. The phrase "Gary loves us" is crudely scribbled on the wall with blood.

Daycare classroom bodies with john

There's a riddle left behind, all written in purple text (on this website you can't see that, sorry):

Mother Moon watcheth her little ones behind a door of sleep

Daughter Chalice is filled, an offering to the Master in the Unseen World

Spirit Bird arriveth from afar and cometh back to roost.

These vessels are the Unholy Trinity.

The Fallen Star shall guide them.

What colors can you see?

Look to the children if you are lost.

 
— Note #31: Color Puzzle Poem, Chapter III

This poem is supposed to indirectly tell the reader that they're supposed to align the symbols on the floor in specific color. Lorewise, this poem indirectly details what "The Unholy Trinity" is. Densely decoding this poem doesn't entirely relate to John, so to summarize it, the Unholy Trinity (which consists of the Moon as the Mother, Chalice as the Daughter, and the Spirit Bird as the Unholy Spirit) are entities or people rather than something figurative, likewise with the Holy Trinity consisting of the Father (God), Son (Jesus), and the Holy Spirit. With this in mind, along with other evidence, suggests that the Mother Demon, Tiffany, and the Unclean Spirit (we'll go over this character soon) are vessels for the Unholy Trinity, hence why whenever they're defeated the seal hovering over the entrance to the Crucible is removed. If you want to learn more, check Tiffany or Amy's wiki page.

To gain access to whatever is behind the entrance, John has to use his crucifix to align the symbols laid on the floor into specific colors by looking at drawings left behind by children. Specifically, these drawings:

FallenStarDrawing
DaughterChalice
SpiritBird
MotherMoonDrawing2

Two other drawings should be pointed out. One of the drawings depicts the UNSPEAKABLE hovering over children, who are celebrating after mutilating and tearing a blue person's torso, who has a red creepy smile:

SaraDrawing

It's clear that the blue person is John. The children within this daycare center truly are influenced by the cult, and actively want John to be killed. This drawing indirectly iterates that it was drawn recently, since John was not targeted by the UNSPEAKABLE or the cult until after Chapter I's events. Although it's a little hard to tell, the UNSPEAKABLE is holding's John's cross and inverted it. The other drawing depicts a blue crow pecking the face out of a scarecrow, who seems to be showing an agonizing expression. Each time the crow pecks, blood strews out from its face:

SpiritBird

This scarecrow somewhat ties back to the other scarecrow found in Chapter II Prologue where a hole would steadily widen in size on its face. It's interesting to point out that the crow is the exact blue as John, possibly suggesting they're related. Currently, we're not sure what this means, but it's best to say that the cult has been following John for years ever since Snake Meadow Hill Church's prime years. If John explores one of the upper rooms, he wouldn't see anything besides a lone drawing. We, the player however, can see a strange purple statue. John cannot see or even encounter this statue at all because the statue will always teleport into one of the adjacent rooms.

Daycare malphas statue with john

Scourging through the game files, this statue is file named as "Malphas Idol". At first glance, this object doesn't look anything like Malphas, or even an avian creature. The problem is that this idol only has two colors, purple and black. If we were to outline it, you'll notice that it's supposed to be an avian creature holding a severed bird head with a beak (shoutout goes to Abortion Steve from the FAITH Fan Community Discord for figuring this out).

Malphasidollegend

If John decides to open the front door of the building and walk outside, he's startled by the officers pointing their guns at him, so he raises his crucifix in submission. The police falsely claim that he's holding a gun and erratically fire their weapons. They continue to fire their rounds long after John succumbs to his bullet wounds.

Daycare john is strapped omg
Spr CINE deathByCop 0

Once John solves the puzzle regarding the symbols, the seal on the floor opens by itself, revealing a descending staircase. John steps below and enters some kind of underground tunnel system.

this is where it lives

Whatever the Daycare Center is functions as a front for Gary and his cult to conduct operations in privacy, away from authorities or public attention. This tunnel system, aptly named Garyland in the game files, nearly resembles a makeshift dungeon.

Garyland entrance

John approaches a gate that unlocks itself and opens. Before he travels to the next room, the gate locks itself and closes. John explores the area and nearly runs into cultists, who're walking away from some kind of corpse.

Garyland cultists walk

John purifies the flesh, and a note materializes. This note is some sort of celebratory advertisement for people who were inducted into the cult, officially termed as Tier One Acolytes, where they have the possibility of experiencing the Second Death if they regularly attend meetings and strictly follow Gary's instructions. The advertisement ends with a warning to never ask what is behind the door in the basement of the Clinic, probably because Gary doesn't want new cult members to blab about the Mother Demon's existence.

John walks down a staircase and comes across a poem written by Gary:

She consumed six little twigs

Only two were left to walk as husks

Go ahead, priest

Stare into the eyes of my mother

 
— Note #33: Poem for Miriam, Chapter III

John walks upward and sees a portrait of Miriam, a younger version of herself sometime before she had the Second Death ritual performed on her.

Garyland miriam portrait

This poem alone nearly confirms that Gary is Miriam's son and what happened to John and Lisa in the mid 50s. John and Lisa, along six other orphans, were captured by Miriam and potentially many other evil entities running amok in Snake Meadow Hill Church (the basement having an exit to the middle of a dense woodland, where there's a satanic symbol etched to the door, all suggests that the Church has been influenced by the cult long before any events occurred). Miriam intentionally turned all of these children into stick dolls, for some undisclosed reason, and John and Lisa were granted to escape with their lives.

On the surface, John and Lisa appear to be their normal selves, but with how often John horrifically transforms into a Wretch in his dreams, we can theorize that that's his real appearance; a botched version of a stick doll that was supposed to be dead all those years ago. They're alive now, but just husks of themselves. Until we get more information about whatever a stick doll is, what the Unseen World is, more history of Snake Meadow Hill Church, and concrete proof of Miriam's ultimatums, we'll never fully understand the meaning of this. Nobody else beyond this point mentions the Church.

John approaches the portrait and stares at it. Over time, the portrait subtly changes right in front of him and resembles some kind of demonic force taking over her:

MiriamPortrait

Once the portrait distorts for the fifth time, Miriam's elderly voice wails and freakishly long white arms grab the portrait.

Miriam portrait grab

The portrait somehow shrouds itself into a tunnel. John travels down the tunnels and comes across a statue of a woman holding somebody who's receiving the Second Death; it's a bastardization of the real-life Madonna della Pietà, a sculpture that depicts Mary holding Jesus Christ in her arms[125].

Garyland et mater statue

Purifying the statue causes another celebratory note to materialize. The note congratulates the reader that, if they're reading it, they've achieved Tier Two status as an acolyte of the cult. The note states that achieving Tier Two status drastically changes their life; it claims they will notice shadowy figures in the corner of rooms, feel losing time when holding sharp objects, emit a foul order that causes loved ones to turn away from them, no longer be trusted by animals, and have "ancient symbols written in blood" materialize on the floor and walls of their home. The note concludes that, as long as they're loyal to Gary, their journey towards becoming a vessel of the Second Death will grant and progress them to new knowledge and power. As a reminder, the reader is warned that irregularly attending meetings or failure to pay their tithes to the cult will result to their fingers being horribly bent backwards.

We can already see effects of this Tier Two status on John; satanic symbols were capable of materializing around him back in the New Haven Apartment Complex when the power shut down. We also saw this during the sequence where Michael broke off his chains and fled Father Garcia's basement. It's clear that John and Michael are somewhat involved or influenced by the cult. This note is not clear indication that John is an active acolyte or follower of the cult, but suggests the cult has been following him long before Chapter I.

The path to the right is a dead-end, so John walks to the left and comes across some kind of puzzle where he has to align chairs accordingly to three depictions of demons in the room above.

Garyland puzzle room
Garyland puzzle heads

In the midst of trying to solve it, Gary suddenly appears from behind a pillar, who's brandishing some kind of injection needle.

Garyland gary ambush

Gary acts fast and pricks John in the neck with the syringe.

GaryInjection

Initially confused, John stumbles for a bit and suddenly screams as the substance kicks in near-instantly.

JohnTrip

Whilst John seeps into his drug-induced trip, we're shown vivid imagery: a black spot on the sun, a black hat caught on a tree, etc. More importantly, we're shown a cinematic of a younger version of Miriam blankly staring at us in front of Snake Meadow Hill Church. If you look into the Church's windows, we see younger versions of John and Lisa staring out of the windows, including four other orphans.

CreepyChurch

After some more imagery, we're shown a flashback of John attempting to exorcise Amy in the attic back in 1986. This cinematic tie in to how John's nightmare abruptly ended when Amy was about to attack him in the attic before he drove to the Daycare Center.

Hallucination Scene7 Exorcism

Next we're shown a dead salmon frozen in a waterfall, and shortly thereafter we see two stick dolls (or Wretches, either/or) wiggling close to each other while maggots swarm them.

Effigies gif

After that, we see young versions of John and Lisa holding hands, tying back to the cinematic earlier of stick dolls wiggling close to each other.

YoungJohnAndLisa

The next significant cinematic is a glimpse of John seemingly bumbling around Garyland with his clothes off (it's hard to tell, but he's missing his priestly collar, and we see his collarbone). There's a white, wavery smile in front of his expressionless face.

RunningJohn

Shortly after seeing images of a dead king, an old man, and a skeleton, we're shown a door with an icon of an eye etched to it. This'll be important later.

Hallucination Scene17 EyeDoor

Out of nowhere, John stops running around and stands. He slowly raises his hands towards his face.

Hallucination Scene18 JohnHand

We're shown a flashback afterwards, where Amy crawls frantically like a spider whilst John attempts to exorcise her.

Hallucination Scene19 ExorcismCrawling

The screen switches back to a close-up of John. While he's holding his hands, Amy's hands slowly drift into scene and lingers over his forehead.

JohnCoverEyes

Interestingly, the screen cuts to the UNSPEAKABLE wiggling around. It looks more grotesque and realistic compared to Chapter II's appearance. It bellows a deep roar.

UNSPEAKABLEDOOR

We're quickly shown a pack of hounds killing a fox and a seagull suffering from a broken back. We're abruptly shown the words, "Now you are ready." in the bottom left of the screen.

Hallucination Scene24 RedWords

John's trip comes to an end, he slumps over and passes out. He experiences another nightmare of his first exorcism, where he has the option of either walking out of the front door or checking on Father Allred in the basement. For brevity's sake we're going to skip over this option and explain it in one of the endings. It's canonical that John decides to enter the basement to check on Father Allred, where he sees Amy toying with his body shortly before charging at him.

Ch 3 fl amy ambush

John jolts awake from his nightmare and stands up. A nearby gate had one of its bars pulled from the ground. John walks to the next room and comes across a massacre.

Thrall massacre

Unknowingly or not, John went on a violent rampage against an oncoming wave of thralls when he was injected by strange substance and butchered them all. One of the thralls was ripped in two, and their upper body is pinned to the wall from a broken piece of a gate part. The word "REPENT" is scribbled onto the wall from the blood of the thralls. Among the gutted and deceased, one of the thralls disemboweled is somehow still alive. John approaches and the thrall desperately tried to crawl away and pleads, "Please, no..." Shortly before succumbing to their injuries, they begrudgingly mutter, "The holy man..." and stops moving. John doesn't portray any emotion or reaction to this and presses onward. Even with the horrific actions he's either witnessed or committed himself (i.e. killing the traveling couple from Chapter II, his stoic behavior after killing Lisa from earlier, etc.) John barely says anything, probably because he's either numb to it or somehow believes they deserved it. It's clear that he holds a large disdain for cult members or anybody who's involved in anything Satanic considering the newspaper article in Chapter II. Judging by the word he wrote next to a decimated thrall; it all proves that he's performing these grisly actions in hopes that they can feel remorseful for their sinful ways. Of course, John keeps these violent thoughts to himself, and was partially brought forth into reality from the injection. We're going to explain why the injection caused all of this shortly. Exploring deeper within Garyland, John comes across a large statue resembling a bull or some other bovine creature. It's holding two pulley-systems where something could fit into it. There's a locked door in the middle of where it's stomach should be. John reads a description etched onto the door that essentially instructs the reader to place two artifacts into Moloch in order to open his navel/unlocking the door.

Moloch description

John walks around the statue and comes across the same statue portraying somebody experiencing the Second Death. If John purifies the statue, it'll materialize another celebratory announcement for Tier III acolytes. John takes the left corner and walks down a hallway. As he does so, he sees a portrait of an older version of Miriam sitting on a chair. He walks to the next room and passes some kind of creepy statue. At a dead-end lies an artifact to be placed into Moloch. John grabs it and, just as he's about to pass the creepy statue again, the screen loops, and the statue starts to split into three.

Creepy statue split

Although nobody is speaking, text is displayed at the bottom of the screen; "QUOD TU ESTIS, FUIMUS TALIA" and "QUOD SUMUS, ERITIS TU". This language is Latin, and it roughly translates to English to, "We were like what you are." and "What we are, you will be." Suddenly, the statues phase out of existence and a cultist appears in the middle of the room. In the midst of trying to exorcise the cult member, they violently twitch their heads, and they morph into some kind of fleshy mass. They frantically rush towards John's position and stretch their fleshy hands to capture him. John harrowingly avoids them and exorcises them, who promptly bursts into a splatter of blood when purified. If this cultist captures him, they chomp his upper body repeatedly and spits him out, killing him.

Plagas cultist screenshot

Walking down the hallway again, John comes across the same portrait, but this time Miriam is standing up. John decides to leave and re-enter the hallway to inspect the portrait; Miriam appears to have something exploding out of her, similar to how the Red Demon exploded out of her body shortly before John woke up from his nightmare in Chapter II.

Left Miriam Full Distortion

As John leaves the hallway, he hears something in the distance wailing and getting closer to him.

Unclean spirit screenshot

After a while, some kind of gigantic floating head appears from beyond the walls and makes a beeline towards him, growling and roaring in the process. In the midst of all this, we see inkblots occasionally flashing on the screen.

Inkblot screenshot

This head is named the Unclean Spirit in the game files, but it goes nameless otherwise. If the Unclean Spirit touches John, he's seemingly transported to a flashback of the time when he was a patient at Yale Psychiatric Institute a year ago. More importantly, it was the exact time when he was restrained in a straitjacket after seeping into a manic meltdown, probably because he was recounting events inside the Martin House to his psychiatrist, Dr. Spinel. As we can see, John frantically drew crucifixes on his padded walls.

Psych Room 1

The Unclean Spirit wails from beyond the walls and targets John whilst he struggles from his restraints. This time, the spirit is capable of killing him, and John has no other option but flee. Near the bottom right is a passage that leads him to some kind of boiling room. Satanic symbols faze in-and-out of existence on the ground that can temporarily trap him.

Psych Room 2

John avoids these and comes across a glowing exit door.

Psych Room 3

John walks through and he's transported back into Garyland. Eventually, he banishes the spirit, who emits a low growl and promptly disappears. We, the player, are shown the final seal disappearing over the entrance to the Crucible. Now nothing can stop anybody from entering the Crucible.

Crucible no symbol

The circumstance behind encountering this demon stands out among the others John has faced. Ultimately, it all certifies that John associates his time within Yale Psychiatric as demonic in nature, and it's only perpetuated when he recalls his time with Miriam when he was an orphan at Snake Meadow Hill Church all those years ago. The spirit only manifested when John continued staring at Miriam's portrait. The inkblots that occasionally flash throughout the screen are known as Rorschach Inkblots. They're a type of projective psychological assessment where a psychologist would showcase their patient or subject multiple inkblots of various degrees and patterns. The patient is tasked to describe what they see when looking at the inkblot. This is all done to interpret the patient's current mental state, reveal any potential mental disorders, and get an understanding on their general well-being. Since this test is so reliant on the patient's response, to the point where it leans more on subjectability than anything, this psychological assessment is rarely used for validity in our current age. It wouldn't be surprising that John was subjected to this assessment considering the series primarily takes place in the late 80s, which all ties to how John percepts his time within the institution as demonic. The Unclean Spirit can only directly harm and kill John if he's plunged into a highly emotional state, like the one time he was experiencing a manic episode inside the Institution; it otherwise doesn't hold real power in the real world. This event is the only credible evidence that John was restraint in a straitjacket; there is not any other note that confirms this happened, but the spirit randomly flashbacking John to an event such as this would be out-of-place.

Recalling back to this wiki's interpretation of Note #31 (the Color Puzzle Poem), the Unclean Spirit was a vessel for the Unholy Spirit. Its defeat caused the third and final seal hovering over the entrance to the Crucible to dissipate, just like the Mother Demon and Tiffany.

John presses onward and explores the upper section of Garyland. He comes across a strange room where two cultists are trapped in cages. They idily stand and don't react to his crucifix or presence at all. Nearby one of the cages is a lone table that somewhat resembles an operation table, creeping John enough to monologue to himself about how off-putting it is. In the middle of the room is a peculiar statue. Although the statue is never referenced at all in-game, it's file named as Magog (check its wiki page for more information and how it ties to the cultists ability to transport into fleshy abominations).

Cage room

Walking upward to the next room, there's a large mirror and vines steadily growing at the corners of the mirror if left unpurified by the crucifix. There's a reflection of the artifact but it's currently inaccessible. Without warning the Mirror Demon materializes and makes its grand appearance in the reflection.

Mirror demon ch3

Unlike its other encounters where it would sporadically teleport, the demon hounds John by slowly floating towards him. It can only be seen in the reflection, so John carefully attempts to exorcise it while the vines slow him down. If John gets too close to the demon, fanfare begins to play, the same fanfare played in the "Initiation" Ending of Chapter II. Eventually, John bests the demon. It garbles that it'll see him again and vanishes. Interestingly, it doesn't leave a psychiatric note, and the artifact is now accessible. John grabs the artifact and leaves.

Exploring the right area of the tunnels, there's another portrait of Miriam. This time, it's a younger version of her and she's looking back at Snake Meadow Hill Church. If John decides to look back at the portrait, it steadily distorts to the point where Miriam turned around to look at the viewer, revealing a bloody, gaping hole underneath her mask-like face. If John explored the right area first, the Unclean Spirit would've spawned here instead.

Right Miriam Full Distortion

Bypassing two cultists, John heads into the next room and reads a note, seemingly written by the freakishly tall cultist (Blind One) standing before him from the distance. It wrote that they want to play Red Light, Green Light. Upon doing so, he grabs an artifact and tries to walk away. As he does, a gray-silhouette version of the Pentarox appears, the same one that would've appeared if he performed one of the conditions to receive the UNSPEAKABLE's blessing back in Chapter II. Repelling this demon is futile, John avoids getting killed by the demon and the Blind One. Pentarox promptly disappears after he walks up a small staircase and the Blind One remains docile.

Blind one and pentarox

If we look back at all the enemies found throughout the area, it indicates that they all personally connect to John in some way or form. The Unclean Spirit's abrupt appearance and ties to Yale Psychiatric, the Mirror Demon, and now the Pentarox and Blind One. These last two only appeared in John's nightmare from Chapter II. We're unsure why they're here now, of all places, but we could guess that Gary strategically placed them there to keep John occupied while he prepares for the Profane Sabbath.

Now with all three artifacts in hand, John heads all the way back to the Moloch and places the artifacts in their respective place. Upon doing so, a loud voice booms, "MOLOCH IS PLEASED WITH THINE SACRIFICE!" and the door unlocks. John enters and walks down a flight of stairs. There's another announcement note for Tier IV acolytes and another note not too far, addressed to somebody named "Master of Spirits":

Master of Spirits,

The body of the Mother stayeth suspended beneath the Crucible of the Profane Sabbath.

If thou canst unlock the final secret of the Crucible, know ye this:

The cross hath the power to weaken the Mother, But only someone who is ablaze with purifying fire canst truly destroy Her.

If thou canst understand these words, thou shalt know the true cost of thy faith.

 
— Note #39: Master of Spirits, Chapter III

Before we interpret this, it's important to state here that this text is purple-colored, just like Note #31 (Color Puzzle Poem), meaning that they're written by the same person. At this point, its safe to assume that the name, "Master of Spirits", is a formal alias for John because this name reappeared in Chapter II Prologue, had red text (at least signifying that the writer was somebody within the cult/demonic), somewhat directly referring to John, and was instructional. In this context, the name could mean that John is an expert of handling with spirits considering that he can purify any possessed object or combat any demon with his crucifix. With process of elimination, the best candidate for the writer would be the UNSPEAKABLE. Amy nor her demon could not have written this since they're currently incapacitated in the Crucible. Additionally, it's unlikely her demon would give John advice and Amy doesn't use Shakespearean English. It cannot be Malphas since he never speaks a language in the series and every other character wouldn't have willingly try to help John defeating Miriam. The UNSPEAKABLE is our only option. This note implies that everything John, Father Garcia, and the cult have done up to this point has been orchestrated by this deity, because otherwise the reasoning as to why it would help John is unclear.

With this note in mind, John walks towards a dark passage.

Partake of the Dark

The harrowing darkness shrouds him as John meanders throughout corridors. If he's not quick with his feet and lingers in the darkness for too long, an unseen force kills him in the darkness. Eventually, John spots a lone lantern at a dead end. He picks it up and retraces his steps. As he does so, he's startled by an uncanny dark-gray dove with red eyes from behind a grid fence.

Bird scare 1

John continues to wander and he periodically comes across purple figures staring at him from behind grid fences. He's startled by another uncanny dove.

Bird scare 2

Just as John is about to walk down a dark hallway, another dove flies away from him, and a naked female cult member appears from where it flew and screeches. Her form looks unnatural; she snapped her own neck, twisted her torso, her stomach is missing, and she's capable of walking backwards to strike him. She's unusually speedy.

MalphasAcolyteApproach

A plethora of these cult members, who are file named as Malphas Acolytes, appear from seemingly nowhere and targets him. John flees by walking down a hallway and is seemingly teleported to the outskirts of a dark forest dotted with white trees and stick dolls.

John eventually comes across a door blocked off a door surrounded by satanic symbols; the same door briefly seen during his drug trip. To neutralize the symbols, he'll have to purify three triggers throughout the forest.

Nowhere door w seal

Some areas are blocked off by stick dolls, but John comes across a lonely shack among theme. He enters inside and stumbles upon a letter written by Gary, addressed to one of his colleagues named Jakob. Gary writes that he's happy to hear about his ventures in Pennsylvania, but declines the offer of joining him. He says that he's not too invested about dealing with, quote, "crumbling ghost towns nor government experiments nor the gibbering behemoths that lurk shamefully in the darkness between worlds." Gary continues that his delicate methods are right from the "source" and will showcase the true wrath of the Second Death and the Antichrist to the entire world. Gary concludes his letter with love and thanks Jakob for his gift; he plans to keep it nearby his private headquarters to ward off potential intruders. Next to the letter is a picture of Gary, Jakob (the brown-colored individual with bloody eyes), and unknown green person wearing a mask.

Jakob Gary GreenGuy

It's clear that this shack is owned by Gary, he likely creates plans and strategies within here. Jakob is the titular villan from the video game DUSK, confirming that FAITH and DUSK take place in the same universe. John exits the shack and nearly gets ambushed by a demonic creature. This creature, named Horror, originates from DUSK as well.

Horror ch3

John explores the area whilst getting swarmed by incoming Malphas Acolytes. When he eventually stumbles across a trigger, they resemble a Malphas Acolyte violently twitching their head. John purifies the trigger, causing it to stop moving, and removing one of the symbols surrounding the door from earlier.

Seal trig

John purifies the last two triggers, fully removing the symbols around the door. He retraces back to the door and opens the door with hesitation.

John is seemingly transported into a dark void. Thralls idly stare at him coldly and don't attack him. John walks upward and an unknown voice booms, who asks Joh to solve a riddle. Judging by the voice's mannerisms, it's Gary. He questions him on how to create a portal to Hell. As John walks upward, the thralls violently twitch their heads. Gary continues that, sometimes, it waits for the one who has already been through it, likely referencing how he had to reenter the horror that is the Clinic to encounter the Mother Demon. The thralls begin to abnormally contort their bodies. Gary says that, sometimes, it opens itself in the darkest room where nobody can find it, probably referencing how Tiffany secluded herself in the Unseen World back in the New Haven Apartment Complex. By this point, the thralls have conjoined into a fleshy mass. Lastly, Gary concludes that sometimes, the portal to Hell comes walking right up to you, likely inferring to the abrupt nature of the Unclean Spirit.

This riddle can be interpreted into different ways, one of ways as such as John's experience within Snake Meadow Hill Church, where he essentially entered the same place twice in Chapter II and Prologue, referencing the Basement Demon shrouding in a dark room, and how Miriam popped out of nowhere and shambled towards him in Chapter II.

The thralls surrounding him strangely disappeared. At long last, John sees the Martin Twins holding hands in the darkness.

Nate n jason ch 3


As he approaches them, something is wrong, and he becomes winded. He stops briefly to catch his breath and closes his eyes; blood protrudes from his eyes and mouth. John senses somebody looming behind him. He stands upright and opens his eyes. He turns around to face a cloaked man, Gary, gleefully smiling back at him. Now face-to-face, Gary respectfully greets him and remarks that he's glad to finally meet him in-person.

JohnMeetsGary

The screen fades to a flashback when John unknowingly made a deal with the White Entity in the Martin House back in 86'. The flashback ends when he staggers towards the paramedics and the police.

October 31st, 1987 (Ending II "A New Journey")

The time is 12:00A.M., it's the Profane Sabbath. Gary crosses his hands and introduces himself with his full name, Gary Miller. Thinking back to what the Mother Demon, Lisa, and Tiffany said a couple days ago, along with any other note he's been collecting throughout his journey, John puts the two together that Gary is the one who's behind the majority of his torment. Rightfully pissed off, he demands to know what's going on. Gary chuckles and removes his hood. Believing that he deserves some answers, Gary grants John three questions he can ask him about anything.

GaryUnhooded

Like stated, he can only ask three questions, and they're all pre-determined, but there's two prompts he can ask per question number. For brevity's sake, we're going to list all six questions and explain them:

  • Injection: John questions Gary about the injection needle he was pricked in the neck with from earlier. Gary chuckles and states that it was a gift to prepare his mind and body for the UNSPEAKABLE to enter/abuse, continuing that he could not withstand being near the entity without it. John makes a long face, disgruntled that he was forcibly pricked with such a substance. Gary points out his disappointment and concludes that he should be thanking him.
    • Even though there's a lot of evidence that John innately enjoys massacring people who he believes to be associated with satanic cults (or anything generally demonic), he wasn't fond of going on a violent rampage without any choice. This forced injection might've brought back trauma of his days within Yale Psychiatric Institute, where Dr. Spinel suggested of undergoing an in-vivo approach (prescribing medication via either injection or pills) so that John could come to terms with the truth back in 86'.
    • The injection gives insight that Gary has a secondary goal besides summoning the Antichrist via the Second Death; summon the UNSPEAKABLE by drugging the vessel, which partly explains why the injection was tested on patients back in the Clinic and how all the cult members (particularly thralls) are constantly high or in an altered state of mind. You can tell that they're high based off their wavery white smile and eyes, just like how John was looking during his drug trip.
  • Himself: John questions about Gary himself, and he chuckles. Gary responds that he's just a normal human being who grants the Second Death to his people (cult members) in order to prepare the world the summoning of the Antichrist.
    • This response only gives much-needed confirmation of the cult's goals. In John's P.O.V., there's no clear indication as to why all of these demonic events are happening throughout Connecticut.
GaryTransformed
  • Martin Twins: John asks Gary about the Martin Twins, and his face abnormally contorts. Gary mockingly responds that he knew deep down that the twins were nothing more than an illusion. However, he can't blame him, and continues that he couldn't resist hunting after lost/hurt souls. Gary concludes that John probably wished they were real, just like Cindy Martin, but ultimately knew that these illusions will lure John towards him.
    • This pivottable answer reveals that the Twins were fake. There wasn't a clear indication that they were real up to this point, not from John's P.O.V. at least. It confirms that Gary somehow indirectly misinformed John and Father Garcia to go on a wild goose chase while he prepares for the Profane Sabbath, potentially even including the twin's appearance in The Forest (Chapter I) and the many nightmares he endured (Chapter II and Prologue).
    • This callback to Cindy Martin indirectly indicates that this isn't the first time he's done something like this before. It's also a callback to Debbie and Timmy Williams back in the New Haven Apartment Complex.
    • Gary concluding that these illusions drew to John for some ulterior motive vaguely foreshadows a gameover screen if John loses the up-coming battle against him.
    • Currently it's a mystery as to how he was able to trick Garcia into believing the Twins were real.
  • Malphas: John asks Gary about Malphas, and his face abnormally contorts. Gary states that Malphas is another spirit who's preparing the Antichrist's summoning, where the pair of them will fulfill the Profane Sabbath. Gary settles John's worries and concludes that Malphas has already been summoned onto Earth. He mocks John since he thought he could prevent Malphas' arrival.
    • This question, and the prior regarding the Martin Twins, essentially rubs lemon juice in the wound by saying that John's journey up to here had been pointless. He, along with Father Garcia, were unable to prevent Malphas' summoning or locating the twins.
    • The remaining question is when and where Malphas was summoned. The only possible summoning location is Malphas' House, the inner sanctum deep within the Candy Tunnels seen back in Chapter II. It's the only place that connect to Malphas and John & Garcia failed to get the idea of finding that area in the real world.
GaryTransformed2
  • Amy: Gary's entire head contorts when John questions him about Amy. Gary responds that she was the perfect vessel/victim for the Second Death, but sulkily remarks that he came and screwed everything up. Gary concludes that he's firm that once John completes his journey/despair Amy will be his again.
    • Gary stating that John screwed up everything is confirmation that Chapter I's "When Faith Endures" Ending is canonical; John inadvertently caused Amy to take severe damage from leaping off the Martin House, to the point where nobody can use her for the Second Death.
    • Gary's vague threat about John completing his journey is foreshadowing a game over screen if he loses to him in an upcoming battle.
  • Second Death: Gary's entire head contorts when John asks about the Second Death. Gary chuckles that it's a simple procedure once the vessel/victim is prepared. First, the vessel's face is carved from a ritual knife and a living newborn is passed through the opening of the vessel's face. Then, they ("they" as in cult members) wait for a response from Hell. Gary whispers that this is how you create a portal to Hell.
    • This answer certifies the procedures of performing the Second Death. It loosely confirms as to Gary's ulterior motives of the Clinic, his obsession over Amy, and what he'll do to John in a game over screen.
GaryTransformed3

Gary's head reverts back to normal and gets irritated from all the pestering questions, saying that John has been in his way long enough. The screen cuts to the two in a secluded area with wiggling flesh in the background. Gary states that it's time for him to kneel/decay against the power of the UNSPEAKABLE and he'll make a fine sacrifice. The two engage.

En garde

Beyond throwing his trident and ramming towards him, Gary has the chance of summoning some kind of skeletal figure that slowly drifts down the room. The figure resembles a clown, which is interesting since John has coulrophobia, the fear of clowns. We only know this from Dr. Spinel's releasement note, listing coulrophobia as one of his existing mental conditions. A clown appearing here indicates that the cult was influencing Yale Psychiatric Institute, to some extent we're not sure of.

Gary's also capable of summoning his titular move, "Rain of Spiders", which visually look similar to stick dolls, The Wretch, and Tiffany after her demon was banished. He's also capable of summoning past foes, such as Michael, the Cornfield Maze Demon, and so on. He's also capable of summoning the Red Demon, which certifies that the Tutorial Section before we play Chapter I is canonical since we never see this demon anywhere else. Tiffany's Demon and her spidery form can be summoned as well. These past enemies are nothing more than apparitions, they cannot kill John, only knocking him down. All of this suggests that they're some sort of bad memory or trauma to him, which would make sense as to why Tiffany would show up twice; He was spooked from battling her demon and seeing her crawl towards hm like a spider.

If any of these moves hits John, he's knocked down to the ground and he accidentally drops his crucifix. If he doesn't retrieve his crucifix in time, Gary levitates towards him and the screen cuts to a close-up of John idly standing with a white sheet over his face. He slowly pulls it off, revealing a bloody, gaping hole where his face should be. His priestly collar is missing. John slightly tilts his head and a demonic hand with sharp nails grabs the screen, and we're shown the titular game over screen: MORTIS.

JohnVessel

"Mortis" is Latin for "Dead". This special game over cinematic alone certifies that the Second Death ritual does indeed kill the victim, even though they're capable of walking around and talking like what Amy and Miriam do. This cinematic is why Amy's date of death was roughly a week before Chapter I. Additionally, the demonic hand with sharp nails is a glimpse of the Antichrist. The hand that comes out of Amy's face looks humanistic, indicating that it's the sign of her demon possessing her (we'll go over this shortly). We're assuming that, as the Profane Sabbath draws near, the Antichrist is capable of making its presence known and interacting with other people on Earth while it's stuck in Hell.

After back-and-forth, Gary drops his trident and attempts to grab John's neck (or face). Suddenly, Gary recoils in pain as he's shot in the head and blood splatters everywhere.

GarciaShootsGary

Father Gracia pops into frame, tells John to not be afraid, and reloads his shotgun.

GarciaGunIdle

Garcia continuously reloads and fires at Gary's head several times before Gary ultimately escapes. Father Garcia properly introduces himself to John and remarks that it's good to finally meet each other. He tells him that they must act quickly to defeat the great evil and to not be afraid. The pair team up and enter the next room. They see a gigantic slab hovering over an entrance to somewhere below, The Crucible. Garcia explains to John that the room they're in is the entrance to the Crucible of the Profane Sabbath, the source of all demonic activity. He congratulates John that he was able to remove the seal covering the Crucible, the Unholy Trinity (remember, the Mother Demon, Tiffany, and the Unclean Spirit are all vessels for the actual Unholy Trinity) no longer has the power to block anyone from entering.

Crucible no seal screenshot

Garcia instructs John to jump down to the Crucible; incoming thralls and cultists are drawing near to prepare for the Profane Sabbath. John follows his orders as Garcia fends off the horde.

EnterCrucible

The Crucible

John somehow landed into a deteriorated version of the Martin House. The front door is locked, so he can't leave. The entire area is dark, so he uses his lantern from earlier. John can find notes scattered about that only say, "GARY LOVES YOU" and "GARY IS A NORMAL HUMAN BEING, JUST LIKE YOU AND ME". There's a note nearby the 2nd Floor staircase that enlists some kind of timeline, all but certifying that Gary is not a normal human being like everyone else:

MARCH 18, 1934

Miriam is ready. We will perform the ritual according to her instructions tonight.

MARCH 19, 1934

We successfully gave the Second Death to Miriam. We have been passing living newborns through the newly-made Portal as quickly as we can get them. So far there has been no response from the other side.

MARCH 23, 1934

After several days of sacrifices, we finally got a response. A tiny hand reached out from the Portal. We took the hand and pulled out a baby boy. It appears to be a normal human baby just like you and me. We named it Gary.

 
— Note #41: Timeline of Miriam, Chapter III

Interestingly, John cannot enter the Martin Twins' room at all, signifying that this entire house is another figment of his imagination. John takes the staircase to the attic, and the screen cuts to a monster kneeling in front of an immobile Miriam. When the monster speaks, it has Gary's voice, so he apparently transformed into his true form after getting shot in the head. John approaches and Gary presents his mother, stating that her body could not withstand becoming the Unholy Trinity (i.e., performing the Second Death ritual on herself twice, recall the Second Death ritual marking found in Malphas' House back in Chapter II). He continues that, after so many years, he found the perfect vessel to take the honor of becoming the Unholy Trinity (Amy), but sulkily remarks that they know how that turned out (Chapter I's "When Faith Endures" Ending).

Gary becomes irritated and says that John has been pursuing him long enough and only one of them will escape alive. He continues that he'll be the first to witness the Profane Sabbath, and to be consumed by it. Before doing so, Gary lets him in on a secret and turns around, "GARY DOES NOT LOVE YOU."

Gary turns around

Gary crawls towards John and occasionally dashes. Satanic symbols manifest out of there and can temporarily trap John from moving. After some fighting, Malphas's spirit slowly drifts into the room and becomes flesh. He flies and lands into select corners of the room and throws three trowels to kill John.

Malphas assists

Despite of everything, the pair cannot withstand his crucifix. In a last-ditch effort, Malphas and Gary become spirits and possesses Miriam's body. She howls in pain as her body contorts into an amalgamation of the two, file named as Super Miriam.

Super miriam battle

Her plethora of attacks ranges from enclosing a circle of fire around John, hurling spinning skulls, throwing trowels, and ramming towards him. In the midst of the fight, John regains his withering faith as he survives seemingly mortal blows.

JohnChance GodMode

However, he cannot outlive forever, and can succumb to his injuries after getting hit for the eleventh time.

JohnChanceSkull

After enough purification, Gary and Malphas' spirits briefly separate from Miriam's body.

Miriam seperated

Recalling a note back in Garyland, John ablazes himself from a nearby torch and transmits the flame onto Miriam's body.

Miriam burns malphas disintegrates gary kneels

Miriam screams in pain as she burns to ash. Gary reverts back to his human form and kneels in defeat. Malphas' spirit shrieks as he disintegrates into nothingness. Remember, Miriam is the ancient source of all demonic activity in Connecticut. With her death, Malphas cannot remain on Earth and Gary is not empowered by her anymore. It's likely that all demons meandering throughout Connecticut, like the Cornfield Maze Demon for example since John never truly explores Snake Meadow Hill Church, disintegrate and turn into nothingness since they were likely summoned by her as well. When Malphas ceases to exist, Miriam explodes into a gory mess and her blood trickles everywhere like rain.

Miriamexplosion

Now covered in blood, John blankly stares and becomes speechless as he sees Amy levitating from beyond the darkness. Gary staggers towards her and mutters something in Latin about how she's his and he can finally complete his Profane Trinity. Gary raises his arms to embrace Amy's presence, but suddenly, a demonic hand with sharp nails emerges from her face and grabs his.

AmyKillsGary

Gary's eyes widen in shock. Amy (probably the Antichrist) calls him a failure.

GaryFace

Amy screeches as tentacles emerge from her face and drag Gary back into the portal to Hell.

AmySucksGaryBackToHelll

Deviating from John for a bit, it's important to distinguish the details in the hand emerging from Amy's face. If it has sharp nails and looks more demonic, it's the Antichrist. If it looks human, it's Amy's Demon, which, in turn, is probably a manifestation of the UNSPEAKABLE. Gary has been letting the Antichrist down time and time again, but inadvertently letting Miriam die was the final straw. Although Gary was dragged back to Hell, he's still alive, but he'll have to be reborn again if he wishes to retry his search for a Second Death vessel.

Now that Gary's gone, Amy drifts downward towards John and her face reverts back to normal. John apologizes that he couldn't save her. Amy says that it's ok and that "they" (Gary and his cult members) can't hurt her anymore. She applauds him on his braveness and says that he can finish what he started. Miriam's blood ceases to trickle down, and John raises his crucifix to finish his year-long exorcism prayer (remember, Bob and Cindy inadvertently interrupted John from completing his prayer back in 86', which potentially kickstarted the entire series from ever happening). When he's done, Amy's Demon is banished and only her skeleton remains.

Ch iii bones

Remember the special game over screen from earlier, the Second Death ritual kills the vessel, so Amy has been a zombie of sorts all the way until now.

John stands victoriously and says "Amen".

JohnAmen

His crucifix reverted back to its vibrant, golden color. Completing the exorcism and letting her soul rest has been lingering in his mind for over a year, along getting hounded by the cult after attempting to exorcise her back in Chapter I, but now he was finally able to complete his goal. His faith in God and himself boosted back to how he was, maybe a little more, than how he was feeling a little over a month ago (Chapter I).

The screen fades to John and Father Garcia stumbling out of the Daycare Center. They trample over the bodies of police officers and thralls. We can assume that, while John was experiencing his drug trip back inside Garyland, a horde of thralls ambushed the officers, but there were no survivors.

Daycare dead cops n thralls

The duo recollects on what they've been through at John's vehicle. Garcia questions him if he's done it. John replies that he did, remarking that what he encountered down there was truly unspeakable, but he destroyed the evil with the help of the Lord. Garcia corrects him, stating that the UNSPEAKABLE is still out there even though he vanquished a powerful demon and disrupted the Profane Sabbath. Miriam's blood on John's body is slowly washed off from the rain.

Ending ii chitchat

Garcia congratulates him on how much he's grown. Before he requests that he needs spiritual warriors, Lisa suddenly interrupts and walks into frame. John asks why she's here, but Lisa ignores his question, begging him not to go and that he doesn't have to keep fighting. She suggests that they can leave the area and live the rest of their lives together. At this point, John is hesitant on his decision and tells her that he needs time to answer all of his unanswered questions, or he'll be restless. Lisa replies that they can figure it out together.

With all this, John has an option of either sticking with Lisa or pairing up with Father Garcia.

LisaStand
GarciaIdle
Choosing Lisa

John and Lisa embrace each other, and he says that he trusts her. The two leave in his car and drive off to an unknown destination. Judging by another ending that we'll see soon, Father Garcia accepts John's choice and lets him leave with Lisa.

JohnLisaHands

Although this is heart-warming since John emotionally opened up to somebody, this choice might be a repeat of Molly's case. Molly left because she couldn't stand John's sharp mental decline where he started to believe that Amy is still possessed and that only he can exorcise her. Even though Lisa is more understanding since the two have known each other for a long time, the UNSPEAKABLE still lingers and is very capable of mentally breaking down John to further separate him and his loved ones. As of now, we don't know if this choice is canonical.

Choosing Father Garcia

John and Father Garcia grip hands in compliance. Gearing up, John feels empowered to take on demons, and ditches Lisa behind. The two drive in his car to an unknown destination.

GarciaGrip

This is the best possible outcome for John. Having an ally to hunt down unanswered questions is the best-case scenario. Despite defeating Gary and his Unholy Trinity, John is not mentally all-there and will likely relapse when the UNSPEAKABLE starts to formulate its next plan to get into John's head. At least when it does inevitably happen, he has somebody who's experienced in battling with evil. As of now, we don't know if this choice is canonical.

October 31st, 1987 (Ending I "A New Purpose")

You get this ending if John failed to locate and defeat either the Mother Demon, Tiffany, or the Unclean Spirit.

Venturing to the entrance of the Crucible with Father Garcia, a gigantic satanic seal blocks the entrance. Garcia introduces John to the entrance of the Crucible and frustratingly wonders what they missed in their journey to cause the seal to stay up. Now they have no way to chase after Gary and defeat him. Regardless, Garcia instructs John to somehow find another way to temporarily block the entrance since demons are capable of coming through from there. While he fends off against an incoming wave of cult members, John has no choice but to purify the gigantic, floating slab. The slab crashes down to the ground once purified, and it blocks the entrance.

Ending i seal

The screen fades to Father Garcia and John trampling over police officers and thralls outside the Daycare Center. The two rest at Garcia's car and John solemnly sit down.

Ending i sit

Garcia lights a cigarette to decompress and congratulates John for sealing up the demonic force. John asks if it's over, but Garcia replies that Gary and his Unholy Trinity were not truly defeated, so sooner or later they will return. He swears to go to war against the UNSPEAKABLE until Gary and his cult followers strikes back. Garcia continues and requests John that he needs spiritual warriors like him to do the deed. John has a lot on his mind and decides to open up to him. John recounts that, a year ago, he saw the Devil (White Entity) and was tricked by him. He becomes overwhelmed and says that he's not sure if he'll ever be freed of Amy nor if his faith will be as strong as before.

Garcia tries to cheer him up and replies that he doesn't think that's true, continuing that since he knows the Devil is real, then the Lord is real as well. He concludes that true faith looks forwards, not backwards. Garcia gears up and states that his journey is just beginning, and he'll be his teacher. Now confidently boosted, John stands up and the duo shake their hands in compliance.

GarciaShake

Garcia drives John to an unknown destination.

It's not the best possible outcome, Gary and the vessels of the Unholy Trinity (Mother Demon, Tiffany, Unclean Spirit) are still at large, but John at the very least has an ally who attempted to understand his fears, unlike Molly. Oddly, Lisa doesn't show up at all here. We can assume that's because Lisa doesn't recognize Garcia's vehicle and wouldn't stand around it, but would linger around John's. It's likely that she's waiting for John near his sedan, but doesn't know that he's long gone.

Bad Variant

You can achieve a unique variant of Ending I if, either, John never explored New Haven Apartment Complex, accidentally killed Lisa, or never ventured downstairs to check on Father Allred in a nightmare (specifically, the nightmare John experiences right after slumping over from the injection's effects in Garyland.)

In the nightmare, John's capable of exiting the Martin House after walking out of the attic. Shortly before he steps out the front door, he stops and realizes something is right behind him. He fearfully turns his head around him.

JohnTurn

John sees Amy giving him a sly look nearby a light switch. Her mouth unnaturally elongates as a human arm emerges from it and promptly switches the light switch off.

AmyTurnOffLights

Cutting back to the entrance of the Crucible, a seal blocks the entrance. John purifies the floating slab above it, causing the object to crash, and blocking entrance within. Father Garcia and John trample over dead bodies outside of the Daycare Center and reconcile at Garcia's vehicle.

Garcia congratulates John for sealing up the demonic force. John questions if it's all over, and Garcia replies that Gary and his Unholy Trinity were not truly defeated, so they'll return sooner or later. He continues that, until they return, he promises to go to war against the UNSPEAKABLE. Garcia requests John that he needs spiritual warriors like him to do the deed. John has a lot on his mind as to what he's been through; he interrupts Garcia from speaking and stands up. He shamelessly tells him that he's probably not the one he's looking for.

John stands up

John continues that he feels weak and has done some horrible things. He says that he needs some time to compress everything out. Pissed off at his cowardice, Garcia spits & stamps out his cigarette and says that it wasn't a request. He reloads his shotgun and aims directly at his neck.

GarciaPissed

The screen zooms to Garcia's crazed look. He demands John to enter his car.

GetInTheCar

John is forced at gunpoint to Garcia's car, and Garcia drives off to an unknown destination.

Ultimately, Father Garcia is nothing more than a complete stranger. His intentions are vague at best and criminal at worst. He's held Michael captive for months under dubious reasonings that he was possessed, his sudden knowledge of who the Martin Twins, Amy, and the cult are, and how he was able of gaining access to the foster care system, a private database. Although he fights for good, he's fine with performing unethical practices to get his way. With this ending in mind, it implicates that Garcia intentionally let John leave with Lisa in Ending II. He's fine with letting John do whatever he wants, but highly disdains cowardice, especially considering how much John has untapped potential.

It's understandable that John would coward-out if he never explored the New Haven Apartment Complex or unintentionally killed Lisa, he's known her for years and doomed her if he never bothered to rescue her. We're going to investigate the peculiarity of never checking on Father Allred in the nightmare sequence. Getting this ending without checking on Allred certifies that John treats every nightmare he's experienced as factual, despite his memory being hazy on some attributes (i.e. cannot explore the Martin Twin's basement, the Snake Meadow Hill Church drawing, and so on). The key detail that he does remember, however, is the light cutting off and becoming vulnerable in the darkness, hence why we're shown a cinematic of Amy flicking off a light switch despite never actually doing so. In this ending, John believes that he was too scared to check on Father Allred's condition in the basement, and the guilt weighed too much since he probably would've had a chance of saving him if he secured determination.

Despite of everything, it doesn't explain whether or not John encountered the White Entity in the basement or in the foyer. Ending III clarifies this.

October 30th, 1987 (Ending III "A New Vessel")

You get Ending III by never exploring the Daycare Center on October 30th and hopping back in the car to return home. Defeating the Mother Demon and Tiffany does not negate achieving this ending, cementing the fact that everything up to investigating the Daycare Center was pointless (but important in the grand scheme of things).

John hops into his sedan and speeds off towards the Daycare Center on this date. He pulls over to the side of the road once he hears a cop car blaring their sirens. The officer zooms past his car, causing John to hop out and figure out what's all the commotion.

Even though he was instructed to investigate the building, his increasing paranoia of demonic activities throughout Connecticut gets the better of him. John doesn't bother exploring the Daycare Center; he hurriedly jumps back into his sedan and speeds back home to sleep. He experiences another recurring nightmare of his first exorcism, where he has the option of either checking on Father Allred or walking out the front door.

Although we're not shown this, behind the scenes, we can assume that Gary is left completely-scot free to do anything he wants without opposition. The thralls that were supposed to be butchered by John's drug-induced rampage are alive; they overpowered the officers stationed outside the Daycare Center and are running amok. It's best to assume that Father Garcia was overwhelmed as well and killed among the chaos while he was attempting to navigate Garyland. The same likely applies to Lisa as well; she was around the area just like in Ending II.

When John wakes up, he'll find out that he's hopelessly surrounded and it's all his fault.

October 31st, 1987 (Ending III "A New Vessel")

It's midnight; today's the Profane Sabbath. John jolts awake from his nightmare in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. The crucifix behind him is inverted.

WakeupInverted

John hops out of bed and the atmosphere in his house feels sinister. Although he has the crucifix is on him, he doesn't feel inclined to use it. Ominous thunder rolls in the background. As he glares at his bedroom window, he sees a silhouette of Amy floating by when thunder rolls. John comes into a realization and knows that his time is running out; the cult effectively has him surrounded and his death is imminent. John strolls to a locked door covered in crucifixes; the filling room where he stores any psychiatric notes from Yale Psychiatric. He thinks to himself that he needs to go inside one last time, and the key is in the basement to unlock it.

John hears knocking at his front door and decides to look into the peephole to survey his surroundings:

Ending iii thralls

John slowly backs away from the front door, but thralls break into his window and a plethora of them enter inside. They all stand around the front door and erratically twitch their heads, but they'll shank him if he gets too close.

Thralls break in

John shambles to the kitchen and walks down to the basement. He picks up the key behind a pillar, but some kind of centipede-looking demonic creature barrels down the flight of stairs and attempts to gnaw on him.

Centipede screenshot

John narrowly flees and walks upstairs; the creature oddly doesn't pursuit him. The backyard door is mysteriously open. If he decides to walk outside, he'll spot thralls twitching their heads and standing around a hole they made at his backyard. They attack him if he approaches.

Johns backyard

This hole visually looks similar to the same hole the Peekaboo Demon made back in the Candy Tunnels and New Haven Apartment Complex, so apparently the creature was summoned while John was sleeping.

John returns to his sitting room and the thralls are gone. If he decides to walk outside, he'll see thralls celebrating around his ablaze vehicle, restricting access from driving away.

John car fire ch3

If he peers through his neighbor's windows, he'll see a child eerily widening their mouth and blankly staring at him. There are corpses in the background, presumably the child's parents.

Ending iii kid

In the other house, two of the children are missing, and the parents hung themselves (or their children hanged them). All of this proves that Gary has taken over John's Neighborhood and there's no way to prevent his demonic influence.

Ending iii noose

With key in hand, John opens the door covered in crucifixes. One section of the room looks relatively normal, there's filing cabinets but one of them is knocked over to its side. It seems like John was inside the room recently because a psychiatric note is haphazardly left on the floor; his Initial Patient Consultation written by Dr. Spinel. If John was here recently, then it would explain why John's releasement note from Dr. Spinel was lazily left behind in his kitchen in Chapter II.

The end of the filing room doesn't look right; it's resembling the Martin House's attic. Amy, who's lacking her signature Second Death gaping hole, is standing in silence with hollow eyes. The area surrounding her looks deteriorated and the attic window is hastily drawn on in blood, giving indication that this portion of the room is nothing more than an illusion.

Filing room interior

Unfortunately, John either falls or accepts the illusion and kneels to her.

JohnKneels

John desperately asks her what do "they" (thralls/cult members in general) want from him and why she's tormenting him like this. Amy, notably, doesn't twitch and stands still. John continues that he doesn't know how she ended up in here. Before John can plead for this nightmare to end (he thinks that this entire sequence is a nightmare, which is something we'll try to analyze soon), Amy cuts him off and a human hand emerges from her mouth to grab his face.

AmyGrabsJohn

Amy screams at him, "UNFORGIVABLE".

The screen fades to John stranded in The Forest. He sees a clearing in front of him. If he attempts to walk away from the intended path, he thinks to himself, "I walked. I walked until I could walk no more." Walking around a well, he glimpses Michael scurrying away.

Michael Scurrying Ending 3

John follows him, and at the end of the clearing lies a dilapidated version of the Martin House.

Ch 3 ending 3 house

Seeing the house right in front of him puts him in an emotionally vulnerable state. The majority of his depression and anxiety throughout the month has culminated to this point, remembering how he failed Amy for the second time, inadvertently causing Michael's death, the severity of his vivid nightmares, and everything else in-between. He feels obligated to enter inside, so he does.

The interior of the Martin House is identical to the one we see in the Crucible, the only exception being that it's not dark. John becomes hopelessly depressed and recounts events of his first exorcism as he explores the rest of the house. Looking at where the family portrait used to be, he claims that everything changed once he went inside the house. Strolling into the master bedroom, John looms at the broken mirror and thinks to himself that they shouldn't have deserved it; rather, it should've been him.

If John approaches the flight of stairs leading to the basement, he thinks to himself that it's the entrance to the abyss. Notably, John can walk down to where the exorcism initially began and thinks to himself that this is where he met the Devil (White Entity).

Ch 3 ending 3 metdevil

If John investigates Amy's bed in her bedroom, he thinks to himself that she should've had a normal childhood and he should've saved her. Approaching the entrance to the attic, John questions himself as to why he ever entered the attic in the first place and that he should've left and never come back.

John enters the attic and comes across a letter written by Dr. Morris and addressed for Bob Martin. Dr. Morris had been worried lately about Cindy's condition and explains to him as to what's going on, even though he knows its breaking patient confidentiality. He continues that Cindy's delusions are noticeably worsening, even though he thought he made progress with her ever since she understood the truth that she miscarried her twin boys and are gone. Lately, she's been convinced that she's capable of finding "replacements" for her sons' spirits to inhabit. Freaked out from a topic like this, Dr. Morris questions Bob if "replacements" sound familiar and if he ever mentioned it to her, especially since they heard something like that in a house in Nicaragua whilst doing missionary work. Dr. Morris concludes that they need to arrange a meeting as soon as he can regarding his wife's mental conditions.

Despite reading that letter, all but confirming that the Martin Twins never existed, his wallowing guilt persists. If he investigates the attic window, he notably makes an observation to himself that it's not broken. We'll go over this outlier soon.

Now, with all rooms thoroughly investigated, John decides to enter the Martin Twins' room. The entire room is desolate, save for a lone insignia of the UNSPEAKABLE etched on the floor and two weathered mannequins next to each other. Drawing near, John mentally breaks down and kneels to them. With everything that he's recollected, seeing the mannequins was a breaking point since they're supposed to represent the Martin Twins. He doesn't know that the twins never existed, or willingly chooses to believe that they're still around if he ever read Dr. Morris' letter.

Emotionally defeated, John raises his hands in submission. Michael and Amy, who notably has her Second Death gaping hole, manifest from nowhere and restrains him by the arms steadily. John doesn't fight back or resist.

SPOILER spr CINE CH3E3 JohnGiveUp 0

Eventually, everything and everybody in the room slowly vanishes. Willingly continuing to kneel, a demonic hand with sharp nails emerges from the darkness and grabs John. It then shrouds back into darkness.

RedArmGrab

As soon as the hand disappears, the screen suddenly cuts to outside. The Martin House disappeared, along with everything else inside, including John. We're shown the words "Damnatio Memoriae", and the series ends.

Ch 3 ending 3 housegone

Speculation

All in all, this ending is the most cryptic compared to everything in the series. We'll try to piece together what's happening in this ending, but since it's so open-ended, there's a lot of interpretation and anything is fair game. The speculation here is more than likely inaccurate, especially if we ever get a proper explanation. Feel free to skip this, it's all ramblings.

Regarding John's quote about how the attic window is now broken, it's probably referring to how Amy is still currently in the house, which means that she's waiting for him to enter the Martin Twin's room. Using this quote as evidence that Chapter I never occurred because Amy never leaped from the window is inaccurate. If that were the case, then that would mean Gary and his cult would have no real purpose of targeting John to the extent that they did in Chapter II and III, especially considering how John was living in his house doing nothing for nearly a year. That would mean that they can still use Amy for the Second Death whenever they want. Chapter I's "When Faith Endures" Ending is the most pivotable ending in the series, since it paves way to all the chapters.

Secondly, regarding John's quote about meeting the Devil in the basement, it certifies that John truly encountered the White Entity in the basement after Amy tried ambushing him once she was done toying with Father Allred's corpse. This would mean that John did not walk out the front door.

With these two out of the way, here's a rough interpretation of what's going on in this ending: John killed himself in his storage room. It probably wasn't his initial intention and wanted to review his psychiatric notes for one last time, but he was goaded into doing so by flashbacking to the Martin House. Throughout the series, anytime John winds across a psychiatric note, it potentially indicates that his mentality is at an all-time low and what he's about to see probably isn't there. This would explain why Amy would appear from nowhere in his room and why John would seem to be surprised to see her standing there. We could assume that her sudden-appearance is one of the many influences of the UNSPEAKABLE, which we can back up regarding how John's crucifix is inverted on top of his bed.

It's important to point out here that Amy did not have a Second Death gaping hole when she grabbed John, which means that John recollected about his first exorcism and how much it has greatly affected him. This explains why Amy shouts, "UNFORGIVABLE" when she grabs him; John believes failing her is his biggest sin.

John's suicidal thoughts begin to seep in as he recounts certain events of his first exorcism whilst exploring the decrepit Martin House, especially regarding his thought about how he should've died instead of Amy's parents. Although he could've gotten confirmation that the Martin Twins never existed if he read Dr. Morris' letter in the attic, John's mind is too far into the gutter and still feels inclined that everything that happened to the Martin Family is his fault. This is further cemented to the fact that John kneels and submits to two mannequins in the Martin Twin's bedroom that's supposed to represent the twin boys.

When Amy, with her Second Death gaping hole, and Michael appear to hold John steady, they can represent the overall events of Chapter I. John felt like a basket case after failing to exorcise Amy for the second time and inadvertently killing Michael. It's unclear if he truly knew about Michael's backstory, but his inclusion here never-the-less confirms that he at least feels some form of guilt. His perception of the Martin Twins, the first exorcism, and the second exorcism becomes too much for him and mentally breaks him, thus causing him to willingly kneel.

The red hand that grabs & drags John into nothingness notably has sharp nails, potentially indicating that this is the Antichrist. Considering how the Martin House vanishes into thin air and John has no chance of escaping his neighborhood (i.e. Thralls are running amok, his neighbors are demonically influenced, his vehicle is destroyed), his willingness to be grabbed by the Antichrist could indicate that he was damned to Hell. If that's the case, then it could mean that he inevitably killed himself in his storage room and he's promptly taken into Hell, along with the entire Martin House as a figurative device of tormenting him. This would line up with this route's alternative title, Damnatio Memoriae, "Damnation of Memory" when translated into English. Since the thralls are burning his sedan, they'll probably burn his house and all of his belongings. If John's truly transported into Hell, and his entire house is burning, its rest assured that there would be little to no trace of his history or what he's done in life.

Generally, Christianity views taking your own life as a great sin because you're taking somebody's life, which is your own, and this action is forbidden in the Ten Commandments. Taking this into consideration, if the Antichrist was capable of grabbing John whenever it wanted, why couldn't it have done so in the real world? Such as, say, in his house, one of the many locations in Connecticut, or even in his dreams? Why did it stall until John was absolutely kicked down to the lowest he has ever been? We're unsure of what's truly in the storage room considering that Amy and the Martin House's attic window is nothing more than an illusion. There very well could be something in there that John used to take his own life.

With an act such as this, it would line up with John's history, personality, and grueling journey all the way up to this point and would be a somber conclusion to the series. However, there's one key detail that throws a wrench in this; this entire route is called "Ending III: A New Vessel". With this title in mind, it would mean that the thralls inevitably surrounded John and Gary restrained him long enough to either perform the Second Death or inject him to be susceptible to the UNSPEAKABLE's possession. This doesn't entirely explain why any cult member would actively attempt to kill John if they need him alive whilst performing any of these rituals. It could be a scenario where John would be wanted by the cult either dead to be out of the picture or alive to be a vessel for any of the two mentioned above. With this in mind, it doesn't properly explained why or where he was dragged off to be the red, demonic hand.

Again, this route is up to wide interpretation and can be precepted into anything. Take everything stated above with a grain of salt. It's best to come up with your own interpretations.

October 31st, 1987 ("No Demons World" Mode)

Version 1.4 of Faith: The Unholy Trinity introduces "No Demons World" Mode (abbreviated as "NDW" in the game files), which can be accessible once you're capable of disabling "Demons" in the settings of the home screen. "Demons" are automatically enabled and cannot be disabled once you boot up the game. You only have the capability of disabling demons if you complete Marathon Mode (the combination of Chapter I, II ((not including Prologue)), and III in one sitting/no saving) without dying once whilst getting every best ending in every Chapter.

In an alternate world, where demons never existed, John wakes up from his bed and proceeds to have a regular Saturday morning.

Cat ears

Lisa's sleeping in his bed, so it's best to assume they're partners in some way. John lacks his signature priestly collar and walks a lot faster than how he usually is. This alternative world is nothing more than a glimpse as to what kind of person John would be if he never intertwined with Miriam or anything demonic. He's more confident, not as anxiety ridden as he usually is, and generally more sociable.

We get confirmation that this alternate world takes place on a Saturday because John talks to himself that it's a Saturday and he'll shower later when he approaches his bathroom. Since October 31st, 1987 takes place on a Saturday, it's best to say this world takes place on this date.

Interestingly, there's no storage room door. We could interpret this absence as John had no need of building an entire room primarily to keep psychiatric notes, and simply never did so in this world.

NDW Hallway

Generally, this alternative world doesn't have much going on for it. John can run into Father Garcia walking his dog, see the traveling couple drive by in their pickup truck (the same couple that can be butchered in Chapter II, cementing the fact that they're at least real beyond this alternative world), two kids playing catch, a neighbor mowing their lawn, and a jogger running on the sidewalk. Interestingly, this jogger is the same person that Michael horrifically butchered and partially eaten in Chapter II Prelude (you can tell because they both share the exact same color).

October 31st, 1988 (Survival Mode)

Version 1.4 of Faith: The Unholy Trinity introduces Survival Mode. According to an announcement video of Version 1.4 released by Airdorf[126], this mode takes place an entire year after John fought against Gary and his Unholy Trinity (Amy, Miriam, Malphas), which confirms that one of the routes in Ending II is canonical. Due to certain layouts and circumstances (i.e. the institution being much larger than what it looks, enemies reappearing, etc.), this entire mode is nothing more than another nightmare sequence for John, where he gets to relive encounters against every demonic entity he came across throughout the entire series within Yale Psychiatric Institute, starting within the outskirts of the institution against Michael and climaxing against Super Miriam in the basement of the institution.

Once John finishes Super Miriam, he walks towards a glowing exit door, the same bright door that can be seen if the Unclean Spirit touched him back in Garyland. John staggers towards the door and the nightmare seemingly ends there.

Survived

The only remarkable detail to point out here is blue messages written on the walls in an area against the Basement Demon. In the first encounter you encounter it, like how you would in Chapter II Prologue, the words, "don't you remember" are scribbled in blue on the wall. It's difficult to see this in-game because the entire room is pitch black, so here's the room brighten up:

Surv Mode Bsmt Demon Prologue

In the next encounter, like how you would battle against the demon in the Candle Tunnels of Chapter II, you'll see the words, "little husk" scribbled on the wall in blue marker:

Surv Mode Bsmt Demon II

For starters, it's significant that these messages are written in John's blue color, just like the blue crucifixes he frantically drew in his padlocked cell within Yale Psychiatric Institute (which we see if the Unclean Spirit touches him). Beyond further cementing the fact that Survival Mode is nothing more than a nightmare sequence, "little husk" potentially indicates that the Basement Demon was somewhat involved with John when he was an orphan at Snake Meadow Hill Church. To the extent of this is unknown, but this would partially explain why the demon would show up in both Chapter II and its Prologue; it could've played a part in turning John and Lisa into wretches.

Conclusion

As of writing this, February 16th, 2024, Chapter IV has yet to be released. Everything in this page is based off of Chapter I, II, Prologue, and III. Expect shifts in narrative, history, and chronology once Chapter IV inevitably releases.

Quotes

This was a list of all the words John have said in the series, but I took consideration from a few commenters on this page and decided to relocate this tab to a new wiki page. Scrolling through John's page is hard enough with his Biography page but it's too important to start deleting certain sentences since it'll ruin the flow. Besides, John's a "Chatty-Cathy" in Chapter III and there were way too many sub-headings. Click here for John's Quotes.

Trivia

  • John's voice was made with S.A.M., an '80s text-to-speech voice engine that was used on Atari game consoles, MS-DOS games, and Apple II computers, just like most of the other characters.
    • Check out this wiki page, Voice Settings, if you want to get a recreation of John's voice, among other characters. Unfortunately, some characters uses other voice effects that we currently don't know about, so it's not 100% accurate.
  • In the alpha version of Chapter I, John used to say "Mortem" instead of "Mortis" whenever he's killed[127].
  • The ending note in Chapter I's "The Hunter" Ending reveals that John drives a silver sedan.
    • Additionally, the last sentence of the note where the article states that the driver was only able to carry 25lbs. of deer meat is a reference to how the player would collect meat in the Apple II version of The Oregon Trail[128].
    • John's vehicle seems to resemble a 1986 Ford Escort RS Turbo.
Ford
  • Sometime when FAITH: Deluxe Edition (a "Collector's Edition" of Chapter I) got released in 2017, Airdorf posted a picture of John smiling nearby the Martin House on the GameJolt website for April Fools. Unknowingly, Michael creeps up to him in the background. Unfortunately, with The Unholy Trinity's release in October of 2022, all websites where you can buy Chapter I and II were permanently removed, including this image. The image technically would've been lost for good (unless Airdorf kept a copy of it somewhere).
    • The way John and Michael are posing is more than likely a reference to a 2017 meme where actor Jason Momoa tries to sneak up on another actor named Henry Cavill during the premiere of Suicide Squad (2016). Shoutouts to berT the almighty from the FAITH Fan Discord Server for pointing this out.
D3FS10CWwAAICcN
Jason Momoa Sneaks Up on Henry Cavill
  • The first time we see John in detail in-game is when he smiles to himself in a mirror in Chapter II.
    • Since we're able to see John in more detail for the first time, he visually looks similar to Jason Miller, the actor who plays Father Damien Karras in the 1973 film, The Exorcist, which FAITH pulls many inspirations from.
      • Also, John is 34 years old by Chapter I; the same age Jason Miller was when he's portrayed as Father Karras in the film (Image taken from a wikipedia article about the character[129]).
      • Additionally, John himself looks similar to the series creator, Airdorf (Shoutout goes to Ромер Помер's video on references used in the series[130][131]). This is due to the fact that the vast majority of cinematics from the series were rotoscopes of himself performing certain actions (i.e. John smiling to himself in the mirror, the Peekaboo Demon stumbling in Chapter III, etc.)
Father Damien Karras
Side to side comparison
  • Interestingly, when John smiles to himself in a mirror, the filename for this cinematic is called "spr_CH2_cine_mirrorMike0" and "spr_CH2_cine_mirrorMike02" respectively. When he turns into a Wretch, the cinematic is called "spr_CH2_cine_MikeInAgony".
  • You're shown a unique death screen in Chapter II if John gets ran over by the Airdorf Truck as the Wretch. When killed, the screen jumps to a jumbled mess of blood. John utters "Mortem" with heavy bit-crush and distortion.
    • Although this is an interpretation, the death screen could be a close-up of John's scattered corpse on the road.
    • The voice line "Mortem" is directly borrowed from the alpha version of Chapter I, as stated earlier, with added distortion and bit-crush.
SpecialMort
  • Interestingly, John's ran-over sprite as the Wretch is a recolor of Michael ran-over by the same truck back in Chapter I. We're not sure if this is supposed to implicate a connection between Michael and a Wretch.
  • There used to be a color inconsistency in John's bedroom when he wakes up from the nightmare. In the standalone version of Chapter II, his entire house was colored brown. In The Unholy Trinity version, his house was changed to a dark blue-ish, almost purple color. When he wakes up from nightmares in Chapter III, his bedding and house is the correct color. In Chapter II, it's still brown, likely because it was a carryover. This inconsistency was fixed in V1.3 of The Unholy Trinity.
  • The fact that John's mother was mentioned during a confrontation with Amy in the Martin House's attic is another nod to Father Karras from The Exorcist (1973) where Regan mentions that his recently deceased mother is in the room with them while he was attempting to exorcise her.
  • The cutscene where John turns around to face Gary in the White Forest was originally used in Chapter III's Demo. In that demo, Gary appears right behind John after he exorcised Alu. This would explain why blood seeps from John's eye and mouth since he was possessed frequently during the fight. In the final, it's best to say that he felt winded after finally coming across the Martin Twins at the end of a dark passage.
  • The appearance of a deer standing on its hind legs as an apparition during the battle against Gary is difficult to figure out considering that "The Hunter" is not canon. From this, we can conclude either two things:
    • 1: John is afraid of deers. This would explain why he would randomly shoot one in "The Hunter" Ending, deers frequently appear in Chapter II, he dreamt of seeing a decapitated one on top of a tree, and there's an apparition of one during Gary's boss fight.
    • 2: Maybe, at some point while meandering through the woodland in Chapter I, he saw a deer standing on its hind legs for no reason. It would signify that they're all demonically influenced, and he was creeped out enough for it to stick in his head, hence why it would reappear as an apparition considering that all apparitions act as bad memories.
Deer Gary Boss Fight
  • In the "New Patient Intake Form" note, it's revealed that John has dormant asthma and a childhood injury to his right knee, which explains why throughout the series he moves in such a sluggish manner.
    • Despite this, his walking speed is still faster than Father Garcia's.
  • The cinematic of John and Father Garcia gripping arms in compliance might've been a callback to a late-2000s meme of "The Predator Handshake", where actors Arnold Schwarzenegger and Carl Weathers locked arms in the 1987 film The Predator[132].
GarciaGrip
Predator-handshake
  • Airdorf once quoted Dave Oshry (Runner of New Blood Interactive) as saying that every New Blood Interactive character is bisexual[133]. That would include John and all the other FAITH characters since The Unholy Trinity is published under that company.
  • Molly is never stated in-game to be John's wife, but it was confirmed in a Steam discussion thread by Airdorf[134] and that he got married after the first exorcism. Before this reveal, it was heavily debated whether John was a priest at all considering that priests cannot be married. In a sense, they're married and devoted to God. There are only a few exceptions that enable marrying during priesthood, so it was originally speculated that the two married some time before the first exorcism.
  • Going by the variant of the "A New Purpose" ending of Chapter III where Lisa survives, and the fact they both hold up their crosses in their right hands, it seems that John, Father Garcia, or both, are right-handed, as their handshake is done with their right hands.

Gallery

Nearly all cinematics of John are looped in courtesy of FAITH Fan-Community Discord members laine, MacG, and Madz, and wiki editors VinillaVin, TopHatMutator, and RBLX Tim. All of these gifs and transparent backgrounds couldn't have been made without them. If you want to grab assets directly from the game, check out the wiki page Sprite Resource for more info.

Overworld

Cutscenes

Here are all the cinematics relating to John. Once again, thank you to the people listed prior for looping them. Big shoutout to wiki editors prior to Chapter III's release who looped cutscenes with filters. John doesn't appear in a cutscene until Chapter II. Since a lot of cutscenes in Chapter II and III are from John's perspective, they will be added here as well.

Chapter II

Chapter III

Demon Siege

Demon Siege is a fan-game made back around early 2020 by CrackedGhostGames. Even though it's not canonical to the plot, I included it here since it's in the Goodies Folder (and it's a really fun game!).

Other

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ref. - Note #43 Ch III
  2. Ref. - Note #14 Ch I
  3. 3.0 3.1 Ref. - "John Goes Against Amy in Nightmare" Dialogue
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 Ref. - "The Murderer" Note Ch I
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Ref. - Note #12 Ch II
  6. 6.0 6.1 Ref. - Note #2 Ch II Prologue
  7. 7.0 7.1 Ref. - Note #11 Ch II
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Ref. - Note #3 Ch II Prologue
  9. Note - We know Snake Meadow Hill Church is located in Sterling because it's nearby the same road, Snake Meadow Hill Road, as the Martin House. "The Murderer" Note from Ch I reveals this connection.
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Ref. - Note #7 Ch II
  11. 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 11.6 11.7 11.8 Ref. - Note #18 Ch II
  12. Note - We never see Snake Meadow Hill Church in the real world, we only see the building in Prologue and Chapter II.
  13. Ref. - "CreepyChurch.gif"
  14. 14.0 14.1 Ref. - Miriam's "My little one..." quote when encountering John in Chapter II
  15. 15.0 15.1 Ref. - Peekaboo Demon's "YOU BELONG TO HER!" and "SHE IS ALWAYS WITH YOU!" quotes from Chapter III
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.5 Ref. - Note #33 Ch III
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 Ref. - Note #10 Ch III
  18. 18.0 18.1 18.2 Ref. - Note #11 Ch III
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 Ref. - Note #4 Ch II Prologue
  20. 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 20.6 Ref. - Note #5 Ch II Prologue
  21. 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 Ref. - Note #6 Ch II Prologue
  22. 22.0 22.1 22.2 Ref. - Note #7 Ch II Prologue
  23. 23.0 23.1 Ref. - Note #17 Ch II
  24. 24.0 24.1 Ref. - "Unseen World Prologue".png
  25. 25.0 25.1 25.2 Ref. - "Mother of demons room".png
  26. 26.0 26.1 26.2 Ref. - Note #19 Ch II
  27. 27.0 27.1 Ref. - Airdorf's Twitter comment confirming who Molly is
  28. 28.0 28.1 28.2 Ref. - Note #13 Ch I
  29. 29.0 29.1 29.2 29.3 29.4 29.5 29.6 Ref. - Note #44 Ch III
  30. 30.0 30.1 Ref. - "Chapter III Intro" Dialogue
  31. 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.3 Ref. - Note #8 Ch I
  32. 32.0 32.1 32.2 Ref. - Note #10 Ch I
  33. Ref. - "Amy Gets Cleansed" Dialogue
  34. 34.0 34.1 Ref. - Note #17 Ch I
  35. 35.0 35.1 35.2 Ref. - Note #14 Ch I
  36. Ref. - We're shown a montage of Amy crawling around during the Hallucination Sequence in Ch III
  37. 37.0 37.1 Ref. - Note #15 Ch I
  38. 38.0 38.1 38.2 38.3 Ref. - Note #18 Ch I
  39. 39.0 39.1 39.2 39.3 39.4 39.5 39.6 Ref. - Note #9 Ch II
  40. 40.0 40.1 40.2 40.3 Ref. - Note #16 Ch II
  41. 41.0 41.1 41.2 41.3 41.4 41.5 41.6 Ref. - Note #20 Ch I
  42. 42.0 42.1 42.2 Ref. - Note #26 Ch II
  43. Ref. - "Intro" Dialogue of Chapter I
  44. Ref. - Airdorf Interview with Wendigoon
  45. 45.0 45.1 Ref. - Note #12 Ch III
  46. Ref. - Chapter III Ending I Dialogue
  47. 47.0 47.1 47.2 Ref. - "The Offering" Note Ch I
  48. 48.0 48.1 48.2 48.3 48.4 48.5 48.6 48.7 48.8 Ref. - "FAITH - TheStorySoFar".txt file
  49. Ref. - "About the Second Death" Dialogue
  50. 50.0 50.1 Ref. - Note #19 Ch I
  51. 51.0 51.1 Ref. - "About Gary" Dialogue
  52. 52.0 52.1 Ref. - Note #40 Ch III
  53. 53.0 53.1 53.2 Ref. - Note #6 Ch III
  54. 54.0 54.1 Ref. - "About Amy" Dialogue
  55. 55.0 55.1 Ref. - Chapter I Game Description
  56. 56.0 56.1 Ref. - Confessional Booth Dialogue
  57. Ref. - Gameplay Screenshot of Sec. Death Marking in Martin House Basement
  58. Ref. - Gameplay Screenshot of Amy's Skeleton
  59. 59.0 59.1 Ref. - Two Gray Demons emerge from the outskirts of The Forest and towards the Martin House's attic during Amy's Boss Battle, signifying that they haunt around the property.
  60. 60.0 60.1 60.2 Ref. - "The Hunter" Note Ch I
  61. 61.0 61.1 Ref. - Note #9 Ch I
  62. Ref. - The word choice in "Father and Son" Note from Ch I insinuates that Garcia intentionally ignored Gifford until Michael escaped from his apartment room. There was supposed to be a photograph of Michael but Michael stole it before running away.
  63. 63.0 63.1 63.2 Ref. - "Father and Son" Note Ch I
  64. Ref. - The Gray Figure/Father Garcia drops this clown nose in Chapter I if John approaches him nearby Snake Meadow Hill Road.
  65. Ref. - Garcia's running animation lacks his priestly collar. The Gray Figure notably does not have his priestly collar on either. We can assume this is done to not aggravate Michael since he holds large disdain towards people who look like priests.
  66. 66.0 66.1 Ref. - "Naked White Man" Unused Note Chapter I
  67. Ref. - A Thrall drives a teal pick-up truck in Prologue, another one drives in a white pick-up in Chapter III, and you see the same teal pick-up parked nearby New Haven Apartment Complex in Chapter III.
  68. 68.0 68.1 Ref. - Note #4 Ch I
  69. Ref. - Note #5 Ch I
  70. Ref. - Note #2 Ch I
  71. Ref. - Note #7 Ch I
  72. Ref. - "About the Boys" Dialogue
  73. Ref. - "When Faith Endures" Note Ch I
  74. Note - We see Amy drifting from the darkness after defeating Super Miriam inside the Crucible in Ch III. Since she was missing in Ch II and Prologue, it's best to assume the cult relocated her there until she recovers after the events of Ch I.
  75. Ref. - "About Malphas" Dialogue
  76. Ref. - Note #1 Ch II Prologue
  77. Airdorf Message - ShadowCrawler Origins
  78. Ref. - Note #13 Ch II
  79. 79.0 79.1 79.2 Ref. - Note #20 Ch II
  80. 80.0 80.1 Airdorf Message - Chapter II's Meaning
  81. 81.0 81.1 Ref. - Note #21 Ch II
  82. Ref. - Gameplay Screenshot of Second Death Marking in Ch II (indirectly reveals that Miriam had this performed in there)
  83. Ref. - Gameplay Screenshot of The Crucible
  84. Ref. - "JohnVessel".gif
  85. 85.0 85.1 Ref. - Note #4 Ch II
  86. Ref. - Note #8 Ch II
  87. Ref. - Note #6 Ch II
  88. Ref. - Note #5 Ch II
  89. Ref. - Note #10 Ch II
  90. Ref. - Note #13 Ch II
  91. Ref. - Note #14 Ch II
  92. Ref. - Note #15 Ch II
  93. Ref. - 2 Corinthians 4:4 NRSVUE Ver.
  94. Ref. - Gameplay Screenshot of Garcia Peering Window Easter Egg
  95. Ref. - Note #8 Ch II Prologue
  96. Ref. - Note #22 Ch II
  97. Ref. - Gameplay Screenshot of Garcia standing nearby Snake Meadow Hill Road
  98. Airdorf Message - Miriam/UNSPEAKABLE
  99. Ref. - Note #25 "Road to Redemption" Ending Chapter II
  100. Ref. - Note #23 Ch II
  101. 101.0 101.1 Ref. - Note #24 Ch II
  102. 102.0 102.1 102.2 Ref. - Note #25 "Go Forth With Faith" Ending Ch II
  103. Ref. - Note #12 Ch I
  104. 104.0 104.1 Ref. - Note #4 Ch III
  105. 105.0 105.1 Ref. - Note #7 Ch III
  106. Ref. - Note #8 Ch III
  107. Ref. - Note #31 Ch III
  108. Ref. - Note #41 Ch III
  109. Ref. - Note #9 Ch III
  110. Ref. - Note #13 Ch III
  111. Ref. - Note #19 Ch III
  112. Ref. - Note #15 Ch III
  113. Ref. - Note #14 Ch III
  114. Ref. - Note #26 Ch III
  115. Ref. - Note #20 Ch III
  116. Ref. - Note #21 Ch III
  117. Ref. - Note #35 Ch III
  118. 118.0 118.1 Ref. - Note #22 Ch III
  119. Ref. - Note #23 Ch III
  120. Ref. - Note #24 Ch III
  121. Misc. - Brief Explanation of Elevator Game
  122. Ref. - Note #28 Ch III
  123. Ref. - Note #27 Ch III
  124. Ref. - Note #29 Ch III
  125. Misc. - Madonna della Pietà Sculpture
  126. Misc. - Faith Update 1.4 Announcement Video
  127. FAITH Alpha Footage - Mortem
  128. The Oregon Trail (1985) - Wikipedia Article
  129. Damien Karras - Wikipedia
  130. Reference Video#1
  131. Reference Video#2
  132. Misc. - "The Predator Handshake" Meme
  133. On John's sexuality
  134. John's marital status
  135. Halloween art
  136. Holiday art
  137. Valentine's Day art
  138. [1]
  139. [2]
  140. [3]

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