Snake Meadow Hill Church

“

Confess thy sins.

”

Snake Meadow Hill Church is a medium-sized church located in Sterling, CT on Snake Meadow Hill Road, presumably not far from the Martin House. The church is also connected to the Gallup Cemetery. The church was once an active convent and hosted an orphanage. Around the 1950s, however, the church would become the location of several murders of young orphans and would eventually become a gathering place for a malevolent and violent sect of demonic activity.

(Note: Most of this page is pure conjecture on the editor's part due to most of these events can be read in notes from Chapter II and its Prologue.)

History[]

The date when the church was founded is unknown. It's best to estimate that it was around for a while before demonic activities started to happen. Another thing important to mention is that the church owns dogs that were brought over from German missionaries. Apparently, they've been there for a long time. One of the dogs is a rottweiler and they typically last for about nine years, so maybe the church has been around in the 40s and maybe even in the 30s.

The Cornfield Incident - Early 1950s[]

In the 1950s, the church was a typical small-town church with a congregation and orphanage. However, it was also during this time that strange things began to occur around the church, specifically in the large cornfield that it sat next to. During the night, strange and loud noises would emanate from the field. A dog kept at the church ran off into the corn on one of these occasions and was later found dead two days later. A staff member working there warned the children not to venture into the corn, but unfortunately, a group of six children would defy this request and enter the fields. They would later be found in various states of dismemberment, killed by "The Thing in the Field". Most of the staff would leave, and the orphanage would be shut down. This incident was likely heavily covered up by the Catholic Church and fade into obscurity. The staff member that initially warned the children buried what-little remains they could find next to a St. William statue behind the church. The staff member talks about how they never want to deal with anything about the church ever again, including an unknown girl who lived at the house.

The Miriam Bell Incident - Early or Mid 1950s[]

An unspecified number of years passed after the incident, the church was being restaffed and only the staff member that knew about the cornfield incident remained. Eventually, the orphanage was reopened, and announced six new children would come to stay at the church. This was also marked by the arrival of a new nun, Miriam Bell. Bell was an excellent cleaner of the church and seemed like she knew her way around the place. When the three new orphans came in a week after reopening, Bell was extremely kind and caring towards the children. When the other three children came in a month later, Bell was almost ecstatic. Even though this wasn't stated in any of the notes prior to Chapter III, John and Lisa were brought into the church as orphans. She and the children exhibited strange behavior such as having the children dance in a circle around her and standing in a line near the cornfield with Bell talking to them. It was shortly after this that Miriam and four of the six children had gone missing. An unnamed elderly nun was also found dead somewhere in the building. This time the church was unable to cover up the disappearances, and the local police became involved. Somewhere around this time the last person who knew about the cornfield incident left the church before being questioned by the authorities for unknown reasons, likely out of fear about dealing with another demonic incident.

An unnamed detective, who was on his final case before retirement, was dispatched to the church to investigate the matter. The detective worked closely with other staff members and head priest Father Clarke whilst staying on the church grounds for the duration of the investigation. While there was no sign of any of the missing persons, the remaining twins insisted to the detective that Miriam Bell was still present. When asking where exactly she was, their response was "ask her yourself".

One morning the detective awoke to find four life-sized dolls made from sticks had been placed all around the outside of the church. The twins were obsessed with them and would stand at the windows staring at them for hours on end. They claimed to see Miriam among them, but the detective could never locate the missing woman. The detective then began having strange nightmares of people staring at him from the cornfield, their bodies painted completely red.

At two in the morning one night, the detective and Father Clarke were awoken to the sound of an old woman cackling emanating from the hallway outside the twins' room. Upon reaching the noise, they found the laughing was coming from a painting of the Virgin Mary. Another loud noise came, this time from the chapel. The detective and Father Clarke arrived to find Miriam Bell dragging the twins down with her into the basement. Before the detective could fire his pistol at the deranged nun, Father Clarke stopped him, telling him that he needed to confront the demon alone. Clarke descended into the cellar, sealing the entrance behind him. The detective waited outside, nervously staying on guard while listening to the haunting noises coming from below him. Whether or not the detective perished in the church that night, or escaped with his life, is unknown.

Underneath the cellar, Clarke hastily scribbles his memoir on a page from a Bible, knowing that his time is up. Clarke senses Miriam waiting for him in anticipation. He mentions that his wristwatch doesn't move past 2am, thinking that time doesn't move in the cellar. Clarke's faith is deteriorating, noting that this is where God's light is the faintest and might not protect him from " things unspeakable". Clarke pleads for God's help as he goes deranged from the screams of a demon. Clarke's fate is unknown but it's likely that he was killed by Miriam or some other demon. All that's known is that shortly after this incident, the church was abandoned for a second and final time. Although this wasn't stated in any notes prior to Chapter III, Miriam Bell allowed John and Lisa to leave the church alive but left them, what Gary puts it, as "husks".

Five Years Later... - Late 1950s to Early 1960s[]

The staff member who previously knew about the cornfield incident returns to the cornfield again, likely due to not getting closure about what truly happened at that location. This person isn't sure as to what they're looking for, either Greta, the graves of the six children they buried, or the thing that took it. This person's search for something was fruitless, they couldn't even locate where they originally buried the six children. All they could find was a scarecrow, feeling as if they were getting mocked by it while the wind was blowing by. The staff member decides to turn back and leave the cornfield, but then they could sense the scarecrow standing exactly behind them. The staff member doesn't dare to turn around but can feel the scarecrow and a "doomed child's" presence. Mustering up what little courage they had, the staff member turns around to look. Whatever "it" was behind them fled in the opposite direction extremely fast, including the staff member. What little the staff member saw made them extremely startled and made their skin crawl. The staff member's fate is unknown but likely survived their search but dared to never go back in there. They note the reason why they called the thing behind them an "it" is that they caught a glimpse of a face that had a bloody, gaping hole.

Paranormal Investigation - Early or Mid 1980s[]

Decades has passed, the two incidents surrounding the church has faded into local legend. Three paranormal investigators decide to try and capture paranormal activity on their cameras and EVP devices in hopes of selling their footage to TV stations to make a fortune. Before staying in the church for a couple of nights, they gather enough food supplies to last them for days and talk to the locals of the area about anything noteworthy. They hear about the same stories they've heard from somewhere previously, evil spirits dragging children into the cornfield nearby and a secret tunnel underneath the chapel. But something that they've never heard is the "Spindly Lady Game". Apparently, the game is about "summoning the spirit of a woman who used to take care of the orphans back in the 50s." and were even told an old rhyme about it:

“

"Walk the church from room to room

And maybe you will see her

She will move when you do

But never try to trick her!"''

”

— referenced in the Day 1 Note

The investigators decide it's a good idea to try out the game when they settle inside.

Night 1[]

The investigators try to find a way to open the seal for the basement but fail. They did, however, find a secret passage in a confessional booth leading to a hallway. One of the investigators, named Henry, is planning to go back to town to buy a crowbar in hopes of opening the boards that are covering some doors in the hallway. But sometime during this they catch an EVP of something that sounds like laughing. They plan to review the recording when they make it back into town.

Night 2[]

An unnamed investigator who's writing all of these notes talks about something they've never captured before. Before this they were able to capture supernatural things on their camera such as doors opening by themselves and objects moving from a shelf. But, while they were playing the Spindly Lady Game, one of the candles lit up by itself when an investigator named Lars enters the room. All of them were elated about capturing this on film and the note-taker can't wait to sell their footage to TV stations.

Night 3[]

This night is overall ambiguous. The unnamed investigator who's been writing the previous notes describes their situations in 5 sentences. They never should've gone inside, their tapes somehow gone missing, Lars is stuck behind the basement door, Henry hasn't returned, and that they "can't leave anyway". Their fates are unknown but it's more than likely that two of them were killed by the Spindly Lady. Henry might have been killed by the creature that lurks in the cornfield because it's safe to assume that Henry was running away from whatever incident that was going on inside the church to the cornfield. The Spindly Lady, like most typical ghosts, can't leave the building they're stuck in, which leads to the creature doing its special signature "kill anything that moves" technique.

John's Nightmare - Sometime between Sept. 22nd to Sept. 27th, 1987[]

An unspecified amount of days pass after John's second failed exorcism of Amy. One day, while John sleeps, he has a vivid nightmare of the largely unknown incidents of Snake Meadow Hill Church. This nightmare is FAITH: Chapter II's Demo (renamed to Prologue in FAITH: The Unholy Trinity), where the game starts with John standing next to his crashed car. Nearby he sees a crashed truck with a bleeding cultist inside. When John leaves the screen then goes back, we see the body is now gone and a blood trail leading into a cornfield nearby.

When John walks the path towards a scarecrow, we see the same cultist scurrying away into the cornfield. When John walks past the scarecrow, an invisible entity is crushing corn stalks and slowly going towards him. When John points his crucifix at the invisible entity, the creature reveals itself. The creature will teleport to a random location and goes toward John. John can't outrun the creature, he has to point his crucifix in short time before he gets killed. Two more times and the creature is banished.

Walking up some more, John will find the remains of a dog that has demonic symbols surrounding it with two Wretches nearby. Exorcising the dog will pop up a note that gives backstory about the cornfield incident. Walking up again John can find a St. William statue that has six graves around it and two Wretches. Exorcising the statue will pop up another note that gives more details about the area. Walking up once more John will find the church.

Once inside the church, John can walk to the left to see a red chalice sitting on a table. Exorcising it will pop up a demon that will kill John if he's not fast enough. While walking through the building, John can exorcise a picture of the Virgin Mary. A stalker hiding underneath a pile of rubble will be replaced by a cultist, who will stab John to death if he doesn't take out his crucifix in time. After this, John can enter another room where a skull, now purple, is sitting on a table. The stalker will hide behind a window when John enters the room. After exorcising the skull, another cultist will pop out from the confession booth in the room and try to kill John. When John exorcises a stained-glass window showcasing the Second Death, cultists sitting on benches will start to twitch and mutter "MASTER OF SPIRITS". If John doesn't leave, he'll get ganged up and killed. The entrance to the basement is now open.

Finding a flashlight, John will go into the next room and come across another demon. During their fight, John has a chance to see the stalker, a Wretch, satanic symbols, twins, or the doomed child hiding in the dark. After banishing the demon all other activities down in the basement will stop. After exiting the basement, the player has two options. They could either have John walk up to where they first exorcised the stained-glass window to find two children holding hands. Getting close to them will have Miriam pop out of nowhere. The game will end with Miriam saying, "HERE I AM" and "MY LITTLE ONE". The intro to Chapter II will begin where the player gets to control Father Garcia.

Another option the player can do is have John walk all the way back to where he came across the scarecrow. The notable difference this time is that the scarecrow has a gaping hole inside of it with red bloody eyes protruding from the darkness. Satanic symbols surround the scarecrow. Having John exorcise the scarecrow will have a ghost come out and the eyes are gone. Walking back to where his car was, John will see it's now on fire. John can light himself on fire and sprint towards the scarecrow quickly before he gets burnt to death. Successfully getting the scarecrow on fire will result in children coming out of the cornfield and surround him.

The game then cuts to an unknown area littered with Wretches. John himself has turned into a Wretch. Scurrying around the area, John will eventually come across Miriam. A rotoscope cutscene will play where Miriam turns around and tells him to "GET OUT". The game ends and then cuts to the intro of Chapter II where we get to play as Father Garcia.

John's Worst Nightmare - September 28th, 1987[]

It's been a week ever since John's second failed attempt of exorcising Amy, back on September 21st, 1987. While sleeping, likely around 2am, John has another nightmare. He dreams about the incidents surrounding Gallup Cemetery, the church, and the Candy Tunnels. After solving the riddles and exorcising demons around the cemetery, John will come across the church. Behind the church is a cornfield, unlike last time where John had to walk through the cornfield to reach the building.

Inside the building, John will come across 7 candles, two of them will be lit. One of the candles represents where John is while the other represents where the Spindly Lady. John is able to explore the building as he pleases but to unlock the basement, he will have to enter the same room as the ghost and banish her. After defeating the Spindly Lady, John can enter the basement and solve a puzzle regarding the UNSPEAKABLE. Afterwards, John will come across a couple of Wretches and the words "MOTHER OF DEMONS" written in blood. Entering the door will leave John in the middle of the woods. The player is unable to enter the church or the cemetery again.

If the player wants to get the Initiation ending, John has to leave the church and walk into the cornfield after defeating the Spindly Lady. If John can enter the large field of corn stalk from the top screen and back, a purple child will come out of the crops and asks him if he can help them. Next, John will have to lure the child back into the church and stand near a confessional booth. During all of this, John cannot directly look at the child, if he does the child will run away and call him a bad man (However you can retry how many times you want). When near the booth, a red hand will come out and grab the child. Walking around the entrance where the hand came out of, John will be grabbed too and teleported into another dimension. Defeating the demon inside there will drop a note regarding John's previous stay at the Yale Psychiatric Institute. After reading, John will be teleported back into the church and continue his journey.

Dream About the First Exorcism - October 28th, 1987[]

The beginning of Chapter III starts with John and Father Allred driving to the Martin House about a report from Amy's parents about their daughter being possessed. Before the priests and Bob Martin enter the room, John can look at a drawing hanging on a fridge. The picture is the church with two Wretches in front of it with four X's on the ground. The drawing is signed by Amy Martin. This drawing reappears throughout the nightmares John experiences when he first attempted to exorcise Amy in 1986.

Hallucinations - October 30th, 1987[]

On this day, John enters a daycare center where almost all demonic activity originates from. After solving a puzzle, the entrance to Garyland opens. To get deeper within the hideout, John can find a note about Miriam written by Gary. This note tells us that she took six children (referred to as twigs) and left two to walk away as husks and that Miriam is Gary's mother. The two husks are implied to be John and Lisa.

While solving another puzzle, Gary comes out from behind a pillar and rushes John. John gets pricked by a needle and starts to have a severe drug trip. During this, the player is shown vivid images of various things while John is under-the-influence and dismembering cultists. One of the images can be shown is a young version of John and Lisa holding hands, two Wretches holding hands with maggots swarming them, and John and Lisa standing inside the church while Miriam stares right back at the player. After the drug takes its affect, John wakes up and comes across the gutted remains of the cultists he killed. Despite this, John continues exploring the hideout.

Deeper in Garyland, there's a hallway with two paintings of Miriam. One of them has an older version of Miriam sitting on a chair. The other is a younger version of Miriam staring at Snake Meadow Hill Church. If John leaves the hallway and returns, the portraits get more distorted. The second time John views the portrait with the church in the background, Miriam slightly turned towards the viewer, and it seems like there's an eclipse going on with the moon. Reentering the third time, Miriam is staring directly at the viewer. Her face looks bloody and massacred, indicating what she really looks like underneath her white mask-like face. The moon is completely covered with some dark object. An Unholy Spirit is now spawned in the hallway, giving chase to John wherever he goes. Defeating it removes the final seal leading to the Crucible, depending on if John defeated the other two secret bosses. The church is never shown again.

Apparitions - October 31st, 1987[]

Although the church isn't directly shown, the demons that used to reside at the church and the cornfield reappear again as apparitions when Gary and John duel. This includes the Cornfield Demon, the Spindly Lady, the Basement Demon, and the Chalice Demon. Otherwise, the church isn't mentioned at all again.

Aftermath[]

The church remains decrepit to this day. It's unknown if the demons residing in there are truly banished or not. The scarecrow that was used as a ritual still remains in the cornfield. This editor's theory is that all demons found in Chapter II and it's Prologue used to be in their designated locations (The Mist Demon in Gallup Cemetary, The Basement Demon in the Candy Tunnels & Snake Meadow Hill Church, etc.) but were brought over to haunt John's nightmare since it's seeming like his dreams are under some kind of demonic influence. Perhaps it was orchestrated from the UNSPEAKABLE to torment John and make his faith in God weak by making him think he killed Amy and three victims murdered for a ritual. The editor says this because all demons present in Chapter II and its Prologue come back as an apparition during Gary's fight. Due to Michael and the Clinic Demon showing up this can mean that all demonic entities that were previously banished/killed by John are being summoned by Gary as spirits to be used to attack him. If the demons still haunt their respective locations to this day because John never actually visited to any of those places (the Candy Tunnel and Gallup Cemetary), then we would've seen the real demon instead of just a red apparition.

Trivia[]

The backstory behind the paranormal investigators might be influenced from the movie The Blair Witch Project.
- Both have three supernatural investigators who decide to stay overnight at an area and asking the locals about the history behind a place they're trying to capture footage of. The only difference is that the investigators in FAITH wanted to do it for profit while the investigators in the movie did it for a school project.
The layout of the church between Chapter II and the Prologue are different.
- The one we see in Chapter II doesn't have a room that has the Chalice Demon inside, certain rooms are in different places, there's a secret passage behind the confessional booth (the one in the Prologue just have a cultist popping out), and the cornfield lacks the thing that lurks there.
  - The editor's best guess for this is that due to it being a dream and John wasn't there during the cornfield incident his mind comes up with the layout of the church. The layout of the church we see in Chapter II is the most accurate since it's after the Miriam Bell incident and the Paranormal Investigation incident.

Theories[]

The drawing signed by Amy Martin wasn't actually drawn by her, rather by John (or at the least his mind came up with it).
- Since the drawing we see in Chapter I is signed by Nate Martin (which was in reality drawn by Cindy Martin) and the parents were killed when this drawing of the church was up, it's likely that the church left an everlasting effect on John after his years of being an orphan there and the worst nightmare he previously had that it pops up frequently whenever he dreams. The drawing saying it was signed by Amy Martin might imply that her demon is the one who's controlling this nightmare. The events that go on in the dream contradict John's notes of the exorcism that we find in Chapter I. Amy's demon likely just wanted to torment John even more to make him restless because it knows he's about to face Gary on the one day (Profane Sabbath) that demonic powers are at their highest. It's all been done to dismay John from even attempting to face against Gary.
The hallucination of John and Lisa inside the church means that they were orphans there.
- (The page about the Injection goes deeper into this, look at it over there.)