A Haunted-House Clue Worksheet You Can Use Tonight

A locked door can create suspense. A missing clue can stop the evening. Before you run a haunted house, separate what the characters must understand from the particular object you hope they will inspect.

This worksheet uses Greyglass House, an original system-neutral mystery. Its haunting concerns exclusion, lost work and a promise of public recognition. Adjust those themes to your group's agreement before play.

Write the truth before writing the clues

Greyglass's late patron claimed the discovery of a rare night-blooming flower. The gardener, Elian, actually cultivated it. The patron dismissed Elian and locked the cultivation records in a dry cabinet beneath the conservatory stairs. Elian is alive and living nearby. The haunting comes from the patron's broken oath to credit the work, not from Elian's death.

At midnight, a bell without a clapper rings, the glass frosts over and the flower's painted label changes to a blank rectangle. The characters are asked to make the conservatory safe for a public opening.

That is the GM's starting truth. Do not change the culprit because the players guessed early. Early understanding gives them more time to decide what to do.

Conclusion one: the haunting concerns stolen credit

Evidence route A: the public exhibition booklet names the patron, but the gardener's working notes use the same distinctive diagram a year earlier. Anyone comparing the two notices the match.

Evidence route B: the house's former printer remembers being told to remove Elian's name from a proof. The printer still has the marked copy.

Evidence route C: the ghostly bell rings whenever someone praises the patron's “discovery,” but stays silent when the cultivation itself is described. Repeating the experiment confirms the pattern.

Write beside this conclusion: “The group needs to understand whose work was erased.” They do not need all three routes. Each makes the same conclusion available through a different kind of play.

Conclusion two: the missing records are still in the house

Evidence route A: a delivery slip records a dry cabinet fitted beneath the conservatory stairs. A physical inspection finds the cabinet's outline.

Evidence route B: the caretaker's key ring has a small brass key tagged with a simple stair symbol. Asked about it, the caretaker remembers the installation.

Evidence route C: mud on a ribbon caught in the stair door matches the garden beds. A visitor who follows the recent cleaning marks reaches the same cabinet.

A locked cabinet should create a choice about access, not erase the only copy of the plot. The caretaker can open it, the key can be borrowed, or a noisy forced entry can bring the current owner to investigate. Explain the likely consequence before a risky attempt.

Conclusion three: recognition can end the repetition

Evidence route A: the patron's signed letter promises that Elian's name will appear at the public opening.

Evidence route B: an early display label names both workers. When placed beside the flower, the frost retreats from that pane.

Evidence route C: Elian can describe the agreement and the conditions under which they would accept restitution. Elian wants the original records returned and the correction made publicly.

The haunting offers evidence about the oath. Elian remains a person with a say in the settlement. The characters cannot satisfy the gardener simply by announcing what the gardener ought to want.

Copy this compact worksheet

Truth: What happened, and what remains unresolved?

Essential conclusions: What three things would allow an informed decision?

Evidence routes: For each conclusion, where could the party learn it through an object, a person or a repeatable event?

Access: What can they inspect freely? What needs permission, effort or risk?

Pressure: What changes if they spend time elsewhere? State the trigger.

Settlement: Who needs to agree, and what observable act would change the situation?

Exit: How can the party leave, ask for help or postpone the opening?

Use pressure without moving the answer

At Greyglass, each substantial scene before midnight brings the opening closer. First the guests arrive; then the owner begins a speech; then frost spreads across the conservatory doors. Announce those developments. Give the party time to react.

If they stall, repeat an established symptom in a new context or let an available witness approach. Supply evidence, not the conclusion. When they solve the mystery, let their chosen correction determine the final scene.

For a broader preparation sheet and a small reading list, use the Gothic GM's starter library.

— Laurie