- “Get more than you bargained for!”
- —Dark Pact Estate Agency
House of Horror is a DLC expansion level in Viscera Cleanup Detail.
After installation, the DLC can be accessed by selecting "Change Game" on the VCD opening menu, then "House of Horror". Players may then go to the level selection page and choose "House of Horror" from the drop-down list, as they would any other map. Players may switch back to the original Viscera Cleanup Detail again at any time.
Although other official Viscera Cleanup Detail level saved games will not appear in the initial House of Horror selection list, Steam Workshop maps' saved games can still be accessed. While playing the level, all saved games will appear in the list on the pause menu.
Plot
Runestorm provided the following background about the loose plot of the level:
- Long ago in the early 1990's, on a gloomy Halloween night in an old, cursed house, a wicked force began to stir. Foolish mortals dabbled in things they did not understand and could not comprehend. Evil was unleashed. The hapless fools that brought chaos back into the world were slaughtered..
And now it falls to you to set things right. You must wash away the stains of evil. So get your mop ready once more and clean this mess up!
The "House of Horror" DLC features a whole new level set in a haunted suburban home and surrounding grounds, complete with new assets and challenges to discover and overcome.
Level Briefings
Brief
| The harrowing events that transpired here are certainly tragic and of a truly bizarre nature, but this must not hinder your work in any way. Proceed through the home and surrounding areas, and make certain you have disposed of all substances and objects that may be of concern. Make doubly certain that you deal with any items that may be vulnerable to repossession.. The family that lived here were of a reputable station within the town, so you are to hastily perform your duties to render the home respectable once more. The good people of the local community need not be made aware of the true nature of the incident that occurred, so as always, discretion is paramount. |
Respawn Brief
| It has come to our attention that one of your colleagues has perished on-site. Given the unusual reports on this work-site, that is hardly surprising. Even so, we advise you to exercise caution, especially in relation to those still on-site; they are not to be trusted! Have the home cleansed in good time, and you will be elevated, perhaps even above those you'll be working with. Now get to work, it is vital to the community and the company that you recover this home from whatever has possessed it! |
Map Overview
House of Horror consists of a large house with a garage, a small shed, a log cabin, and an underground altar.
House
The main floor of the house contains a living room, dining room, kitchen, three closets/pantries (hallway and dining room), and a garage. The garage contains a large sports car and standing shelves. The garage door is closed, and accessible only via the backyard. The backyard can be reached either through the back door in the kitchen or around the left side of the house.
A long staircase on the right of the main hallway leads into a mostly-empty basement with more standing shelves containing food cans, and a washer and dryer against a wall. The door on the right side of the room opens into small bathroom. The door across the room leads to a darker room with a dirt floor covered in chunks of cracked concrete. A "ritualized" corpse can be found inside, along with two intact skeletons and several stone "totems".
Diagonally across the living room of the house is the second floor staircase. The second floor contains a larger bathroom, two small hallway closets, and three bedrooms, all connected by a narrow L-shaped hallway.
Inside the last room on the right side of the hallway, there is a door to a narrow staircase leading into a fairly large attic. The attic contains a bed and couch, a ritual blood pentagram, several shelves on the back wall, and other varying objects (crates, trash, candles, etc.).
Grounds
Surrounding the house is a large C-shaped yard, cut off on one side by the garage. The yard contains the Vendor, What A Load Disposal Bin machine, Slosh-O-Matic, woodchipper, and the J-HARM next to a small shed.
The far end of the backyard leads to a long, narrow pathway, blocked on either side by bushes. At the end of the path there is a locked gate to the right. Walking further to the left will bring the player to a small log cabin.
Behind the locked gate, players can find a stone staircase leading to an underground stone room with an altar.
The log cabin consists of two floors. The main floor contains a small fireplace, couches, shelves, and several other objects. A small trap door can be found on the left side of the room, opening into a very steep stairwell. At the bottom of this stairwell is a stone cellar with a few shelves. Notes and food cans are scattered around the room. Diagonally across the room there is a doorway leading to a corridor blocked by a portal.
Maps
| Original Map Source | ||
  Main Area |
  First Floor |
  Second Floor |
  Basement |
  Attic |
  Cabin |
Map Key
| ||
Equipment
- Slosh-O-Matic Bucket Dispenser
- What A Load Disposal Bins Bin Dispenser
- Vendor
- Jack'o Lantern (in place of a Work-Site Light)
- Candle (in place of a Lantern)
- Woodchipper (in place of the Incinerator)
- J-HARM
Primary Objectives
In order to achieve a perfect score, players must destroy the following additional objects:
- All jack'o lanterns (Candles are not considered messes by the Sniffer, so they can be left alone)
- All food cans
- All knives, cleavers, etc.
- Pots and pans, toasters, kettles
- Broken glass or vase pieces (intact glassware and vases can be left alone)
- Trash bags, trash cans
- The lawn mower from the shed
- The ritual skeletons and stone totems in the basement
Secondary Objectives
- Stack cardboard boxes in the designated crate stacking area. 40 boxes are required for full credit.
- Find and place all 35 PIDs into the Punchomatic. In most VCD levels, PID first and last names are randomized. However in House of Horror, the individual PID names are not randomized.
Incident Report
Please see the "Punchomatic Cheat Sheet" located at: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=670115376
Notes Gallery
Level Mechanics
House of Horror does not contain an incinerator. Instead, players may use a woodchipper, fireplace, or portal.
Woodchipper
The backyard Woodchipper
In the backyard is a large red woodchipper. Any object placed into the grinder will get sucked into the machine, rattling around heavily for a short period before finally disappearing into the machine. Shreds of the general colouration of the item can then be seen shooting out the woodchipper's exit chute, aimed over a tall hedge into the neighbour's yard. The shaking may also cause items to fly out of disposal bins. This means the woodchipper must be used with some degree of caution. Feeding disposal bins to the woodchipper "face first" with the opening towards the woodchipper can prevent most items from flying all over the backyard, since the items will be more likely to fall directly into the spinning blades.
Fireplace
The log cabin fireplace
A small fireplace can be found in the log cabin, toward the middle of the right wall. Although the fireplace can be used to dispose of small objects, its small size and long waiting time makes it a less preferable mechanic to use for item removal.
Portal
Walking into the portal
A purple and green "portal" can be seen blocking a small hallway in the log cabin's basement. The player can toss items into the portal to destroy them, but this disposal method can be impractical for bins and large objects due to the steepness of the staircase. Walking into the portal will kill the player, causing them to explode into several pieces - similar to the effect of Dynamite.
Vendor
The vendor dispenses lit jack'o lanterns and candles as an alternative to Work-Site Lights and Lanterns, respectively. (There is a single existing Work-Site Light in the garage, serving as a spotlight.)
Jack'o lanterns appear as pumpkins of various sizes with a traditional carved face and lit candle in the center. Like the Work-Site Light, jack'o lanterns shine light in one direction, except the jack'o lantern light appears as a dim orange and casts the same shape as the jack'o lantern's face. Other areas are left in shadow, which makes the jack'o lantern impractical for lighting certain areas. Unlike Work-Site Lights however, jack'o lanterns are considered "trash" and must be removed from the map in order to obtain a perfect score.
Candles function in a similar manner to standard Lanterns or Solar Flares. They emit a bright orange, flickering light in all directions, and can be extinguished if they are placed into water or moved around too quickly. Like the jack'o lanterns, candles are dispensed in models of varying sizes. The size of the candle does not affect the intensity or range of light it produces.
A candle setting a note on fire
- An extinguished candle or jack'o lantern can be re-lit by 1) holding it over an existing flame source such as a lit candle, 2) briefly holding/tossing it inside the log cabin fireplace, or 3) using a tool such as the Laser Welder (which must be brought via the Janitor's Trunk).
- CAUTION: Placing a candle next to a paper note will cause the note to burst into flame, leaving a small scorch mark.
Bad Banger
- Main article: Big Banger Radio
The level includes a variation of the Big Banger Radio named the "Bad Banger". Aside from a new body colour, screen theme, and new custom soundtrack, the Bad Banger functions identically to the standard Big Banger.
Keys
Keys are needed to unlock both the log cabin and the gate leading to the underground altar. The cabin key (gold color) is hanging from a shelf to the left of the rear kitchen door. The cellar key (moss green color) can be found in the cabin on a small table across the room. To use the keys, simply hold them while "using" the locked door/gate, and a clicking sound will be heard. The keys are not consumed after use (and must be dropped in order to open the doors), so the player can choose to destroy them, or take them back to the Office in the Janitor's Trunk.
Tips and Trivia
House of Horror introduces a large amount of entirely new objects and textures. Very few items have been recycled from the original Viscera Cleanup Detail. Exceptions include the Janitor's tools, Bin/Bucket Dispensers, Vendor machine, and some mundane objects (plants, trash, soda cans, etc). This is simply because most of the existing resources from other maps would not look proper in a suburban home.[citation needed]
Although the house overlooks a large street, access to the street is blocked by a small white fence and police warning tape. Objects can still pass over the fence however, so players must take caution to not drop anything beyond it that they would not be able to retrieve.
The "swirling purple lights" seen when an item is taken beyond the playable map.
The fence and several tall hedges serve as boundaries for the map. Any objects thrown over these do not leave a decal/splatter, and will despawn after a short while. As one of the developers stated, the object will "get teleported back into the level, just like anything thrown outside the playable area".[citation needed] The objects may respawn anywhere in the level, accompanied by a specific warping sound. Bodies and viscera may leave difficult-to-reach blood stains on ceilings and walls when they respawn.
Players cannot normally pass through or jump over the map bounds. However, if they use the "ghost/fly" console command to move over these boundaries while carrying any object, eventually a short sound clip will play and swirling purple lights (like the ones seen at the portal) circle the object for a few seconds until it disappears.
Several windows can be found throughout the house, many of which can be opened. Body parts and debris can then be thrown out of the open windows. This is particularly useful for the many boxes found throughout the house, as well as intact bodies which can sag out of the player's field of view and would be unwieldy to carry through the entire house.
There are two toilets in the main house: one in the basement and one on the second floor. Like the toilets found in other levels of Viscera Cleanup Detail, they are able to be used as buckets to clean the player's mop or broom. The toilets can also be flushed by pressing the "use" key (left-click by default) with the hands selected and aiming at the toilet's handle. Flushing a dirtied toilet will clean the water for further use.
- In order to encourage the player to use the Slosh-O-Matic as well, the toilets become dirty considerably quicker than buckets. They are also much harder to dip tools into, on account of their small size.
- Toilet lids can be opened and closed by "using" them like any other item. The lids are also known for behaving strangely in multiplayer mode, often appearing sideways or disappearing altogether.
The garage door cannot be opened, but it is also not completely closed. Players can slip thin objects (such as trash can lids, PIDs, weapons, etc.) through the gap at the bottom, and retrieve them from the other side.
Helmet variation
The player character skin is Halloween themed, with black and white skull facepaint, a skeleton painted over the uniform, and a "custom" helmet. The helmet features horror-themed words and symbols scrawled in blood on the front and side. There are 4 variations: 2 on female characters and 2 on male characters. The female versions are "666" with a pentagram and "Crudux Cruo" (meaning "Fresh Blood"). The male versions are "SATAN" and "Beer".
Extras & Easter Eggs
This section may contain spoilers. Please proceed with caution.
House of Horror is intended to act as an homage to numerous classic horror stories and movies, with various recognizable objects and staged "scenes" scattered throughout the map.
- Many of the achievements for House of Horror are parodies of classic horror movie titles: Bad Dreams on Helm Street (Nightmare on Elm Street), The Shimmering (The Shining), Thursday the 12th (Friday the 13th), Harroween (Halloween), and Wicked Unliving (Evil Dead).
House of Horror collectibles
- There are 11 special collectibles in the level which directly reference objects from these classic films, including a chainsaw, "boomstick", "cursed hand", "evil book", hockey mask, machete, clawed glove, white mask & butcher knife, fire axe, and the "one ring".
- The fire axe stuck in the door of the second floor bathroom is a reference to the "axe scene" in The Shining; the words scrawled on a wall in the basement are a nod to the "Redrum scene". There is also a letter from Jack Nicholson in the room with chairs.
- The clawed hand in one of the second floor bedrooms is a reference to the glove Freddy Krueger uses to kill his victims in Nightmare on Elm Street.
- Located in the garage are the white mask and butcher knife, which are a reference to Michael Myers' mask and knife used in the Halloween films.
- On the way to the cabin, the hockey mask and machete on the tree are a reference to Jason Voorhees' mask and weapon as seen in the Friday the 13th films. Jason's mother, Pamela, is also referenced in one of the notes.
- The items inside the cabin (severed hand, shotgun, chainsaw), the portal in the cellar, the cabin itself, and the evil book in the altar room all reference scenes from The Evil Dead I and II.
- The altar statue roughly resembles Cthulhu, a demonic creature featured in H.P. Lovecraft's horror novels. Hitting Cthulhu with a mop will cause severed head to be ejected, where they will land with a splat.
- The ring located atop a pile of logs on the right side of the cabin references the Lord of The Rings films. If picked up the player's view is obscured with a shimmering "ghost realm" visual effect, as it does in the Lord of the Rings films. Dropping it removes the effect. In multiplayer mode, the player holding the ring is invisible to other players.
- The Voodja (Ouija) board is not considered a collectible for achievement purposes, but it may still be brought back to the Office via the Janitor's Trunk.
- "The Cask of Amontillado" mentioned in notes found in the level is a reference to the short story "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allen Poe
| The various food cans in the level either parody real products or reference aspects of horror films: |
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| The bookshelves in the house contain many "humorously" titled books with horror themes: |
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A painting of The Last Supper by Da Vinci can be found in the dining room of the main house. If the player stands in front of it, after a few seconds it begins to change into a "creepier" version, with organs covering the tables.
A taxidermied deer head can be found above the fireplace in the log cabin. When hit with the mop or broom, it will begin to move, facing the player and laughing with a high-pitched chuckle. This is a reference to the movie Evil Dead II.
Several of the PIDs around the map are references to epitomous characters in several pieces of horror media:
- A PID on the back porch reads "James Sunderland." This is a direct reference to Silent Hill 2, the main protagonist of which goes by the exact same name.
- A PID inside the master bedroom (the first door on the right in the upstairs hallway) on the second floor reads "Nancy Langenkamp". This is a reference to the lead protagonist of "A Nightmare on Elm Street", Nancy Thompson, and the last name of the actress who portrayed her, Heather Langenkamp.
- The PID in the bedroom that leads to the attic reads "Tina Grey." Tina Gray is the best friend of the protagonist in "A Nightmare on Elm Street," and is the character attacked during the opening credits.
- Another PID in the closet of the bedroom with the "Rook's Keep" poster above the bed reads "Rod Lane." Rod Lane is the boyfriend of Tina Gray, the protagonist's best friend in "A Nightmare on Elm Street."
- Inside the upstairs bathroom, inside the shower stall, is a PID reading "Wendy Duvall". Wendy is the first name of Jack Torrence's wife from the movie "The Shining", and Duvall is the last name of the actress who portrayed her, Shelley Duvall. .
- The second PID on the floor of the upstairs bathroom reads "Dick Hallorann." Dick Hallorann is a major character that occupies the hotel and is played by Scatman Crothers in "The Shining."
- The PID in the corner of the upstairs hallway reads "Jack Bacon." The last name of actor Kevin Bacon is combined with the first name of his character, Jack Burrell, one of the camp counselors, from "Friday the 13th."
- Another PID in the master bedroom reads "Steve Christy" , this is likely a reference to Steve Christy the man trying to reopen Camp Crystal Lake in the original Friday the 13th.
Image Gallery
