Hi everyone! Back for more symbolism and meanings in 2! So, grab a beverage of choice and take a look at some interesting lore of folklore. And theorists, feel free to let me know what you think of what you’ve read so far!

As before, massive spoilers ahead, so if you’d like to play the other games, do so now 😊

Pandemonium

• The ‘Hello John’ ending helps us learn more about the Crooked Man (who it is now confirmed is ‘John’ in canon), Pandemonium and their mysterious connection, we won’t go into too much detail here as it will remove the fun, but a couple of significant things to point out.

• Everything is black and white – It is interesting that in The Neverplace, black and white seem so prominent. Every character appears to be grayscale this time around. Pandemonium, the ruler of the Neverplace, is only black and white and inverses, there are currently no other colour variants of this mysterious entity. It’s very…black and white. 😉

Pandemonium struggles to communicate…

• Some players may have noted that Pandemonium struggles to communicate effectively, we have seen hints of this in ‘Inside the Box’, but it becomes very clear in this game, that Pandemonium does not seem to grasp social etiquette.
• There is no malice in this, it is not a ‘tactic’ that it uses, and there is a lack of comprehension altogether. It attempts to socialise to achieve its goals, even if it is not particularly good at doing so.
• John himself says ‘You don’t know what polite is! You’re just mimicking people! Without understanding why. I won’t be taken in by you, not again!’ –  it seems this is not the first time Pandemonium has been slow to learn and continues to fail.

PANDEMONIUM CROSSES THINGS OUT

• Because Pandemonium finds it hard to communicate, crossed-out text has become a staple of the Folklore series. It often tries to omit things that may help you or provide you clues about the truth of things.  😊

PANDEMONIUM LIKES TO REPEAT THINGS IT KNOWS WORKED BEFORE…

When Pandemonium knows a sentence has elicited some kind of effect, it is far more likely to use the same sentences again. We can see these span between games.

PANDEMONIUM USES FAMILY TIES/ BLOODLINES – TO DELIVER SIMILAR MESSAGES

• We can see that Daanya Haath and Suraj tend to say very similar things to each other (although Suraj will say something in a modern way compared to his father).  Is this because Pandemonium doesn’t understand how families work? Is it trying to learn by using them?

The Inner Demons

• There is a set of 4 characters in particular who seem to make John very anxious (players of ending 6 – ‘Hello John’ will discover who they are) – but there is also a merged blob...why?
• We know they use the name ‘John’ to make him feel uncomfortable. He will say things such as ‘I’m not that John anymore’ or ‘I’m the Crooked Man now!’…
• It is interesting to see the colour red feature so prominently here, could be danger, could be blood, but in these games…this colour is usually linked to the Crooked Man, John himself.

 Black and white diamonds – a game of chess.

• John seems to see the Neverplace in his dreams as a ‘chessboard’. When we see him as the ‘Chaos Prince’ – his attire becomes like that of a chessboard, entirely black and white - very similar to Pandemonium itself.
• We all know that chess is a strategy game that involves no hidden information and no elements of chance. It’s made up of ‘main pieces’ and ‘pawns’ and the game is typically won by checkmating the opponent's king, i.e. threatening it with inescapable capture…the catching of the King isn’t necessary to win, all you need do is set up the right pieces to ensure the victory. But there are several ways a game can end in a draw if the opponent can think on their feet.
• Once again, it’s very black and white…and not at all like the Crooked Man we’ve come to know.

 Nursery Rhymes:

Another pattern that may be emerging is that Nursery Rhymes regularly appear in the Folklore series, but more often than not – in relation to the Neverplace (for example, we don’t see them in ‘Bloodlines’ or ‘Sanctuary’. So far, we’ve noticed the following:

• The Crooked Man – whilst this shares a similar title, there is not much to read into this particular rhyme (aside from the fact that the Crooked Man was probably using it before 1842).
• The Gingerbread Man – Dracane asks whether you are ‘gingerbread’ or  ‘a fox’ – he does not like the idea of you being a fox at all. In the original rhyme, we can see the Gingerbread man saying “"I'm quarter gone … I'm half gone … I'm three-quarters gone … I'm all gone!"… when eaten by the fox. Whilst somewhat comedic in the original, in the Pandemonic realm, being eaten body part by body part by Pandemonium (the fox)…has sinister undertones.
• Goosey Goosey Gander – The original version of this rhyme is possibly an analogy for a hiding place for Catholic priests during Henry the 8^th’s persecutions. If found, priests were ‘thrown down the stairs. "Not being able to ‘say prayers’ relates to Catholics not being able to use Latin prayer books and the mandate of the English-language Book of Common Prayer. Having a ‘Gander’ is looking around in British slang. Due to all of the imagery in the Chamber of Adoration, Oculus Sinister points out that ‘Dracane’ and ‘Arfon’ are men who ‘won’t say their prayers’…aka…they don’t worship Pandemonium and have been ‘cast out’ (thrown down the stairs).
• The Man Who Isn’t there – Much later than some of the other rhymes in this list, but it was inspired by a man haunting a house. There’s something so simple and…unsettling about this poem. It will also be the title of the final game in the Folklore series!
• North Wind Doth Blow-  Poor thing, poor robin. If the player identifies as the swallow, Arfon appears relieved, but if the player says, ‘the robin’, he becomes very anxious. The swallow who was ‘off long ago’ -likely relates to migrating birds, but the robin stays in the barn, under his wing, with no alternative. Does he see himself as the robin who cannot ‘go off’ and he has to stay under his wing (poor thing). That links into a very subtle hint that is on the menu screen of ‘Inside the box’ where we see a rewrite of…
• Who killed cock robin? – Yes! Some keen-eyed players did notice the text in the background of ‘Inside the box’, it is indeed a rewrite of ‘Who killed cock-robin?’. We have some interesting names in the rewrite. A king, a witch, a queen, a wizard, a snake, the dark, the sea (players of Bloodlines may find some of this unnervingly familiar)

Tarot Cards:

Finally, I’ll share the meaning of the different Tarot Cards that appear in the background of each place of the Neverplace! You should be able to spot them 😊

 The Neverplace itself

The temperance

• Alchemy, Balance, Connecting with your guides, Harmony, Looking for divine intervention, Moderation

The temperance reversed

• Disharmony, Imbalance, Lack of patience, Onset of illness

Dracane - The tower 

• Accident or damage, Catastrophe, Destruction, Renovation, Unexpected change

Arfon - The Hanged Man reversed 

• Ultimate surrender, sacrifice, or being suspended in time.

Daanya Haath - The Chariot

• A journey, Ambition, Confidence, Drive, Overcoming obstacles, Will power

Suraj  - The Fool  reversed

• Chaos, Folly, Lack of direction, Naivety, Poor judgement, 

Oculus Sinister - The Hierophant

•  Education, Learning, Religion, Seeking counsel or advice, Spiritual guidance, Tradition