Oh good eye. Nothing that will alter an ending in that room. That was more of a touch of environmental storytelling with the inhabitants of the house trying to contain the growth that had taken hold of one of their own. As you can see so far, it hasn't exactly gone well for them. Really glad you've been exploring so much. Hope you're enjoying the game so far! :-)
Viewing post in Hope Springs: Penstroke comments
Oh excellent! There's three endings in total. The mailboxes each need a "Strange Invitation" specific to each. These are hidden in some scenes of the game that won't show a label to the player when next to them. Same can be said for the other hidden interactions that provide another ending. Happy hunting! :-)
I managed to solve the shrines puzzle indeed! But for the mailboxes I really have no clues. I noticed one has a dreamcatcher on it, and there's indeed a dreamcatcher in one of the save rooms, the one in the wagon, but I can't interact with it in any way. On another mailbox there's a lantern, but it's full of lanterns everywhere. As for the bell, I think I didn't see any around. I am definitely stuck on that...
So to give you a little more to go on, there's essentially three envelopes just hidden throughout the game. They can be hidden anywhere from slightly sticking out from behind something on a wall to floating I'm something else. Sorry for being a bit cryptic but don't want to spoil it too much for others. Hope that helps. :-)