Perceptions of the Dead

About Perceptions of the Dead

Perceptions of the Dead is a free visual novel by Ithaqua Labs, released on Steam on Halloween 2017 for Windows and Linux. Its premise is set out in its first line: ghosts are real. You choose from three stories, each told in drawn art with its own tone.

The Phantom Ice Cream Truck follows someone who lives on the border between life and death as he answers a call to rescue a missing child. Perceptions of the Dead follows Tyrone, who has made a business of helping people troubled by the dead, on a case of a seemingly harmless haunting that puts his soul at risk. Live with Jill follows a streamer who, to liven up her channel, livestreams a Halloween visit to the most haunted building in her state, a hospital that turns out to be really haunted.

The art moves from bright, cartoonish faces to dark, tangled spirits glimpsed through a phone camera, and the writing mixes jokes with dread. The store warns of a ghost caught in a loop of its own death, with loud gunshots, and of a mention of suicide.

It suits readers who want short ghost stories for October that cost nothing, and who like their horror with some humour.

How to play Perceptions of the Dead

1. Download it free on Steam for Windows or Linux.
2. Pick one of the three stories from the menu.
3. Click to read on through the dialogue and scenes.
4. Come back to the menu to read the other two stories.

Tips

• Start with Live with Jill if you want the Halloween story.
• Play with the sound at a sensible level: one story has sudden, loud gunshots.
• Each story stands alone, so read them in any order.

Questions