Hollow Hill Manor guide
A haunted house game the whole family can play
A good family haunted house game keeps the atmosphere (creaking floors, a storm outside, a torch in the dark, a ghost glimpsed at the end of a corridor) and leaves out the gore and the jump scares that upset younger players. Hollow Hill Manor is built that way: the ghosts are friendly people from 1923 who need your help, and a setting decides how scary it gets.
Spooky, not scary
Children love a ghost story as long as it's on their terms. The best haunted house games for families are about exploring and solving, not running away: a big old house to open up room by room, puzzles that reward looking closely, and a mystery that turns out kinder than it first seemed.
In Hollow Hill Manor the house has been empty since a storm in 1923. Its ghosts aren't out to frighten you: each is stuck on one unfinished thing, a song, a cake, a riddle, a game of hide-and-seek, and when you help, they say thank you and move on, and their rooms light up again.
Choose how scary it gets
There are three settings, changed at any time from the menu:
- Cosy: warm light, no sudden moments. Good for younger children or anyone who wants just the puzzles.
- Spooky (the default): creaks, a storm, and now and then a ghost glimpsed crossing the far end of a room. Atmosphere, never a shock.
- Fright: darker, with the occasional sudden scare. A grown-up turns it on (hold a button, then a sum), and it's part of Hollow Hill Manor Pro.
Whatever the setting there is never blood, gore or anyone getting hurt.
Playing together
It works well as a game to play side by side: one person holds the phone or the mouse and the others look for clues. Every line is read aloud by a narrator, with the ghosts speaking their own words, so children who are still learning to read can follow the story. Hints come in three steps, a nudge, then a pointer, then the answer, so nobody stays stuck for long.
What age is it for?
Most of the puzzles suit children from about seven with a grown-up nearby, and from nine or ten on their own: reading an old clock face, following a recipe's steps, counting stars, putting portraits in order of age, tracing a constellation. Older players and adults enjoy the story and the house itself, which you can wander freely.
Questions
Is Hollow Hill Manor scary?
Only as scary as you choose. Cosy has no sudden moments at all, Spooky (the default) has atmosphere and the odd glimpse of a ghost, and Fright, which a grown-up turns on, adds a few sudden scares. There is never any gore.
Is it free?
The first two chapters are free, with no ads and no account. Hollow Hill Manor Pro, a one-off $2.99, opens chapters 3 to 8, the Fright setting and the ghost camera's album.
Can young children play if they can't read yet?
Yes: every line is read aloud, and the hints go all the way to the answer.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, on phones, tablets and computers, in the browser, and it keeps working offline once loaded.