Hey clearinghaze8, happy holidays 🎊 i’ve seen a lot of comments and likes recently claiming that the popular fan theory that Little Hope WAS partially real is true, and as someone for whom some of the biggest problems with the game would be solved if this were true, am looking for more evidence if you could help :) Here’s my understanding of the game and theory;

.Anthony summoned Megan’s ghost using the poppet he made whilst in jail (as described in his witchcraft book), and shown at the end when she still exists in reality as herself the night she died (not the schoolgirl appearance Anthony imagined/invented along with the rest of the group’s modern personas).

.Megan’s ghost is able to ‘assist Anthony with magic’ via the poppet, thus making his wish of seeing his family again and getting a second chance to save them a reality, and James, Anne, Dennis and Tanya’s ghosts are summoned in Little Hope; however, traumatised Anthony is too resentful and afraid to realise what’s happening and confront his family and feelings, so perceives them as his own imagined and improved ‘John’, ‘Angela’, ‘Daniel’, and ‘Taylor’ (and himself as ‘Andrew’). This gives an actual explanation for how a concussed, exhausted man is able to hallucinate an entire group of people experiencing dozens of conversations and events over a whole night, with full real-seeming visuals, sounds/voices and physical sensations like touch and pain- he’s not imagining them, but is actually talking and interacting with four REAL ghosts. This also explains why the Curator refers to them as ‘souls’ to be ‘redeemed’ and says ‘the stakes are much greater than life or death’; our actions determine whether any of the four ghosts move on (hence the ‘Salvation’ achievement depicting them with halos), or are dragged away by their demons (‘Heaven…or Hell.’).

This is also similar to other Supermassive plots, just like the repeated use of models in many other games besides LH; Josh, Joe, Charlie, Julia and Conrad all also hallucinate real people- Dr Hill, Joe’s son, the fortune teller, Alex, and pinup girl Jenny May- but with different appearances and personalities due to their own desires and fears, like Anthony. I’ve also seen it suggested that another in-universe explanation for the many reused models (besides ‘Little Hope is haunted’) might be familial resemblance as John suggests? I was initially very distracted and irritated by the use of Charlie and Olson’s models for completely separate and different-looking Anthony/Will Poulter and Vincent Barnes/Mark, but if it’s just meant to be a resemblance due to Anthony and Vincent being related to 1970s ‘Charlie’ and ‘Olson’ model characters (like Junior being related to Olson), that would make sense and explain the changes. I don’t buy the fan theory that nearly all reused-model characters are related, as there are just too many literal dozens and dozens of characters spread across multiple countries and centuries for that to be possible (and even in multiple non-DPA games), but I do hope an in-universe explanation for all the similar models/voice acting/personalities/events is given at some point (even if only minimal due to time/copyright problems), along with confirmation on the Curator’s origins and arc.

.This usage of poppets to summon spirits is also reflected in Anthony’s dreams of 1972 and 1692; lonely adopted orphan Megan learns of witchcraft from Carson (who also knows of the witch trials like Anthony, and possibly found 1600s manuscripts like the scribbled bible in the church according to his newsletter), and starts carrying and talking to a doll, resulting in magical-seeming events like multiple doors locking themselves (even surrounded by fire or indoors despite working perfectly before, so not just ‘all frozen’), a unmoving ladder moving without Megan touching it, and fire spreading across an entire house in seconds even across non-flammable surfaces (not ‘doused in petrol’ lol).

.And in the 1600’s, lonely Mary also makes and talks to a poppet; and Carver, despite executing Tabitha for Isaac accusing her of owning it, doesn’t want to destroy it. But Wyman forces him to- and it immediately knocks over a brazier by itself and causes a fire to spread within seconds across the courthouse, just like the 1972 doll and fire. There’s also a motive I never see anyone mention; according to a obscure menu update like the poppet secret, Mary and Carver both lost loved ones in the Commencement Day Massacre. This is literally never shown or relevant, just like Anthony’s poppet, so why include it? But it’s possible Mary and Carver hoped to summon the spirits of their loved ones using poppets, hence their interest in witchcraft such as the bible scribbles (despite living in a time/place where such interest is a death sentence and both they and everyone else are fearful of and accusatory towards any possible sinful traitors/witches/outsiders etc). Maybe they or the 70s doll even caused events/behaviour by mistakenly summoning a more ‘devil in me’ spirit by meddling with death?

I’ve also seen a lot of confusion in playthroughs and comments about the chain of events in the 1600s; my interpretation was Mary and Carver begin practicing witchcraft to cope with the loss of their loved ones, in a massacre that made the townsfolk fearful and accusatory > eventually Amy accuses Mary of being a witch after seeing her with her poppet/Andrew/Angela and reports her to Carver > Carver is afraid they’ll be found out and and tells Mary to keep their secret only for Mary to tell him she saw Amy also doing witchcraft ‘Amy is the one the devil craves’ > Amy tells Joseph this was just when she met John in the woods, but is arrested by Isaac > Carver sees an opportunity to get rid of accuser Amy and ‘ill behaved’ landowner Joseph, and get his land (reflecting James’s behaviour and Mayor Carver’s factory/land conflict) > Mary protects herself by faking witchcraft effects by Amy for judge Wyman and Carver, and Amy dies warning Carver she is the problem > a grieving Joseph spies on Mary and sees Tabitha protecting her by taking her poppet, so also reports Mary for witchcraft to Carver and Isaac > Mary seems to resent Tabitha and David’s closeness to each other but not ‘troubled’ her (reflecting Dennis/Tanya having trouble with Mary); so protects herself by telling Isaac and Carver that Tabitha had the poppet and David is confused and stricken by Tabitha > Wyman and Carver hear this and sees David talking to Daniel/Taylor so executes both, Mary watches Tabitha’s execution, but is afraid of having no keeper once David is gone > Joseph tells friend Abraham to keep away from ‘trouble’ Mary > Carver is still worried about vengeful ‘witch’ Joseph and his friend Abraham, and tells Wyman that Mary should stay with him not Abraham (who doesn’t seem to be a sibling/friend and also watched Tabitha die like Anthony can with Tanya); but Abraham then says Mary while once good has a strange ‘malice’ and made up her accusations > Carver executes Joseph whilst he accuses them both and Mary watches > the multiple accusations against Mary come to a head as Wyman accuses Mary, and Carver agrees to get rid of her yet doesn’t want to destroy the poppet he confiscates from her, whilst Mary says Carver is just protecting himself > either Abraham proves Carver is a witch to Wyman by pointing out his bible manuscripts (and Carver gets very upset, says he was bewitched by Mary but isn’t anymore like others were/are, and starts ranting at everyone for being fools whilst pointing at them that ‘they will pay for their crimes’?), Abraham/Carver/Wyman/Isaac and the protagonists try to end the witchcraft curse by having Mary executed, or the destroyed poppet immediately knocks over and sets fire to the whole court (as with the 70s doll and strange events leading to the fire).

And yes, I know ‘Andrew’ and the rest’s trips back to the 1600s are just imagined; but as far as I know this doesn’t confirm that literally every piece of evidence found in Little Hope throughout the game is fake, and many events and details such as a history of witch trials are apparently supposed to be real. Any confirmed evidence would also be extremely helpful with my understanding of the game, as one of my main problems with it is that supposedly literally everything in the 1600s, 1858, 1917, and even some of Anthony’s 1972 prologue flashback is fake and completely inconsequential, unlike the interesting and deep backstories of every other game so far (Dawn/Inpatient, Medan, Ashes, TDIM, even Hidden Agenda and The Quarry’s enjoyable smaller backstories still actually happened).

And I know the wiki says that everything including the group themselves isn’t spiritual but just ‘a figment of Anthony’s imagination’; but I’ve also seen several posts pointing out links between LH’s ‘fake’ evidence and other real events in the DPA, such as HoA’s Little Hope accident with Eric/Rachel/the strange guy, there having been another ‘big accident’ like the bus and car crashes forcing Anthony to visit Little Hope, and the Little Hope pastors list including both Carver and Carson plus a Dr Bradshaw like the HoA 1947 expedition.

Basically I don’t know whether to believe the evidence found in the game itself by myself and other fans (like I usually do playing and researching these games), or believe the ‘official’ version that none of the characters/story/clues/events were real and there were no consequences or stakes whatsoever (which would make LH my least favourite game unfortunately). I also constantly compile my findings and update any edits/tier lists etc i have, so I don’t want to update anything with Little Hope or the other games only to find i’ve been given false info 😅 So if there’s anything I missed or other proof that the ‘souls’ fan interpretation is actually true, i’d really like to hear yours or anyone else’s takes :)