Whateley Manor during the Day.
Whateley Manor is the haunted mansion in Tamir, and it is a sight that is unusual for Daventry, it takes its name from Wilbur Whateley one of the later owners of the house, who apparently lived there for a time in Innsmouth. It is also known as the Tamir House or Haunted Mansion by locals.
Background[]
It is flanked by twin graveyards (West Yard, and East Yard). Known to many simply as the haunted house; it is a large house in central Tamir surrounded by a graveyard on two sides. It's known to some as Whateley Manor, and it is said to have been transported to Daventry when its inhabitants and others--strange others--withdrew from the Other World. Rosella had to pacify five ghosts who haunted the mansion, including the spirit of a former lord of the manor from before the days of old, dark Wilbur Whateley. The house also contains a hidden tower, the door which can only be discovered by looking at a portrait above the fireplace in the parlor.[1]
The old Whateley Manor, broods over and dominates the entire neighborhood. The massive edifice was not built in Tamir; it and the two adjacent graveyards were transported to their present location complete and entire--exactly in the decayed state one may see them in--from the Other World. They somehow were carried along when certain inhabitants of the town of Innsmouth withdrew to the universe of Daventry.
Not often do inanimate objects make the transition to the universe, thus the folk of Innsmouth were powerful sorcerers. They ran into the sea and disappeared immediately upon arriving in Tamir. They spoke little; they left no tales. The ones who stayed on land gurgled what little information that had been passed down, and then locked themselves inside the mansion. They disappeared from sight, and soon the eerie glows and rays which stabbed from the house at night vanished also. In time the haunting began.
No living creature inhabits the house, and the spirits who haunt it speak of little except their own torments. Nighttime visitors have been known to occasionally be rewarded for listening to the ghostly pleas and performing some slight service to aid in putting the creatures' souls to rest.[2]
The attic has long been hidden to visitors, as the entrance would only appear after someone helped the family that had been haunting the house.[3]
Layout[]
Inside the creaky house can be seen the remains of a once grand library; many of the original furnishings still remain to give a sense of its former grandeur. Above the old fireplace hangs a large oil portrait of an unknown young woman, not overly pretty, with a somewhat mischievous expression on her face. Her twinkling eyes do not look at one directly, but sneak off glancing at some prank somewhere to her right. If one follows the stare across, they will find a little latch that helps conceal a secret door in the wall. Local legend claims the mischief is that one will never, ever, see the latch if they don't look at the mystery woman first. Through the door a secret passage leads up to a tower room dominated by a massive and ancient pipe organ. Those few who know how to play such an exotic instrument say its tone is as eerie as its environment demands.
Much time can be spent admiring the furnishings in the other parts of Whateley Manor. The bedrooms, though dusty, still seem to wait for their owners to return. In one of those bedrooms there is even a secret ladder ascending into the old attic.[4]
Locations[]
Entrance[]
Parlor[]
Considering the disarray of the rest of the house, the parlor looks in relatively good order. The fireplace is cold and unused, the bookshelves are almost bare, and the old furnishings are dusty. There are few books left on the bookshelves, one of these was The Compleat Works of William Shakespeare (which Rosella found and gave to Frankie of Avalon). There is an old divan, it's still in pretty good shape, but a bit dusty though. An old oriental carpet lies on the floor. An interesting portrait of a young girl hangs above the fireplace. Her eyes seem to stare at the left wall of the parlor. Her eyes to point to a hidden latch, that opens the door to a secret passage to a hidden tower in the manor. There is also a dusty old cabinet, but nothing interesting is left in it.
Tower[]
Dining Room[]
Kitchen[]
Master Bedroom[]
Nursery[]
Bedroom[]
Attic[]
Behind the scenes[]
The eastern part of the house is somehow similar with Manannan's house, with a dining room and a kitchen room behind it.
In the KQ4 Hintbook this location is referred to as the Tamir House or the Haunted House. The Haunted House is an alternate name for the house given in King's Quest Companion as well.
The name of the Whateley Manor is based on the Whateley House or Whateley family from the stories, "The Dunwich Horror", or "Fungi from Yuggoth" by H.P. Lovecraft. Whateley House was the home of the Whateley family of sorcerers. However that house was located near Dunwich, so as such this must be another house within their ownership. The Dunwich house was a large farmhouse on a hillside, four miles from the Village of Dunwich, Massachusetts, and a mile and a half from any other dwellings