The Haunted Carousel is the eighth game in the Nancy Drew adventure series. It is based on Nancy Drew Mystery Stories #72: The Haunted Carousel. In this game, Nancy investigates a haunted carousel at a New Jersey theme park.
Contents
Synopsis
Take a spin with danger to unravel the mystery of a ghostly merry-go-round!
You, as Nancy Drew, are invited to the Jersey shore to investigate a series of mishaps at the Captain's Cove Amusement Park. The park's owner, Paula Santos, is a friend of your father's and calls you in to investigate. First, the lead horse was stolen from the carousel. Then the roller coaster suddenly lost power, resulting in a serious accident. Now the merry-go-round is mysteriously starting up in the middle of the night. The park has now been shut down until the city knows what has caused all of these mysterious things to happen. There is also a rumor going around that the park has been cursed. Will you be able to unravel the mysterious happenings surrounding this beautiful antique carousel?
- Explore an amusement park and play arcade games
- Reconstruct a historic carousel
- Use your laptop in order to find clues
Characters
Harlan Bishop
Harlan is the park's security guard. He's very dedicated to his job, even agreeing to a pay cut so that he could stay on duty while the park was closed.
Ingrid Corey
Ingrid is the chief engineer. She can apparently read people's "auras" and has somewhat New Age-esque beliefs. Also, she believes the park is cursed due to the horse being stolen.
Elliot Chen
Elliot is the park's art director. Everyone knows him as a huge procrastinator who's always behind in his work. He may even be fired if he doesn't catch up.
Joy Trent
Joy is the park's bookkeeper. While a hard worker, she doesn't seem to have much life outside her job.
Phone Friends
Nancy uses a cell phone that is located in her inventory.
Bess Marvin and George Fayne
Bess and George are cousins and are good friends of Nancy. They can give her advice.
Frank and Joe Hardy
Frank and Joe are detective brothers that Nancy knows. They can give her advice.
Paula Santos
Paula is the owner of the park who wants Nancy to find out what's been going on.
K.J. Perris
A police detective who gives Nancy important information on the case, and how it relates to a past case that was never totally solved.
Tink Obermeier
Tink is the man who operates the carousel and knows the inner workings of the band organ. During the game, he is on a fishing trip to Canada.
Trivia
- This is the first game in which players can use Nancy's cell phone, and a task list. But unlike the rest (until Tomb of the Lost Queen), Nancy can still use the task list if she is a Senior Detective.
Continuity
- A "Nick F." worked at the amusement park, and used the term "Fight the Power". (The Final Scene)
- Elliot has a Poppy Dada painting in his office, and mentions having met her. (Secret of the Scarlet Hand)
- Bess' parents took away her Caller ID. (Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake)
Foreshadowing
Main/recurring character revelations
- Bess watches The Oprah Winfrey Show.
- Joe likes amusement parks.
Allusions
- There is a red handprint on the door inside the roller coaster, referencing Secret of the Scarlet Hand.
- Joy's notepad has a dog from Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake on it.
Goofs
Quotes
- “Even Bad Memories have a place in a good life.”
- — Miles the Magnificent Memory Machine
