The Lure of the Gallows by Killian Faust is a modern urban fantasy interactive fiction novel developed using the Twine format and updated through Itch.io on a chapter-by-chapter basis. Originally posted as the first entry in a trilogy through Dashingdon, it is now adapted to be one novel with three main arcs.

In the unsuspecting small town of Washington Bay, Delaware, you have just become the last living seer after a fatal house fire killed your parents. When the town's designated Council of the Paranormal descends into havoc and refuses to pursue the investigation into the murders, you are forced to launch your own campaign to find the person responsible, even at the cost of your own life.

Across the country, in the modest tourist town of Melchior, Oregon, you are its most dangerous secret after the sudden disappearance of your father. Ever since you were a child, you have mastered the ability to control cell regeneration: with a wave of your hand, you can decay living organisms to the point of no return… or even revitalize them, if you so choose. In your greatest time of need, your father has vanished with only one, simple instruction: go to Washington Bay, and find the last Seer living there before it’s too late.

You are not alone: you have allies and friends, enemies and family. The truth of your ancestry is an ancient, terrible beast, and he has a familiar face. Yet as worlds collide and burn in fantastic light, you may find that the face you recognize the best, the one you’ve known in the mirror your whole life, could be the only thing you cannot turn away from.

And it could be the very thing that finally, truly kills you.

[PLAY THE DEMO]

There are two playable protagonists and nine romancable options:

Hello! It’s always missing LOTG hours, isn’t it 😔

I’m doing okay! I’m very busy though. My new job, which I started in February, is absolutely incredible. I love what I do now and it’s going to be a great career, but I’m still very new and the schedule is hectic. It’s also very draining! The hours are very long and I don’t have much time to myself. I miss writing so much, and I miss the community even more, but I can’t promise a game update anytime soon.

That being said, I’m always thinking about TLOTG even if I can’t write much for it right now. It’s not a dead project! It’s just hibernating. Anyone that has been around for a while knows that I’m in for the long haul and updates aren’t often. I love the little check-ins you guys send me, it’s so relieving to see that people love this project as much as I do even with so little content at the moment.

So thank you all, it’s nice to chat! Asks are always welcome, I read and appreciate them all. ❤

Hello! It’s nice to see thoughts about the new demo, I think adding the Naturalist into the story early as opposed to doing it in the second book definitely raised the stakes, and it was so fun to add their perspective. Plus, I absolutely love Fin and it was fun to formally introduce them. :)

Thank you for the sweet ask!

This ask is very old, but I wanted to say that the high school side story is posted on Itch.io! There’s a separate entry for the side stories specifically. Right now there’s the first day of high school and Mother’s Day based on the Seer’s side of things. I plan to add some Naturalist side stories eventually, too!

The link for both of them is here:

Hello! In the past I’ve kept it to the imagination with few exceptions, but I don’t mind sharing some reference photos/face claims for now. I kept them under the cut for those who have their own mental image. :)

Hello! You aren’t seeing things, I added the Naturalist when I imported the game to Twine. They were the protagonist for the second game, and I was planning to merge their POV with the Seer’s in the third game.

Since I merged the entire series into one game, however, I decided to merge them together at the beginning for better readability. The POVs will switch each chapter - much like the prologue when it goes from the Seer to the Naturalist - and there may be times when one MC has an entire chapter to themself due to… reasons. 😌 I hope to make the POV change clear by distinguishing the setting and narrative voices so when our protagonists meet in the third act it isn’t too confusing.

I hope that makes sense! I also will accept any feedback about how the POV switch is working! Is it too confusing? Would it be better to try and adjust the layout/transitions/etc to distinguish them better? Let me know.

Hello! There are technically three versions of the game.

First: the Dashingdon demo. This is the original demo, which covers up to the first five chapters of the first game. Note that this version is different than the newest demo, particularly because it lacks the Naturalist entirely and the narrative will have scene changes going forward.

Second: the Twine version. This is self-explainatory.

Third: the Patreon demo. This covered the original demo up to seven chapters, and it’s currently unavailable. Maybe in the future I will release it to play just for fun, but for now it’s being kept in my drafts. There are people who have played it and they know more about the plot than most, but honestly, the story is changing the more I rewrite it for Twine. So like I said, I might release it later on for those curious, but for now it was just a Patreon special.

Hello! I see what you’re trying to say, although my answer might not be exciting. Fin is Brazilian-American, technically. Their father’s side is an example of a typical American mixing pot: it includes European ancestry, so something like British, German, French, etc. Their surname, Ramsey, is Scottish if that helps!

Update 8/31/22

Hello, everyone!

This is just a little update because I wanted to mention a few things.

First things first, the game is officially turning four! I originally posted the Dashingdon demo on September 1, 2018, and here we are today. :) Younger me would be absolutely appalled at the amount of support my silly little game has. I’ve grown as a writer since then, and the game has grown with me. So thank you all for being there with me! We still have some ways to go but I am looking forward to it.

Second, to celebrate the anniversary, I have transferred the Patreon side stories to Twine, which you can play here. There are three stories at the moment, with the potential for more during special events. I eventually want to write the Naturalist’s past, but I have to be wary of spoilers, of course. If I add any more stories, I will absolutely update you all here!

Third, the next game update is planned for late September. I’m thinking either the 18th or the 25th, depending on how the month goes. There was recently a death in my family, so I’m taking progress slow. I’m excited to share the update though! I’ve made some edits to Seer’s side and the Naturalist is beginning their own journey. :)

As always, thank you guys for the support! You are all seriously the best. ❤