Game Trailer| Home Sweet Home Ep. II — First Impressions/Theories
Hey BAYOG Fam! You all may remember me talking about a Thai horror game called Home Sweet Home [here] and [there]. I know…I’ve been behind on my breakdown of the whole game. I’ll probably get to it eventually… Anyway, I was impressed with the game. I had been waiting forever for for any news on Episode II. Then Mastiff Games and the devs announced around February that it would be released in 2019. So I thought we could talk about what we know, and what to expect. I figured that my Thai background might help you see and understand some things you might not have picked up on.
[Warning: This post contains some spoilers from Episode 1]
Some promo posters dropped, and it seemed to tease that it will in fact be centered around the Thai dancer ghost. Perhaps we’ll finally see her backstory. The second poster that was released showed a man (most likely Tim) about to enter an ominous looking Wat, or Thai Buddhist temple.
The official trailer for Home Sweet Home: Episode II was then dropped on March 28, 2019. Apparently there a demo was out recently as well. The demo was only playable at the Thailand Game Expo 2019 that was being held at BITEC Bangna in Bangkok. This was about 3 weeks ago? I couldn’t really find any actual game play. It was mostly just people’s faces reacting to the game. So the rest of us outside of Thailand will have to wait a bit. In the meantime, let’s break down the trailer! I’m super excited guys! So let’s break down this trailer, shall we?
We do see a seemingly run down Wat in the middle of the forest, and presumably in the middle of nowhere. Wats are supposed to be considered sacred ground. However, it’s also a common setting for creepy ghost stories. Wats can seem really creepy at night. Especially if it’s a Wat in the middle of the forest in the middle of nowhere. You’ll typically see these kinds of scenarios in Thai horror movies or ghost stories. I have to say the setting is wonderfully done. This is exactly like a temple you’d see while driving in the middle of the countryside or something. In fact, I actually drove past 2-3 of these while I was in Thailand in March. This particular Wat seems to be called วัดเวศาลี, or Wat Waesalee.
We then see these glowing red things through the forest. You may think it’s just like embers flickering about at first. However, I’m pretty sure that it’s a Thai ghost called a กระสือ, or Krasue. You’re more likely to hear about this ghost in the countryside.
It’s actually made a brief appearance in Episode 1 when you go downstairs of the country house. I’ve heard people call it a Filth Eating Spirit in English. It’s actually a type of spirit that’s common in alot of Southeast Asian folklore. In Thai folklore, it’s a type of nocturnal spirit. During the day, it appears to be a beautiful and young woman. It blends in during the day by seemingly living like any other local villager. Night time is when things change. It’s said that the head detaches from the body and floats around. You see, Krasue are characterized as floating heads that have the entrails dangling down from below the neck. It’s also said that they kind of have a will-o-wisp kind of glow to them. Thai folklore says that the Krasue are cursed to always be hungry, and it seeks out blood, flesh, or filth (aka poop) to satisfy it’s hunger. Belief around the Krasue seems to be more popular with the country folks. Skeptics will often say that it’s just country villagers mistaking fireflies for Krasue.
So the next shot we see is of a scene from the end of Episode 1. Here, we see the มีดหมอ, or exorcist’s knife, on the floor. Yes, there is such a thing as an exorcist or shaman’s knife. The knife usually has some sacred inscriptions on it. It’s typically used by exorcists, shamans, witch doctors, holy men, or whatever you wanna call them. They’re used to fight and get rid of evil spirits. I’m amusing we’ll see more information on the exorcist’s knife. Perhaps a backstory of the exorcist himself.
Next, we see the ผีนางรำ, or dancer ghost. There are many different kinds of traditional Thai dances. They’re seen as an intricate art. It usually requires alot of training and practice. It’s definitely not easy. It takes alot of time and effort to be able to move so delicately and gracefully like that. You typically need to be trained by a teacher or master. Fun fact: my grandma used to dance these kinds of dances. From what I saw in the first episode and the trailer, I’m assuming that this home may have been a school or a master’s home where they taught traditional dancing. Dancer ghosts are another typical character you’d see in some Thai ghost stories. It’s also been the subject of some films. Actually, when I first saw the dancer ghost in Episode I, I was immediately reminded of an old Thai horror anthology movie called Bangkok Haunted. I was like 10-11 when that came out, and it creeped me out.
We should also take a closer look at the poster that was released as well. Notice how she appears to have some sort of mark over part of her face and eye. It can be a huge birth mark, or most likely a scar or burn mark. This may very well play into her backstory as well. Probably involving insecurities regarding her beauty or appearance. I bet it’s either one of two things. If it’s a birth mark: She’s a very talented dancer. However, she faces alot of ridicule for her appearance. Maybe she was held back or looked over because of her appearance. If it’s a scar: Probably very similar to scenario 1. However, she’s talented AND beautiful. There’s probably some sort of accident or foul play that happens. Maybe someone was jealous or felt scorned. Now she’s ridiculed because of her appearance. She’s gone from the top to now being dropped to the bottom. Again, these are just my theories.
Next up in the trailer, we see some very thick man’s feet and legs as he walks across the room. We also see he’s holding a sword of some sort. This may be a wide speculation, but I think it might be a ghost of an old executioner. So back in the old days, executions were done with a sword. It was basically like a ritual. The executioner would perform a sort of ritualistic dance and form before beheading the person who was being punished. It’s in Thai, but here’s a video that kind of shows what I’m talking about.
I’m pretty certain there are ghost stories surrounding executioners. I know there was one in a Thai horror series called Thirteen Terrors. It’s a horror anthology series, and it is available on [Netflix]. You should see the executioner ghost in the first episode. Stereotypically in comics, movies, and TV, the executioner -USUALLY- appears as a stocky kind of dude. So that’s one of the reasons I immediately thought this might be the case.
Home Sweet Home is known to draw from alot of Thai folklore AND Thai horror movies. It’s pretty funny because I keep watching Thai horror movies and it often makes me think of Home Sweet Home. I’ve also seen some Thai TV series that bring up alot of things that came up in Home Sweet Home. There’s a particular series I keep seeing that is being aired on Channel 8 (I believe). They had episodes dealing with the Pret, a dancer ghost, voodoo/black magic, and even the nails in the stomach jinx. Anyway, these were just my thoughts and observations. I could be right, I could be wrong. We won’t know until the game is out~ Anyway, what did you think? What are your guesses on what’s gonna happen? Did you know some of this stuff already, or did you learn something new? Let me know~ Minty out~~~