A Creator's Dive Into Turmoil

(tense, ominous music) (rapid beeps) (soft start-up music) (mouse click) (tense, foreboding music) (static whistling) - Mortis, guardian of the sacred key. - To find the Grail, you must look at the stars. (soft, cheerful music) (tense, foreboding music) (steam hiss) - "Drowned God." (suspense music) A 1996 point-and-click video game created by a man named Richard Horne, also known as Harry Horse. Starting from the idea that the scientific origins of humanity are a lie, the game unfolds like a disturbing mirror in a disturbed mind. The game is, for all intents and purposes, a product of its time and was generally received well.

Containing an esoteric mix of historical beliefs, the game effectively bombards you with questions about your origins, connecting them to prominent conspiracy theories and secret societies, such as the Illuminati. In turn, the final result is disconcerting, but something tells me that this was done on purpose. At the beginning of "Drowned God", you are greeted by a mysterious chamber and a strange voice explaining your place in its world. Supposedly, the reality you're experiencing is a gift, and who it comes from is currently one of the game's many mysteries. The voice explains that you have returned here from a previous life and that your current task, although dark, is to unearth a secret that will enlighten you with answers about life itself. "Trust too much," warns the voice, "and you will know the evil in the hearts of men.

As above, so below. As above, so below. This is the secret of the "Drowned God." (tense, tense music) suspenseful) Something about 1990s PC games has this charm and is eerily enjoyable (soft, suspenseful music). It's rudimentary, at least by modern standards, but back then that was expected point-and-click gameplay was nothing new, and "Drowned God" was, of course, one of many. Similar "Sanitarium", "Garage", "Myst", "Putt-Putt", were everywhere. However, what made it special was the fact that it was so extravagant. It had layers, genuine lore, and a wild mix of conspiracies, all in one creepy little two-hour package. Enjoying “Drowned God” meant you had to believe in it, absorb yourself in it, and suspend any counterbeliefs that were baked into your consciousness. (soft, ominous music) (machinery hum) (soft music) After the introductory monologue, you are left in a chamber called the Bequest Globe.

Before you is a terminal, and after entering your name, it assigns you a number, a code name, and then presents you with a synopsis of your past lives. After observing this, a door opens leading to two otherworldly beings named Kether and Malachut, who explain that you must collect four ancient relics for the secret of the Drowned God. Obtaining them involves using a time machine mechanic known as Cryptowheel, which teleports you to the regions where they are stored. The first world is called Binah and contains aspects of Arthurian legend and includes references to Stonehenge. It takes you across a deserted wasteland before finally dropping you off at a museum that I can only describe as amazing.

Like the Anything Goes Museum, (man sighs) but that's a story for another time. (soft, upbeat music) The second, Chesed, shows an underwater interior and Aztec ruins, all wrapped within an eerily liminal desert. Something I especially enjoyed here were the numerous references to the Philadelphia Experiment, a conspiracy theory of an invisible time-traveling military ship that is admittedly pretty creepy. An obvious hoax, but still pretty creepy. I'm sure you can see why it fits perfectly into "Drowned God." The third, called Din, takes you to a carnival, a maze, and an underground subway system. The characters you'll encounter during this section are wearing Plague Doctor masks and walking in the most unnatural way possible.

The carnival section, however, was a welcome change because it gave me "Silent Hill 3" vibes, and that's not a bad thing. And the final world, Chokmah, takes you to a structure outside of Area 51. Everything is super quiet. Super abandoned. Super sinister. (Soft, upbeat music continues) Once the game finally comes to an end and you collect three of the four artifacts needed to unearth the big secret, you will discover that you can't and will have to choose three separate paths that will lead you to three different endings. . Choosing the first path banishes you to a technological police state with men in black suits watching over you.

The second is more or less the same, however, you are forced to perform genetic manipulation against your will. And the final path? Well, that's my favorite, because it welcomes you with a scene of aliens cheerfully saying, "Coming on, for we are legion." - A little bold, I admit, but that's "Drowned God" for you. Aliens helped create humanity. Because of course they did. (soft, upbeat music) Now, “Drowned God” itself is undeniably creepy and absolutely deserves a full review video of its own. It has all the pillars of a dissectable medium, with hidden secrets, a complicated story, disturbing characters and a creepy atmosphere.

While that alone piques my personal interest, what you might be surprised to know is that the discussion about the game itself is not the reason we're here today. The game's

creator

, Harry Horse, is a peculiar person, and the backstory of his life behind the veil of the "Drowned God" is nothing short of disturbing. But why? (tense, ominous music) (computer pings) (keyboard clicking) (soft, eerie music) Nearly a decade after the game's release, reports had surfaced that Harry Horse had perished in a Romeo and Juliet-style suicide pact with his wife, Amanda Williamson. . The couple reportedly overdosed on painkillers and died in each other's arms, with some outlets describing the scene as "deeply moving" and "the final expression of the great love story that was their life together." While this may initially seem serious, later discoveries would later reveal that the reality of the situation was not so simple.

Like I said, Harry Horse was an enigma, an outlier. A mind full of complexity, like that of a mad scientist. During the last decade of his life, everything around him became increasingly complicated and misfortune. His wife suffered from an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis and, as a result, Harry regularly expressed his growing discontent with how his life was falling together. The division and method of discovery between this supposed story of love and suicide pact and the media stories surrounding it are another curious finding as well, since the real details of what happened that night were not revealed until months later.

The story that everyone was led to believe, this romantic tragedy, was actually a complete lie. In reality, things were much, much darker. Let me take you to the beginning. (soft opening music) (soft, sinister music) It is May 9, 1960. A baby boy is born to Jo and Derek Horne of Warwickshire, England. They call him Richard and he would be the first of four children. For most of his childhood, things go pretty well. The family reportedly lived on a luxurious farm without much conflict, and from an early age, Richard was known to have a penchant for art, frequently drawing the animals he saw on his daily walks with his family.

Those who knew him considered him to be a considerably friendly and honest boy, with a winning smile. In his adolescence, Richard would become increasingly aware that his life aspirations were at odds with those of his family. For example, his parents were delighted when he finally got a job as a paralegal at a law firm; However, this occupation opened his eyes to where his passion really lay. Not in the law, but in art. After leaving him shortly after, and when he turned 18, he would leave his home to go to Edinburgh, Scotland, hoping to sneak into college art classes.

He also changed his name from Richard Horne to Harry Horse around this time, which his family believes was his way of burying his past life completely, a gap we will soon find worthy of note. "If you look like a student and act like a student, then basically you are," Harry claimed was his philosophy at Edinburgh University, and it seemed to have paid off, as just five years later, he would release his first children's book with a notable success. His method of achieving this, however, involved a significant amount of lying and persuasion. He had allegedly contacted the potential publisher, Canongate, posing as an agent and stating that they should check out Harry's work.

Needless to say, he finally got that interview and the rest is history. (upbeat, upbeat music) Utilizing this new role-playing skill, Harry would launch a band called "Swamptrash" in 1987. It was during this phase of his life that he would meet the woman he would marry, named Amanda Williamson. . (soft, sinister music) She was a self-proclaimed number one fan and they reportedly hit it off from the beginning. According to a friend, "Harry was in love with Amanda" and "she was a center of sublime stillness." Something Harry supposedly needed since, according to people close to him, he was prone to sudden outbursts of anger.

From coworkers to bandmates, what most were unaware of was the fact that Harry lashed out for seemingly no reason, frequently leaving them bewildered by the polarity of him. "I hate fucking dealers, they are the parasites of the art world, greedy, profit-obsessed individuals with no real understanding of art," he once unloaded on a Scottish art dealer. No doubt, it was because of this notion that his peers would see him as a good guy, but he had the devil in him and, no doubt, he was unpredictable. (soft start music) (hum of machinery) (soft, happy music) - The game is about an alternative interpretation of human history.

The whole mystery of "Drowned God" is based on Atlantis and the position of these star constellations that form the same constellation as the Pyramids of Giza, the layout of the ground. It's a puzzle game, basically, it's all about unlocking a gigantic secret. And the game is seen as a long crescendo from near ignorance to initiation and new knowledge, which is genuine. You leave the game with significantly more between your ears and perhaps in your heart than you had when you started. It's about... (tense, foreboding music) - After becoming interested in conspiracy theories, Harry used his forgery and role-playing skills to create a fake manuscript, dated 1846, that outlined an alternative history of the dawn of humanity.

To achieve this, he posed as an 18th century poet named Richard Henry Horne. Not to be confused with Harry Horse's birth name. According to Harry, "Henry Horne became very interested in the legend of the Sons of God, and was exactly the subject of my forgery." A wild coincidence according to him, but one that largely fooled everyone and ultimately served as the basis for the "Drowned God" story. On Halloween night 1996, the game was released and was generally well received, selling over 34,000 copies in just two weeks. Described by some as "the strangest, creepiest, most psychedelic adventure game I've encountered yet," it was safe to say that Harry had created something special.

So special that he had planned a sequel called "CULT" to eventually tie together the story of the "Drowned God", however, due to events that would soon happen, that sequel would never see the light of day. (metal click) (soft, foreboding music) Contrary to his success in his professional life, Harry's personal life was falling apart. Amanda was officially diagnosed with an aggressive form of multiple sclerosis, which caused her health to rapidly deteriorate and, by the early 2000s, she was confined to a wheelchair. This downward spiral would continue for most of the next decade, and those close to them could observe Harry's mental state reflecting this.

After countless smaller moves and life changes over the next few years, the couple would adopt a cat and dog named Roo, and in 2004, they set up camp for the last time near Amanda's immediate family in Shetland, Scotland. It was there that Harry was out of his element. As time went on, his workload caring for Amanda would increase, but at the same time, his mind had a nagging desire to return to work in Edinburgh. For Harry, the months began to seem longer, he became less and less inspired, and in May 2006, his colleagues observed that his behavior had reached a breaking point. (Soft, foreboding music continues) Catalyzed by the sudden passing of his dog, Roo, he became indifferent, incalculable, and that resulted in a multitude of incidents.

According to The Sunday Times, he "reprimanded aShetland art gallery for its pretentious paintings. She punched a hole in a wall of her home during a fight with a social worker who was disputing Amanda's disability benefits. His family's relationships were reaching a terminal phase, and he finally cut off contact with each of them. "I'm in hell," Harry once stated. And this island that was supposed to be his home of tranquility, was beginning to feel more and more like a prison cell. (soft opening music) (soft, sinister music) On January 9, 2007, two friends visiting from New Zealand would make a quick stop to check on the couple.

During their stay, Harry was allegedly not himself and made statements such as: "It's a wonderful night to kill." According to them, Amanda did not want them to do it. Nor, however, did they leave against her wishes. , they left anyway. (tense, ominous music) 9:40 am, January 10th On the way to the airport, the two friends return to the house to retrieve a jacket they forgot. The front door is open and they enter Sin. However, instead of being greeted by the couple, they encounter something a little more grotesque. Her new dog and his cat are stabbed to death. Amanda is seen with over 30 stab wounds and a broken sword stuck inside her.

Harry was discovered with more than 47 wounds on his arms and torso, and mutilated genitals. The couple lies close together in their bed. There is blood on the floor, the windows, the walls and the scene is unlike anything they have ever witnessed. (Tense, ominous music continues) According to the media, Harry is believed to have snapped that night after consuming an alleged cocktail of drugs, stabbing her wife over and over again until the first knife broke inside her. He grabbed another and continued stabbing her before turning her attention to her two pets, and after killing them, he turned the knife on himself, stabbing her torso and genitals until he and Amanda bled out. "The doctor who treated him has not returned to work," said one officer, "it's the worst thing he's ever seen in his life." (soft, suspenseful music) To the police, the scene was dark.

They went on record saying that a murder like this had not occurred in the Shetland Islands in the more than 15 years prior to the incident. The area was cordoned off and the investigation began privately, although, outside, word of mouth began to spread. Because Scottish investigators operate close to the chest, hiding details and official accounts even today, everyone had learned that the couple was dead, however no one knew exactly why or how. It was because of this notion that rumors would arise about a possible overdose of Amanda's painkillers, as Harry could not have murdered his own wife, his pets, and then himself.

Could he? And so, in the weeks immediately following the incident, the media followed it, disguising the murder-suicide as an act of love. There were even plans to bury the two together as the families believed that was what they would have wanted, however, they were not aware of the full story. It wasn't until days later that the families learned the actual details of the crime scene, and it's a bitter feeling they still carry to this day. That said, because the case was closed so suddenly and the investigation reports are still confidential, the official ruling on, quote, murder at the hands of Richard Horne, has also come under scrutiny.

Evidence of this can be found on Wikipedia, in numerous articles and even in several blogs that the Horne family had created. The root of the problem arises from the fact that the so-called Fatal Accident Inquiry was never published in Scotland. Having determined that it would be in the best interest of the public not to know what officially happened that night, as the deaths did not occur in the workplace or in police custody, he left the public largely in the dark. I have been in contact with Harry Horse's nephew, and while they are well aware of the initial florid interpretation in the media, they are left to believe that vital details are missing.

According to them, throughout this investigation they have been "excluded, deceived, drip fed and, to date, everything that has been disseminated has led to closed doors." Supposedly, Amanda's family was the only one to get full disclosure of the events of that night, leaving the only public source of information to come from them. One of the few official answers the Hornes were able to obtain was Richard's autopsy report, and the results are very intriguing. It turns out that the widely reported cocktail of drugs he ingested on the night of the murder was not actually a drug, as the presence of amphetamines, barbiturates, benzos, cannabinoids, cocaine, methadone, opiates and paracetamol had returned. negative.

And the same goes for his blood and urine alcohol levels, which were also at zero. Aside from elevated levels of the antidepressant amitriptyline, he was otherwise completely sober during this, leading the family to wonder how he could accomplish 47 self-inflicted stab wounds in addition to self-mutilation. "Were they murdered?" states a document they curated. "So far, a Supreme Court judge and a forensic psychologist, among others, believe so. Someone got away with it, but can we prove it? Only time will tell." (soft, ominous music) (VHS machine whirring) Alright, Nexpo from the future here. The video is now finished and I'll come back here real quick with a short addendum. (soft, upbeat music) If I'm completely honest with you, this video has been difficult to write.

The amount of information, personal opinions, details and current theories are so abundant that formulating a definitive opinion about what happened that night has been difficult. Harry was unpredictable. His colleagues and family do not deny it. And the painfully frustrating reality is that Amanda didn't deserve to die, especially not the way she did. I think, looking back now, the reason this has been such a difficult topic is due to a multitude of things. The media, the Williamsons' claims, the Hornes' counterclaims, and the lack of an official police report. I admit, there are a lot of things that have been left out of this video because if I reviewed everything, the duration would be two hours long.

That said, once you finish this video, I recommend that you continue reading this strange story. It has quirk after quirk. For example, did you know that Amanda's father didn't officially declare that Harry murdered his wife until more than a year later? During that entire period of time, everything, every claim, theory, account, was based on hearsay. Now, while this notion is suspect, and just shooting from above, let's say that Harry did not commit this murder, a counterpoint to this would be the authorities' claim that a murder like this had not occurred in the Shetland Islands. in more than 15 years.

But the media got Harry's sobriety wrong and he reportedly took a cocktail of drugs to numb himself before committing this crime, right? Well, no. The toxicology report countered that. So once again, if we assume Harry didn't do this, who would? The island where the couple died has a population of, in 2016, 907 people. 907, so it's safe to assume that someone on the island would have known, heard, or seen something if a third party had committed this. Sensationalism, frustration, conflict. That is the Achilles heel of everything related to this tragedy. (soft music) The story of Amanda Williamson and Harry Horse is a metaphorical amalgamation of tension, devolution and madness.

After leading a life of lies, Harry Horse had found great success in his professional life, however, the reflection of himself in his personal life finally created a character that he was increasingly further away from recognizing. The events that unfolded that night are the pinnacle, the breaking point, of a relationship that could have been, should have been so much better, but the circumstances surrounding them ultimately crumbled into calamity. Many have considered it the perfect catastrophe based on madness. Killing your loved ones before attacking yourself is a testament to the burning resentment that was buried within him all along.

Well, at least that's how the media portrayed it. And that is the main problem with this whole situation, which is wrapped in media sensationalism and journalistic misinformation. (soft, sinister music) Ultimately, cruel distortion or not, this whole thing has taught us to never take anything at face value. Whether the events that took place on January 10 were a gruesome murder-suicide committed by an unpredictable husband who lost his mind, or were the work of an outside group of individuals who got their way, what is undeniable is the notion that the legal system in Scotland is frustrating and ultimately leaves us with limited information not only about Harry Horse himself, but also about Amanda Williamson, their families and everyone around them.

Thanks for watching. I'll see you soon. I love you all and good night. (soft, thoughtful music) (soft, thoughtful music continues)