Clues & Culprits › Archive › Oct 7, 2026 Hard walkthrough
Oct 7, 2026 Full Proof Walkthrough
Every verdict in the Hard case “The Séance at Morrow Hall”, in an order where each step is proven by the statements already on file.
Play it first Just a hint, please
This Hard case seats 20 suspects on a 4×5 grid. 16 of them carry a clue; the other 4 only have something to say about themselves. 8 of the steps can only be proven by reading two or more clues together. The order below is one valid route; any order where each verdict is proven when you enter it reaches the same answer.
Spoiler: show the full walkthrough
Start: Gus (C2) begins the case proven innocent.
The person above me is innocent.— Gus, cook (C2)
Step 1: Cal (C1, wine merchant) is innocent. This follows from Gus’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 2: Otto (C4, gardener) is innocent. This follows from Cal’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Otto and I share the same verdict: both criminal or both innocent.— Cal, wine merchant (C1)
Step 3: Theo (D5, librarian) is innocent. This follows from Otto’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Percy and Sadie have no criminal neighbors in common.— Otto, gardener (C4)
Step 4: Lena (D3, librarian) is a criminal. This follows from Theo’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Exactly one of Lena and me is innocent.— Theo, librarian (D5)
Step 5: Kofi (C3, butler) is innocent. This follows from Lena’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Percy and I have no criminal neighbors in common.— Lena, librarian (D3)
Step 6: Esme (A2, librarian) is a criminal. This follows from Kofi’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
If I'm innocent, then Esme is a criminal.— Kofi, butler (C3)
Step 7: Jasper (B3, gardener) is a criminal. This follows from Esme’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
If I'm a criminal, then so is Jasper.— Esme, librarian (A2)
Step 8: Nora (B4, colonel) is innocent. This follows from Jasper’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Nobody below me is a criminal.— Jasper, gardener (B3)
Step 9: Rufus (B5, gardener) is innocent. This follows from Jasper’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 10: Ada (A1, librarian) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Nora’s and Rufus’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Jasper and I have exactly one criminal neighbor in common.— Nora, colonel (B4)
Column A has exactly two criminals.— Rufus, gardener (B5)
Step 11: Quentin (A5, butler) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Nora’s and Rufus’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Step 12: Hana (D2, cook) is a criminal. This needs 3 statements together — Nora’s, Ada’s and Quentin’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Gus has more criminal neighbors than anyone else.— Ada, librarian (A1)
All the criminals in Column D are connected.— Quentin, butler (A5)
Step 13: Percy (D4, wine merchant) is innocent. This needs 3 statements together — Nora’s, Ada’s and Hana’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Exactly six of the fourteen people on the edges are criminals.— Hana, cook (D2)
Step 14: Dev (D1, wine merchant) is a criminal. This needs 2 statements together — Ada’s and Percy’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
There are more criminal gardeners than criminal colonels.— Percy, wine merchant (D4)
Step 15: Frank (B2, colonel) is innocent. This needs 4 statements together — Nora’s, Hana’s, Percy’s and Dev’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
There are more criminal cooks than criminal butlers.— Dev, wine merchant (D1)
Step 16: Bruno (B1, colonel) is innocent. This needs 2 statements together — Hana’s and Frank’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
My column has more innocents than Column A.— Frank, colonel (B2)
Step 17: Mabel (A4, cook) is a criminal. This needs 2 statements together — Hana’s and Dev’s. Assume the opposite verdict and at least one of them breaks.
Step 18: Ivan (A3, gardener) is innocent. This follows from Nora’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
Step 19: Sadie (C5, butler) is a criminal. This follows from Hana’s statement and the verdicts already proven.
The final lineup
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ada innocent | Bruno innocent | Cal innocent | Dev criminal |
| 2 | Esme criminal | Frank innocent | Gus innocent | Hana criminal |
| 3 | Ivan innocent | Jasper criminal | Kofi innocent | Lena criminal |
| 4 | Mabel criminal | Nora innocent | Otto innocent | Percy innocent |
| 5 | Quentin innocent | Rufus innocent | Sadie criminal | Theo innocent |
What happened
Sir Arthur said nothing at all; his voice came up a pipe from the wine cellar. Esme, who read tarot for the household on Thursdays, proposed the séance and ran it, and Lena dug out Sir Arthur's old letters in the library so the 'spirit' knew things only he could know. Hana and Mabel cooked a dinner rich enough to make anyone drowsy; Sadie kept the curtains drawn and the doubters at the door; and Jasper played the voice from the cellar through a length of hosepipe and a borrowed cornet. Dev bought the horses for his pound. They were worth £900,000.