Walkthrough

Nightmare School

"At this, the furious lizard hissed, 'I'll swallow you up in a single bite!' Then the huge creature attacked, jaws opened wide."

Courtyard

Harry steps out into what appears to be another realm of the same school. This nightmare is just getting started... The bottom courtyard doors are locked so enter the top hallway.

Note on school map: Still using the same map with north facing right, I'll continue using standard directions and descriptors for room and hall locations.

First Floor Top Hallway

Careful of Grey Children on either side, enter the Storage room on the left to find a pink 15 Rubber Ball on the back table. Inside the top unmarked hall beside the Storage are Handgun Bullets and a First Aid Kit on the benches near a giant fan.

The left and right hall doors are locked so enter the marked "Hall" at the top right. Just inside you'll be ambushed by five giant roaches called Creepers. Handle them with the Handgun or quickly run along the wall and through the other door to the right hall.

First Floor Right Hallway

Consider first unlocking the top hallway doors for later and enter the upper Classroom. Find the cards strewn across the table and take the green 16 Picture Card. There's a grate wall blocking the outside hallway so you'll need to continue through the next Classroom where you'll be swarmed by Grey Children. There's nothing else in here so consider bailing through the closer exit to Harry's immediate right.

Now on the other side of the hall, grab the Health Drink on the nearby bench. The stairs are blocked off here so pass through to the bottom hall.

First Floor Bottom Hallway

There's three more Grey Children in here so watch out. Enter the Infirmary on the left to find the next Save Point and First Aid Kit on the table and a Health Drink in the cabinet. This is also the only save point in this version of the school so take note of it.

Back in the hall, the Lobby contains two Grey Children patrolling the outer perimeter while a hard-to-see Ampoule can be found on the wheelchair in the back right corner, which is the most powerful health item in the game. The exit doors won't open, so return to the hall and consider unlocking the courtyard doors for later use. With the left hall doors locked, kill the Grey Child by the Reception and enter the small room behind it.

Getting any deja vu in here? You may remember this room of the normal school had a painting of this door. Now it's here for real... First grab the Handgun Bullets and check the door to find a thin horizontal slot at its center. In your inventory you may recognize something that certainly looks the part... use the Picture Card and pass through the door.

First Floor Left Hallway: Warping to Second Floor Washrooms

Entering the Girls' washroom just ahead will transport you to the Girls' washroom on the second floor, with nothing inside. But if you exit you'll remain on the second floor, where you can enter the Boys' washroom and find two boxes of Handgun Bullets and a box of Shotgun Shells on the floor. The rest of the 2F hall is blocked so access the Girls' room to transport to the 1F Girls' room, then exit to finish your warp adventure.

Now enter the Boys' washroom on 1F and examine the door ahead to come across a stunning sight and the awesome 17 Shotgun on the ground. You'll also find a note on the right wall, alluding to something called "The Monster Lurks". Take note and leave the room.

Now enter the lower Teacher's Room since the hallway is blocked midway, and make your way past the Grey Children and a Creeper to enter the next Teacher's Room.

In the upper Teacher's Room, quickly kill the Creeper and grab the Handgun Bullets on the chair. Three blue phones are on the table but they won't work for Harry. Try to leave through the far door close to the phones and one will suddenly ring... Harry will answer for a short call. Leave to the top part of the left hall after.

Three more Grey Children and a Creeper swarm you out the door. Will it never end!? Use the right wall to avoid them if possible, and consider unlocking the top hallway doors before proceeding up the stairs to the second floor and then again to the rooftop, which is now unlocked.

Rooftop

The camera angle changes at the right side, hinting at a hole by some blood. Examine it to notice a key hanging just out of reach. At the far end of the roof is a red valve. If you open it, water will enter the drainage system that leads to the key, but there's a hole in the corner that prevents the water from reaching it... Harry thinks he could plug it up somehow.

Open your inventory with a creative mind and place the Rubber Ball over in that hole. Now open the valve and it'll reach the key to wash it down. But to where...? It might make sense for it to drain to the outside exterior, right? If you reference your maps, this spot should align with the top right of the inner courtyard, so perhaps we should check there.

You can explore the second floor first and acquire another key, but ultimately you'll be unable to advance past the locked upper Classroom in the right hallway, so let's find that key. Head back down to the first floor from the top left staircase and proceed outside from the top hallway.

Courtyard: Finding the Key in the Drainage Ditch

Head around the corner to find a drainage ditch at the top right of the map where the 18 Classroom Key now sits in a puddle. Return to the second floor from the top left staircase.

Second Floor Left Hallway

A Health Drink is on a side bench in the hall, while the upper Classroom contains three Grey Children and Handgun Bullets on a chair. In the lower Classroom are Shotgun Shells on another chair. Watch out for two Creepers and a Grey Child in the hall and proceed through the near doors to the bottom hall. Remember that the blocked off washroom portion of this floor can be accessed from the first floor washroom warp if you haven't made the trip already for the ammo there.

Second Floor Bottom Hallway

Handle the two Creepers and a Grey Child and enter the Locker Room for a familiar sound. Approach the same locker from before to open it. Interesting... Now head for the door. After changing your underwear, grab the 19 Library Reserve Key on the floor. The right hall doors are locked, so make your way to the top corridor from the left hallway, passing through the two repopulated Classrooms to get past the gate.

Second Floor Top Hallway

With the right hall doors locked, enter the Library Reserve with the Library Reserve Key. Locate the large end shelf that contains a First Aid Kit and a book entitled "The Monster Lurks", the same title beside the corpse where we got the Shotgun. It provides some interesting context surrounding the concept of the story and these nightmare worlds, although it can only be read if you saw the earlier note.

Pass through to the Library to find Handgun Bullets and a fairy tale on different tables. Pay attention to the fairy tale with the lizard since it will become very relevant in a matter of minutes. Exit through the other door.

Second Floor Right Hallway

With another gate blocking the hallway, enter the upper Classroom with the Classroom Key. Note that the key only unlocks the upper door and not the other. Make your way past three Grey Children to the next Classroom. Find the Health Drink on the chair and exit to the lower part of the hall.

Handle the three Creepers and find the Health Drink on the bench near the separating gate. Now use the lower stairway to head all the way down to the basement. Consider first unlocking and passing through the gate on the first floor to return to the Infirmary to save due to an upcoming boss fight.

Basement

Inside the Storage on the left are two packs of Shotgun Shells and an Ampoule. Now enter the Boiler Room on the right side, where you'll be greeted by a turnstile gate with two valves on either side. It's time for a puzzle.

Turnstile Valve Puzzle (Boiler Room)

This isn't a very difficult puzzle although there's no riddle or clue to help you out. Instead you'll normally have to do a little trial and error, unless you use the solution below before touching anything.

Note that whenever you turn a valve, the turnstile on each side will spin at differing speeds. What you need to do is turn each valve in such a way so that both turnstiles open up and allow passage. Go ahead and give it a try on your own, sometimes turning left and sometimes right for both valves until you find the solution.

Otherwise, if you haven't touched anything the simplest solution is always:

1. Turn the right valve twice to the left
2. Turn the left valve once to the right

It doesn't matter which valve you turn first as long as those inputs are given, and you may find other solutions work but this one is the quickest. Even if you've messed it up you can easily find the correct solution by turning each valve in the opposite direction, one at a time back and forth. Eventually you will hit the solution with no bars blocking your way.

Use the clear path to proceed ahead, where a surprise elevator floor will take you to the menacing depths below. There, Harry encounters a giant lizard in an open arena with a fire pit in the middle. So this is the hungry beast that was awakened when we turned on the boiler earlier... It's time for the first boss fight of the game.

Boss 1: Split Head Lizard

A giant lizard, eh? Do you remember reading the fairy tale about the hunter and lizard just a few minutes ago in the Library? Let's recall the story:

Hearing this, the hunter
armed with bow and arrow said,
"I will kill the lizard."

But upon meeting his opponent,
he held back, taunting,
"Who's afraid of a reptile?"

At this, the furious lizard
hissed, "I'll swallow you up
in a single bite!"

Then the huge creature
attacked, jaws opened wide.

This was what the man wanted.
Calmly drawing his bow, he shot
into the lizard's gaping mouth.

Effortlessly, the arrow flew,
piercing the defenseless maw,
and the lizard fell down dead.

If you just attack the Split Head normally you'll find it's one resilient sucker, so you'll need to follow the lead of the hunter. Note that the lizard dropped dead once he shot arrows into its gaping mouth. Surely our Shotgun shells should be sufficient instead.

The creature won't open its mouth at the start of the fight, so first we'll have to anger it, similarly to how the hunter did. Harry lacks taunting skills so start blasting it with your Shotgun while backing away. Try to keep curving around the circle for optimum space management. Otherwise you can start the fight by running past to its left side as it lunges at and misses you, then leaving itself open for continuous fire from the side.

After around six shells, the lizard will spew green liquid out of its mouth as it deeply growls while frozen and the music picks up. Now you've infuriated the lizard, so prepare for the crucial part of the fight. Now let it approach you and start backing up once it's close enough. When it opens its mouth, continue backing up as you empty shells into its mug. You should be able to fire two shells each time on Normal and Hard before it closes.

If you don't back up or are too slow, the creature will swallow you whole and it'll be Game Over, so stay on your toes. On Hard it'll be even more aggressive with next to no margin for error, so consider bailing out and strafing if you get caught flat-footed. Repeat the strategy, always backing up while you fire in its open mouth and the fight should end after 5-6 shells on Normal/Hard or fewer on Easy. As a little trick, lower and re-raise your gun between attacks so that it automatically reloads, avoiding an untimely in-game reload or a visit to your inventory.

The best method for firing in its mouth is to stand immediately in front of its head after first angering it. Once it re-activates, it'll open up right away. Be quick to move back and fire at it. Now just repeat the same method until it dies.

Split Head's attacks: At the start of the fight the creature will resort to a headbutt attack when you're in range, inflicting a fair amount of damage. Once you've aggravated the Split Head, it will engage its gaping mouth attack, which is an insta-kill if you're caught. Always be backing up to avoid this.

After firing enough shots into its gaping mouth, the screen will blur and the fight will be over. Well done, hunter.

Return to Normal Midwich Elementary

Harry soon finds himself in the Boiler Room of the normal school. Seems like killing the beast ended the nightmare. Find the 20 K. Gordon Key on the ground by the boiler. Head out and upstairs to the first floor, where Harry will hear a church bell ringing in the distance. He checks his map and marks the nearby Balkan Church, which is your next destination.

Proceed to the bottom hall where you may remember a list of teachers on the Reception desk earlier. Check it again and Harry will notice the name K. Gordon and copy over their address to his map. Well, that was helpful. Consider saving in the Infirmary and leave the school through the Lobby after unlocking both sets of doors.