Stillskin Forest Story Explained
Last checked · Checked against the development build
What is the story of Stillskin Forest?
Stillwater's people were taken by something the asylum's records describe as a heart beneath the hill: the Hollow. A miner, E. Hollis, broke into a lower gallery and woke or exposed it. Dr. H. Vance of Blackthorn Asylum treated the afflicted, realised it was not a disease, and found an old rite that can put the Hollow to sleep using four relics. The story is told through notes, tapes, graves and places rather than cutscenes.
Without spoilers
Stillwater is empty. Notes in the houses, a radio broadcast in the diner and graffiti on the walls all point the same way: up the hill, to Blackthorn Asylum and its graveyard. Everything below is told by what survivors find.
The story so far
SpoilersReveal this section
- The breach. E. Hollis, a miner, broke into a lower gallery beneath the hill. He was admitted to Blackthorn with "glow sickness". See E. Hollis.
- The lake changes. Green Lake turned after the breach. Its water was piped into the asylum cistern. See Green Lake.
- The patients. Vance admitted the affected: Hollis, a sleepwalking child, a patient who heard singing. They grew calm, shared the same dreams, and eventually spoke with one voice. See Dr. H. Vance.
- The rite. Vance found an old rite that can put the presence to sleep, using four relics laid in the circle where the sick were fed. See The four relics.
- The Hollow. What lives under the hill can reach dreams, voices, water and the infected. Sleep is temporary unless its source is confronted. See The Hollow.
How it can end
SpoilersReveal this section
Two endings exist in the current build. Completing the Rite of Stillness puts the Hollow to sleep ("THE HOLLOW SLEEPS... for now"). Going down and destroying the Heart of Stillskin ends it: "THE HEART IS DEAD".