Some of these names–Basil, Ida, Hector, and Leo–also appear as names assigned to passenger cabins on the airship.

Who are these people?

Here are the relevant entries from Amanda’s diary:

Sunday, October 5
After all that time I spent sewing it!
Basil, Fanny, George, Hector, Ida, Leo, Paul!
Why must they always bother me so?
Oh, woe is me!
(Working Class Luggage, “Rag Princess Sews”, Amanda’s Diary)

~~~

Sunday, October 12
Oh, why can’t they all just go to hell!
Basil, have a nap on the railroad tracks!
Fanny, take a dive off the roof!
George, I’ll hang you upside down!
Hector, get run over by a carriage!
Ida, I have some fancy poison jam for you!
Leo, walk across an open manhole!
Paul, get smothered by a great rug!
And lastly, that girl!
The Aristocrats will have their way with her!
Oh, how very delightful life is!
(Working Class Luggage, “Rag Princess Sews”, Amanda’s Diary)

My intuition is that these names are alternative names for the other orphans. They are people that bother Amanda, and they are not themselves “that girl” (Jennifer), but Amanda seems to thinks of them and “that girl” in a related way: they belong together on a list of people that bother Amanda.

I will even propose a tentative identification of two orphans to match two of the strange names:

Basil = Thomas

Fanny = Eleanor

The basis of this identification is the specific nature of the “curses” that Amanda wishes for Basil and Fanny.

“Basil, have a nap on the railroad tracks!” seems to match Thomas because he loves to play with toy trains and draws train tracks on the orphanage floors.

“Fanny, take a dive off the roof!” seems to me to match Eleanor because we find her on the outside balcony of the orphanage during “The Funeral” chapter, and Jennifer tells us the following about Eleanor (in the “Once Upon a Time” chapter):

Balcony:

–At the birdcage:

“The red bird in the cage… The doll Eleanor treasured. ‘If only we could fly like birds and go wherever we wished,’ she whispered softly. Yet, no matter how much Eleanor wished, she’ll never be able to just fly away from this orphanage. Poor Eleanor… She was burdened by her own frozen heart.”

I don’t see a way to link names to orphans based on Amanda’s other curses, but maybe one of you have some ideas? I’d love to hear them.

The arrangement of names assigned to passenger cabins in the “1st passenger corridor” area is:

~~~

********************************************************************************************************************

——————————————————————————————————————-**********

———Nicholas*****************Diana———- Ida or Leo******************Amanda———-**********

———(yellow)****************(green)——— (yellow) *********************(yellow)———–**********

———*********************************———–****************************************———–**********

———-Leo or Ida**************Olivia———– Margaret (Meg)**************Basil————-**********

———-(yellow)***************(yellow)——— (green)**********************(yellow)———-**********

——————————————————————————————————————-********** ———-*******************************DOOR*************************************BARRICADE*********

———-Hector ************************——-**********************************Clara————–**********

———-(yellow)***********************——-*********************************(yellow)————**********

———-*********************************——-**************************************————-**********

———-Wendy ***********************——-***************************************————-**********

———-(yellow) **********************GUEST ROOM HALL——————-*****————-**********

*****************

~~~

DOOR= 3-leaf Clover door

Corridor space is indicated by ———– lines. So Wendy, Hector, and Nicholas have cabins on the windowed side corridor. Diana, Olivia, and Meg have cabins on the next most interior corridor. Amanda, Basil, and Clara have cabins on the next corridor over from that, but Clara’s cabin is isolated from the other cabins by a barricade.

~~~

I’m having trouble deciding which name tag is “Ida” and which is “Leo”. Please let me know your opinion on the matter. The name tags are hard to read, so I suggest you go to “options” first and put the contrast on highest (9) and the “noir filter” on lowest (1).

The colors “yellow” and “green” refer to the colors of the name tags. Diana and Margaret (Meg) are the only two with green name tags. I don’t know what the colors signify.

From the name tags, I think we can reason that:

Diana is not Hector, Ida, Leo, or Basil.

Meg is not Hector, Ida, Leo, or Basil.

Olivia is not Hector, Ida, Leo, or Basil.

Wendy is not Hector, Ida, Leo, or Basil.

Nicholas is not Hector, Ida, Leo, or Basil.

Clara is not Hector, Ida, Leo, or Basil.

And from Amanda’s diary we know that neither she nor Jennifer are Hector, Ida, Leo, Basil, Fanny, George, or Paul.

There isn’t a match between the number of female “strange” names and female orphans, so we may need to consider which female orphans might have taken a male “strange” name. I think that Diana might have. When Meg wrote her love letter to Diana, she wrote:

“O, Diana, Diana! Wherefore art thou…?” this line echoes Juliet’s line from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet… which would seem to imply that Diana is Romeo.

Please, everybody… post your theories about the strange names in the comments section.

~~~

Also: thanks, to the anonymous poster who pointed out that the strange names can be found on the nameplates of these cabins.

And, worth noting, Oghma pointed out an interesting pattern: none of the orphan names and strange names have the same first letter.

This is the time period from 20 March 1930 to 20 December 1930.

This is a follow-up to Document-based Time-line: Before Jennifer Arrived at the Orphanage

Four of the documents presented in this time-line, by the way, are ones overlooked in the GameSpot/GameFAQs game-script faq. I marked those documents with ###.

I also included two of Jennifer’s memories that relate to precise dates.

The last of Amanda’s diary entries have no dates. They consist of one written passage and numerous drawings. I included the diary passage, and a summary description of the drawings, out of sequence at the end of this post for completeness. These should date to no earlier than 19 October 1930.

I also left two dated headlines, attributed to the Daily Flamingo newspaper, out of the sequence: I don’t think that these share the reliability of the other documents. But I have included them at the very end of the post, for completeness.

If I have made any errors, or have left out a document that should be here, please let me know in the “comments”.

TIME-LINE:

~~~

Sunday, March 20

Things are going wonderfully!
Today they called me out to the backyard.
As long as that girl is here, I won’t ever be last.
What a relief!
(Working Class Luggage, “Rag Princess Sews”, Amanda’s Diary)

~~~

20 March
From J to W

Wendy,
I’m here now, but I’m kind of afraid.
Everything is new to me.
I’m worried if I’ll get along with everyone.
(Sick Room, “Once Upon a Time”, letter on nightstand)

~~~

25 March
From W to J

My Dear Jennifer,
There is nothing to fear.
I am always by your side.
I will never betray you.
We made an oath remember?
(Filth Room, “Once Upon a Time”, letter on shelf)

~~~

Sunday, April 4

Maybe there really is something wrong with me.
What have I done wrong?
I tattled on Mr. Hoffman as they told me to do, but I failed again.
I’m still lower class, even after that girl came.
I’m scared. I don’t know what to do.
(Working Class Luggage, “Rag Princess Sews”, Amanda’s Diary)

~~~

###7 April 1930

Every day, that child gives me a headache.
Shirking her duties, doodling on walls, making Olivia cry, etc, etc.
What a wretched child!
(Sick Bay—after boss battle, Sir Peter chapter, Hoffman’s diary)

~~~

###12 April 1930

Today, I gave that child a good scolding.
When I found out she let the rabbit escape, that was the last straw.
As I took out my pointer to punish her, she started quibbling again…
…However, she’s still young.
She gave in and apologized, so I let it go at that.
I’m such a kind, understanding teacher.”
(Sick Bay—after boss battle, Sir Peter chapter, Hoffman’s diary)

~~~

Sunday, April 18

I’m as happy as can be today!
They showed me the symbol of the Aristocrats.
If I can get the red crayon, I, too, will be one of them!
But that girl will NEVER get a crayon.
She’s far too uncouth.
In any case, I’ll never be last again. I’m sure of it.
(Working Class Luggage, “Rag Princess Sews”, Amanda’s Diary)

~~~

Sunday, June 1

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO
Those awful things got into my mouth!
She’ll be sorry the next chance I get.
But why me again?
What have I done?
(Working Class Luggage, “Rag Princess Sews”, Amanda’s Diary)

~~~

22 July
From J to W
Dear Wendy,

I have great news. I found something wonderful!
I look forward to every morning now, and hope you will too.
(Sick Room, “Once Upon a Time”, letter on nightstand)

~~~

25 July
From W to J
My dear Jennifer,

I am so relieved that you are well again!
Is that why I couldn’t find you yesterday morning?
It’s no use trying to fool me!
I can see right through your pranks.
Anyway, thanks in advance.
Tee hee hee.
(Filth Room, “Once Upon a Time”, letter on shelf)

~~~

Sunday, July 27

I HATE HER I HATE HER I HATE HER
I HATE HER I HATE HER I HATE HER
Oh, my! I’ve got to sew the rags…
(Working Class Luggage, “Rag Princess Sews”, Amanda’s Diary)

~~~

13 August
From J to W
How are you, Wendy?

You haven’t said anything to me since I showed you the surprise…
Do you like my cute little puppy Brown?
Let’s take care of him together.
(Sick Room, “Once Upon a Time”, letter on nightstand)

~~~

16 August 1930

Today, I was busy catching up on my work, when Clara came by to offer me a hand.
I guess my teaching paid off.
I was grateful for her kindness.
In the wee hours of the morning, she was still working, so I gently took her to bed.
I can hardly believe it. My little Clara, bless her heart, is already 16 years old.
She tells me she wants to stay at the orphanage and help with the daily chores.
Maybe I should seriously consider the offer.
Tomorrow, I’ll discuss it with Martha.”
(Headmaster’s Room, Hoffman’s diary, “Once Upon a Time”)

~~~

20 August
From J to W
My dear Wendy,

This little guy is just so adorable.
When I call his name, he comes bounding to me.
I know you’ll like him too.
(Sick Room, “Once Upon a Time”, letter on nightstand)

~~~

24 August
From W to J
Jennifer,

Thank you for introducing me to Brown.
…But, such a filthy dog is not a good match for you and me.
Just give it to Nicholas or something, and let’s just be content with the two of us.
(Filth Room, “Once Upon a Time”, letter on shelf)

~~~

24 August 1930

This is inexcusable!
My precious koi is gone.
The children must be responsible.
I won’t stand for this.
Where is Diana?
What’s she been up to?
My opinion of her will suffer because of this.
(Headmaster’s Room, Hoffman’s diary, “Once Upon a Time”)

~~~

Sunday, August 31

I HATE HER I HATE HER I HATE HER
I HATE HER I HATE HER I HATE HER
Oh, my! I’ve got to sew the rags…
(Working Class Luggage, “Rag Princess Sews”, Amanda’s Diary)

~~~

10 September
From W to J
My stubborn Jennifer,

Is Brown that important to you?
It’s just a dog. A filthy animal.
Please stop sharing your wonderful smile with that thing…
Please smile only at me.
(Filth Room, “Once Upon a Time”, letter on shelf)

~~~

24 September
From J to W
How are you doing, Wendy?

Are you alright?
We’ll always be friends, and Brown can be our friend too.
I know you don’t understand, but I can’t just abandon him.
(Sick Room, “Once Upon a Time”, letter on nightstand)

~~~

Sunday, September 28

I HATE HER I HATE HER I HATE HER
I HATE HER I HATE HER I HATE HER
Oh, my! I’ve got to sew the rags…
(Working Class Luggage, “Rag Princess Sews”, Amanda’s Diary)

~~~

1 October
From W to J
Jennifer the Heartless,

Why didn’t you come?
I waited and waited for you.
Why can’t I see you every morning?
I think only of you…
Are you avoiding me?
(Filth Room, “Once Upon a Time”, letter on shelf)

~~~

Sunday, October 5

After all that time I spent sewing it!
Basil, Fanny, George, Hector, Ida, Leo, Paul!
Why must they always bother me so?
Oh, woe is me!
(Working Class Luggage, “Rag Princess Sews”, Amanda’s Diary)

~~~

6 October
From J to W

You’ve got it all wrong, Wendy.
This isn’t how it’s supposed to be.
I never expected you to react this way.
All I wanted is for us to live happily ever after together.
(Sick Room, “Once Upon a Time”, letter on nightstand)

~~~

Sunday, October 12

Oh, why can’t they all just go to hell!
Basil, have a nap on the railroad tracks!
Fanny, take a dive off the roof!
George, I’ll hang you upside down!
Hector, get run over by a carriage!
Ida, I have some fancy poison jam for you!
Leo, walk across an open manhole!
Paul, get smothered by a great rug!
And lastly, that girl!
The Aristocrats will have their way with her!
Oh, how very delightful life is!
(Working Class Luggage, “Rag Princess Sews”, Amanda’s Diary)

~~~

Sunday, October 19

That wretched girl will do my dirty work.
I’ll work her to the bone!
Oh, I feel wonderful today!
(Working Class Luggage, “Rag Princess Sews”, Amanda’s Diary)

~~~

20 October 1930
Re: Mr. Gregory Wilson
Dear Ma’am,

Please forgive the delay in our response.
In your letter, you report suspicious activity on the partof Mr. Gregory Wilson.
After investigating the matter, we have come to the following conclusion.
There is little to indicate that the said individual is connected to the recent kidnappings.
Mr. Wilson is father to a son who closely matches your description in your letter.
Therefore, we have determined that there is insufficient evidence to warrant further investigation.
We appreciate your cooperation and understanding in this matter.

Anthony Doolittle
Cardington Police

~~~

31 October (corrected date, see this post for details)

From W to J
My dear Prince,

Yes, you are my Prince.
A Prince and a Princess must be together, after all, Jennifer, you are my eternal companion.
Just promise to stay by my side, and save your smiles for me.
That’s all I ask.
We don’t need a filthy dog!
We can’t let anyone come between us.
(Sick Room, “Once Upon a Time”, letter on nightstand)

~~~

(Memory that can be dated to October 31)

“On Halloween, we all dressed up in costumes…
Everyone else wore bags over their heads, and stared at me through tiny holes…
Their blank faces and muffled voices…
It scared me like you wouldn’t believe…
‘Is it really you under there?’ I asked, fearing it was something else.
But, no one would answer me.”
(Closet Room, “Once Upon a Time”, memory at the clothes hangers)

~~~

###November 1930

The children are spreading rumors about a killer named “Stray Dog.”
They say, “He comes at dusk under the cover of darkness and devours the children he kidnaps.”
Disturbingly the rumors seem to be motivated by the recent disappearances that have the public in a panic.
However, I find that the rumors I use to get the children to do their cleaning are working splendidly.
The orphanage is spotless.
I’m such a clever teacher.
(Headmaster’s Room, Hoffman’s diary, “The Funeral”)

~~~

11 November 1930

I’m leaving the orphanage.
Clara’s here to look after things, and the children are quickly growing up.
I’ve done right and fulfilled my duty.
…Bloody hell!
All the trouble started when that wretched child arrived…
I’ve done nothing to deserve this!”
(Headmaster’s Room, Hoffman’s diary, “Once Upon a Time”)

…That’s the end of the diary. We never saw Mr. Hoffman again.

~~~

24 November
Officer Doolittle,

My name is Martha Carol, and I work at the Rose Garden Orphanage.
In the past month, I have sent six letters to your attention, but have yet to receive a response.
Have my letters reached you?
I ask that you please investigate this matter at once for the safety of our children.
Yesterday, I saw them together again… Mr. Wilson and Wendy, a child at our orphanage.
I am very concerned for her safety.
The two of them have been acting quite strangely.
Oh, it’s terribly odd.
By strangely, I mean… Mr. Wilson walking on all fours and nodding… and Wendy appears to be scolding him…
I don’t know how to explain it except that it resembles dog training gone wrong.
Ooo… it gives me the shivers just thinking about it.
Please come investigate this matter as

~~~

28 November
From W to J

You still have that filthy dog?
I’ll never forgive you.
Have you forgotten your oath, the rule of rose?
Good-bye, Jennifer.
You will regret choosing that dog over me.
(Sick Room, “Once Upon a Time”, letter on nightstand)

~~~

###20 December 1930

A tragic multiple homicide has occurred at an orphanage in Cardington resulting in the deaths of all the children housed there.
Among the dead was one adult, Gregory M. Wilson, a local resident.
Analysis of the crime scene suggests that Wilson shot himself with a pistol.
Police have identified him as their prime suspect in the murders of the children.
(Smoking Room, Sir Peter chapter, Goat Sisters chapter, newspaper)

~~~

Front gate:

–At the orphanage sign to the left of the gate:

“The Rose Garden Orphanage…
That day, I was escorted from the scene by Officer Doolittle.
At first, it was reported that there were no survivors…
Then, word got out that, miraculously, I had escaped the tragedy…
When rumor spread that I was also the sole survivor of a horrific airship accident in which the passengers were all presumed to be dead,
the media went into a frenzy.
And so, the tragic murder of the residents of a rural orphanage was instantly bumped from the front cover of the daily newspaper to an obscure corner…
I’m sorry everyone.
You don’t deserve to be forgotten…
But I’ll remember you.
Thank you all for the precious memories.”

~~~

END OF TIME-LINE

~~~

~~~

(Amanda’s diary, undated last written entry, the entry preceding it was dated 19 October):

I’m so worried…

I just don’t know what’s going to happen…

(Working Class Luggage, “Rag Princess Sews”, Amanda’s Diary)

Drawings by Amanda, apparently of herself, follow this entry. In these drawings more and more stars surround Amanda and she is smiling, then she sprouts wings and flies up, at first happy, but then she apparently crashes. The subsequent drawings consist of scribbles that are hard to interpret: the last scribble might be Amanda dead and buried, but that is a speculative interpretation by me.

~~~

~~~

~~~

July 21, 1930

Daily Flamingo

Husband “Borrows” 60 Pounds From Wife’s 365-Pound Bank Account.

(Room 26, “Bird of Happiness”)

~~~

(July 21, 1930)

Daily Flamingo

Husband Swipes 60 Pounds From Wife’s 365-Pound Bank Account.

(when you read the above article from your inventory)

~~~

July 1930

Daily Flamingo

Husband Borrows Yet Another 30 Pounds From Wife’s Bank Account

(Room 9–Clara’s Cabin, “Bird of Happiness”)