Dagon Files

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Welcome, Seeker of Forbidden Knowledge, to Saturday's puzzle, week 7 of the year 2026. (Simpler puzzle) and (Harder puzzle)

The Case Of The Pair Of Circular Burns.

You have stumbled upon The Dagon Files, a cryptic corner of the web where reality frays and reason falters. Here, beneath shifting sigils and whispering images, ancient puzzles lie in wait—twisting enigmas born from the depths of forgotten tomes and cosmic dread. Each riddle you solve draws you deeper into a truth not meant for mortal minds.

But beware: not all doors should be opened. And some answers… change you.

Begin, if you dare…

Suspects/Weapons/Locations/Motives

Director

grid [D]

Dr. Theodore Blackwood

height: 5' 8"

brown eyes

right handed

azatoth cultist

Parapsychologist

grid [P]

Celeste Mallory

height: 5' 6"

brown eyes

left handed

dagon cultist

Librarian

grid [G]

Miriam Vale

height: 5' 5"

gray eyes

left handed

necronomicon cultist

Chaplain

grid [F]

Malachai Grady

height: 5' 10"

blue eyes

left handed

nyarlathotep cultist

Detective

grid [I]

Elias Crane

height: 6' 1"

blue eyes

right handed

yog-sothoth cultist

Mirror Shard

grid [M]

It never seems to reflect its surroundings, always somewhere else.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a feeling of deja-vu.

Electroshock Machine

grid [E]

The voltage seems to be set to an imaginary number.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a pair of circular burns.

Dream Serum

grid [D]

Administered in a large dose it causes the heart to freeze in fear.

Sometimes leaves a trace of an expression of frozen horror.

Restraint Strap

grid [R]

Frayed leather strap from a patient bed. The right length for strangulation.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a set of constriction bruises.

Lobotomy Pick

grid [L]

Classic asylum tool; missing from the locked surgical suite.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a calm feeling.

Greenhouse

grid [G]

A greenhouse with hanging vines which seem to cling as they touch you. Some rows of unearthly plants grow in the farther corners.

It has been described as a graveyard of misguided, botanical experiments.

Indoors

Area has been blessed or warded by some cult.

Hydrotherapy Chamber

grid [H]

A plain white, tiled room with a row of metal baths; each equipped with manacles.

It has been described as a sound of gurgling screams.

Indoors

Area has been blessed or warded by some cult.

Roof Garden

grid [R]

Once a manicured garden, now dead ivy covers oddly-shapen, mist-shrouded stone sculptures.

It has been described as a sound of moving stone statues.

Outdoors

No warding found here.

Electroshock Theater

grid [E]

Leather-strapped chairs with cables snaking to control panels mounted on yellowed, ceramic walls.

It has been described as a smell of ozone.

Indoors

Area has been blessed or warded by some cult.

Observation Tower

grid [O]

A panopticon for surreptitiously viewing the patient's cells. A distant howling wind can always be heard here.

It has been described as a room of secrets.

Indoors

No warding found here.

Suspects/Weapons/Locations/Motives

Director

grid [D]

Dr. Theodore Blackwood

height: 5' 8"

brown eyes

right handed

azatoth cultist

Parapsychologist

grid [P]

Celeste Mallory

height: 5' 6"

brown eyes

left handed

dagon cultist

Librarian

grid [G]

Miriam Vale

height: 5' 5"

gray eyes

left handed

necronomicon cultist

Chaplain

grid [F]

Malachai Grady

height: 5' 10"

blue eyes

left handed

nyarlathotep cultist

Detective

grid [I]

Elias Crane

height: 6' 1"

blue eyes

right handed

yog-sothoth cultist

Mirror Shard

grid [M]

It never seems to reflect its surroundings, always somewhere else.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a feeling of deja-vu.

Electroshock Machine

grid [E]

The voltage seems to be set to an imaginary number.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a pair of circular burns.

Dream Serum

grid [D]

Administered in a large dose it causes the heart to freeze in fear.

Sometimes leaves a trace of an expression of frozen horror.

Restraint Strap

grid [R]

Frayed leather strap from a patient bed. The right length for strangulation.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a set of constriction bruises.

Lobotomy Pick

grid [L]

Classic asylum tool; missing from the locked surgical suite.

Sometimes leaves a trace of a calm feeling.

Greenhouse

grid [G]

A greenhouse with hanging vines which seem to cling as they touch you. Some rows of unearthly plants grow in the farther corners.

It has been described as a graveyard of misguided, botanical experiments.

Indoors

Area has been blessed or warded by some cult.

Hydrotherapy Chamber

grid [H]

A plain white, tiled room with a row of metal baths; each equipped with manacles.

It has been described as a sound of gurgling screams.

Indoors

Area has been blessed or warded by some cult.

Roof Garden

grid [R]

Once a manicured garden, now dead ivy covers oddly-shapen, mist-shrouded stone sculptures.

It has been described as a sound of moving stone statues.

Outdoors

No warding found here.

Electroshock Theater

grid [E]

Leather-strapped chairs with cables snaking to control panels mounted on yellowed, ceramic walls.

It has been described as a smell of ozone.

Indoors

Area has been blessed or warded by some cult.

Observation Tower

grid [O]

A panopticon for surreptitiously viewing the patient's cells. A distant howling wind can always be heard here.

It has been described as a room of secrets.

Indoors

No warding found here.

Rules

A restriction you will need to rely on is that every weapon, location and motive in the puzzle will be attributed to exactly one suspect.

So you can make a deduction like this, if the dagger was at the campanile, and the professor was at the campanile, then the professor had the dagger. This must be true since only one suspect can be at each location, possess each weapon, have each motive.

Similarly, negative deductions can be made, if the dagger was at the campanile, and the professor did not have the dagger, then the professor was not at the campanile. This is because only one weapon can be at a given location, and the professor's weapon is not the dagger.

These rules will help to fill in blanks which remain after all the clues have been accounted for.

Clues

  1. The Chaplain had never possessed a pair of circular burns.
  2. The Director had never possessed a lobotomy pick, asylum issue.
  3. You receive an anonymous telegram with the cryptic message 'NA NOISSERPXE FO NEZORF RORROH SAW DNUOF TA EHT ESUOHNEERG.'. (decodeAn expression of frozen horror was found at the greenhouse. [reversed])
  4. This (fingerprint) was found on the vial of dream-inducing serum.
  5. The Director was seen at the room of secrets.
  6. The Detective was seen at the open roof terrace.
  7. The Librarian never visited the hydrotherapy chamber.
  8. The Librarian wielded the broken, leather, restraint strap.
  9. The Director had never possessed a pair of circular burns.
  10. A pair of circular burns was found near the body.

Accusation