North West Mines

“	I've seen what's down there... and I'd give anything to unsee it.	”
	— Sam

The North West Mines, commonly known as the Blackwood Mines, is a complex of underground caverns and tunnels which were, until the 1950s, mined for deposits of tin and radium.

Location[]

The mine is located below Blackwood Pines and contains numerous natural and man-made passageways and rooms.

Function[]

At the time it was operational, the mine had a working rail system to transport ore to the surface and a large water wheel, presumably used to generate power for the mining operation.

Most of these systems are now disused and inoperable, though some machinery, including at least two lifts and a surface conveyor that leads to a rock crusher, still have a working power supply.

Parts of the mine appear to have been abandoned with little or no notice, and tools, lamps and personal items belonging to the miners may still be found in many areas.

History[]

1893[]

Tin and radium was discovered inside the mountain which led to a mining boom. The mine was established, owned, and operated by Jefferson Bragg.

1952[]

Miners2 — Part of the *Blasting Crew* of 1952.

In 1952, a specialist team of miners named The Blasting Crew drilled deep into the mine, dynamiting it in search of tin and radium. However, a sudden cave-in trapped the 30 miners in a dark cave. After many days passed, they were driven mad due to agonizing hunger and exhaustion, and 12 of them succumbed to cannibalism. The other 18 were either killed or died of starvation. A few days later, they were finally saved and the remaining 12 miners who were still alive were taken to the Blackwood Sanatorium, where they were inspected and examined, placed under observation and even experimented upon.

February 2014[]

On 2 February 2014, Hannah and Beth fell from a cliff into the mine. Beth quickly died of her injuries, but Hannah survived the fall with a broken leg. She spent a month in the mines without food and suffering from the cold.

Hannah's broken leg prevented her from escaping the mines. She kept a journal, which states that after 5 days, she felt a hunger such as she had never experienced before. Although she could not escape the mine, she managed to bury Beth and made a rudimentary cross which she placed over her grave. After a few days, Hannah couldn't help herself, and she dug up Beth's body and ate parts of her corpse to prevent her from starving to death.

After Hannah succumbed to cannibalism, she began to be possessed by the Makkapitew's spirit. Her journal relates how her pain began to subside, and how she mutated into a strong, cannibalistic monster. After a month the journal devolves into meaningless scrawl, revealing that Hannah had become a Wendigo.

February 2015[]

The mines are first seen after Jessica accidentally falls down into a small mineshaft. Here, she and Mike will search for an exit. Mike hears strange noises as they wander around. They will stumble upon a mystical symbol painted on the walls of the mine. Later, after Jessica was violently pulled through a cabin window, Mike will immediately run after her, only to find her being dragged back into the mineshafts. He will come to her rescue and encounter her dead or alive, but she will plummet down a collapsed elevator regardless.

Mattmineledge2 — Matt after the fire tower collapsed deeper into the mine.

The mines are then seen after the radio tower falls into the mines (only if Matt survived the deer encounter). The radio tower is about to fully collapse and Emily is barely holding on, with Matt having the high ground. He may attempt to save her or jump to safety. Jumping to safety will result in the fire tower fully collapsing deeper into the mines, taking Emily with it. Saving Emily will result in her slipping off and falling deeper into the mines. Matt, still on the fire tower, falls into the mines as well. He then encounters a Wendigo, from which he can escape from or die.

After Emily survived her fall from the collapsed fire tower, she will discover a big part of the mines. As she explores and searches for a way out, she may find multiple clues. Many of these clues can be found relating to the 1952 mining disaster in the 1952 Clueline and to the Washington twins in the Twins Clueline. After meeting The Stranger and possibly escaping from a Wendigo, Emily will make her grand escape out of the mines and inform her friends.

When Sam, Ashley and possibly Chris and Emily go into the mines to find Mike, Ashley gets separated from the group and hears a voice that resembles Jessica. Ashley can go out to find the source of the voice, and depending on your decisions, she may get killed (since the voice is actually a Wendigo). Chris may also get killed at the same place if Ashley leaves him behind.

After Sam decides to go alone after Mike, she makes her way through another part of the mines. She then rescues Mike and they go after Josh together. After locating Josh, they may make shocking discoveries.

If Jessica survived her previous attack, she will try to make her way out of the mines and escape from a Wendigo with the possible help of Matt if he survived falling from the radio tower. If Jessica did not survive, but Matt did, he will attempt to find a way out on his own.

Events[]

Jess and Mike will briefly end up in the mines when trying to find another way around to the cabin.
Emily and Matt (if he is still alive) will end up in the mines after the fall of the fire tower.
- If Matt attempted to save Emily and had no usable flare gun, he will be killed by the Wendigo.
This is where Matt and Emily may both encounter the Wendigo.
The Stranger can be seen when Emily runs away from him, thinking he is a threat.
Emily can be killed by falling into an ore grinder if she rides the conveyor belt all the way while escaping out of the mines. She can also be killed by the Wendigo by having her eyes gouged out.
If Jessica survives until Chapter 9, she regains consciousness at the bottom of the elevator shaft and wanders around looking for the exit of the mines.
Sam, Ashley and potentially Emily and Chris will descend down into the mines after walking through the Sanatorium tunnel in search of Mike.
- Ashley, and/or Chris if the player chose to leave him behind, will be decapitated when opening the hatch, freeing the Wendigo.
Matt (if alive) may meet Jessica (if also alive) in the mines, and they can both encounter the Wendigo. They may both attempt to hide or flee from it. If one individual died before, Jessica or Matt will attempt to look for a way out of the mines alone.
Sam and Mike enter the mines in Chapter 10, where they discover The Stranger's corpse and his head in Hannah's lair. They can also find the bodies of their earlier deceased friends.
Josh will be dragged down into the mines by the Wendigo Hannah. He will then be found hallucinating in the mines by Sam and Mike.
Mike and Josh will encounter Hannah in the large pool by the water wheel. If Josh learned the truth about Hannah, he will recognize his sister immediately, and call out her name. Hannah will recognize him too and take him back to her lair, where he will later become a Wendigo.
- Josh will die if Sam doesn't tell him the truth about Hannah. In this case, when he encounters Hannah, he will recognize her too late, and she will crush his skull.

Trivia[]

Even though not all of the mine segments start in the mines (22:43, 00:12, 05:16, and 05:26), the protagonists get to be controlled in the mines further down the segment.
- Sam and Mike take the lead with the most mine segments (3), followed by Matt, Emily, and Josh with 2.
  - Emily, however, has the longest playable segments in the mine by a long shot. She can also find the most clues in the mine.
This is the only location in which every protagonist is playable at least once, should they have survived up until this playable segment.
- Chris and Matt are the only protagonists who may never visit the mine if they died before they could do so. Thus also making them unplayable in this location if they met their demise earlier on.
  - Furthermore, Jessica can die in Chapter 4 before being playable in the mine in Chapter 10. She does, however, visit the mines in the earlier chapters but the player will control Mike.

Gallery[]

Locations
Major	Blackwood Mountain · Blackwood Pines · Blackwood Pines Hotel · Blackwood Sanatorium · North West Mines · Washington Estate · Washington Lodge
Minor	Cable Car Station · Washington Cabin · Clifftop · Fire Tower · Old Shack · Park Ranger Service · Radio from the Pines · Shed