Scratches Director’s Cut: Alternative Ending Guide

This guide has been written assuming you have already played the game once and fully understand core gameplay mechanics.

This guide will include spoilers, so please, play the game once and then come back to this guide after your first playthough.

Getting the secret ending to Scratches requires that you interact with the typewriter at specific time intervals.

I would recommend making a save after every journal entry so you can backtrack if one is missed and not lose too much progress.

I will notate the time that you need to check the typewriter, and the entries that you should get in your journal. There is a point where it can be a little tricky to get the time correct and not overshoot, and i will notate that in the guide as well.

Some times will have ranges where you can click on the typewriter. As long as you are within the range, it should give you the entry.

For a few of these, you will not get a journal entry, but Michael will say something instead, i have marked this in the guide.

You need 12 total typewriter interactions.

Time in Scratches only progresses when certain triggers are hit. I’m unsure of what exactly those triggers are, but things like picking up items, viewing certain documents, entering certain rooms, and making certain phone calls causes time to progress.

So long as you don’t do those things and only travel in previously discovered areas, time will stay at its current interval and will not progress.

To check the time during your playthrough, you can either click on the grandfather clock in the entrance of the house, or save the game and look at the time noted for your save game. I’d recommend becoming familiar with the clock.

During your game, proceed normally through the game and check the clock often while you pick up items, view documents, and make phone calls. Try to not overshoot your times. If you do miss a time, load a recent save game and try again.

Day 1 (Saturday, October 12th):

When you enter the house, immediately go to your room, set up the typewriter, and get your first entry.

Most time progressions in this day are based on Jerry’s phonecalls and reading the newspaper in the attic.

• 9-11AM Journal Entry: I should probably start working right away but I’m really dying to explore the place.
• 12AM Michael says: It wasn’t the best moment to start writing yet.
• 1-2PM Michael says: I really didn’t feel like writing.
• 3+PM Michael says: I knew I had to work on my book… but I decided that looking around a bit more wouldn’t hurt.

Day 2 (Sunday, October 13th):

• 9-10AM Journal Entry: I sat down at my desk, hands on the typewriter, but nothing came to me. It’s just that there is so much to see here! (I recommend quicksaving after getting this entry in case you have trouble with the next one.)
• 11-12AM Journal Entry: As much as I try, I just can’t find a way to concentrate and work on the book. The mystery surrounding this house is too seductive to ignore… This time is VERY easy to miss. What i recommend doing: Wake up, Get first entry, Call Jerry, Open safe get key, Go upstairs and read the blueprints, gather the rope/oil/can lid/key from the same set of rooms, go to the tower and climb into the baby’s room. DO NOT INTERACT WITH ANYTHING. Immediately leave the baby’s room and go back to the typewriter as it should be 12 at this point.
• 1-2PM Journal Entry: I tried writing just a few words again but I couldn’t concentrate. I’d better get over this soon…
• 3+PM Journal Entry: There’s no point to it. I just can’t do it. I can’t write… at least not until I solve the mystery of Blackwood Manor
• Interact with typwriter after the writing cutscene – Journal entry: I just wrote a few words for my new book but i’m far from satisfied. It sounds too much like cheap writing…? What’s worse, I realized that all the time while I was working I was in reality thinking about the Blackwood mystery…

Depending on the time you do those last two entries, they may be in a different order. For example, if you interact with the typewriter when you are supposed to actually write, just interact with it one more time afterwards and you will get the other entry. This doesn’t affect the interactions you need.

Day 3 (Monday, October 14th)

• 9-10AM Journal Entry: I tried sitting at my desk, just one more try, but it was useless…
• 11-12AM Journal Entry: I can’t even look at the typewriter. My stomach aches every time I’m inside the room, and I feel sick as I get closer to it. (This entry can be a little tricky, but not too hard to miss, just keep checking the clock after every major trigger. In my playthough i woke up, got first entry, lit fireplace, called jerry, got items from garage, turned on the water, checked the bodies in the crypt, called jerry, checked the newspapers, called the sheriff and then i was able to get this one.)
• 1+PM Journal Entry: I was fool enough to attempt writing again but I had to suppress a sudden urge to throw the typewriter through the window… I am not feeling well.
• Click the typewriter one final time to get the final entry.

So long as you have gotten all other entries it doesn’t matter at what point you get the final two entries. Its probably best to get them after making the amulet but before curing the curse, story-wise.

At this moment, IF you have successfully gotten all journal entries and have activated the secret ending, you should also get this additional journal entry:

I am not Michael Arthate. He used to be a great writer, but me, I can’t write. I am a nobody.

If you did not get this final entry, you have not triggered the alternate ending and have likely missed one of the previous entries. Go through the journal and see if you are missing any of them.

If you got this journal entry then congratulations! Complete the game as normal and you will get the alternate ending once you go down the fireplace and enter the cell. Note that the ending was a little buggy for me, so you may need to move around the cell a bit before you can leave and trigger the very final car leaving the mansion cutscene and the credits.

It doesn’t matter what time you do the final two entries in the journal. So long as you have completed all other entries, you WILL get the final two. I actually went all the way down into the cell under the fireplace, entered the cell, then exited and went all the way back up to the typewriter and was still able to get the final two entries. When I went back to the cell, it had changed to the alternate ending art, even though i was just in the room.

From what i understand there are multiple versions of the game, and the developer changed things through those versions. This guide is meant only for the Steam version of Scratches, and there could be differences between it and the retail version.

The developer noted that the secret ending was too difficult to get, so they had toned things down as they created new versions of the game. The final version was supposed to have a shortcut to get the alt ending by clicking the typewriter 10 times at the end of the game. However, it appears this version of the game was not put on Steam, as attempting this will not get you the secret ending.

It was noted that you may need to successfully call the bank in order to get the alternate ending, however, i was able to trigger the ending without calling the bank at all. This is likely something that must be done in a different version of the game.