Mae's Neighbors and the Cult - A Night in the Woods Theory

[@darkninjafirefox]

Oh the idea of Bea's dad being in the cult hurts. I assumed he was working at the store and gave her the day off when he wasn't there.

[@owlbatross9187]

It does indeed hurt! I'd hate to image the impact that would have on Bea. He definitely could be at the store, that is one possible reason for his absence!

[@opheliabobelia]

I fear that's giving him too much credit 😔 I only trust Bea's dad as far as I can throw him lol

[@herusolares5320]

Well one thing's for certain: Mae's granddad was a ringleader in the mining union's secret society. He might have something to do with the modern cult's founding as well. Maybe even sacrificing himself so that Mae could be born. Alternatively, he could have refused the G̴̱̜̱̈O̷͚͙̲͑Ȧ̷̪̓̈́̕ͅT̸̰͒̈́̂͑'̸̛͖͇̭̳́̉s̵̄ offer, which resulted in the big flood and his subsequent death in the early 2000s.

[@tarvoc746]

​​​@@herusolares5320 I don't think there's a direct connection between the miners' society and the society of the Black Goat. Their values are diametrically opoosed, as are the socioeconomic classes they represent. If the miners' society existed today, they would probably be targets of the Black Goat society. Think of Miss Rosa's stories about how unruly the miners' society behaved. Although I believe their political goals alone would put them on the list of the Black Goat society. Keep in mind that the Black Goat society is all about making the town appealing for businesses again. A strong labor movement doesn't exactly help with that. (Again, representing different socioeconomic class interests.)

[@tarvoc746]

​​​​@@owlbatross9187 I actually wonder if Bea's dad being among the disappeared is exactly the push she needs to get out of her depressed passivity and start taking control of her situation. It definitely gives her more socioeconomic control over her life - she inherits the shop and can either clean it up (like fire the creep if he wasn't also a cultist anyway and hire some proper employees), or sell it and use the money to go to college after all. If she does keep the shop, she could even hire Mae as a janitor. Psychologically, it would be a shock for sure, but it would also sever the last emotional thread between her and her father, which might actually free her up mentally.

[@korothecat9785]

I always felt that the "dream sequence" was real (or at least mostly real) dialogue with imagined scenery. Mae is hearing these people while she's unconscious and her brain is putting all their words into this dream. Hence the weird transition. So while maybe the exact words can't be counted on, and there may have been more said that Mae didn't pick up on, I think the vibes are relatively trustworthy lol. Great video as usual, def looking forward to the rest of this series of analyses

[@owlbatross9187]

That makes sense to me, I like that interpretation! They might've gathered outside the woods where they found her or maybe it all takes place in the hospital. I agree with you about the vibes, they seem relatively safe to trust! Glad you enjoyed the video! Can't wait to get to work on the next one!

[@theimperialowl1011]

I always had the same interpretation of this sequence. I always figured that this was her hearing them talking about her at the hospital, and due to a combination of the Glimmer and her injuries from the fall she was just imagining them all standing together at the church despite actually being at the hospital.

[@contralines8987]

But if you did hangout with Lori M everyday, she would be seen in the church along with others and even interacted with Mae's parents, yet in the epilogue Lori said she just heard that Mae was hospitalized, implying that she didn't actually visit Mae

[@kayroyal21]

I’ve always interpreted it in this kind of way, and that the janitor is not part of the colt, but is supernatural himself as he does a bunch of very weird shit

[@MrRAGE-md5rj]

1:03 I heard that in earlier versions, the city council was absent from the epilogue, implying that they were indeed members of the cult.

[@owlbatross9187]

That's correct! In the original version of the game, both Aunt Molly and the City Council were absent from the game, but the Weird Autumn edition changed all of that.

[@EnthuseConfuse]

I'm so suspicious that Mae's grandfather was a former cult member. He would have been the right age to have been a member while it was being formed-too old to be busy with working, but not so old he couldn't participate. The miners were known for their aggression (pulling the teeth of their boss out) and the man had a fascination with various horror and ghost stories. Perhaps the man even had the first connection with the black goat? (+opening poem: He turned to my dad/ eyes still wide/ "This house is haunted" / he said/ and died.)

[@owlbatross9187]

I'm right there with you - I'm very suspicious of Mae's grandfather as well! I definitely think there's a link between him, the Black Goat, the cult, and the tooth society. I'm working on a big video about all of that, which I'm hoping to drop sometime in September. I'll be diving deep into that opening poem in particular - I have a theory about what he meant by that, and I think it helps explain so many things about the game!

[@ChloeWhite-jr7mr]

Didn't Mae's grandpa have a tooth in his safe? In the crawlspace if u put the code in the safe you'll get a mysterious tooth on beas route if u go to the library and use the newspaper thing if u go to the newspaper clipping talking about the tooth thing with the miners if u get the mysterious tooth and then do the newspaper thing with bea mae will have a reaction to newspaper clipping about the tooth

[@steph8030593]

Ah don’t forget the fact that he had one of the teeth

[@TylerB17]

Also it very important to mention that the black goat was found by miners in the mine with one of the modern cultist talking about the mines resuming operation as a end result of their actions

[@juliemassam933]

I think you could be right, I didn't even think about Aunt Molly being by his house! And yeah, I think we want to think Mr. Penderson's in the cult because of how he treats Mae, but he would not be able to keep his mouth shut about her joining.

[@owlbatross9187]

It's something I didn't notice until I rewatched my footage! Her placement in the epilogue sure is curious. And yeah, we all want him to be a cult member but because of his tendency to run his mouth I don't think it adds up haha

[@kattriesgames]

1) If you read the newspaper articles, you’ll see that a signature of the cult was to leave a tooth. Mae’s grandfather left a tooth in the lock box for Aunt Molly or her dad. They didn’t take it (obviously since both of them are in the ending meaning they didn’t die in the hole) but Mae has it. Mae isn’t necessarily in the cult but maybe it explains why that even though the cult KNEW her and KNEW she was a troubled kid like Casey, she was untouchable because she was “grandfathered” into the cult by proxy and also why the game makes so many “fall into a hole” or “join a murder cult” jokes at the beginning foreshadowing what was really happening. 2) If you play and wonder the whole town every day BEFORE going on any quests with friends, you can easily keep tabs on who’s where and who goes missing. 3. There’s a little grave for Casey in town.

[@millerwrightt]

You may be conflating the cult with the miners union

[@kattriesgames]

@@millerwrightt no, the miners and the cult are 2 different groups

[@aldairreynoso2564]

Pretty important to note, Mae forgot something so important as the death of Bea's mom. Twigmyers first name would EASILY been forgotten as well. But the name itself might've awaken something in Mae's subconscious that her clairvoyance type dreams retained.

[@owlbatross9187]

That's a great point! Yeah, considering how forgetful Mae is, it would be very much in character for her to forget Twigmeyer's first name!

[@thelastattempt666]

Plus she was drunk with Bea so...

[@agoosed3281]

Grew up 45 minutes south from Pitt, and I didn’t even notice how comfortable Possum Springs feels to me bc it reminds me so much of my old home. I just thought it was cozy and nostalgic, but thinking back, yeah, it’s southwest PA for sure

[@owlbatross9187]

Oh nice! I love that area. I'm on the other end of the state, but I go back there all the time. The thing that confirmed it for me is that ridiculous hill on Maple Street, along with the pretzels and pierogis. I ate so many of those in college lol

[@perkasenior]

In Ace Attorney naming convention logic, Rick would be Twigmeyer's first name, as one of the few things we know about him is that he uses a rake for both leaves and twigs in his lawn, and also as a subtle reference to his status as a cult leader through -Meyer being close to mayor, a title related to that of leader. Rick Twigmeyer, Rake Twig Mayor.

[@LasarMoon]

good catch!

[@gatorcopter]

one thing i wanna add is that if you didn't talk to any of the townspeople every day before the first cult confrontation, twigmeyer and penderson are actually the *only* townies that show up during the church cutscene. that's like pretty sus lol

[@sharonm242]

Regarding Bea's dad, it is real telling that the shot in her home doesn't feature him in his spot. But she just... Doesn't say anything. I know its a lot to process, but she doesn't say anything to Mae if that's the case. And she didn't too destroyed when she was talking to Mae. Just normal depressed Bea. I can't wait to see your take on it, I'm sure you'll find more evidence to decide which is the case!

[@owlbatross9187]

My thoughts exactly! It's very telling that he's not in that shot, but at the same time, you'd figure that if he were missing, Bea would've said something to Mae in that final conversation. I haven't starting scripting the video yet, but I have a feeling there's going to be good evidence on both sides of the argument for this one

[@sharonm242]

@@owlbatross9187 Good luck sleuthing! =D

[@xxrose_meadowxx7344]

I love watching night in the woods videos, it brings me so much joy, this game made a huuuge impact on me and it's one of my favorite games but I had no idea who would've been a cult member so this helps a lot!! I can't wait to see the others!!

[@owlbatross9187]

Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed the video! I'm right there with you - Night in the Woods had a huge influence on me as well! The Cult members are a huge mystery and I've had fun unraveling it. Can't wait to get to work on the next video about them!

[@Larkky]

this game was meant to be really sad and poignant and stuff but i couldnt help but think this is literally Hot Fuzz and i couldnt help but chuckle a little. THE GREATER GOOD

[@danieltodorov7753]

Your videos are so good. Speculative in interesting ways without becoming too far fetched. If these came in the year of the game's release I could see each one getting half a million views.

[@Blakeyhaha]

one of the guys in front of the bar disappeared in the epilogue, I think he was eide

[@alexsanchez7457]

love this series, ty for making part 2!

[@owlbatross9187]

Thank you! By the looks of things, there will probably be about 3-4 more parts to this series!

[@alexsanchez7457]

@@owlbatross9187 well these are good news :)

[@monsieurlefrog8706]

yoooo beas dad was the idea i had! very excited to see that!

[@sixfeetundertheradar6080]

I feel like Bea would’ve mentioned her dad was missing in the final scene though

[@owlbatross9187]

Got that right! I'll be crediting you and the other folks who brought it up on the City Council vid for turning my attention to this one, because I had totally forgotten about him! Looking forward to getting to work on this one!

[@owlbatross9187]

Six - that's a great point and something I'll be covering in the video! I haven't starting scripting yet, but ultimately I think it's going to be a situation where there's some good evidence on both sides

[@tarvoc746]

Sooo, Twigmeyer, huh? The goat?

[@theannoyingdahg]

Greatest thing about NitW being my personal GOTY is seeing people talk about "the goat" and having to figure out if it's a character they like or an ACTUAL goat

[@tarvoc746]

@@theannoyingdahg 😂 They actually have similar problems in the Cult of the Lamb and Undertale/Deltarune fandoms. Although I'd bet there's quite a bit of overlap anyway.

[@Ambivalence18]

I think that the scene in the Church is real. I think Mae is imagining it in the Church but its actually taking place in the hospital.

[@AbogatoDraws]

i love these videos! thanks for such excellent content uwu

[@owlbatross9187]

You're welcome my friend! Glad you've been enjoying them! Can't wait to get to work on the next one!

[@Arley42]

Aw man, I can remember the serious lump in my throat near the end of the game. I was so worried that you'd come downstairs after the incident and one of your parents would no longer be around. I can remember the relief when I finally left Mae's room and found them.

[@astroliterallyjustastro]

Keep up the great content!

[@owlbatross9187]

Thank you! Glad you've been enjoying the videos!

[@neptuneite]

great video! these theory videos fuel my nitw hyperfixation

[@owlbatross9187]

Thank you my friend, I really appreciate your support! Glad they're fueling your hyperfixation, they definitely do the same for me!

[@compassrose1466]

Part of me wonders if Rosa knew about the cult. The way she mentions how she’s sick and something might happen to her at some point in the game. It’s like she knew she’d be taken out too and was scared she’d be killed. She also knew Mae’s grandfather and Mae’s grandfather spoke many stories to Mae. So, I want to add what if Mae’s grandfather was in the cult but due to dementia no longer helped. He was a miner and hated his boss and his grandfather was also in the mine due the fake money. Either way I think Rosa was knew she might be killed soon and once the cult is killed, she seemed more at ease in the epilogue!

[@anthonycuevasproduction]

Another great video as always I’m very sorry I wasn’t able to watch it when it first came out yesterday but I’m glad I did you definitely bring up some interesting points I never really thought about maybe there is something more to Mr twigMeyer then I thought I seriously cannot wait to see what you think about mr santello being a cult member iv actually been thinking about that myself actually can’t wait to see what you think

[@owlbatross9187]

That's alright, my friend, no worries! I'm excited to dive into Mr. Santello's connection to the cult! There are a lot of things to consider with him, I'm looking forward to working on the script and fully diving into the topic!

[@kathann6608]

You should do a video on the janitor!

[@owlbatross9187]

That's a great suggestion! I'll definitely be doing a video on the janitor at some point. He's such an interesting character and I have a lot to say about him!

[@milaledova9856]

thank you for good video! makes my brain worms work harder

[@owlbatross9187]

You're welcome, thanks so much for watching!

[@Silly_Mousequarade]

SIX DAYS AGO?! also damn....

[@Cantlem]

6:23 only a sith deals in absolutes,

[@timmydonohue5295]

I’m from Pennsylvania to but I’m from Philadelphia

[@owlbatross9187]

Me too! Went out to Pittsburgh for college but lived in the Philly area all my life

[@griddlethekids]

Do a video about cut content lore!!!

[@owlbatross9187]

That's a great suggestion! I can definitely do a video on cut content lore, I'll add that to the list!

[@gabriellong4375]

Only a sith deals in absolutes.

[@reginacuevas5588]

If Molly was part of the cult, Mae would probably honestly like her more

[@nicestoriesnottherealstori3006]

I swear that one cultist talking about immigration and stuff sounded like Donald Trump's 2016 campaign to me.

[@owlbatross9187]

There's definitely some crossover there! It's ironic, because the game was fully written before 2016, but it's hard not to see similarities between Trump and the Cult.

[@theannoyingdahg]

There's a reason why (Bea i think? may have been Mae) called it a "cult of conservative dads"

[@moveslikemacca]

yay linguistics