Scarlet Hollow

It is recorded as the work of Abby Howard. Publication is recorded by Black Tabby Games. The recorded date of publication is 2020. Recorded constituent parts are Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3 and Episode 4. Recorded genres are visual novel, horror video game and dating sim.

• Title — Scarlet Hollow • Developer — Black Tabby Games • Publisher — Black Tabby Games • Engine — Ren'Py • Platforms — Linux MacOS Microsoft Windows • Genre — Visual novel, Role-playing game • Modes — Single-player • Programmer — Tony Howard-Arias • Artist — Abby Howard • Composer — Brandon Boone

Scarlet Hollow is a visual novel with RPG elements. The player chooses the protagonist's name, gender, and background, alongside two additional traits (out of seven options) that unlock unique choices and dialogue options. These traits are "Book Smart", "Street Smart", "Talk to Animals", "Hot", "Keen Eye", "Powerful", and "Mystical". There also exists a "Hardcore Mode" (unlockable as a New Game+ option) that allows the player to pick three traits, but at the cost of cutting out certain story paths those traits would normally grant access to. The player influences the story with their decisions and dialogue choices, though most basic story beats remain unchanged. Some options are labeled with the word "(Explore)", which in most cases means selecting them will not progress the story. Non-player characters' perception of the protagonist is dependent on a hidden five-variable system (open/closed, agreeable/adversarial, insightful/dull, bold/passive, and reliable/unreliable) that shifts based on their responses. At certain points, the player may have the option to begin a romantic relationship with certain NPCs, though doing so will lock out other romance options for the remainder of the playthrough.

• Illustration — Gameplay screenshot. The protagonist is invited to the funeral of their estranged Aunt Pearlanne by her daughter Tabitha, the new head of the once-affluent Scarlet family. They travel to Scarlet Hollow, North Carolina, a small town supported by the Scarlet-owned coal mines. The protagonist meets several residents including cryptozoology YouTuber Stella. She invites them to film a video with her in the woods. The two discover that fleshy creatures called "Ditchlings" have been abducting small animals and laying their eggs in them. The encounter can end with the death of local farmer Duke or Stella's pug Gretchen. The protagonist also encounters Sam Wayne, a seemingly supernatural man whose head is covered by a veil. On Day 2, the protagonist investigates the coal mines with Stella and her friend Kaneeka, potentially learning from the miners that Wayne is a former coal miner and Tabitha's ex-boyfriend. As they leave, they spot town librarian Oscar's daughter Rosalina sneaking into a condemned mine with her friends. Inside, Rosalina vents her frustration with Oscar moving her out of their house as he claims it is haunted. The protagonist has a vision of their ancestor Enoch Scarlet ignoring safety issues with the mine, resulting in a deadly mine collapse. Presently, ghostly creatures appear as the mine begins to collapse, and the protagonist is faced with helping Rosalina escape or going back to help her friends Becka and Alexis. On Day 3, the protagonist has dinner with Kaneeka and Stella's friend Reese, a chronically ill young man who is mostly confined to his house. His mother Dr. Kelly cares for him and restricts his contact with the outside world, causing him to resent her. The group meets up at Oscar's house and find it is haunted by the ghost of Charles Shaw Jr., the lover of the protagonist's ancestor Edwardine Scarlet who was later killed by her. Charles demands that either Tabitha or the protagonist repay their family's debt to him by sacrificing years of their own lives and becoming middle-aged. On Day 4, the miners have begun striking due to recent events. The protagonist secretly visits Reese and may discover that his mother has been poisoning him with ricin for years, causing his illnesses. Reese, off his "medication" and enraged by his mother's deception, transforms into a beast. Dr. Kelly potentially reveals that Reese was conceived supernaturally and that she poisoned him as a means of suppressing his transformations. The encounter can end with Reese's death, continued imprisonment, or escape. The protagonist is again visited by Wayne, who instructs them to investigate the Scarlet estate's sealed-off wings. On Day 5, the protagonist awakens in the forbidden wing, having been moved there at some point in the night. They have the option to explore the collapsing rooms of the manor, discovering clues that help to piece together the family's turbulent past. Returning to stable ground, they eventually find their way to the Calloway and Tremaine farmsteads outside of town, where Bo has gone missing. Julius is theorized to be involved, and on the other side of a house of deadly traps it is revealed what happened to the Calloway's missing prize pumpkin. The confrontation can end with possible deaths of Julius, Bo, Officer Franklin, Avery, and the conditional birth or death of Julius's son Joseph. The protagonist is quickly pulled into a vision from the Witch, who had assisted Enoch and was attempting to explain her side of the conflict. The chapter ends with either Kaneeka's rescue, or her erasure from reality, and the protagonist wakes up on the shores of Tetanus Lake.

Scarlet Hollow is developed by Black Tabby Games, an independent game studio consisting solely of married couple Abby Howard and Tony Howard-Arias, originally founded in Boston before moving to Toronto. They ran a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter in 2020 for the game. Scarlet Hollows influences includes Life Is Strange, Twin Peaks, and Gravity Falls. Episode 1 was released as a demo in 2020, with Episode 2 releasing the following year. Following the release of Episode 3, the couple decided to release a second, non-episodic game that would support the remainder of the Scarlet Hollow. That game, Slay the Princess, released in 2023 and proved successful enough to fund the rest of Scarlet Hollows development cycle. Episode 4 released in late 2022. An update expanding existing chapters of the game released in March 2025. Episode 5 was released on February 13, 2026.