Deadtime Stories (video game)

Lore & Background

Miss Jessie Bodeen is characterized as a New Orleans Voodoo queen who acts as a healer for local African Americans working as servants in the city. As a healer, she has pledged to do no harm. Now a resident at 'Everlasting Life', Jessie tells the story of her downfall when she accepts a commission from Delphine LaLaurie, a character based on her real-life counterpart. For $150, Jessie was supposed to keep away another socialite, Mrs. Anton, a wealthy young widow new in town and already more popular than Delphine LaLaurie. Jessie had been warned by Mambo Marie, a fellow Voodoo practitioner, not to invoke the Loa to curse Mrs. Anton. For three months, Jessie discreetly poisoned Mrs. Anton with small, non-lethal amounts of aconite to keep her too ill to attend parties. After three months and the end of the social season, Delphine LaLaurie reneged on their deal despite Jessie upholding her part. Furious, Jessie invoked the Loa, particularly Damballa, to avenge her. The Loa punished Delphine LaLaurie, regardless of collateral damage and innocent bystanders. Ten years later, the Loa also punished Jessie Bodeen for having taken on Delphine LaLaurie's commission in the first place.

Reader's Guide

Deadtime Stories is notable as a 2010 hidden object PC game that weaves historical figures into its narrative. The game's depiction of Jessie Bodeen, a Voodoo queen and healer, and her interaction with Delphine LaLaurie—a character based on a real-life socialite—reflects a creative use of New Orleans history and folklore. The story explores themes of betrayal, revenge, and supernatural consequences, as Jessie's initial restraint in using only non-lethal poison gives way to invoking the Loa for vengeance. The game's structure, where players learn about each lost soul's downfall, emphasizes moral lessons and the idea that actions have long-term repercussions. Its significance lies in blending historical reference with interactive storytelling, offering players a glimpse into a fictionalized version of 19th-century New Orleans social dynamics and Voodoo practices. The game remains a niche example of how hidden object games can incorporate complex character backstories and historical allusions.

Did You Know?

• Jessie accepted a commission from Delphine LaLaurie for $150 to keep Mrs. Anton away from social events.
• Ten years after invoking the Loa to punish Delphine LaLaurie, the Loa also punished Jessie Bodeen for taking on the commission.

Premise & Setting

Deadtime Stories is a hidden object adventure for PC that launched in 2010, created by the studio I-play and brought to players through Big Fish Games. At its heart, the game revolves around a figure called Edward Blackgate, who maintains a private cemetery he names Everlasting Life. Rather than following a single linear plot, the experience is structured around the souls buried within that cemetery. As the player progresses, they encounter each lost soul individually and piece together the chain of events that brought each one to their tragic end. This episodic, character-driven framework gives the hidden object genre a narrative spine, turning each puzzle-solving session into a small story of downfall and consequence. The cemetery setting serves as both the connective tissue between characters and the thematic anchor, suggesting that every life, no matter how tangled, ultimately finds its resting place in the same quiet ground.

Jessie Bodeen as Healer

Before her story becomes one of vengeance, Jessie Bodeen is established as a New Orleans Voodoo queen with a clear moral compass. She serves as a healer for the local African American community, specifically those working as servants in the city, and she has made a solemn pledge to do no harm. This characterization positions her not as a stereotypical practitioner of dark magic but as a caretaker bound by ethical principles. Her community role is reinforced by the presence of Mambo Marie, a fellow Voodoo practitioner who functions as a voice of caution and spiritual guidance. When Jessie later breaks her own code, the weight of that transgression is amplified by everything she stood for before the commission from Delphine LaLaurie shattered her sense of duty. The game uses this contrast to make Jessie's eventual fall feel earned and deeply personal rather than a simple narrative twist.

The LaLaurie Commission

The central conflict of Jessie Bodeen's storyline begins with a simple, if morally fraught, arrangement. Delphine LaLaurie, a character drawn from her real-life historical namesake, hires Jessie for one hundred and fifty dollars to keep a rival socialite, the wealthy young widow Mrs. Anton, from attending any gatherings. Mrs. Anton has recently arrived in New Orleans and has already surpassed Delphine in popularity, making her a threat to Delphine's social standing. Mambo Marie explicitly warns Jessie not to invoke the Loa to curse Mrs. Anton, so instead Jessie resorts to a subtler method: over the course of three months, she administers small, non-lethal doses of aconite to keep Mrs. Anton too ill to appear at parties. Jessie fulfills her end of the bargain through the entire social season, yet when it concludes, Delphine simply reneges on the deal, leaving Jessie unpaid and betrayed.

Vengeance and the Loa's Reckoning

Betrayed and furious, Jessie Bodeen abandons her healer's oath and turns to the very power Mambo Marie had warned her against. She invokes the Loa, specifically calling upon Damballa, to deliver retribution upon Delphine LaLaurie. The spiritual forces respond without mercy or discrimination: the punishment falls on Delphine regardless of collateral damage or the presence of innocent bystanders, underscoring that the Loa operate on their own inscrutable logic rather than human notions of justice. The consequences, however, do not end there. A full decade after the events in New Orleans, the Loa return their attention to Jessie Bodeen herself, punishing her for having accepted Delphine's commission in the first place. This delayed reckoning cements Jessie's status as one of the lost souls interred in Everlasting Life, completing the cycle of transgression and consequence that defines the game's narrative structure.