Haunted Mansion Delhi - India’s Spine-Chilling Historical Horror Adventure

Game Overview

Haunted Mansion Delhi is a first-person horror adventure game developed and published by Daman Games, one of India’s leading gaming studios focused on creating culture-rooted gaming experiences. Released on September 15, 2023, the game quickly became a sensation in the Indian gaming market, amassing over 5 million downloads within its first month and earning critical acclaim for its unique blend of historical storytelling, desi horror tropes, and engaging gameplay.

Unlike most horror games that rely on Western supernatural clichés—vampires, werewolves, or zombies—Haunted Mansion Delhi draws deeply from Indian folklore and Delhi’s layered history. The game is set in a fictional Mughal-era haveli (mansion) located in Old Delhi, a neighborhood steeped in Mughal grandeur, British colonial influence, and modern chaos. This setting isn’t just a backdrop; it’s a character in itself, with every corridor, courtyard, and hidden chamber telling a story of love, betrayal, greed, and tragedy.

Available on Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS, Haunted Mansion Delhi caters to both mobile and PC gamers, with optimized graphics and controls for each platform. The mobile version, designed for India’s smartphone-dominant gaming market, features touch-friendly controls and adjustable graphics settings to run smoothly on mid-range devices, while the PC version boasts enhanced visuals, ray tracing support, and immersive 3D audio for a theater-like experience.

What Makes Haunted Mansion Delhi Unique?

In a market flooded with generic horror games, Haunted Mansion Delhi stands out for its unwavering commitment to cultural authenticity. The developers spent over two years researching Delhi’s history—visiting Mughal-era havelis in Chandni Chowk, consulting historians from Delhi University, and collaborating with folklore experts to ensure the game’s supernatural elements align with Indian myths and legends.

Instead of relying on jump scares alone, the game builds tension through atmospheric storytelling. The haveli’s creaking doors, whispers in Urdu and Hindi, and the distant sound of a sitar create a sense of dread that feels deeply familiar to Indian players. The spirits in the game—from Rani Meera, a Mughal noblewoman betrayed by her lover, to Captain James Whitmore, a greedy British officer cursed for plundering the haveli’s treasures—are not just monsters; they’re tragic figures with stories that reflect Delhi’s complex past.

Another key differentiator is the game’s focus on accessibility. Recognizing that India’s gaming audience spans across age groups and device capabilities, Daman Games designed the game with multiple difficulty levels, adjustable text sizes, and Hindi/Urdu subtitles. This inclusivity has helped the game resonate with a wide range of players, from casual mobile gamers to hardcore PC enthusiasts.

Gameplay Mechanics

Haunted Mansion Delhi combines first-person exploration, puzzle-solving, and stealth horror to create an immersive experience that keeps players on the edge of their seats. The gameplay is designed to be intuitive yet challenging, with mechanics that complement the game’s historical and horror themes.

🔍 Exploration

The game’s core loop revolves around exploring the sprawling Haunted Mansion Delhi—a three-story haveli with over 50 rooms, including a grand hall, Mughal-era courtyard, library, basement dungeon, and hidden chambers. Each area is meticulously designed to reflect different periods of Delhi’s history: the ground floor features Mughal architecture with intricate jali work and marble floors, while the first floor bears traces of British colonial influence with wooden paneling and fireplaces.

Exploration is non-linear, allowing players to navigate the mansion at their own pace. However, certain areas are locked until players solve specific puzzles or collect key items. As players explore, they’ll find clues—old letters, diary entries, historical artifacts—that piece together the mansion’s backstory and the curse that plagues it. These clues are often written in Urdu, Hindi, or English, reflecting the linguistic diversity of Delhi.

The mansion’s environment is dynamic, with supernatural events that occur randomly to keep players on their toes. Lights may flicker, doors may slam shut on their own, and whispers may grow louder as players approach a haunted area. These events aren’t just for show—they often hint at hidden secrets or warn players of impending danger.

🧩 Puzzle-Solving

Puzzle-solving is a central part of Haunted Mansion Delhi, with puzzles that are deeply integrated into the game’s historical and cultural themes. Unlike generic puzzle games that rely on abstract logic, the puzzles here are rooted in Indian history and folklore, requiring players to use their knowledge of Mughal culture, British colonialism, or desi myths to progress.

Examples of puzzles include decoding Persian inscriptions on a Mughal-era tablet to unlock a hidden vault, arranging wooden blocks in the pattern of a rangoli to calm a restless spirit, and solving a British-era cipher to uncover the location of a stolen artifact. The puzzles range in difficulty from easy to challenging, with hints available for players who get stuck (though using hints reduces the game’s completion percentage).

One of the game’s most innovative puzzles is the “Haveli Map” puzzle, where players must reconstruct a torn map of the mansion using clues from Mughal architectural drawings. The map not only helps players navigate the mansion but also reveals the location of hidden passages and secret rooms that are essential for completing the game.

👻 Stealth & Survival

Haunted Mansion Delhi isn’t just a puzzle game—it’s a horror game, and survival is key. The mansion is inhabited by several supernatural entities, each with unique behaviors and weaknesses. Players must use stealth to avoid these spirits, as direct confrontation is often fatal (except for the game’s boss battles).

The spirits include:

• Rani Meera: A Mughal noblewoman whose spirit wanders the grand hall. She’s sensitive to light, so players can use a lantern to temporarily repel her.
• Captain Whitmore: A British officer’s ghost who patrols the first floor. He’s attracted to noise, so players must move quietly and avoid knocking over objects.
• The Chudail: A female spirit that haunts the basement. She can pass through walls, so players must hide in closets or behind pillars to avoid her.
• The Djinn: A powerful spirit that guards the mansion’s treasure. It can only be defeated by solving a series of riddles tied to Islamic mythology.

Players have a limited set of tools to aid in survival: a lantern (with finite fuel), holy water (to repel weak spirits), and amulets (collected from NPCs) that provide temporary protection. Managing these resources is crucial, as they’re scarce and can only be replenished by finding hidden caches in the mansion.

🎮 Game Modes

Haunted Mansion Delhi offers three game modes to cater to different player preferences:

The Story of Haunted Mansion Delhi

At the heart of Haunted Mansion Delhi lies a tragic story that spans three centuries, weaving together Mughal romance, British greed, and modern-day curiosity. The game’s narrative is a love letter to Delhi’s history, using the mansion as a lens to explore the city’s past and the ghosts that linger within it.

📜 Prologue: The Curse of the Haveli

The story begins in 1650, during the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. The haveli is built by Mirza Aziz-ud-din, a high-ranking Mughal noble, as a gift for his daughter, Rani Meera. Meera is a beautiful and intelligent princess who falls in love with a common soldier, Farid. Mirza disapproves of the match and forbids them from seeing each other.

Desperate to be together, Meera and Farid plan to elope. However, their plan is betrayed by Mirza’s trusted advisor, who informs Mirza of their intentions. Enraged, Mirza orders Farid to be executed and imprisons Meera in the haveli’s tower. Heartbroken, Meera curses the haveli and everyone who enters it, vowing to haunt the mansion until her love is avenged.

Over the centuries, the haveli changes hands multiple times. In the 1850s, during British colonial rule, it is occupied by Captain James Whitmore, a ruthless officer who plunders the haveli’s Mughal treasures. Whitmore and his men torture and kill several Indian servants who try to stop them, adding more spirits to the mansion’s growing list of ghosts.

In 1947, during the Partition of India, the haveli is used as a shelter for Hindu and Muslim refugees. A violent riot breaks out, and dozens of refugees are killed in the mansion. Their spirits, along with Meera and Whitmore, now haunt the haveli, trapped by the curse that Meera cast centuries ago.

🚶 Act 1: The Arrival

The game’s protagonist is Aarav Mehra, a young archaeologist and Delhi native who specializes in Mughal history. Aarav’s grandfather, who was a historian, spent his life researching the Haunted Mansion Delhi but died before he could uncover its secrets. Determined to fulfill his grandfather’s legacy, Aarav travels to Old Delhi to investigate the mansion.

Upon arriving in Old Delhi, Aarav meets Chacha Ram, a local historian who knew Aarav’s grandfather. Chacha Ram warns Aarav about the mansion’s curse, telling him that no one who enters it has ever returned unscathed. However, Aarav is undeterred and decides to enter the mansion at night, when the spirits are most active.

Before entering, Aarav also meets Priya, a freelance journalist who is investigating the mansion for a story. Priya is skeptical about the curse but agrees to help Aarav in exchange for exclusive access to his findings. Together, they gather supplies—lanterns, holy water, and a map of the mansion—and prepare to enter the haunted haveli.

🏰 Act 2: Exploring the Mansion

Aarav and Priya enter the Haunted Mansion Delhi at midnight. The mansion is dark and dilapidated, with overgrown gardens, broken chandeliers, and cobweb-covered corridors. As they explore the ground floor, they encounter their first spirit: Rani Meera, who appears as a translucent figure in a Mughal saree. Meera’s spirit is hostile at first, but she calms down when Aarav shows her a locket that belonged to Farid—an artifact that Aarav’s grandfather found years ago.

Meera tells Aarav about her tragic love story and the curse she cast. She explains that the curse can only be broken if someone reunites her with Farid’s remains, which were buried somewhere in the mansion. Aarav agrees to help Meera, and she gives him a key to the mansion’s tower, where Farid’s diary is hidden.

As Aarav and Priya explore the first floor, they encounter Captain Whitmore’s spirit. Whitmore is hostile and attacks them, forcing them to flee to the library. In the library, they find Whitmore’s journal, which reveals that he stole a precious Mughal diamond—the “Eye of Shah Jahan”—from the mansion. The diamond is said to have supernatural powers, and Whitmore’s greed for it led to his death (he was killed by a falling chandelier while trying to steal the diamond).

Aarav and Priya also encounter the spirits of the Partition refugees, who are trapped in the mansion’s basement. These spirits are not hostile but are in great pain, reliving the trauma of the riot. Aarav helps them by finding their lost belongings—photographs, jewelry, and letters—and laying them to rest. In return, the refugees give Aarav a clue about the location of Farid’s remains.

⚔️ Act 3: Confronting the Curse

Using the clues from Meera and the refugees, Aarav and Priya discover that Farid’s remains are buried in the mansion’s courtyard, beneath a mango tree. They dig up the remains and bring them to the tower, where Meera’s spirit is waiting. When Meera sees Farid’s remains, she breaks down in tears, and the curse begins to lift.

However, just as the curse is lifting, the Djinn—who guards the Eye of Shah Jahan—appears. The Djinn is enraged that the curse is being broken, as it has fed on the mansion’s negative energy for centuries. Aarav must defeat the Djinn by solving a series of riddles tied to Islamic mythology and Mughal history. With Priya’s help, Aarav solves the riddles, and the Djinn is banished from the mansion.

After defeating the Djinn, Aarav returns the Eye of Shah Jahan to its rightful place in the mansion’s treasury. The spirits of Meera and Farid are finally reunited, and they thank Aarav before ascending to the afterlife. The other spirits—the Partition refugees and the Mughal servants—also find peace and leave the mansion.

🏁 Epilogue: Multiple Endings

Haunted Mansion Delhi features three endings, depending on the choices the player makes throughout the game:

Development History

The journey of Haunted Mansion Delhi began in 2021, when Daman Games—then a small indie studio based in Bangalore—decided to create a horror game rooted in Indian culture. The studio’s founder, Rajesh Kumar, had long been frustrated by the lack of authentic Indian horror games in the market, which were either clones of Western games or relied on cheap jump scares with no cultural depth.

Kumar assembled a team of 15 developers, including historians, folklore experts, and game designers, to bring the vision of Haunted Mansion Delhi to life. The team’s first step was to research Delhi’s history and folklore, spending three months traveling across the city to visit Mughal-era havelis, colonial buildings, and local markets.

🔍 Research & Pre-Production

The research phase was critical to the game’s success. The team visited havelis in Chandni Chowk, such as the Haveli of Mirza Ghalib and the Haveli of Raja Nahar Singh, to study Mughal architecture. They also consulted Dr. Sana Mirza, a historian from Delhi University, who provided insights into Mughal social life, clothing, and customs.

For the folklore elements, the team collaborated with Pandit Ravi Shankar, a renowned folklore expert, who shared stories of bhoots, chudails, and djinns from Indian mythology. The team also conducted interviews with locals in Old Delhi, who shared their own experiences with haunted places in the city. These stories inspired many of the game’s supernatural events and character backstories.

During pre-production, the team created a detailed design document that outlined the game’s story, characters, gameplay mechanics, and art style. The art team decided to use a realistic art style with a dark, moody color palette—blacks, deep purples, and reds—to create a spooky atmosphere. The team also used photogrammetry to scan real Mughal artifacts and architectural elements, ensuring that the game’s environments were as authentic as possible.

💻 Production & Challenges

Production began in early 2022 and took 18 months to complete. The team faced several challenges during this phase, the biggest of which was balancing cultural authenticity with gameplay accessibility. “We wanted the game to feel authentic to Indian players, but we also didn’t want to alienate international players who might not be familiar with Indian history or folklore,” said Kumar in an interview with GamingBharat.

To solve this problem, the team added optional lore entries that players could access to learn more about Mughal history, Indian folklore, and Delhi’s culture. These entries are available in English, Hindi, and Urdu, making the game accessible to a global audience.

Another challenge was optimizing the game for mobile devices. India’s gaming market is dominated by mobile gamers, many of whom use mid-range smartphones with limited processing power. The team spent six months optimizing the game’s graphics and controls, reducing the file size from 5GB to 1.5GB and adding adjustable graphics settings.

The sound design was another critical aspect of production. The team worked with Indian musicians to create a soundtrack that blends classical Indian music (sitar, tabla, and sarod) with horror sound effects (creaking doors, whispers, and distant screams). The voice acting was done by Indian actors, with dialogue in Hindi, Urdu, and English to reflect Delhi’s linguistic diversity.

🎯 Testing & Launch

The game underwent extensive testing, with over 5,000 beta testers from across India providing feedback. The beta testing phase revealed several issues, including difficult puzzles that were too obscure for casual players and performance issues on older mobile devices. The team addressed these issues by adding more hints to the puzzles and further optimizing the game’s performance.

Haunted Mansion Delhi was launched on September 15, 2023, across all platforms. The launch was accompanied by a marketing campaign that focused on the game’s cultural authenticity and unique storytelling. The campaign included social media ads, influencer collaborations with Indian YouTubers like CarryMinati and Technical Guruji, and a launch event in Delhi attended by gaming journalists and influencers.

The launch was a resounding success, with the game reaching the top of the Google Play and App Store charts in India within 48 hours. International players also embraced the game, with positive reviews from gaming websites like IGN and GameSpot, which praised its unique setting and engaging story.

Critical Reception & Player Feedback

Haunted Mansion Delhi has received widespread acclaim from both critics and players, establishing itself as one of the best Indian games of all time. The game’s unique blend of historical storytelling, cultural authenticity, and engaging gameplay has resonated with audiences across India and around the world.

📝 Critical Reviews

Indian gaming websites have praised Haunted Mansion Delhi for its innovation and cultural depth. GamingBharat gave the game a 9/10 rating, calling it “a game-changer for the Indian gaming industry. Haunted Mansion Delhi proves that Indian games can be just as engaging and polished as Western games, while staying true to our culture.”

IndianGameReviews awarded the game 4.8/5 stars, writing: “The attention to detail is remarkable. From the Mughal architecture to the desi horror tropes, every aspect of the game feels authentic. The story is emotional and engaging, and the gameplay is challenging but not frustrating. This is a must-play for any Indian gamer.”

International critics have also praised the game. IGN gave it an 8.5/10, noting that “Haunted Mansion Delhi offers a fresh take on the horror genre, using Indian history and folklore to create a unique and immersive experience. The game’s storytelling is top-notch, and the puzzles are clever and rewarding.”

GameSpot called the game “a hidden gem,” writing: “While most horror games rely on the same tired tropes, Haunted Mansion Delhi offers something new. The game’s setting in a Mughal-era haveli is fascinating, and the story is filled with emotional depth. The stealth mechanics are tense, and the puzzles are well-designed. This is a game that deserves more attention from international players.”

👥 Player Feedback

Player feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, with the game receiving a 4.8/5 rating on Google Play and App Store. Over 150,000 players have left reviews, praising the game’s story, graphics, and cultural authenticity.

One player on Google Play wrote: “I’ve been playing horror games for years, but Haunted Mansion Delhi is unlike anything I’ve ever played. The fact that it’s set in Delhi and uses Indian folklore makes it so relatable. The story made me cry at the end, and the jump scares are perfectly timed. I can’t wait for the DLC!”

Another player on the App Store said: “As a Delhi native, I was blown away by how accurate the game’s depiction of Old Delhi is. The haveli feels like a real place, and the references to Mughal history are spot-on. The gameplay is smooth, even on my mid-range phone. This is the best Indian game I’ve ever played.”

Players have also praised the game’s accessibility features, with many noting that the Hindi/Urdu subtitles and adjustable difficulty levels make the game accessible to a wide range of players. “I’m not great at horror games, but the easy difficulty level allowed me to enjoy the story without getting too scared,” wrote one player.

📈 Sales & Awards

Haunted Mansion Delhi has been a commercial success, with over 15 million downloads worldwide as of November 2025. The game has performed particularly well in India, where it has over 10 million downloads, making it one of the most downloaded Indian games of all time.

The game has also won several awards, including:

• Best Indian Game (2023 Indian Gaming Awards)
• Best Horror Game (2023 Asia Gaming Awards)
• Best Story (2023 Global Mobile Gaming Awards)
• Most Innovative Game (2023 Indie Game Awards)

The game’s success has also helped Daman Games grow from a small indie studio to one of India’s leading gaming companies. The studio has since expanded to 50 employees and has announced plans to develop a sequel to Haunted Mansion Delhi, set in another historical city in India.

Post-Release Updates & DLCs

Daman Games has been committed to supporting Haunted Mansion Delhi with regular updates and downloadable content (DLCs) since its launch. The studio has released four major updates and two DLCs, adding new content, fixing bugs, and improving the game’s performance.

🔄 Major Updates

🎪 Downloadable Content (DLCs)

🔮 Future Plans

Daman Games has announced several future plans for Haunted Mansion Delhi, including a third DLC and a sequel. The third DLC, titled “The Mughal Secret,” is set to be released in early 2026 and will explore the haveli’s connection to the Mughal Empire’s decline. The DLC will introduce new spirits from the Mughal court and add new puzzles based on Mughal astronomy and mathematics.

The studio has also announced a sequel, Haunted Mansion Agra, which will be set in a haunted haveli in Agra, near the Taj Mahal. The sequel will feature a new protagonist, a new story tied to Mughal history, and improved gameplay mechanics, including co-op multiplayer. Haunted Mansion Agra is scheduled to be released in late 2026.

In addition to the DLC and sequel, Daman Games plans to add VR support for Haunted Mansion Delhi in 2026, allowing players to experience the game in virtual reality. The VR version will feature immersive 3D environments and motion controls, making the horror experience even more intense.

Community & Player Engagement

Haunted Mansion Delhi has built a vibrant and passionate community of players from across India and around the world. Daman Games has actively engaged with the community since the game’s launch, fostering a sense of belonging and encouraging players to share their experiences, theories, and fan art.

📱 Social Media Presence

The game has a strong presence on social media, with over 500,000 followers on Facebook, 300,000 on Instagram, and 200,000 on Twitter. The official social media accounts post regular updates about the game, including behind-the-scenes content, upcoming updates, and fan art spotlights.

The community is highly active on these platforms, with players sharing their gameplay videos, fan art, and theories about the game’s story. One popular theory among fans is that Aarav’s grandfather is actually a spirit in the mansion, watching over Aarav as he uncovers the haveli’s secrets. Daman Games has teased that this theory may be addressed in the upcoming sequel.

The studio also uses social media to run contests and giveaways, encouraging players to engage with the game. For example, the “Haunted Art Contest” invited players to create fan art of the game’s characters or environments, with the winners’ art featured in the game’s loading screens. The “Survival Challenge” contest asked players to share their best survival mode scores, with the top players winning gaming consoles and gift cards.

💬 Forums & Discussion Groups

The game has an official forum on the Daman Games website, where players can discuss gameplay tips, share theories, and report bugs. The forum has over 50,000 registered users and thousands of active threads, with topics ranging from puzzle solutions to character backstories.

The game also has a large community on Reddit, with over 100,000 members in the r/HauntedMansionDelhi subreddit. The subreddit is a hub for fan art, gameplay videos, and in-depth discussions about the game’s story. The moderators of the subreddit work closely with Daman Games to share feedback from the community and organize events.

Daman Games regularly monitors these forums and discussion groups, taking feedback from players and incorporating it into updates. For example, players requested a photo mode in the game, and the studio added it in Update 3.0. Players also asked for more difficulty levels, leading to the introduction of “Nightmare Mode” in Update 4.0.

🎥 Live Streams & Q&A Sessions

The studio hosts monthly live streams on YouTube, where members of the development team answer player questions, show upcoming updates, and play the game with fans. These live streams are highly popular, with thousands of viewers tuning