During her time in the mansion, Miku sees various apparitions of her missing brother, leading her towards solving the mystery of the mansion. Eventually, Miku learns that the Himuro Mansion was the site of many horrific rituals, the main one being the Strangling Ritual, which was designed to keep the Hell Gate located beneath the mansion closed and protect the region from harm. The ritual required a woman within the family to become the Rope Shrine Maiden, who was selected and hidden away for ten years with little contact with anyone, so she would have no attachments to the world.
Beneath the mansion is an expansive cavern where the final acts of the ritual are carried out. The Rope Shrine Maiden is purified and taken to a large stone pedestal, where five ropes are tied to her limbs and neck. The ropes are connected to five pillars, symbolizing the five head families of the surrounding region. These pillars are turned, causing the maiden great pain until her limbs are torn from her body. The ropes, stained by the sacred blood of the sacrificed maiden, are then used to tie the doors of the Hell Gate closed, thus preventing The Malice within from escaping and causing catastrophe.
Kirie, meeting her lover in the mansion's cherry atrium.
The ritual failed, however, and the disaster known as The Calamity occurred when the last Rope Shrine Maiden, Kirie Himuro, failed to sever her attachments to the world. While she was isolated within the mansion, Kirie met and fell in love with a man who stayed at the mansion and bore a striking resemblance to Mafuyu Hinasaki. The Himuro family began to fear her growing attachment, and after confining her to her room, the family master ordered the man to be killed. Kirie learned of his death before the final moments of the ritual, and her regrets caused the ritual to fail. The Malice poured forth from the gate, killing most within the mansion and driving the rest mad. The malice attached itself to the spirit of Kirie, twisting her into a vengeful ghost bent on making others experience the pain and misery she went through.
Apart from the ghost of the Rope Shrine Maiden, was the spirit of a Girl in White Kimono, who guided Miku along her investigation. This was the embodiment of Kirie's innocent self, tied to her sacred duty as the Rope Shrine Maiden. Ever since the Malice erupted from the Hell Gate, the mansion had been trapped in darkness and the souls of all who perished inside were unable to rest. Junsei Takamine and his assistants, Koji Ogata and Tomoe Hirasaka, were caught in the darkness upon setting foot inside, and they fell to Kirie's wrath. They were cursed with the same gruesome fate that befell the Rope Shrine Maiden and became violent ghosts themselves. When Mafuyu entered the mansion, he became trapped as well, but because he resembled Kirie's lover, he was allowed to live.
The curse of the strangling ropes on Koji Ogata.
After being trapped inside the Himuro grounds, Miku nearly fell to the curse of the strangling ropes, but on the fourth night, she took the final path of the Rope Shrine Maiden and found Mafuyu before the Hell Gate. They called out to each other, but before Mafuyu could reach out to Miku, Kirie pulled him back, saying, "We will always be together." Miku used the powers of the camera obscura to exorcise Kirie's ghost, but she was overpowered, and the camera was thrown to the ground and broken. Before succumbing to the malicious ghost, Miku saw the girl in the white kimono point towards the broken camera. She was really pointing at the shining fragment that came from within the camera, the final piece of the Holy Mirror, which Miku could use as a last resort against the Malice. Miku had uncovered all of the other pieces while searching the mansion, and after assembling them, she was able to banish the evil that possessed Kirie, freeing her spirit and Mafuyu from the Malice.
There are three possible ending scenes that play after completing the game. The second scene is only available after beating the game in "Nightmare" mode. The third ending can be obtained on the Xbox release by completing the game on "Fatal" mode.
