| “ | Together, by God's grace, Little Hope will prevail! | ” |
Reverend Simon Carver is the main antagonist in The Dark Pictures Anthology's second installment, Little Hope. He was the reverend of Little Hope's town between 1688 and 1692. He was voiced and motion captured by David Smith and was modelled on Leonardo Patane.
Appearance[]
Carver is a man with a white complexion. Despite being in his early 40s, Carver looks very young, about in his 20s or 30s. He has brown eyes and medium long brown hair, combed to the right and revealing a forehead.
Carver wears a mix of traditional clerical clothing and 17th century clothing. It includes a black cassock to the waist with white cuffs, black breeches, white stockings and black shoes. The clerical collar with preaching bands stands out well against all this.
Personality[]
As a reverend and a man guided by God, Carver is a highly respected member of the community. He is shown as a stern but fair man, willing to protect Little Hope and its citizens, even if that means executing someone.
However, all of this is a pretense, hiding Carver's real dark nature. In fact, he is a cruel and sinister man who uses his status as a saint for his own purposes, knowing that people will believe him. Carver also shows a sadistic side, smirking during Mary's execution.
Carver, claiming that all those accused serve dark forces, is ironically and secretly into the occult and dark magic. He also always carries a bible with occult symbols with him, which is Carver's big mistake, as it serves as proof of his atrocities.
Biography[]
Carver was born in the mid-17th century and became Reverend of Little Hope in 1688. He also had a wife named Madeleine, who was taken into slavery during the Commencement Day Massacre in 1690. The loss of his wife presumably prompted Carver to study the occult.
In 1692, a girl named Mary Milton learned of Carver's interest in the occult, causing the priest to begin threatening Mary to keep quiet. He also caused Mary to initiate witch trials, blackmailing her to get those around them executed. After many executions, Carver was caught for having interests in the occult, causing him to lose his role as the reverend.
Little Hope[]
| Chapter Appearances | |||
| Diversion | Absent | Family | Absent |
| Darkest Dreaming | Absent | Lost | Absent |
| Reunion | Absent | Troubled History | Mentioned in Text |
| No Escape | Absent | Pursued | Appears |
| Vince | Absent | Surrounded | Appears |
| Playing Tricks | Mentioned | Low Point | Absent |
| Confrontation | Absent | Reflections | Mentioned |
| Off Track | Debut | Ruined | Appears |
| Another Way | Appears | Heavy Burden | Appears |
| The Crossing | Appears | Full Circle | Appears |
| The End | Absent | ||
Main Story[]
Act 1[]
Carver first appears looking for Mary, who is hiding from him in a barrel. He finds her and begins to threaten Mary to keep quiet about their secret. When Mary seeks help from the protagonists (whom Carver doesn't see), Carver believes she is appealing to evil forces. Mary responds that witchcraft is actually done by Amy as she has seen her talking to someone (John and possibly Angela) and Carver reluctantly trusts her, after which he takes Mary away with him.
Later, Carver, along with Marshal Isaac, goes to the Lamberts' house and arrests Amy, despite the couple's protests. As Amy's trial begins, Carver begins falsely claiming that she is a witch and should not be taken at her word. When Amy, with Joseph's support, begins to justify herself, Carver forces Mary to fake a seizure, convincing the townspeople that Amy is indeed a witch.
During Amy's execution, Carver sees her asking to someone for help (Andrew and John) and thinking that Amy is appealing to the devil, orders Isaac to chain her up tightly. Amy tries to tell Carver that Little Hope has already been poisoned from within by Mary, but he doesn't listen to her and orders Marshall to throw her into the river.
Act 2[]
The next time Carver appears during the execution of Tabitha, who has been accused of witchcraft for making the poppet. Tabitha tries to explain that the poppet is just a toy, but Carver shuts her up, saying that she cannot fool them and must die for the good of Little Hope. As Tabitha is executed, Carver is seen reciting a prayer.
Later, Carver and Mary arrive at the church where they notice David alone talking to someone (Daniel and Taylor). Carver believes that David is appealing to the same evil forces as Amy and Tabitha and takes him to the bell tower. During David's execution, Carver tells Mary that Abraham will be her new guardian after which he orders Isaac to throw David over the fence.
Act 3[]
After Abraham becomes Mary's guardian, Carver goes to Wyman. He tries to convince the judge not to believe what Abraham and Joseph say, and asks to make him Mary's new guardian, as Abraham wants to speak against her. At first, Wyman refuses, wanting to hear Abraham out, but realizing that he is not suitable for the role of guardian, places Mary in the care of the priest. Later, during Joseph's execution, Carver notices the intervention of otherworldly forces (protagonists) and orders Isaac to add more stones, killing the farmer.
Carver appears one last time in the final flashback, when Wyman accuses Mary of witchcraft and the priest supports him by using Mary's poppet as proof of her wickedness. Abraham stands up for her and depending on what Andrew advises him, there are three outcomes:
- If Andrew says Mary is guilty, Carver will watch Mary's execution and smirk as she dies.
- If Andrew says the doll is to blame, Carver will try to convince the residents that Mary must be held accountable for her crimes. Wyman orders Carver to destroy the poppet, which the priest reluctantly does, throwing the doll into a torch and accidentally setting a fire.
- If Andrew says Carver is at fault, Abraham will tell Wyman something that will make the judge to take the bible from Carver and find occult symbols in it. Carver begins to claim that Mary has deceived them all, starting with him, but no one listens to him, after which Wyman takes the priest away.
Killed Victims[]
| Chapter | Character | Mechanism of Kill | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Crossing | Amy | Assisted - Drowned | Always happens. |
| Pursued | Tabitha | Assisted - Hanged | Tanya had her neck snapped in Family. |
| Assisted - Burned on stake | Tanya had herself burned in Family. | ||
| Surrounded | David | Assisted - Impaled on spear fences | Always happens. |
| Heavy Burden | Joseph | Assisted - Crushed | |
| Full Circle | Mary | Assisted - Burned on stake | Andrew and the other protagonist told Abraham to accuse Mary. |
| Assisted - Presumably burned | Andrew and the other protagonist told Abraham to accuse the poppet. |
Relationships[]
Mary[]
Mary became afraid of Carver presumably after she learned of his hidden fascination with the occult, and was forced to do whatever he said. Carver often threatened Mary, either when she tried to resist or wanted to reveal Carver's secret. When Mary chose to tell Wyman everything, Carver decided to get rid of her and supported the judge's accusations about Mary, turning the whole town against her.
Isaac[]
Isaac carried out Carver's orders, helping with the arrests and executions of the accused. However, when Carver's dark secret was revealed, he did not intervene.
Trivia[]
Secrets[]
- Carver is associated with some secrets:
- He owned an Old Bible.
- His name was written and subsequently expunged from Little Hope Pastors.
- He is mentioned in Judge Wyman's Letter.
Facts[]
- Carver is the recreation of Leonard Carson from 1972 made by Anthony's mind.
- It is also possible that Carver inspired the mayor of Little Hope Samuel Carver, with Anthony imagining that Carver's family remained in power for centuries until the town closed in 1979.
Other[]
- Carver shares the same face model as:
- Simon Hillary/Adam Jones from Hidden Agenda.
- Abe White from The Inpatient.
- Devin McCrea from Shattered State.
- Cooper from Man of Medan.
- Leonard Carson from the same game.
- Jeff Whitman from The Devil in Me.
Quotes[]
| “ | I will have the truth one way or another. You come with me, girl. | ” |
| “ | There is a witness to your wife speaking in tongues. | ” |
| “ | You will deliver yourself into the Marshal's hands for your own good. | ” |
| “ | What more proof is needed that the Devil walks among us in Little Hope! | ” |
| “ | Fools! Misled by a child! Do you not see what she is? The truth stares at you from the depths of hell yet you see nothing! The devil's daughter has deceived you all! Not me! | ” |
| “ | Now all of Little Hope is mesmerized by you. | ” |
[]
| Protagonists |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antagonists | Carver • Demons | ||||||||||
| Supporting Characters |
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