The Quarry - The Hag of Hackett's Quarry Explained

Supermassive Games has done it again! Developers of Until Dawn and Man of Medan have once again created a thrilling and terrifying dramatic-horror game called The Quarry. While the game has only been released for a short period, fans are raving about it and can't seem to get enough of it. While players seem to pick up on small details, there is one that continues to be overlooked: The Hag of Hackett’s Quarry. This is a mystery worth solving, as it brings depth and deep meaning beyond what most players expect  

Who is this seemingly dangerous spirit that lurks around every tree and runs chills up the player's spine? While some may speculate who they believe this Hag to be, some aren't quite sure what her point is in the game. Some players have even voiced that the ghost doesn't make sense and shouldn't be a part of the game. Little do players know, this Hag is more critical to the story than they ever thought possible. 

This piece contains spoilers for The Quarry.

The Quarry - What Happened to the Hacketts?

Six years before the events that take place in The Quarry, a quaint little show called Harum-Scarum made its way to the tiny town of North Kill. More so, this was no ordinary show; it was a Freakshow carnival. As the carnival laid down its wagons and began to set up in the Hackett Woods, residents of the town gathered to see what the show was all about. Their main feature was a "white wolf," but there was something quite odd about him. His name was Silas, and he was half-wolf, half-man. They called the star of the freakshow "Silas the Dog Boy," and he quickly became the main attraction to anyone who laid eyes on him. 

The Hackett family became curious about what this show was all about and set out to get a look for themselves. Only when they arrived did they look on in horror as this poor wolf-boy was being exploited by the show's ringleader, who also happened to be his mother. The daughter Kaylee Hackett decided that this was unfair and that this boy deserved his freedom. She asked her brother Caleb to start a fire as a distraction, to give her enough time to release Silas from his wretched cage.

Sadly, this plan did not go as they had hoped, and the fire quickly spread. The flames engulfed the show's carts and wagons, killing all who attended and even the ringleader herself as the fire grew. The only people who managed to escape were some of the Hacketts and Silas. When Caleb was helping to release him, Silas became afraid and bit Caleb out of fear.

The Hag of Hackett's Quarry Explained

As stated prior, not all of the Hackett family escaped the fire's grasp. Hank Hackett was also burned alive, who also happened to be the sheriff of North Kill. The ringleader of the show was also brutally burned down, but players would never guess who it was; Eliza Vorez, Silas's mother. Yes, the Hag of Hackett's Quarry is none other than the lively fortune-teller that players come back to at the end of each chapter with their Tarot Cards in hand. Players are led to believe that she is doing all of these readings to help and guide them when it is just to help herself. 

While this may not seem like a massive twist, it only gets crazier from here. The entire time players are making choices, they fail to realize that Eliza is trying to manipulate them into doing her bidding. Eliza believes that the Hacketts murdered her in cold blood and that now they are hunting her son just to end a curse that they brought upon themselves by choice.

As players kill off the Hackett family throughout the game, they'll notice that Eliza gets overjoyed at the thought that one of them is no longer a threat to her son. She is seen exclaiming during a cutscene that they are vile people who hunt her poor little white wolf every full moon, armed with silver bullets to break the curse finally.

"Every time you hear a whisper or feel breath on the nape of your neck, that'll be me..."

Players also don't realize that Eliza is the older woman who appears in the back of Max and Laura's car at the very beginning of the game. When Laura ventures off into the woods at the start, she comes across the remnants of Harum-Scarum, where the Hag, Eliza, attempts to scare her away. She does this in fear that Laura will come into contact with her son, who was the reason they swerved off-road in the first place. Eliza whispers and shrieks at players if they get too close to her son. She also attempts to guide players in the "right direction" by leading them to the events that would kill off a member of the Hackett family. 

When players locate and bring the Hierophant card back to Eliza, they realize that they really are just pawns in her devilish chess game. A secret cutscene begins to play, showing what Eliza remembers happening that fateful day. The cutscene comes to an end, and Eliza starts begging -- pleading -- with the player to kill every one of the Hacketts and save her sweet Silas.

She even goes as far as to say if they don't, she will haunt them for the rest of their days, exclaiming, "Every time you hear a whisper or feel breath on the nape of your neck, that'll be me..." Scaring the player into possibly wiping off every Hackett to save her boy. Eliza believes that the Hacketts are selfish and that there is no need to kill her son as he is harmless. 

What Happens When You Don't Kill the Hacketts?

Suppose players do decide to follow through with her pleadings and kill any of the remaining Hacketts. In that case, she openly admits that she carefully planned this entire endeavor, stating she knew she could rely on the player to do her bidding and save her son in the end. Eliza claims that this needed to be done as she required her revenge on the family for destroying everything she's ever known and killing her in the process.

If players take the opposite route and don't kill the Hackett family, Eliza becomes livid, yelling at the player that she helped them and trusted them, and cannot believe they would allow those monsters to murder her son. She tells the player she will now haunt them for the rest of their lives and make sure they are miserable every step of the way. 

At the end of the game, Eliza is satisfied when all of the Hacketts have met their end, and she firmly believes that this is their karma for what they did to her and her son over the last six years. Many players don't put two and two together until nearly the end of the game, and some don't realize she is the Hag at all. In reality, Eliza is nothing more than a spiteful witch who only sought revenge for her death.

Adding this aspect to the game was a phenomenal choice for Supermassive Games, as it provides depth and a cohesive storyline. The Quarry is well thought out and put together, and players can't wait to see what else the developers have in store.