Another darkly amusing element is the variety in ways your characters can be killed. Unlike most games, death in Maniac Mansion is a permanent condition, but the multitude of ways in which you perish makes them worth discovering just for fun. Of course, before any such sadistic pleasure can occur, you need to figure out how to get inside the mansion when the door is locked. Even evil, homicidal aliens hide their spare keys under doormats, apparently. Displayed in the kitchen, next to the set of carving knives, is a chainsaw surrounded by bloodstains.
Closer investigation reveals that there are broken bottles of ketchup inside.
Chuck the Plant Demonstrating that the designers left no stone unturned, amusing touches of detail are everywhere, such as Dr. Fred's mail-order medical diplomas, a record that skips annoyingly when played, and a plant that is inexplicably named Chuck. Too bad Ed doesn't think so. Neither did Nintendo of America, when they discovered it. When it comes down to it, morbid humor is what this classic is all about. But in Maniac Mansion, sometimes it's fun to be mutilated.