Richard Gray

**Richard Gray** is the father of *Grim Tales* protagonist Anna Gray. His soul is bound into the skull she carries with her. He assists with her investigations in that series and also in the crossover spinoff *Detectives United*.

## Biography

### Grim Tales

Exactly when Richard was born is unknown. We do know (from the bonus chapter of *The White Lady*) that, as a young man, he was a student at the Evermoore Institute of Magic. He became exceptionally skilled in the dark arts and was able to make a living by providing assorted magic services to people.

Many years before Anna and her twin sister Luisa were born, he was married to his first wife and the father of another pair of twin girls. At some point in their childhood, he performed a ritual which killed his daughters and extended his own lifespan. When their mother died, and who she was, is also unknown. He later married Anastasia Grim, whom he said was able to help him keep his 'dark urges' suppressed, and together they had Anna and Luisa; they also adopted a son, Thomas Gray. After Anastasia's death, Richard disappeared from his children's lives for many years.

He is first introduced in *The Bride*, in which Anna is investigating the disappearance of Luisa prior to her wedding. Richard is the demon who guides Anna through much of the game, giving her clues and leading her somewhat astray; in fact, he is the one responsible for Luisa's disappearance. Once he has both of his daughters together, he attempts to perform the same ritual he used on his previous twins. When he performed the ritual the first time, it wasn't as strong as he would have liked because the twins were children, but this time, he's waited until Anna and Luisa were adults in order to gain even greater power from their life force. Unfortunately for Richard, something goes very wrong during the ritual and he dies as a result.

Richard is not seen again until the events of *The Heir*, in which the ghosts of his elder daughters urge their younger half-sister Anna to help the 'broken ghost'. This ghost turns out to be Richard; Anna is searching for a way to help her nephew Brandon's family, and Richard assists her with important knowledge. The one behind Brandon's family's predicament is Richard's father, Samuel, who is attempting to use Brandon's young son Billy for his own nefarious purposes. Richard is unable to defeat Samuel on his own, though he helps Anna to triumph, and as a result of their confrontation his ghost becomes bound into his own skull.

For the next several installments of the series, Richard becomes Anna's companion and assistant in her detective work, as she brings his skull with her whenever she's on a case. He seems to be at least somewhat trying to atone for his misdeeds, being genuinely helpful to his daughter even while he snarks at her. In the bonus chapter of *The Heir*, he uses his powers in a ritual that transforms her from a sixtysomething-year-old woman into a fresh-faced young blonde; and in *Trace in Time*, he arranges for her to receive a heart transplant when she is close to death.

Beginning with *Heritage*, he is absent from the games, apparently having been able to leave his skull and go "on vacation," but the details of this have yet to be revealed. He does return in *Echo of the Past*, but is seen only in the past; it's revealed that Lars the puppeteer's mother hired Richard to keep tabs on her son and try to get him to give up his performing.

Richard finally returns properly in *Horizon of Wishes*, in which his skull activates after an extended period of dormancy. Anna has to follow him to three different times and places in history to puzzle out exactly what he's doing, which is searching for a way to end his torment of being bound into the skull. He finds what he needs with her assistance and, after an affectionate parting between father and daughter, he disappears forever. He is not expected to return in either series; however, he is seen very briefly at the end of the main game of *Dual Disposition*, smiling at Anna through a portal from another dimension. This suggests that despite the destruction of his skull, he may still be out there somewhere.

### Detectives United

Richard functions as something of a spirit advisor to the detective trio, although he is usually only accessible when Anna is the player character. Like in the GT games, his skull sits on her inventory bar, and it lights up and wriggles when he has something to tell her. We also see him interact with Agent Brown and James Blackthorne on occasion; the first time this happens is in *Origins*, when the Collector traps Anna in the past. She is able to maintain connection with the present just long enough to hand off Richard's skull to her partners, and he is able to help them construct the ritual needed to bring her back to them. When they confront the Collector, Richard is able to put a magical bind on him while the others work to subdue him. In the bonus chapter, he accompanies Anna and Brown to Louisiana, and does his part to help rescue "poor James."

In *Darkest Shrine*, Richard's skull is stolen by the agents of S.H.R.I.N.E. and the detectives must infiltrate the agency's headquarters in order to get him back. He has been subjected to some unpleasant testing by the time James finds him, and is grateful for the rescue, providing his daughter and her friends with inside information about just what their enemies are planning. He helps to trap Nathaniel Prior during the final confrontation. Like his daughter, he is absent for the events of the bonus chapter.

The events of *Timeless Voyage* take even Richard by surprise. Although he is normally able to detect when supernatural activity is taking place, he admits that he sensed nothing unusual about the trap which captures the detectives early in the game. When James is subjected to mind control in the bonus chapter, Richard leaves his skull and actively applies his powers to keeping the young man from doing irreparable harm.

Richard does not appear in *Phantoms of the Past*, which takes place after the events of *Heritage*, nor does anyone comment on his absence. He does get mentioned in *Deadly Debt*, briefly; Anna muses how much she could use his help in the current case.

## Relationships

### Anna Gray

Richard assists his daughter in her cases and occasionally provides her with useful clues or items he finds. The exact nature of their relationship is difficult to describe, as Richard is very helpful to Anna but also incredibly snarky. In the second DU game, *Darkest Shrine*, he addresses her as "my favorite daughter," but it's impossible to tell whether or not he's being sarcastic. In *The Heir*, he more or less tricks her into performing a ritual which leaves her young and beautiful indefinitely. Their relationship as illustrated in the DU series is less contentious than in the GT games; many players find him more likable in DU. In *Horizon of Wishes*, he finally extends some undeniable affection to his daughter, saying that he's happy to see her "beautiful face" and telling her how proud he is of her before saying goodbye forever.

### Luisa Gray and Thomas Gray

We see almost nothing of the relationships Richard had in the past with his other two children. It's unclear whether they're even aware that Anna has him working with her on cases. This is also true of his grandson Brandon. Anna does find a picture of Richard with herself and Luisa during the early part of *Horizon of Wishes*, but other than that there is nothing to suggest that the adult Luisa knows anything about his continued existence. Notably, none of Richard's descendants through Luisa seem to have inherited any of the Gray family psychic powers. As for Thomas, outside of his lone appearance in *Color of Fright*, his relationships with his father and sisters appear nonexistent and he is never mentioned at all.

### Anastasia Grim

Richard's second wife died many years before the events of *The Bride*. She is rarely mentioned, but finally appears in *Echo of the Past*, which tells her story. Richard clearly adored Anastasia, saying that she was the reason he was able to suppress his evil urges for so many years, and her death hit him hard. Their ghosts have a brief reunion near the end of *Horizon of Wishes* in which she tells him that she's missed him.

### Dorian Black

Richard and his son-in-law have an unusual thing in common - their souls are bound into objects. While Richard's is bound into his own skull, Dorian's is bound into a portrait, and Richard remarks that he told him it was a bad idea to use something so fragile. We only see the two of them interacting during the events of *Crimson Hollow*, during which they snark at each other a great deal; it would be difficult to say whether they like each other at all, though they at least tolerate each other for Anna's sake.

### Alice Gray

Alice is the daughter of Anna and Dorian, and the title character in *Guest From The Future*. Her grandfather, somewhat surprisingly, dotes on her; when Anna first meets her, he remarks to his daughter that "I won't spoil her. Much." In the bonus chapter of *Guest*, Alice is the player character, and Richard occasionally addresses her as "darling." In *The Generous Gift*, he is distressed by her abduction, or at least as distressed as he's capable of being, and does what he can to help Anna rescue her. When saying goodbye to Anna at the end of *Horizon of Wishes*, he mentions being very proud of his granddaughter.

### Dorian Brown and James Blackthorne

Richard is not often shown interacting with Anna's partners in the Detectives United. However, when he does, he treats them with as much politeness as his general personality will allow. He doesn't hesitate to help rescue James in the bonus chapters of the first and third games, and expresses gratitude when James returns the favor during the second game. By all appearances, he respects his daughter's friends, and they seem to do the same for him.

## Trivia

* Exactly how many descendants Richard has is not clear. He has fathered at least four children (Anna, Luisa, and the unnamed twins) and possibly more, plus Thomas is his adopted son. As far as the games have indicated, however, he has only two grandchildren (Brandon and Alice) and one great-grandchild (Billy).
* Like Anna, he's given a different appearance in the *Detectives United* games than in *Grim Tales*. In both series, he is somewhat translucent, but his coloring in the GT games is more human; the DU games show him to have a blue-black coloration. He also behaves a bit differently in the two series, smiling derisively and folding his arms in GT while maintaining a more neutral expression and posture in DU. Fans of the games generally find him to be much more likable in DU.
* Richard is voiced by Randy Hames in every appearance - except for *Grim Tales: The Time Traveler* and *Grim Tales: Echo of the Past*. Why this is the case has never been stated. In *The Time Traveler* he's voiced by Matthew Curtis, and in the bonus chapter of *Echo of the Past* he's voiced by Jonathon Bradley.
* Richard has something of a stealth cameo in another Elephant Games production, *Halloween Stories: The Neglected Dead*. In the South American arc of the game, he can be spotted in a photograph on the wall of player character Catherine's brother's room. The image is indistinct, but longtime GT fans will recognize Richard's familiar silhouette, posture, and coloring.