The Black Bell mannequin puzzle: which way to turn the mannequins and how you know it's solved

Turn all of the mannequins in The Black Bell's Chapter One piano room so they face away from the piano. The room's hint, "they watch. Do not let them watch," is the whole puzzle: every mannequin standing around the piano can be turned, and it only clears when none of them are watching anymore.

Which way to turn them

Away from the piano. If your first instinct is to face them all toward the piano, that's the wrong direction — the hint is telling you the opposite. Interact with each mannequin around the piano and turn it until it is no longer facing the piano, then sweep the room before moving on: all of the mannequins have to be turned, and if even one is still watching, the puzzle isn't done.

You reach this room partway through Chapter One, after restoring power and searching the old office for the black pearl. The "find a way up" note sends you looking for a way upward, and the piano room is the stop on that path.

How you know the puzzle is solved

The game tells you immediately. The moment the last mannequin turns the correct way, a sound plays and your objective changes to "Check the house." If that hasn't happened, at least one mannequin is still watching — go back and turn it.

What happens next

"Check the house" sends you through the house's rooms to look around. Once you've checked them, the objective becomes "Return to the piano room" — and this time a key has appeared there that wasn't there before. Take it, and the objective updates again: head for the attic. The attic door opens, but the game tells you that you'll need something to get up there — a ladder, which you have to find.

Our attic key and ladder guide covers that step, and the Chapter One walkthrough places the mannequin puzzle in the context of the full chapter.