The Origins of the Mask: A SallyFace Deepdive

Created by game development company Portable Moose and released from 2016 to 2019, SallyFace is a visual novel that follows the life of a young boy named Sal Fisher. The art style is rough, almost-appearing hand drawn. The game is played with a basic movement and fighting style, very similar to 90s video games that inspired the creator. While the gameplay is simple, the story that the game follows is difficult for most players to follow. Each episode goes back and forth between the past and the present, with new information being learned in all timelines. The story of this game can be confusing to understand by someone who has simply played it once. This blog will lay out the story from beginning to end, focused on the actual timeline rather than the game’s retelling.

Our story starts all the way back in 1623 with the establishment of the fictional town of Nockfell. This town was created around Wendigo Lake by a Native American tribe known as the “Greys”. Then, in 1663, Citali Grey had a vision. She was the tribe’s seer and she tells the tribe members an undisclosed prophecy that brings a specific group of tribe members closer together. This faction of the Grey tribe forms the Devourers of God, a cult that will be ever present through the rest of this story. Sometimes in the late 1600s, colonists showed up to the town of Nockfell. Citalali would marry one of the colonists, a man named Wesley Rosenberg, to unite the two groups. By 1681, the Devourers of God had constructed an under-ground temple and, by 1703, the Phelps Ministry was built over the temple to protect its secrecy. From then on, ceremonial marriages between Grey tribe members and Phelps descendants would occur.

The mid-1700s brought Citali Gray’s final prophecy. This prophecy becomes the cult’s doctrine as they fear the doom of their people. This is her final prophecy, transcribed:

“The blue flame, not extinguished, still flickers in the night. He that sees between worlds, Child of The Abomination. Wielding light beyond man, pierces through the endless black. Betrayer of our kind, resurrected by Asintmah. His sword, blood of man, rises to protect the Great Atrocity and prevent the triumph of humankind.”

Citali Gray

From this point on, the cult grows exponentially. By 1887, the Addison apartments were constructed in Nockfell. These apartments, created by the Addison family, would have a son in 1905 named Terrence. His family makes a deal with the Devourers of God so Terrence is “blessed”; they want him to be the vessel for something referred to as The Endless One. Without the public’s knowledge, high members of the cult begin feeding human flesh to Terrence so that he may become a habitable host for The Endless One. From 1917 to 1932, Terrence’s soul was consumed and destroyed by The Endless One. This creature kills Terrence’s parents, leaving him completely in the hands of the cult. The cult locks Terrance up in his room, at the Addison apartments, to keep this secret from the public. They use The Endless One as a source of power. By 1938, the cult was able to summon a shadow; a creature similar to The Endless One that they wished to use when fighting the Child of The Abomination.

Over the next few years, unclear of exact dates, a series of important events occurred. A man named Luke Holmes joins the cults and climbs the ranks until he is one of the high council members. Sometime after that, an alien-planet is consumed by the shadow creatures that the cult has been summoning. While most of the aliens are killed, two siblings are able to escape with their lives. These siblings, Jim and Evelyn Johnson, flee to Earth through unclear means. Evelyn is lost to a world between the Spectral and Physical planes of Earth, while Jim is able to take on a human form. Jim takes residence in the Addison apartments, soon meeting and marrying the janitor that works there- a woman named Lisa. They would go on to have a son named Larry in 1975. A few more important characters were born around this time. Travis Phelps was also born in 1975. Sal Fisher and Ashley Campbell were born in 1976 and, in 1977, Todd Morrison was born.

Now, despite Citlali having her last prophecy in the mid-1700s, another prophecy is had in 1906 by another seer. This prophecy stated that a ‘man from the sky’ would aid in the Devourers efforts to summon a demon in the physical plane. Given the fact that Jim Johnson is an alien, the cult believes he is the prophesied ‘man from the sky’. While Jim’s wife and son are unaware of his true identity, the cult seems to know immediately and begin attempting to persuade him to join them. Eventually, following the stillbirth of his second child, Jim agrees to join the cult in 1983. He disappears without telling his family. 

Despite this, Jim Johnson is still adamantly against the cult and their beliefs. He is the one to document most of their actions, timeline, and members. Around the same time Jim joins the cult, he writes:

“Now they’re planning a mass murder of children across the globe! They think these kids are a threat to them. I have to stop this from happening. This damn cult is dealing with powerful forces they don’t understand. I’ve been secretly sabotaging their efforts where I can but I’m going to need to take greater action to stop the killings.”

Jim Johnson

(It should be noted, the cult is planning this mass execution of children due to the prophecy and belief that one of these children will be the Child of The Abomination.)

New Jersey, 1984. Sal Fisher goes on a picnic with his family. At this time, Sal is 8 years old. While on their picnic, young Sal sees a dog off in the distance and begs his mom to go pet it. Sal’ mother, Diane Fisher, agrees and she takes Sal over to see the dog. When they reach it, it becomes apparent that it isn’t a dog at all. Wearing a dog mask is the pastor of Phelps Ministry and Archbishop of the Devourers of God, Kenneth Phelps. He had been sent on a mission to kill Sal Fisher and was armed with a shotgun. He shoots at Sal and his mother, possibly intending to kill them both, but he only managed to kill Diance. Sal is protected by his mother, but the proximity of the bullet to his head leaves him with  one eye and severe facial scars. From this point on, Sal would wear a prosthetic face mask. This mask would result in relentless teasing and bullying at school, including the nickname ‘Sally Face’. 

Given how long this blog already is, I’m going to call it here. The next post will dive more into the story that most people are familiar with. Again, I encourage you to play through the game yourself, or even watch a gaming youtuber play. There are many play throughs on youtube (I recommend Jacksepticeye). That’s all for now. I’ll see you in the next part.