Clues & Culprits › Hints › Oct 16, 2026 Hard
Spoiler-Free Hints for Oct 16, 2026
Stuck on the Hard case, “The Grey Lady of Staircase Nine”? Open one nudge at a time. Nothing below reveals a verdict unless you click a box marked spoiler.
Back to the case Rules refresher
About this case
For a whole term, students on Staircase Nine reported a grey lady drifting past their doors at midnight, and the college closed the staircase 'for structural reasons'. This month a tourist left a five-star review of her stay there: 'Charming, historic, a little haunted.'
This Hard case seats 20 suspects on a 4×5 grid. 15 of them carry a clue; the other 5 only have something to say about themselves. 6 of the steps can only be proven by reading two or more clues together.
Nudge 1 — where to start
The case opens with Ezra the drama student (A2) already proven. Their statement is enough on its own to prove one more suspect straight away — read it word by word, especially the counting words (exactly, neighbors, between).
The only campus nurse in Row 1 is a criminal.— Ezra, drama student (A2)
Spoiler: who can I prove first?
Dina (D1) is a criminal, proven by Ezra’s statement.
Nudge 2 — the opening
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, across rows 1, 4 and 5, most of them in row 4. The statements doing the work are role counts, paired verdicts and shared-neighbor counts. One step here needs 2 statements read together. Tip: with role counts, find every suspect with that role (the nameplate badge helps) and count the proven ones.
Spoiler: whose statements to read
Petra’s and Sadie’s statements, read together.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Mila (A4) — innocent.
Nudge 3 — after about 5 proven suspects
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, across rows 2, 3 and 4, most of them in row 2. The statements doing the work are if–then clues, corner and edge counts and comparisons. 4 steps here need 3 statements read together. Tip: with if–then clues, an if–then says nothing when its “if” part is false — don’t read it backwards.
Spoiler: whose statements to read
Petra’s, Sadie’s and Mila’s statements, read together.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Leo (D3) — innocent.
Nudge 4 — after about 10 proven suspects
Four suspects get proven in this stretch, in columns B and C. The statements doing the work are shared-neighbor counts, if–then clues and comparisons. One step here needs 3 statements read together. Tip: with shared-neighbor counts, only the two to four cards touching both suspects count.
Spoiler: whose statements to read
Sadie’s, Otto’s and Kira’s statements, read together.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Cora (C1) — a criminal.
Nudge 5 — the endgame
Five suspects get proven in this stretch, in columns A and B. The statements doing the work are row and column counts, neighbor counts and corner and edge counts. Every step in this stretch needs just one statement. Tip: with row and column counts, once the line’s quota is filled, everyone else in it takes the other verdict.
Spoiler: whose statement to read
Cora’s statement.
Spoiler: which suspect does that settle?
Nora (B4) — innocent.
The hardest step
The toughest moment needs 3 statements at once. If you’re stuck in the middle of the case, this is probably it.
Spoiler: the statements for the hardest step
Read Petra’s, Sadie’s and Mila’s statements together. They settle Leo.
Clue types in this case
direction clues ×1, row and column counts ×1, paired verdicts ×1, role counts ×1, shared-neighbor counts ×3, “between” clues ×1, if–then clues ×3, corner and edge counts ×2, neighbor counts ×1 and comparisons ×1.
Questions
How many clues does this case have?
15 of the 20 suspects carry a clue. The rest only talk about themselves — you can hide those asides in Settings.
Where is the full solution?
The step-by-step walkthrough proves every verdict in order.