The game begins with Fred waking up in the castle of a Dr. Freidrich Steiner, an employee of Ulysses Pitt. Fred soon learns that he has been murdered and subsequently resurrected, and his head is missing. In its place is a liquid-filled jar that contains his brain and eyes. Steiner explains that Fred is a private detective who had been investigating Pitt, but Pitt had discovered that Fred was on to him and had him murdered. Many of Fred's memories are missing as a result of the trauma to his brain, and before Steiner can explain further, Pitt and several of his henchmen arrive. As Fred hides in Steiner's lab, Pitt's thugs apprehend Steiner and announce that he is to be taken to the Horseman, a minion of Pitt's who resides in Creepy Hollow.