Lodger · Stillcraft

What's inside

Everything Lodger does.

Your own rooms

Hallway, kitchen, room, bathroom, balcony, photographed as they look in the evening. Two are enough; a room you don't have is crossed out and its marks go next door. The photos never leave the phone.

Marks in the picture

Shoe prints with a tread, wet steps, a cat's paw trail, frost in October, eyes under the sofa, a shadow standing where no one stands. Each is painted into the photo itself, on its darkest corner, its glass or its floor, and develops slowly when you open the room.

Evening notes

The lodger writes: grumpy, frightened, polite, seven years old. Notes arrive as an evening notification; one written at three in the morning still waits for the evening.

The radio

Turn the dial through live static. Near a voice the hiss thins and letters come through; hold there and the word is caught. Every couple of nights a new one, and together they make one sentence.

The board

Photographs, letters, tickets, records and objects pin themselves to a cork board, tied with red thread. With every clue and every word, the story of who they were comes closer.

One thing left undone

After fourteen nights there is a real task: play a nocturne at seven, post a handwritten letter, invite someone round, look at the sky for ten minutes, name a nameless cat. Do it, tap “Done”, and they go.

The house register

The flat stands empty for three nights, then someone else moves in. Ten lodgers, from a music teacher and a house spirit nobody invited along to the whisperer in the ventilation shaft and a cat who was never named.

How frightening

Candle is quiet. Lantern brings the odd knock and photos that waver as if the lamp were failing. Full moon may show you, for a blink, whoever stands there. Whatever you pick, the phone is silent at night.

Screens

Captured in Lodger.

Lodger: The flat — **The flat**Night nine: marks in three rooms.

Lodger: A room — **A room**Only in the photo.

Lodger: Notes — **Notes**They come in the evening.

Lodger: The radio — **The radio**A word through the static.

Lodger: The board — **The board**Clues on red thread.

Lodger: The story — **The story**And one thing left undone.

Lodger: Moving in — **Moving in**Photograph your rooms.

Lodger: Settings — **Settings**Candle, Lantern or Full moon.

How frightening

Level	What happens	At night
Candle	Marks, notes and the radio, nothing more	Silence
Lantern	The odd knock; photos waver as if the lamp were failing	Silence
Full moon	For a blink, a photo may show whoever stands there	Silence

Get it

Get Lodger.

Install

Version: v1.0.0
File: Lodger.apk
Requires: Android 9.0 (API 28) or newer. No Google services needed.
Permissions: Notifications, for the evening notes, and vibration. No camera permission (the phone's own camera takes the photos), no internet, no account, no ads, no analytics.
License: MIT · fonts PT Serif, PT Mono and Caveat (SIL OFL)

Download the APK on your phone.
Open it and allow installs from this source when Android asks.
Photograph two or more rooms in the evening light, pick how frightening, and wait for the first night.

Lodger is a quiet story, not a jump scare: nothing sounds at night, and Candle keeps it gentle. The marks are painted only into the copies of your photos inside the app.

Download APK All releases

Build from source

JDK 17+ (Android Studio's bundled JBR works) and the Android SDK. Kotlin, Jetpack Compose, DataStore, WorkManager; the marks are painted in code and the static, knocks and creaks are synthesised.

git clone https://github.com/bigdevwhale/lodger.git
cd lodger
./gradlew testDebugUnitTest assembleDebug
./gradlew assembleDebug -Pdemo              # app.lodger.demo: the first lodger ten nights in, drawn rooms for photos
./gradlew testDebugUnitTest -Prender --tests '*RenderArt*'   # screens and every mark to PNG

Good to know

Questions people ask.

Is it really scary?

As much as you choose. Candle is a quiet mystery; Full moon can make you look twice at your own hallway. Either way the phone is silent at night, and a note written at three in the morning waits for the evening.

Do my photos go anywhere?

No. The app has no internet permission at all; the photos and the marks painted on them stay on the phone.

What if my flat has no balcony?

Cross the room out. Two rooms are enough, and the marks meant for a missing room turn up next door.

What happens after the lodger leaves?

Their page goes into the house register. The flat stands empty for three nights, then the next of ten lodgers moves in.