Arthur is the butler of The Estate and the true main antagonist of Escape the Night Season 1. It was revealed in Wicked Hallucinations that Arthur was the person in league with the evil of the house and had been the one to scatter the Artifacts around the estate. His brother, whom he tied in the basement to gain favour with the evil, kills him. He is played by Paul Chirico, who would later voice the Home Defense System machine in Automaton Love Story in Season 2.
Role
For the most part, Arthur is the butler helping the guests. However, when he is the strange masked figure in the flashbacks, he does other things.
Episode 1 - An Invitation
Joey introduces Arthur to the guests. He sets a timer for fifteen minutes to save Shane. He announces when Shane dies.
Episode 2 - The Ungodly Machine
Arthur is seen as the masked figure for the first time. He gives Dennis Mann, the scientist, an Artifact to use as a power source for the Ungodly Machine.
Episode 3 - Buried Alive
He asks Michael if Caroline Eastwick has been buried before performing a ritual to hide the second Artifact.
Episode 4 - Mannequins
He tells Calvin that his art holds no equal. Though it doesn't show it, he hides the third Artifact in the room upstairs.
Episode 5 - Freak Show
He watches Sam perform before offering the deformed man a chance at a life where he isn't ridiculed as a freak. We aren't shown how the Ring Master obtained the final Artifact.
Episode 10 - Betrayal At The House On The Hill
We learn about Arthur being a confidence man in his past, even seeing him play his "favorite game." He proceeds to slip poison into Penelope, his wife at the time's drink. She drinks it and he says "happy anniversary, darling". She starts wailing, falls to the ground and dies. He throws his wedding ring in the ground and leaves. At the end of the flashback, we see him remove the mask, proving he was the masked figure all along. Him, Sarah and Marvin search the house for the remaining guests. When the guests free Arthur's brother, he kills Sarah and Marvin and proceeds to shoot Arthur, he falls back into the fountain and dies.
Theory
Three of the six original names in the Death Journal sound familiar:
Is Arthur Fletcher the butler?
- Arthur Fletcher
- Sarah Hayes
- Marvin Jones
They are, of course the same as Arthur, Sarah, and Marvin, the Mansion staff members. Could the evil of the house be controlling them after Calvin wrote their names down, killing them? Or did Calvin write their names down and this foreshadowed how Arthur's Brother would kill them in episode 10, Betrayal At The House On The Hill?
Trivia
- Fans used to believe that the masked figure was named Dennis Mann, but this is false as Dennis Mann is the Scientist from Episode 2.
- A Confidence Man is an old fashion term for con man.
- In Season 4, Timothy Delaghetto was nicknamed the Con Man, making him and Arthur have the same job title.
