James Blackthorne

James Blackthorne is a paranormal researcher and expert on ritual magic. He is the second player character in the Detectives United series, although as the games continue, the player switches between him and the other two detectives as the story requires.

Biography
James is a young man who frequently finds himself investigating haunted locations - usually hotels. Something of a natural medium, James is able to piece together tragedies from the past in order to release unhappy spirits into the afterlife. Despite his peculiar and sometimes sad field of work, James is generally friendly and eager to help others in need. Of the three detectives, he is the most likely to actually give voice to his fondness for the other two.

In addition to being a paranormal expert, James is well versed in assorted magic rituals, which comes in handy often. He does a great deal of study and research on his field of expertise, and has published various articles. He is also technologically inclined, having helped the Mystery Trackers develop their field communications device. His first known affiliation with them came in Haunted Hotel: Phoenix, in which the player is a detective on friendly terms with the agency.

When Agent Brown first meets him in Origins, James has infiltrated the royal palace in hopes of confronting the Collector. Unlike Brown, who has been assigned to the investigation, James has had a personal treasure - the Blackthorne family signet ring, a gift from his grandfather - stolen by the Collector and he wants it back. The two investigators quickly recognize each other and agree to form a partnership, later joining forces with Anna Gray, who is in a similar situation. In the bonus chapter, James goes on his own to investigate strange events at an abandoned mansion in Louisiana, where he is taken prisoner by the malevolent ghost of an orphan child; Brown and Anna come to his rescue, prompting James to make the grateful observation that they were clearly brought into their partnership for a reason.

In Darkest Shrine, the three detectives split up to investigate S.H.R.I.N.E.'s activities in different parts of the world. James quickly finds himself in over his head at St. Mary's Orphanage and needs Anna's help. They soon discover that parallel dimensions are also being threatened, and in the bonus chapter they learn that they each have a "dark doppelganger" in one of them. James's own dark doppelganger is not a threat, as he has turned on Dark Brown and Dark Anna, and provides James and Brown with key information to help them return to their home world.

In Timeless Voyage, the detectives are separated yet again, this time by force; Dark Anna sends James a few centuries into the past to steal a relic from the Mystery Trackers, while Brown is thrown thirty years into the future. In the process of collecting what she needs, James inadvertently disturbs the slumber of Morpheus, the ancient enemy of the Mystery Trackers order, and in the bonus chapter is subjected to mind control by the evil madman.

In Phantoms of the Past, Agent Brown disappears on a secret investigation, and after two months of no contact, Agent Shade reveals his plans to James and Anna. Worried for their partner, they set off at once for the mysterious community of Restville, but James is almost immediately injured in a car accident on their arrival. During their investigation, he runs afoul of the town's sheriff, who punches him unconscious and throws him in jail; after escaping, James must spend much of the rest of the game trying to avoid being captured again. Meanwhile, he is the first to confront Mortimer Brown, Agent Brown's diabolical (and equally invisible) twin brother, but when Mortimer threatens James, Agent Brown comes to his rescue. The detectives eventually realize that James is immune to the effects of the blue roses with which Mortimer has mentally enslaved the people of Restville, so Mortimer and the sheriff are trying to keep him locked up because they can't control him.

In Deadly Debt, James is first seen exchanging pleasantries with both of his partners in Agent Brown's office. Later, he has a strange psychic vision which seems to warn of impending murders, and he and the others join forces to hopefully stop them from happening; when they can't, they instead work to figure out the reason behind them. When Anna is endangered during the course of her investigation of the first murder scene, she's able to send a distress call to James, who rushes to her aid and brings her back to her home. After Agent Brown figures out where the third murder will take place, he sends James to intercede with the would-be killers and explain that they can help set everything right again. Using items collected by his partners, James faces down the true villain and destroys her. In the bonus chapter, her ghost attempts to avenge herself on all of them, and promises that she will save James for last in order to force him to watch the other two die before him, but they emerge victorious once more.

Dorian Brown
James is something of a kid brother figure to Agent Brown, who likes to give him a playfully hard time. They are familiar with each other's work prior to meeting in person, though James is unaware of Brown's invisibility until he reveals it during the course of Origins. James is somewhat resigned to Brown's ribbing and fondness for puns, but he also knows that he can count on Brown when the chips are down and is never hesitant to return the favor. When looking at a photograph of himself and his partners in Darkest Shrine, James makes the observation that he feels a strong kinship with them. In Phantoms of the Past, he's willing to drop everything to rush to Brown's aid, risking his own safety by investigating the strange goings-on in Restville, and finally addresses his longtime partner as "Dorian" instead of "Brown" when the trio is reunited. In Deadly Debt, their interactions are more cordial than ever, with Brown displaying very little of his usual teasing and instead treating James as more of an equal.

Anna Gray
James seems to have a great deal of admiration for Anna, almost in a big sister fashion similar to his connection to Brown. In his inner monologue, he frequently thinks of her by her full name, suggesting respect or possibly even some awe where she is concerned. He's deeply grateful to her and Brown when they rescue him in the bonus chapter of the first game, observing that the three were clearly brought together for a reason. We also see him interact with Richard in a few instances, including saving Richard when the skull is stolen during Darkest Shrine, and Richard seems rather fond of the young man. In Deadly Debt, we see that Anna has acquired a panic button which somehow connects to his cell phone when she presses it, and when she sends the distress call, he doesn't even think twice before jumping in the car and speeding to her rescue. He also remains at her bedside while she recovers from her ordeal, until he's needed in the field again.

Agent Shade
James was the one who, prior to the events of Origins, help the Mystery Trackers develop their field communications technology. Agent Shade is one of the organization's intelligence agents, and as a result the two worked together on that project. They seem to get along well; in the photographs of the group which James examines in Darkest Shrine and Deadly Debt, the two are standing together.

Others
James has a large family and several members are encountered during the course of the Haunted Hotel games, including his brother John, who is the player character in Room 18.

In the bonus chapter of Origins, Brown makes a passing mention of James having a girlfriend. This girlfriend, Jessica, is finally introduced to the player in the 19th Haunted Hotel installment, Lost Time. Her surname is not given. She and James are engaged to be married by the end of the game. The 20th and final Haunted Hotel game, A Past Redeemed, centers around their wedding.

Anna's daughter, Alice Gray, has not yet been mentioned during the events of the Detectives United games. However, the Grim Tales game in which she is introduced, Guest From The Future, makes a reference to the Detectives United partnership and suggests that in the future, she and James share a close bond; she explicitly identifies him as "Uncle James."

Trivia

 * James is almost never the player character in the Haunted Hotel game series. In fact, he does not appear at all in most of the games; the series was originally made by a different developer, and James only became a character after the series was acquired by Elephant Games. Even the games from Elephant don't always include him, although as the series continued and he gained in popularity he became the recurring figure. The games which do include him usually have him as a side character with a personal connection to the player. However, he does appear as the player character in the 15th, 19th, and 20th installments.
 * His surname, Blackthorne, is frequently spelled as Blackthorn, both in Detectives United and Haunted Hotel, as well as in the newspaper seen in Trace in Time. It's not completely clear which is supposed to be the correct spelling, although most people presume it to be the version with the E.
 * His first three Haunted Hotel appearances (Eclipse, Ancient Bane, and Death Sentence) depict James as a 19th century-style detective, almost like an homage to Sherlock Holmes - complete with a Watson in the form of the player character. These games also refer to him solely by his first name; in fact, Death Sentence goes to great lengths to avoid revealing his surname, because it's the same as the murderer! It's not until Phoenix that he's given a last name and his more modern appearance.
 * James drives a vintage Volkswagen Beetle. It's seen in the final two installments of Haunted Hotel as well as in the Detectives United installments Phantoms of the Past and Deadly Debt.
 * According to the bonus chapter of the final Haunted Hotel installment, A Past Redeemed, James and his wife Jessica live in California.
 * His personnel dossier in Deadly Debt states that James is 30 years old at the time of that game.
 * James has become something of a breakout character for Elephant Games and frequently appears in posts on their Facebook account.
 * Brad Ziffer, who voices James, also provides the voice for Dark James.