Alan Wake Timeline

The following is a timeline of all major events in the Remedy Connected Universe.

1800-1899

1857

• Bizarre animal sounds are heard echoing across Cauldron Lake by the locals of the community that would later become Bright Falls. "Mountain Mike" Callahan, who had been camping on the shores of the lake, is seen running in fear through the town by the locals. He is found two miles outside the town the following day. Callahan would later be institutionalized in the Olympia Asylum for the Afflicted, dying nine months later.

1878

• The town of Bright Falls is founded by Hubert Biltmore and Amos Gunderson, alongside the founding of the Bright Falls Mining Company and the opening of the Bright Falls Coal Mine.

1898

• The Elderwood Palace Lodge is built in one of the settlements around the greater Bright Falls area.

1900-1999

1901

• In Bright Falls, a series of incidents involving "hovering lights" occur on four separated nights during the summer. The sightings are reported by multiple residents of the town.

1913-1933

• Moonshine Cave becomes the site of frequent bootlegger activity throughout Prohibition.

1928

• The mining town of Gray Peak Gorge is founded by the Bright Falls Mining Company to house its workers.

1937

• Tor Anderson is born.
• The Great Old One is felled by lighting.

1939

• Odin Anderson is born.

1941

• Barbara Jagger is born.

1945

• Cynthia Weaver is born.

1954

• Emil Hartman is born.

1957

• Bright Falls' residents Vern and Norma Bergdale die, almost simultaneously, while being on opposite sides of the town, of seemingly natural causes. Some residents, however, attribute the couple's passing to "strange forces".

1970

• July 10: Barbara Jagger drowns in Cauldron Lake under mysterious circumstances. After her death, Jagger's lover, Thomas Zane, is convinced by his assistant, Emil Hartman, to write her back to life using the supernatural properties of Cauldron Lake. Even though Zane was successful in resurrecting Barbara, her body was taken over by an malignant entity that inhabited the lake known as the Dark Presence.
• July 18:
  • Realizing what he had done, Zane uses the power of the lake once more, this time erasing himself from existence along with the entity that was now inhabiting Barbara's body. The resulting 7.3 volcanic earthquake sinks Diver's Isle.
  • As a contingency, Zane also wrote that any of his belongings left in a shoe box would remain in the real world, and entrusted Cynthia Weaver with the task of protecting the items within.
  • The essences of Zane and Jagger are transported to a "baby universe" created by Zane on the Dark Place, while Zane's body is taken over by another entity known as the Bright Presence.
  • The eruption causes the collapse and flooding of most of the Bright Falls Mining Company's tunnels, killing 32 miners in the process and bringing a permanent halt to mining activity in the region.

• The Bright Falls Mining Company shuts down permanently and as a result, the company town of Gray Peak Gorge is abandoned practically overnight.
• The power plant at Bright Falls Light & Power is decommissioned due to damage sustained during the earthquake.

1971

• The Anderson brothers form a heavy metal band known as Old Gods of Asgard.

1974

• Rusty is born.

1975

• Bright Falls resident Ingrid Peterson reports seeing a dark "brontosaurus-shaped" creature emerging from Cauldron Lake. Due to her history of alcoholism, the account is dismissed.
• The Old Gods of Asgard go on their Ragnarock Tour, with concerts in the following cities:
  • April 11: Seattle, Washington.
  • April 13: Bakersfield, California.
  • April 14: Long Beach, California.
  • April 17: New York City, New York .
  • April 18: Newark, New Jersey.
  • April 22: Detroit, Michigan.
  • April 26: Jacksonville, Florida.
  • April 27: Tampa, Florida.
  • April 30: New Orleans, Louisiana.
  • May 1: Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

1976

• September 17:
  • During the annual Deerfest festival, the Anderson brothers rehearse near their farm while consuming their home-brewed moonshine. Their music seemingly causes the Dark Presence to resurface once more, resulting in an unnatural thunderstorm appearing on the Anderson Farm, followed by a tornado on Cauldron Lake and a torrential rain that floods the festival grounds. The Andersons are able to fight and repel the army of taken that had arisen from the lake.
  • After evacuating the crowd, Sheriff Frank Breaker is asked by Freya Anderson, daughter of Tor, to check on her father and uncle. Breaker finds the Anderson brothers alive but in need of medical attention. Odin had cut out his right eye while Tor had been struck by a lightning. Because of this incident, the Anderson brother are listed as person of interest by the Federal Bureau of Control.

1977

• A young couple claims to have had an encounter with an "inky dark cloud" near the shores of Cauldron Lake.

1978

• The Anderson brothers are interviewed by the FBC after a third seeming Altered World Event occurs on Bright Falls.

1979

• Alice Wake is born.

1981

• WW2 veteran Lt. William T.G. Randall (b.1919) dies from his injuries after rescuing two children from a burning car crash near Bright Falls Light & Power. The swing bridge leading towards the Power Station is named after him in memorial.

1996

• At age 18, Alan Wake writes his first short story, Errand Boy, which is published in the Dark Vision magazine.

1998

• Minneapolis police arrest Alan Wake on charges of public drunkenness and battery.

1999

• Charges of disorderly conduct and battery filed against Alan Wake in West Hollywood; the battery charge is dropped.

2000-Present

2007

• Alan Wake finishes writing The Sudden Stop, the sixth and final book in his Alex Casey novel series.

2008

• The Sudden Stop is released.
• Alan Wake appears on The Harry Garrett Show to discuss his new book, The Sudden Stop, and announces that he is working on his next novel, Departure. Sam Lake and Poets of the Fall also appear.

2009

• FBI Agent Finn disappears under mysterious circumstances. His partner, Robert Nightingale, tormented by guilt, turns to alcoholism. He would eventually begin to experience nightmares involving Alan Wake.

2010

• August 25: Reporter Jake Fischer travels to Bright Falls in order to interview Doctor Emil Hartman about his new book, The Creator's Dilema. On his way to the Mountain Air Motel, Fischer accidentally runs over a deer.

• August 26:
  • Jake reunites with his old friend, Ellen Adams, on the Oh Deer Diner.
  • During his interview with Doctor Hartman at the Cauldron Lake Lodge, Fischer blacks out and experiences a series of visions. After leaving the office, he discovers that he had actually taken notes of the interview, alongside strange scribblings and drawings.

• August 27:
  • Fischer wakes up in the middle of the forest, near the Mountain Air Motel, unable to remember how he got there or what had happened. After meeting once again with Ellen Adams, she advices him to leave the town.
  • At dusk, Sam Smith, owner of the Mountain Air Motel, disappears on the forest while trying to hunt.
• August 28: Bright Falls resident Shel Dyck, exhibiting an erratic and violent behavior, attempts to destroy a lamp post in front of the Oh Deer Diner and injures Deputy Mulligan after he tries to arrest her. After witnessing this incident, Jake Fischer blacks out once more.

• August 30
  • Fischer wakes up in body bag on the shores of Cauldron Lake after being dragged from the lake by an unknown figure.
  • After visiting Doctor Hartman once again to have a copy of his book signed, Fischer talks with him about the visions and blackouts he has been experiencing, however, he leaves the office in pain after Hartman points a light at him.
  • Returning to his motel room, Jake restrains himself to a fridge and sets up a camera in order to record himself during the night. Shortly after falling asleep, Fischer wakes up and destroys the room.

• August 31:
  • After watching in horror the recording of the previous night, Jake is confronted by Deputy Mulligan about the disappearance of Sam Smith. Fischer is able to convinced Mulligan that the damage to his motel room was caused by a wild animal.
  • Determined to leave Bright Falls, Fischer asks Ellen to drive him out of the town. After experiencing another blackout, Jake finds himself alone in his car, driving towards Bright Falls, before vanishing.
  • On their way to Bright Falls, Alan Wake, alongside his wife, Alice Wake, come across the local authorities while they inspect Fischer's abandoned car.

• September 1:
  • During a ferry ride to Bright Falls, Alan Wake, alongside Clay Steward, experience a shared recurring nightmare in which both men are attacked by a possessed Hitchhiker near the Rain Cove Point Lighthouse, while being aided by Thomas Zane.
  • Upon arriving to the town, Wake goes to the Oh Deer Diner in order to retrieve the keys to their cabin from Carl Stucky, but is intercepted by the Dark Presence, using the appearance of Barbara Jagger, who directs the couple to the cabin on Diver's Isle.
  • After unpacking, Alice reveals to her husband that the real purpose of their trip was to have Alan see Doctor Hartman in order to help him with his writer's block. Infuriated by this, Alan storms out the house, but rushes back after he hears his wife crying for help, as she is dragged into the lake by the Dark Presence.
  • The Dark Presence traps Alan in the Cauldron Lake and influences him to write a manuscript titled Departure, which will ensure its escape.
• Following Doctor Emil Hartman's instructions, Ben Mott checks all of Carl Stucky's rental cabins in search of the Wakes but is unable to find the couple. He later finds the Wakes' car abandoned near Cauldron Lake.
• Barry Wheeler travels to Bright Falls looking for Alan and Alice Wake.

• September 8:
  • Alan manages to escapes from Cauldron Lake by writing Thomas Zane into the story to free him. During his escape, Alan drives his car off the road, and falls unconscious.
  • Alan wakes up with no memory of the events of the previous week. After exiting his crashed car, he finds pages of his manuscript, Departure, left behind by Zane. Making his way to Stucky's Gas Station, Alan is attacked by a group of taken, among them Carl Stucky. After killing the taken and reaching the station, Alan calls the local Sheriff Station for help.

• September 9:
  • Sheriff Sarah Breaker arrives at the Stucky's Gas Station. Alan informs her of the disappearance of his wife, omitting his encounter with the taken, but Breaker shows him that there has been no island in Cauldron Lake for decades.
  • At the Bright Falls Sheriff Station, Alan is contacted by Mott, purporting to be Alice's kidnapper, and instructs Wake to meet him alone at Lovers' Peak. Shortly after, Alan meets Dr. Emil Hartman, who offers him to stay at the Cauldron Lake Lodge, however, Alan responds by punching him in the face, before Barry Wheeler intervenes.
  • Alan and Barry rent a cabin from Rusty at the Elderwood National Park.
  • As Alan heads to Lovers' Peak to meet Mott, the Dark Presence attacks the Elderwood Visitor Center, killing Max and Rusty and turning the later into a taken, which Alan is forced to kill. After being cornered by a group of taken, Wake is saved by Mott and the two men join forces to reach the meeting point. Once is Lovers' Peak, Mott demands Alan the finished manuscript in exchange for Alice, giving him only two days to complete it, before escaping.
  • FBI Agent Robert Nightingale arrives at Bright Falls in search of Alan Wake, whom he believes to be involved in the disappearance of his partner, Finn, and stays in room 2 of The Majestic Motell.

• September 10:
  • Barry is sent to the town in search for information about the kidnapper's identity and Diver's Isle. He is contacted by Rose Marigold, who, under the influence of the Dark Presence, tells him that she has found Alan's manuscript.
  • Agent Nightingale goes to the Sheriff Station and asks Sheriff Breaker to contact Alan Wake for him.
  • After Alan and Barry arrive at the Sparkling River Estates to meet Rose, the two men are drugged by her and spend the rest of the day unconscious in her trailer.
  • While searching for Wake in the Elderwood National Park, Agent Nightingale encounters Ben Mott and attempts to interrogate him. Mott resists and escapes.
  • Paul Randolph, believing that Rose is in trouble, contacts the police. After Alan wakes up, he is confronted by Agent Nightingale, who immediately opens fire, almost killing him and Randolph. Forced to flee, Alan makes his way through the forest as the Dark Presence attacks and kills the police officers sent by Nightingale.
  • Alan reaches the KBF-FM Radio Station in order to ask Pat Maine for help. Agent Nightingale and Sheriff Breaker arrive at the place shortly after, forcing Alan to escape once again.

• September 10/11: After the incident on the Sparkling River Estates, Agent Nightingale interrogates Paul Randolph, Rose Marigold, Pat Maine, and Barry Wheeler.
• September 11:
  • Alan reaches the Train Depot, where he is forced to fight a taken bulldozer. After finding a vehicle, he heads to the Bright Falls Coal Mine Museum to meet Ben Mott.
  • At night, after having waited for the kidnapper for hours, Alan is contacted by Mott, who informs him that the there had been a change of plans and instructs him to meet him at the Mirror Peak outlook.
  • Alan reaches the outlook, where he finds Mott being tortured by the Dark Presence and discovers that he never actually had Alice. Mott is killed by a dark tornado and Alan falls into the lake, but is saved by Emil Hartman and Birch, and taken to the Cauldron Lake Lodge.

• September 12:
  • Barry goes to the Cauldron Lake Lodge in search for Alan, but is captured by Hartman's henchmen and locked in a closet. Agent Nightingale, who had been following Wheeler, tries to enter the Lodge but is denied access by Hartman.
  • Hartman attempts to convince Alan that the recent events he experienced where the result of a psychotic break, triggered by Alice's death, and shows him the Lodge and the rest of his patients, including the Anderson Brothers, who tell Wake that he must go to their farm.
  • As a storm beings to form at Cauldron Lake, Alan attempts to escape from the lodge, taking advantage of a distraction caused by the Andersons. He finds and frees Barry before being confronted by Hartman, who attempts to convince Alan of working with him. As the Dark Presence attacks the Lodge, Alan locks Hartman in his office.
  • The Andersons Brothers help the remaining patients to escape from the Lodge.
  • Alan makes his way through the Lodge and the hedge maze, where he is confronted by a taken Birch, before escaping alongside Barry. As the two head to the Anderson Farm, the Dark Presence causes their car to drive off a cliff, separating Alan and Barry and forcing each of them to reach the farm on their own.
  • Walter Snyder drives to the Anderson Farm to drinking some of the brother's home-brewed moonshine, but is attacked by a taken Danny. Walter escapes to a nearby house but is followed and gravely injured by Danny. Alan finds Walter, as he dies from his injures, and kills Danny.
  • After fending off from a horde of taken using the Old Gods of Asgard's pyrotechnic equipment, Alan and Barry enter the Andersons' house and discover the message left behind by the brothers in the form of a song, which they deduce refers to Cynthia Weaver. Taking shelter at the farm, Alan is finally able to remember the events of the missing week after drinking the Andersons' moonshire.
  • Having heard of disturbances at the Anderson farm, Agent Nightingale arrives at the place and arrests Wake and Wheeler.

• September 13:
  • At the Sheriff Station, Agent Nightingale confronts Alan and Barry despite Sheriff Breaker objections. As Nightingale realizes that he is experiencing the events described on the manuscript pages, he is taken away by the Dark Presence. Alan explains the situation to Breaker and the two of them head to the Town Hall to retrieve the keys of the rescue helicopter in order to reach Cynthia Weaver at the Bright Falls Light & Power.
  • Frank Breaker is contacted by Barry Wheeler on behalf of Sheriff Breaker and receives the message "Night Springs". He, in turn, alerts FBC agent William Kirklund of a possible Altered World Event taking place on Bright Falls and reunites with Pat Maine, and Deputies Thorton, Mulligan, Grant, and Janes to discuss how to handle the situation, before leaving for the power plant to help his daughter.
  • After traversing the town and reuniting with Barry, the group reaches the helicopter and heads to the power plant. While trying to find a place to land, the helicopter is attacked by a flock of taken ravens, causing Alan to fall from it and forcing him to continue on foot. Reaching the power plant, Alan meets Cynthia Weaver and is led to the Well-lit Room, at the Bright Falls Dam, to retrieve Zane's counter measure.
  • As the police helicopter is attacked once again and crashes, Alan exits the pipe leading to the dam to help Barry and Sarah. The three of them then make their way to the dam and reach the Well-lit Room, where they obtain Zane's counter measure, a light switch known as the Clicker. Alan activates the Clicker, causing the darkness to temporarily vanish, and saving Frank Breaker from a group of taken.

• September 14:
  • Realizing that he can use the Clicker to defeat the Dark Presence, Alan heads to Cauldron Lake on his own, leaving Barry, Sarah and Weaver behind on the Well-lit Room.
  • Having survived their encounter with the Dark Presence, Dr. Hartman and Nurse Sinclair are attacked by the taken Ben Mott at the Cauldron Lake Lodge. They find Rudolf Lane, who has been frantically painting for the past day. Seeing Lane's paintings, Hartman realizes that Mott will kill him and tricks Lane into taking his place.
  • By Frank Breaker's orders, Deputies Thorton and Mulligan arrive at the Lodge and assist Hartman and Sinclair. With the help of the officers, Hartman leads Mott into a trap a kills him.
  • Despite the Dark Presence's efforts to stop him, Alan reaches Cauldron Lake and enters the Dark Place. Navigating the surreal environment, he finds the Bird Leg Cabin, where he confronts the Dark Presence in the form of Barbara Jagger, and destroys her by activating the clicker in the hole in her chest, freeing Alice from the Dark Place but forcing him to take her place.
  • Having passed out during his journey to the dam, Frank Breaker wakes up and reunites with his daughter.
• September 15:
  • Alan Wake finishes writing Departure.
  • The 68th annual Deerfest festival begins.
  • Agents of the Federal Bureau of Control arrive at Bright Falls in response to Frank Breaker's alert and begin their investigation. In response to the paranatural incidents that have taken place in the area, the Bureau would establish a monitoring station at Cauldron Lake.

• September 18: The 68th annual Deerfest festival ends. After the conclusion, funerals are held for the victims of the Dark Presence.
• September 20: An Oh Deer Diner coffee thermos is acquired by the Federal Bureau of Control and classified as an altered item.
• Clay Steward arrives at Bright Falls in hope of finding answers to the recurring nightmares he has been experiencing for the past months. Staying in room 2 of the Majestic Motell, Steward finds Agent Nightingale's case files. Over the course of several weeks, Steward uncovers more information about Alan Wake, the events that occurred on Bright Falls, and the history of the town, while also helping in the town's rebuilding efforts. On one night in particular, while returning to the Majestic Motell, Steward comes across an individual resembling Wake, who smiles at him before disappearing.
• Doctor Emil Hartman is detained by the FBC due to his ilegal actions and his research is confiscated. He would eventually be released and, seeing no other option, decides to dive into Cauldron Lake, becoming possesed by the Dark Presence. The taken Hartman would subsequently be captured by Bureau and transported to the Oldest House in New York City.
• Trapped in the Dark Place, Alan is forced to confront a delusional version of himself. Guided by Thomas Zane, Alan manages to regain his sanity and begins writing a new manuscript titled Return.

2011

• The Alan Wake Files, written by Clay Steward and published by Roundabout Press, is released. FBC agents would later interview Steward and place him under indefinite surveillance due to suspicions of minor parautilitarian sensitivity.

2012

• February 22, 9:14 AM: Samantha Wells begins writing a blog titled This House of Dreams with the purpose of recording her process of renovating an old house she bought in the town of Ordinary, Maine.
• February 23, 2:53 PM: Samantha Wells uploads on her blog photos of her new house while also commenting about the previous owner's belongings left on the attic.
• March 2, 9:01 AM: Samantha Wells writes on her blog about her first night on her new house.
• March 5, 7:44 AM: Samantha Wells writes on her blog about the objects the previous owner left, including an old shoebox containing typewritten sheets of poems, and black and white photographs.
• March 11, 5:34 PM: Samantha Wells uploads on her blogs scans of the photographs that she found on her attic.
• March 14, 7:52 AM: Samantha Wells writes on her blog about a dream she had earlier that night, about a federal agent who demanded the shoebox she had found days ago. According to Wells, the agent's face was covered in dark ink, and his badge read "AWE". Wells also comments that she is unable to find the shoebox.
• March 25:
  • 6:36 PM: Samantha Wells writes on her blog about her discovery of a trapdoor leading to the crawl space underneath the house.
  • 6:49 PM: Samantha Wells uploads on her blog photos of the poems that she had found on her attic, while also commenting about her fruitless efforts to find out the identity of the couple shown in the black and white photographs.
• April 9, 4:07 PM: Samantha Wells posts on her blog transcriptions of the poem pages she had found.
• May 30
  • Samantha Wells experiences a dream in which a man, matching Alan Wake's description, begged her to turn all the lights on. After waking up and going for a glass of water, Wells glimpses the silhouette of a man outside her window, causing her to panic. After some hesitation, she opts to call one of her friends to help her check over the place.
  • 6:03 PM: Samantha writes on her blog about the events that transpired the night before.
• June 4, 11:37 PM: Samantha Wells writes on her blog about the progress made on her house. Shortly after, while watching a rerun of an episode of Night Springs, in which the plot shown seemed to coincide with Samantha's current situation, a group of unidentified individuals break into Well's house.
• June 5, 12:50 AM: Hiding on her closet, Samantha Wells writes on her blog in a desperate attempt to ask for help. As the door is opened violently, Samantha falls to the ground and hits her head, with the last thing she sees before falling unconscious being the missing shoebox. Afterwards, Wells is found by the police on her house, which showed no signs of a break-in, and is taken to the hospital.
• June 13, 6:23 PM: Samantha Wells writes on her blog about the events that took place on the night of June 5 and the fact that the shoebox has new contents on it. Not long after this, an unknown source contacts Wells, warning her about the contents of the shoebox, and promising to tell her more on the condition that she stops writing on her blog.
• July 22:
  • 9:45 AM: Having reflected about the unknown source's warning, Samantha Wells states on her blog her intention to continue writing on it and that she will keep the contents of the shoebox.
  • 9:45 AM: Samantha writes on her blog about an old light switch that she had found on the shoebox, which seemingly caused a blackout on her neighborhood, though the cause was later attributed to a passing thunderstorm.
• July 23, 5:57 AM: Samantha Wells writes on her blog about the new pages she had found on the shoebox.
• July 26, 5:10 PM: Samantha Wells posts on her blog transcriptions of the new poem pages.
• July 29, 10:54 AM: Samantha Wells writes on her blog about a dream she had involving Thomas Zane. In the dream, Zane explained to Samantha the events that ocurred on Cauldron Lake on July of 1970, the nature of the Dark Place and his and Barbara's ultimate fates. Even though Wells is not capable to fully understand Zane's words, she nonetheless feels privileged to have experienced this.
• August:
  • Barry Wheeler, who had become the manager of the Old Gods of Asgard, and the Anderson Brothers stay on The Edge Motel during their comeback tour.
  • Alan Wake writes another draft of Return in an attempt to escape the Dark Place. This version of Return causes the plot of an episode of Night Springs, in which Wake himself, fulfilling the role of the "champion of light", faces his doppelganger Mr. Scratch, the "herald of darkness", to manifest itself on a small town in Arizona located near a weak point between the real world and the Dark Place.
    • Arriving in the desert, Alan is attacked by a horde of Taken and forced to retreat to the Desert Shore Motel, where he meets mechanic Emma Sloan, who provides him with one of his manuscript pages. By altering small details on the scene to match those described on the page, Wake is able to rewrite reality and cause a satellite to crash on the oil derrick, stopping the hordes of taken. However, he is unable to save Sloan, who is killed by Mr. Scratch.
    • Following clues left on the motel, Alan heads to the Mount Redtooth National Observatory, where he meets Doctor Rachel Meadows, who was tracking a mysterious signal that Mr. Scratch interested in. After helping Meadows to repair the damage made to the telescope, Wake discovers that the signal is a story that he can use to rewrite reality and defeat Scratch.
    • Alan is lead to a nearby drive-in theater, where he meets Serena Valdivia, who is under Mr. Scratch's influence. After being freed, Valdivia tells Wake that Scratch's plan is to prevent the sun from ever rising again and gives him the projection room where he can change reality. However, since the message is incomplete, Alan fails and is sent back in time to a few hours.
    • After reaping his actions for the third time, now with Emma safe and the signal complete, Alan is able to rewrite reality and have the projector of the theater show a film made by his wife Alice about him, defeating, at least temporarily, Mr. Scratch.
    • Though Alan succeeds in finishing this Return draft and defeating Mr. Scratch, his writing fails to manifest an actual connection to the real world, and Alan remains trapped in the Writer's Room. He continues to write more, different drafts of Return.

2014

• Fearing for the Anderson Brothers' health, Barry Wheeler founds the Valhalla Nursing Home using the money gained from the Old Gods of Asgard record sales.

2015

• The Elderwood Palace Lodge is taken down and rebuilt in downtown Bright Falls in its original form.

2016

• The Elderwood Palace Lodge reopens.

2017

• Following recurring nightmares and being "haunted" by an entity appearing to be her husband, Alice Wake contacts the Federal Bureau of Control for assistance. Sensing Alice's presence in the Investigation Sector, the taken Emil Hartman breaches containment and rampages through the sector, killing many personnel, and forcing the FBC to evacuate and seal the sector to contain Hartman. Alice and Head of Investigations William Kirklund are among the survivors.

2019

• August 8: Saga Anderson receives a merit award from the FBI for her work in the Mile High Strangler case.
• August 27: One of Alan Wake's manuscript pages is found by the Federal Bureau of Control and classified as an Altered Item.
• October 29:
  • Zachariah Trench, Director of the Federal Bureau of Control, unleashes the Hiss through the Slide Projector Object of Power. The Oldest House seals its exits to contain the invasion. Despite this, Jesse Faden, guided by the paranatural entity Polaris, manages to enter the Oldest House and is appointed by The Board as the new Director after Trench commits suicide.
  • During the Hiss Invasion, the Dark Presence within the taken Emil Hartman mixes with the Hiss, further transforming Hartman. Jesse Faden is guided by an apparition of Alan Wake to the Investigation Sector, where she finds and faces Hartman. After Hartman is killed, an Altered World Event is detected taking place on Bright Falls several years in the future.

2023

• September 12—13: Alan Wake 2 begins.
  • (Night of Sept. 12/Morning of Sept. 13) Prologue: The Cult occurs. Robert Nightingale reemerges from Cauldron Lake as a Taken and is tracked down and "killed" by the Cult of the Tree, who remove his heart from his body. Tammy and Ed Booker accidentally discover the ritual and call the police; the cult flees to avoid capture.
• September 13:
  • Before 7:00 PM:
    • FBI agents Saga Anderson and Alex Casey arrive in Bright Falls to investigate a string of recent murders. They set up their field office in the Elderwood Palace Lodge.
    • Return 1: Invitation occurs. Saga Anderson and Alex Casey travel to Cauldron Lake to investigate the new murder site. They identify the victim as former FBI agent Nightingale and discover their first Manuscript page from Return. They meet Sheriff Tim Breaker, interview the Bookers, and discover the cult is responsible. Saga meets Rose Marigold, who strangely remembers a false history where Saga previously lived in Bright Falls and her daughter Logan had drowned. An autopsy is conducted on Nightingale; Breaker disappears, while Nightingale comes "back to life" as a Taken, kills several deputies, and escapes.
    • FBC technician Steven Lin arrives at Cauldron Lake to conduct maintenance on the FBC's Cauldron Lake monitoring station, with Ilmo Koskela as his guide.
    • Return 2: The Heart occurs. Saga and Casey are shocked by the supernatural events but agree they must deal with Nightingale. Saga and Casey track Nightingale back to Cauldron Lake, potentially meeting Steven and Ilmo. Saga learns from Manuscripts that Nightingale fled into an "Overlap;" she uses Nightingale's heart to open and enter the Overlap.
  • (Sept. 13) Around 7:00 PM:
    • Cauldron Lake AWE activity surpasses "acceptable limits." The FBC's monitoring station at Cauldron Lake sounds the alarm, and Investigations Unit Beta, led by Kiran Estevez, is dispatched to respond.
    • The Lake House is attacked by the Dark Presence, seemingly as a result of an experiment by Jules Marmont. Attempts to contact the Lake House by the Investigations team are unsuccessful.
  • During/after 7:00 PM:
    • Return 2: The Heart continues. Saga defeats Nightingale and closes the Cauldron Lake Overlap, receiving a vision of Alan Wake in the process. After coming back to reality, she and Casey discover Wake, washed up on the lake shore. They take him back to Bright Falls for questioning.
• September 13—14:
  • FBC Investigations Unit Beta arrives in Bright Falls. They check on the Lake House and find it overrun with Taken. Many agents are killed and Estevez herself barely escapes.
• September 14:
  • Return 3: Local Girl and Return 4: No Chance occur.
    • Saga and Casey interview Wake and learn about the Dark Place, the Dark Presence, the Clicker, Wake's double Scratch, and the manuscript of Return which will bring about the Dark Presence's escape into the real world if they do not stop Scratch. Saga obtains a manuscript from Wake placing the Clicker and the Cult in a trailer in Watery, Washington. She goes to investigate while Wake and Casey stay in Bright Falls.
    • The Koskela Brothers leave Coffee World, having heard that Saga and Casey had taken Wake to Bright Falls, and planning to storm the lodge to kill Wake (whom the Cult believes to be responsible for the Taken). The Dark Presence attacks Coffee World shortly afterwards.
    • The Valhalla Nursing Home residents, minus Cynthia Weaver and Gail Barrows, travel to Watery for a day trip.
    • Saga meets the Koskela Brothers near downtown Watery, who treat her as if she had lived in Watery before. She learns about the Watery Lighthouse Trailer Park, where "her" trailer is located. She obtains a key from Coffee World and heads to the trailer park, where she meets the Anderson Brothers, who claim to be related to her.
    • Saga finds details of her false life in Watery in her trailer and realizes the horror story is changing reality, threatening her daughter's life. She discovers Deputies Mulligan and Thornton Taken outside the trailer park and follows them to the Kalevala Knights Workshop, realizing it is the Cult of the Tree's headquarters. The Clicker is there but is stolen by the deputies, who enter an Overlap. Saga finishes a parade float to enter the Overlap, defeating the deputies, closing the Overlap, and recovering the Clicker. She receives another vision of Wake in the Overlap.
    • Approximately the same time as Saga investigates the trailer park, the Koskela brothers and their cult subordinates raid the Elderwood Palace Lodge, demanding that Casey hand over Alan Wake. Wake is (unknowingly) overcome by the Dark Presence and briefly becomes Scratch, massacring the cultists. He wakes up shortly after and tries to follow Casey, who is fighting the cultists in Bunker Woods, to warn him about Scratch. Wake falls unconscious again and Casey is attacked by Scratch and disappears.
    • Saga returns to Bright Falls, finding the lodge raided, and enters the woods in search of Casey and Wake. She stops a cultist from stabbing Wake and discovers the cultist is Ilmo. The FBC's Investigations team arrives, arrests Ilmo and Wake, and takes the case out of Saga's hands.
  • Return 5: Old Gods occurs.
    • Using Cynthia Weaver, the Dark Presence "seduces" Tor Anderson. He and another Dark Presence victim, Gail Barrows, are locked into the Wellness Center by Rose Marigold. Tor soon breaks out of his bed and rampages through the Wellness Center.
    • Saga Anderson arrives at the Valhalla Nursing Home in search of Odin and Tor for answers about the Cult and Wake. Tor escapes the Wellness Center and is lured by Cynthia into an Overlap, while the Taken attack the nursing home. Rose lends her help to Saga, but only after Saga reveals she is the "hero" of Wake's story. Saga defeats Cynthia and the other Taken, closes the Overlap, and rescues Tor, receiving yet another vision of Wake. She realizes her Mind Place is supernatural and that the Anderson brothers really are her family. They tell her more about the Clicker and Wake in the process, and she resolves to make Wake rewrite the ending of Return with the Clicker.
  • The FBC finds Casey in the woods, seemingly fine despite being attacked by the Dark Presence.
  • Return 6: Scratch occurs.
    • The Dark Presence attacks the Sheriff Station, which Estevez's team is using as their field HQ. The only survivors are Saga, Estevez, Casey, and Wake and the Koskelas in the holding cells.
    • Saga finds Estevez, who directs her to restore the power in the building. She reunites with Casey, kills all the Taken, and restores the power, stabilizing the situation. She tries giving the Clicker to Wake, but holds back until he promises to keep her daughter out of his story. Wake reveals himself as Scratch, kills Jaakko in the nearby cell, then escapes and attacks Saga. Saga manages to fend him off using the FBC's light arrays.
    • Saga, Casey, and Estevez decide to work together to prevent Scratch from turning the ending of Return into reality. Estevez informally deputizes Saga into the FBC. Using their intel, Saga concludes that the Wake they rescued was always Scratch, and that the "real" Wake is still trapped in the Dark Place. They make a plan to bring the real Wake out of the Dark Place using Odin and Tor Anderson's music, with the Clicker to amplify it and make it "real."
• September 14—15:
  • Return 7: Summoning occurs.
    • The Anderson brothers create the song "Dark Ocean Summoning" to bring Wake out of the Dark Place. Saga, Casey, the Anderson brothers, Estevez, and her surviving FBC agents (who leave after setting up the equipment) arrive at the Cauldron Lake shore to start the summoning ritual. The Andersons perform their song, which attracts numerous Taken, fended off by Saga with Estevez and Casey's help. Saga uses the Clicker, completing the summoning. However, Wake does not appear.
    • Saga realizes that the ritual worked, but Wake was brought back the previous day, after she had killed Nightingale. She also realizes that Scratch is not a separate entity, but just a form of the Dark Presence controlling Wake's body. Scratch arrives and attacks Saga for the Clicker. They attempt to contain him in an FBC cell, but Scratch destroys it and breaks free, exiting Wake and possessing Casey instead. Scratch takes the Clicker, throws Saga into Cauldron Lake, and goes to Bright Falls, using the Clicker to bring about the ending of Return, corrupting Bright Falls into an eternal Deerfest revolving around Return, with the townspeople brainwashed to do nothing but praise the book.
• September 15:
  • Return 8: Deerfest occurs.
    • The Anderson brothers enter the Dark Place to help Wake (the version of him in the "past" still trapped in the Dark Place) and Saga.
    • Alan Wake, now freed from the Dark Presence, realizes he must reach the Writer's Room to rewrite the ending of Return. He enters Scratch's corrupted Bright Falls and obtains a full copy of Return, escaping the brainwashed townspeople who try to kill him after the takes the book. He reaches the Valhalla Nursing Home and, with Rose's help, escapes Scratch's pursuit. He enters the Writer's Room, found behind a spiral-marked door in the nursing home's attic, opened with Ahti's help, and begins to write a new ending chapter to Return, influenced by a vision of himself discussing the ending with Saga; Saga contacts Wake several more times using her Mind Place to help him write the ending.
  • The ending of Alan Wake 2 occurs.
    • Saga, having escaped the Dark Place (having overcome her insecurities, and using Warlin Door's abilities to navigate the Dark Place), enters a Janitor's Bucket puddle set up by Ahti which takes her to the Writer's Room in the Valhalla Nursing Home attic. Scratch arrives just as they use the Clicker to manifest the ending, driving the Dark Presence out of Casey back into Wake. Saga shoots Wake with the bullet of light, seemingly killing him and the Dark Presence. She tries to call Logan to see if Scratch's ending has been overridden.
    • Alan, not actually dead, receives a vision of Alice, who he thought had committed suicide due to being tormented by apparitions of Alan appearing in her apartment; Alice reveals she is alive, having tricked Alan so that he would reach the point he needed to be in order to complete the story and escape the Dark Place. Alan comes back to life, realizing that his progress in the Dark Place is a "spiral," not a loop. He willingly re-enters the Dark Place to work towards his final draft of Return and complete his escape. He repeats the events of the past three days plus his journey through Initiation in the Dark Place countless times, each time getting closer.
  • The ending of The Final Draft occurs.
    • One last time, Saga and Alan cooperate to rewrite the ending of Return and draw the Dark Presence out of Casey, and Saga again shoots Alan with the bullet of light before attempting to call Logan. This time, Saga's call connects, revealing Logan is alive and the ending has changed. Alan again revives, now recognizing what Alice has done for him and having moved past his insecurities. He confirms the new ending has worked and that Scratch has been destroyed. He calls himself the "master of two worlds" and then "master of many worlds," in reference to having gone through countless drafts and loops to complete his writer's journey.