Even though many gamers have played through the Resident Evil 7 demo, there are still some unsolved mysteries involving the dummy finger, the axe, and the ghost girl.

Like the Silent Hills playable teaser that inspired it, the Resident Evil VII demo is full of obscure secrets and mysteries for gamers to solve. While some alternate endings have been discovered and hidden items have been found by gamers willing to brave the horrors of the demo's farmhouse, there are still many unanswered questions as it pertains to the Resident Evil VII demo.

Three mysteries in particular have been the source of much forum discussion since the Resident Evil VII demo went live this past Monday. For example, many players have been wracking their brains trying to figure out what the dummy finger does, why they need to collect the axe, or if the ghost girl is key to triggering the demo's hypothetical "true ending." For those trying to fully complete the Resident Evil VII demo, here's what we know about Resident Evil VII's greatest unsolved mysteries so far.

1. Dummy Finger

Perhaps the most notorious unsolved mystery in the Resident Evil VII demo is the dummy finger. At the time of this writing, days removed from Sony's E3 2016 press conference when the demo was first unleashed on the world, a use for the dummy finger still has yet to be discovered by anyone. Or, if someone has solved the mystery of the dummy finger, they aren't talking.

The dummy finger is found in the first hallway after leaving the TV room. A cabinet opposite the kitchen has a drawer that can be opened, and inside is the infamous dummy finger. Players can examine the dummy finger in their inventory to discover that it is made out of flammable materials, but otherwise there's no clue as to what to do with the thing.

Some have guessed that the dummy finger is a key of some sort, and others have guessed that it will play a role in the full game come launch, though that seems unlikely as the Beginning Hour demo won't be in the full game. Honestly, at this point, it seems like the dummy finger is a completely useless item. If Capcom added the dummy finger to the demo only for it to mess with players, those that have dedicated hours trying to figure out what it does will likely be infuriated, so hopefully there is a true purpose to it yet to be discovered.

2. Axe

Players have to find a lockpick in the VHS tape section of the game to unlock the blue kitchen drawer in present time to get the axe. The axe can be used to destroy the wooden boxes upstairs as well as one of the mannequins. Otherwise, it doesn't seem to serve any special purpose, besides slightly changing the phone call in one of the demo's endings, but even then, that might be due to a certain amount of time passing as opposed to players having the axe.

Some think that the axe was added to the demo just for Capcom to show off how melee combat will work when Resident Evil VII releases this coming January. This very well may be the case, but so far, Capcom has yet to comment on the matter. However, if Capcom was interested in showcasing Resident Evil VII's combat in the demo, the lack of any firearms in addition to melee weapons is a little strange.

3. Ghost Girl

During the VHS tape portion of the Resident Evil VII demo, players can see a ghost girl appear at seven different locations, and then flicker away as soon as the player spots her. There doesn't seem to be a way to trigger the ghost girl, and where she appears in any given playthrough may be random.

Here are the possible ghost girl locations discovered so far:

  1. In the woods on the left, seen when walking on the farmhouse's porch at the beginning of the VHS tape segment
  2. After walking into the farmhouse, turn around to see the ghost girl standing in the doorway
  3. Outside the kitchen sink window, in the bottom right hand corner of the window frame
  4. Right after Andre goes missing, look above the doorway leading into the hall
  5. Standing on the stairs after Andre goes missing
  6. In the room under the stairs with the boarded up door
  7. At the top of the ladder when climbing down into the cellar

It seems nigh impossible to see the ghost in all seven locations in a single playthrough, and even then, it's not clear if that would amount to anything significant in the demo, or lead to the fabled "true ending" that fans are trying to discover. It's possible that the purpose of the ghost girl may just be to instill fear into players, and any other purpose is unclear at this point.

Capcom filled the Resident Evil VII demo full of secrets, mysteries, and hints at the future. The three mysteries listed here have yet to be solved at the time of this writing, but hopefully a skilled gamer can crack the code before too much longer.

Have you discovered the purpose of the dummy key, the axe, or the ghost girl? Let us know in the comments, and also post any other mysteries or clues you've discovered in the Resident Evil VII demo so far.

Resident Evil VII will be available on January 24th, 2017 for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation VR, and Xbox One.