Gregory M. Wilson

Gregory M. Wilson
Stray Dog
Aliases	Greg Mr. Wilson The Mysterious Man
Social Rank	N/A
Gender	Male
Age	Adult (middle-aged)
Status	Deceased (suicide)
Hair color	Grey
Eye color	Blue
Occupation	Farmer (peas)
Voice actor	Christopher Fairbank

“

Once upon a time, there was a precious little girl...

”

Gregory "Greg" M. Wilson, also known as Stray Dog later on, is an important character in Rule of Rose.

He is a very mysterious figure seen lurking around the airship. During the game, he occasionally meets Jennifer and hands her one of his homemade storybooks, which usually contain dark and sadistic plots. For some reason, he addresses her by the name "Joshua".

In actuality, he is responsible for murdering the orphans of Rose Garden Orphanage, with the exception of Jennifer. As Stray Dog, he is the final boss.

Biography

Photo of Gregory and Joshua.

Gregory M. Wilson lived in the "Gingerbread House" in the rural countryside somewhere near Cardington. Gregory's appearance is very simple and disheveled, reflecting his life as a poor pea farmer. According to the manual, he would give children treats, presumably candy, akin to the Stray Dog legend. It is unknown if this is a simple act of kindness, or intention to lure with malice.

Any information on Gregory's partner, such as even if he had one, is unknown. Gregory had a son named Joshua, although it is unknown if Joshua is his biological son or another adopted child like Jennifer was. Gregory loved Joshua dearly. He tried his best to give Joshua a wonderful life despite living in poverty, and he did his best to stay close to his son, as well as attempt to get Joshua out the house, either to go and play, or work on the farm with him. But when Joshua was too sick to leave his bed, Gregory would simply do his best to take care of him. During the time that Joshua was ill and bedridden, Gregory would often make him storybooks and read from them. Joshua liked the stories his father told him.

Gregory contemplating suicide in his basement.

After Joshua either went missing, was kidnapped or died from an illness (it is unknown what happened to Joshua), Gregory was absolutely heartbroken and began drinking and smoking heavily. He kept a gun in the house and would often contemplate suicide, and so desperately seemed to want to use it on himself.

Gregory found a young Jennifer, who was the sole survivor of an airship crash. He took good care of her for months, and as Jennifer states, he was very nice. However, he treated her as if she were Joshua, and it is implied he had her dress in Joshua's clothing and cut her hair. Gregory also read her the storybooks he wrote for Joshua. With the help of Wendy, who found her through a window in a basement room, Jennifer fled Gregory, deepening his grief.

In a failing sanity and due to the influence of alcohol, Gregory was turned into Stray Dog by Wendy, a tool for the seething orphan. Martha Carol saw Wendy dog-training Gregory and reported it to the police. However, it was too late.

Stray Dog wearing a noose as a leash.

On one rainy December night, Wendy brought Gregory to the orphanage and he killed everyone. His noose implies Wendy found him just before he was about to kill himself. He has numerous red scratches, injuries, and rope-like burn markings all over his body, implying self-harm.

His love for Joshua managed to surface in the end when he apologizes for killing the orphans and trying to harm Jennifer. Immediately afterward, he completes suicide using his gun, perhaps in hopes of being with his son again in the afterlife, or to atone for his actions, or both.

Rule of Rose

Jennifer encounters Gregory often throughout the game, although he usually gives Jennifer a storybook and quietly walks away. Because Rule of Rose is assumed to be set in Jennifer's mind, she is recovering her memories of who he is, as he is already deceased. As such, he is akin to a dream character.

In one part, "dream Gregory" abducts Jennifer and brings her to a memory of his house where she remembers living with him.

In the Good Ending, Jennifer helps "dream Gregory" kill himself with his gun, which unlocks the way to the rest of her childhood memories. However, in the Bad Ending, Jennifer simply kills "dream Gregory" and the game abruptly ends.

Gregory writing "The Little Princess" storybook

In the Good Ending route, Gregory appears in the "Once Upon a Time" chapter at the bus stop, writing "The Little Princess" storybook. If Jennifer talks to him enough, he will eventually have a conversation with her. He comes as very misanthropic during this conversation, saying humanity will always lie, betray and hurt each other, and that relationships are only about people trying to get others to serve their desires, and "everlasting love" isn't real. This could be considered a rather inappropriate, cynical and awfully pessimistic thing to say to a child. While it is true to a degree, an optimist would argue that humans are more complex than Gregory thinks.

Possible murdering, kidnapping and cannibalism

The Gingerbread House.

If one looks only at Gregory's Diary, they would come to the natural conclusion that Gregory was a kind, earnest man. However, if the player talks to the Bucket Knight after obtaining Gregory's Gun, it says that Jennifer has taken his "instrument of justice." This implies that Gregory is guilty of something so terrible that he deserves death.

It is rumored that Stray Dog kidnaps and eats children by the orphans. This could be an allegory for Gregory. Following this logic, Gregory could easily be the kidnapper mentioned in a Daily Flamingo Newspaper article found in Gregory's house.

In the "Stray Dog Will Have His Peas" it is commonly theorized that Gregory is Stray Dog and the "peas" are children.

Stray Dog walks the streets each day

Collecting peas as he walks to and fro

Big peas, small peas, every which kind of pea

Come Monday, he finds a pea

Come Tuesday, he bags the pea

Come Wednesday, he shows the pea to his son

Come Thursday, the pea kicks and screams

Come Friday, he grinds up the pea

Come Saturday, he buries the pea outside: the pea is in the ground

And by Sunday, it can't be found

Good night, young pea

Good night, young pea

His diary also mentions making hot pea soup. This can either be taken literally or as further evidence of cannibalism. It is also important to note that Gregory's house is called the "Gingerbread House", and is depicted as such by Wendy. The story of Hansel and Gretel involved a cannibalistic witch in a gingerbread house who lured children with candy and ate them. It is said that Stray Dog gives children treats.

Rule of Rose unused cutscene with official audio

The unused cutscene.

An unused cutscene found in the game's files suggests a possible game over, or another way of ending the Gingerbread House chapter if Jennifer goes back to Gregory instead of escaping with Wendy. The cutscene also implies that Jennifer hasn't moved on from Gregory's massacre and deep down, still fears him. Gregory seems to be dropping a bloody child's shirt in a dug hole in his backyard.

It is truly unknown what happened at Gregory's House. What the player sees could simply be the result of Jennifer's subconsciousness twisting her memories to suit the story of the Hansel and Gretel story or Stray Dog legend.

Etymology

Gregory is the English form of Latin Gregorius, which was from the late Greek name Γρηγοριος (Gregorios), derived from γρηγορος (Gregoros) meaning "watchful, alert." This could refer to the dog-like traits he possessed, the attention and doting Gregory gave Joshua while he was alive, or it could ironically refer to his late inability to tell other children from his son in his grieving state.

Quotes

• "Clear skies. Today, I weeded the fields. Work went well."
• "Rainy. Weeding again. Tomorrow morning, I'll go into town to sell peas, so tonight I must make preparations. It is a busy day indeed."
• "Clear skies. I went to market and sold peas and carrots. I had hoped to be able to feed Joshua something nutritious, but sales were not good, so I was not able to buy much."
• "Cloudy. Weeding the fields again. It was chilly today. I'll have to give Joshua a blanket so he won't catch a cold."
• "Cloudy. Joshua is under the weather. He has a slight fever, so I fed him some hot pea soup."
• "Rainy. I spent the day in my room drawing a picture book for Joshua. I'm sure he’ll enjoy this one."
• "Cloudy. Today, I cleaned out the barn. Joshua told me he liked my latest story. Nothing pleases me more that to see my son happy."
• "Joshua told me he liked my latest story. There’s nothing I love more than seeing his beaming, happy face."
• "I'm sorry, Joshua..."
• "People will always lie, betray each other, and forget about the past... They only really want to get others to do as they wish... There's no such thing as everlasting love..."
• "It wasn't right of me to preach to you like that. Forgive me."
• "If I may, please let me write a story about you..."

Trivia

• There is an unused animation of Gregory comforting a sad Wendy/Joshua.[1]

• In the introduction of the game, the voice saying "Once upon a time..." is Gregory's, as well as the voice that says "...and everyone lived happily ever after..." during a game over.
  • It can be theorized that Gregory is the game's unseen narrator. However, it is also possible that it is the Bucket Knight, or the narrator isn't intended to be a character.

• Gregory is one of four characters in Rule of Rose to have his full name revealed; the other three include his son, Joshua, Martha Carol and Anthony Dolittle.

• There are several mysterious faces carved around Gregory's house. These could possibly represent Gregory's longing for his son, or possibly a representation of the children he may have kidnapped.

• Gregory can be easily compared to "The Beast" from Lord of the Flies, although the developers said it was not an influence.

Gallery

Gregory with a coat and lantern.

Gregory casual clothing.

Gregory peeking at Jennifer in the intro.

Gregory's hand reaching for Jennifer in the intro.

Jennifer being grabbed.

Gregory meets a startled Jennifer and offers her his storybook.

Gregory meets a startled Jennifer and offers her his storybook.

Gregory coming out of the Filth Room.

Gregory grabbing Jennifer in the Club Room.

Gregory watching Jennifer in the rose garden.

Gregory outside his house.

Gregory outside his house.

"Good night, Joshua..."

Gregory in the "Rag Princess Sews" chapter.

Gregory with Wendy.

Stray Dog.

"Legend of Stray Dog" Stray Dog kidnaps kidz.

"Legend of Stray Dog" Stray Dog gives us sweets.

Wallpaper.