Lurker
From Silent Hill Wiki
Shepherd House
Streets of Shepherd's Glen
Streets of Silent Hill
Lurkers are a common monster type in Silent Hill: Homecoming. They appear as bald humanoid monsters with huge claws. Their legs are fused together or bound by layers of dead skin, so they drag them uselessly behind them. Their faces are blank save for a huge, vertical slit down the middle of their heads, filled with horrific teeth. Most notably their wrists are severed and a series of three, sickle-like blades are grafted on to the stubs of their arms. They use their arms to crawl and attack. Alex Shepherd first encounters one in his flooded basement, from where his mother had recently left.
Character
They slowly move about by crawling on their hands, dragging themselves forward. However, they attack with alarming speed. They swipe at Alex with their long claws, and, when at a medium distance from him, lunge out and knock him down. As such, they are best dealt with at either long range or in melee, to avoid their most devastating attack. They don't have much stamina, however, they have a tendency to crawl out of small hiding places and ambush Alex, there is also a small chance that when their heads are chopped off, they can still manage to swipe one more time before death.
Gives the achievement "Lurk No More" in the Xbox 360 version of Silent Hill: Homecoming. They are located in the Silent Hill streets and in flooded buildings, so beware if you ever come across water in a building.
Symbolism
Lurkers represent the restraint Alex felt throughout his life and the lack of love from his family. They also possibly represent the death of his brother, Josh, as Josh drowned and Lurkers have an appearance similar to a twisted version of a mermaid. Its claws also highly resemble tools of torture. Its mouth, a vertical slit filled with teeth, is very symbolic of vagina dentata, or toothed vagina.
Their significance can be further expanded upon after obtaining the Kneeling Man Plate, which in the puzzle signifies penitence. If the tablet is examined, the picture displays a kneeling man in prayer whose upper body looks exactly like the Lurker when its body is at its most upright, this could imply they mainly symbolize Alex's regret and need for penitence after what he did to Josh.
