Slurper

A Slurper from Silent Hill 3

Other names

None

Debut

Silent Hill 3

Other appearances

None

Health

Medium

Locations

Hilltop Center
Brookhaven Hospital
Chapel
Underpass

Weapons

None

Attack method(s)

Knocks Heather down and tries to crawl on her for further damage
Tugs and bites Heather's legs

Slurpers are crawling, humanoid monsters in Silent Hill 3.

Appearance

They appear to be human males wearing masks with long, tube-like snouts, much like an anteater, and club-like front limbs. They emit extremely loud, raw screeching sounds of various pitches and have a long tongue with which they use to "slurp" up carrion and blood. They are often found in groups and appear frequently out of small crawlspaces and vents to ambush their prey. They have what appears to be leather shorts on.

After Heather Mason enters the Otherworld within Brookhaven Hospital, Slurpers appear bloodier than usual.

Character

Slurpers are dangerous in the sense that they often come in groups and are also exceptionally deceptive and intelligent. They are quick and can easily knock Heather flat on her back. They scurry towards her when alerted to her presence and yank her legs out from under her, making her fall down. Oftentimes they will then scurry over her, stomping on her for additional damage. A secondary attack of theirs is quite similar to that of the Double Head; they grab onto Heather's leg and repeatedly bite her until she shakes them off. Their third attack is sliding toward the target with club-like front limbs in front of them and making her fall down. This is usually done if they spot her from a distance, therefore granting quicker access to her and offering further evidence of the creature's surprising aggression for a smaller monstrosity. Slurpers are uncannily able to intercept Heather when she is running far more easily than other monsters, so circumventing them is not advised.

They are very short-sighted creatures, but very sensitive to sounds. They will crawl directly towards the source of a sound every time they hear it. Even Heather's footsteps can alarm them. To avoid being detected in an area where there are Slurpers, Heather has to walk in caution/ready mode. They are best killed with firearms equipped with a silencer, such as the handgun or submachine gun. The silencer will make sure no other Slurpers are alarmed when Heather is shooting at one. Some melee weapons with an overhead swing can be used to hit them, but generally they are not good choices because of the close proximity; also, the sound of weapons will attract other Slurpers. When struck, they will sometimes play dead, waiting for Heather to get closer before attacking again. They emit a loud, shrill cry when truly dead. As scavengers, they are easily distracted by Beef Jerky.

In the Otherworld Hilltop Center, a Slurper can be found hiding under a bed. Heather's radio doesn't emit static in the presence of this Slurper. With items on the bed, the player will be lured towards the bed where they will be knocked down by its sudden appearance. This can be avoided however if the player aims a firearm at the Slurper and shoots, as it will die with just one shot, suggesting it may have already been injured and hiding. This Slurper does not appear on easy action mode.

Symbolism

The Slurper may represent a child or teenager viewed in a much more grotesque manner. First notable is their smaller size compared to other beasts in the game, therefore making it similar to an infant, and upon close inspection one may notice that it appears to be a mutated and underdeveloped young person, perhaps even alluding to the game's ending. These traits involve incomplete limbs, but most importantly, what seem to be emerging eyes. Also easily associated with a child are the leather shorts the Slurper appears to be wearing, which could be a take on a diaper. Slurpers are also extremely noisy and only capable of crawling, traits it shares with a young human. Its behavior of attacking Heather and crawling all over her is reminiscent of a child's incredulous attachment to its mother, while the Slurper rolling into her and knocking Heather down can be considered metaphoric: An unborn baby poised for birth "knocks its mother down," alluding to the birthing position, albeit due to the nature of birthing the Order's god, it could also hint towards Heather dying if she was to give birth to it. Overall the Slurper could be the manifestation of Heather's image of what the god would be like.

Slurpers are also representative of the bottom-feeders and lowlifes of the human world. Considering their resemblance to well-built human males, their habit of surprise attacks and the way they climb on top of Heather, their symbolism could possibly be sexual in nature, representing the all-too-realistic fear of rapists and stalkers. It is reminiscent of a drug addict licking the ground to slurp up any spilled chemicals in desperation, perhaps alluding to the Slurpers' obnoxious, grating vocalizations. This is supported because they first appear (other than the brief sewer encounter) shortly after passing through an area where a homeless chemical abuser was squatting, and may even allude to White Claudia. The death simulation there is in some way a thanatosis process (playing dead), used both to evade a predator or court a cannibalistic female. In this sense, it can reflect the hostility and misgivings of Heather relative to the opposite sex.

Their hands appear like unusable lumps of meat, perhaps signifying incapability (just as drug addicts are incapable of controlling their addiction and lives) or a violent nature, such as the Closer. The incapability could very well be symbolic of Heather's absolute disdain towards the idea of birthing God.

There is a running theme of maternity and femininity in Silent Hill 3 and its monsters due to the central conflict of the game centering on impregnation in the Order's attempts to force Heather to birth their god. The Slurper may adhere to this theme by representing the suction aspiration method of extracting a miscarried or aborted fetus. The creature's name and snout allude to this, as well as its passive actions in sucking up bodily fluids. The way it knocks Heather on her back when it attacks may be a reference to a woman on her back about to be given suction aspiration treatment. The subject of miscarriage can be tied to women's fears of problematic pregnancies.

Trivia

• The Slurper is first seen in the sewer, lying motionless under the bridge just outside of the room containing the hairdryer. When Heather crosses the bridge for the second time, the Slurper will have disappeared. It is unknown whether the Slurper was lying in wait, or was already dead. As the Slurper does not emit radio static, it is possible to assume the latter; however, the Slurper hiding under the bed does not emit static either.

• A Slurper's head/face seems similar to the mask that the angel-creature wears in Konami's 6-page Silent Hill comic White Hunter.

• Like Silent Hill 2's Lying Figures, when they are knocked down, Slurpers slither on the floor in a manner faster than one would expect.

Gallery

Otherworld Slurpers.

A Slurper preparing to knock Heather down.

Close-up artwork of the Slurper from 2006.

Concept art.

Concept art.

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