Slurper

Template:Infobox SH monster Slurpers are crawling humanoid monsters in Silent Hill 3.

Appearance

Silent Hill 3 Geometry Room

A Slurper grabs Heather's leg.

They appear to be men wearing masks and what appear to be leather shorts. Their figure itself is notable by its long, tube-like snouts, much like an anteater's, which have a mouth with teeth and lips. They have a long tongue with which they use to "slurp" up carrion and blood. Slurpers have club-like front limbs.

They emit extremely loud, raw, monstrous screeching sounds of various pitches.

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

Character

The beasts are often found in groups and appear frequently out of small crawlspaces and vents to ambush their prey. 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 by either yanking her legs out from under her or "bowling" into them. 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 and most dangerous attack is sliding toward the target with club-like front limbs in front of them and making Heather 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. On Hard action mode, their charging speed is increased at least five-fold, as the Slurpers will often charge Heather on sight with incredible speed and knock her over. 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 immensely sensitive to sounds so 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 with her chosen weapon, and turning off the flashlight is another helpful tactic.

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 will always emit a loud, shrill cry when truly dead, although few Slurpers will even mimic this noise and lie entirely still, only for Heather to find the creature is still alive should she approach it. Thus, it is advised to use utmost caution with these enemies. As scavengers, they are easily distracted by beef jerky.

Symbolism

The Slurper may represent a child viewed in a much more grotesque manner. Firstly 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.

Similarly, it may be a monster of Claudia Wolf's, as there are multiple times where there are Slurpers behind gates and walls, unable to reach Heather or interact with her. Claudia may have felt that when Harry took Cheryl/Heather as an infant, they had been helplessly separated by him, and she could not reach out to her. This could be supported by the conversation between Claudia and Vincent Smith where he calls the Otherworld Claudia's own "personal nightmare".

Slurpers are also representative of the bottom-feeders and lowlifes of the human world. It is reminiscent of a drug addict licking the ground to slurp up any spilled chemicals in desperation, perhaps alluding to the Slurper's obnoxious, grating vocalizations. This is supported because they first appear (other than the brief sewer encounter) not too long after passing through the construction site where a homeless chemical abuser was squatting, and may even allude to PTV.

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 fear of rapists and stalkers.

The death simulation there is in some way a thanatosis process (playing dead), used both to evade a predator or court a cannibalistic female. Adding to this, the Slurper is visible in the sewers, where it is completely still and does not set off radio static, which may mean it's either dead or is playing dead. 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 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

A Slurper lurking under a bridge.

• The Slurper is first seen in the Underpass, lying motionless under the bridge just outside of the room containing the hair dryer. 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.

• 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 Heather will be knocked down by its sudden appearance. However, this can be avoided 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, which also adds to their cunning intelligence. This Slurper does not appear on Easy action mode.

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

• Like Silent Hill 2's Lying Figures, when they are knocked down, Slurpers quickly slither on the floor.

Gallery

Concept art.

Concept art.

A Slurper in Hilltop Center's Otherworld.

A Slurper in Hilltop Center's Otherworld.

A Slurper in Hilltop Center's Otherworld.

Heather stomps a Slurper.

Heather stomps a Slurper.

A Slurper emerges.

Slurpers feasting on carcasses.

Slurpers.

Heather shoots a Slurper.

Heather shoots a Slurper.

Brookhaven Otherworld Slurpers.

A Slurper in the chapel.

Close-up artwork of the Slurper.

Slurper model.

Slurper model.

Back.

Slurper.

Slurper.