Mannequin

The Mannequin is a headless armless dummy monster that James Sunderland and Maria encounter in Silent Hill 2, which also happens to be unexpectedly animate.

James's first encounter with this monster is in Room 205 of the Wood Side Apartments. It will spring to life immediately after retrieving the flashlight from an inert mannequin that is dressed in Mary Shepherd-Sunderland's clothes.

Appearance
These monsters consist of two pairs of legs stacked on top of each other with the top pair's posterior made to resemble a woman's breasts. The top pair of legs noticeably lack feet and are used for striking while the bottom pair are used for walking. When on the attack, they rub their upper legs together like an insect's mandibles.

Character
The creatures stand completely still at plain sight, like statues, and react strongly to the flashlight, suddenly becoming animate and attacking when the light strikes them from a relatively short distance. This is in contrast to most other creatures, which react to light even when they are far from the light's source.

A Mannequin will also come to life when James steps within a radius of three to five feet around it, even with the flashlight off. Although they are not overly strong creatures, they may be hard to detect in dark environments due to their immobility, which can trick the player's vision by making them blend in with the environment. Mannequins also have the advantage of stealth, as the radio will not emit static to warn the player of their presence until they start moving.

The wooden plank and handgun are the best initial weapons for dealing with them. The wooden plank should be replaced with the pipe when the opportunity arises after meeting Maria at Rosewater Park.

Symbolism
The Mannequin is a manifestation of James's natural urges and inclinations. The creature is likely manifested because of his sexual frustration with his wife's ailment. They are literally "just pairs of legs" and nothing more. The novelization mentions they were "born from lust".

Pyramid Head's introductory cutscene has him abusing two Mannequins. Because of this, it's possible that the Mannequin may also be an image of female innocence and helplessness being misused or otherwise destroyed by an oppressive, masculine force — a symbol that is later touched on in Toluca Prison, where James finds the Tablet of "The Oppressor", a likely metaphor of James's final act upon his wife.

Mannequins also appears in Maria's Born from a Wish scenario, which makes sense because Maria is essentially an illusion of Mary.

Trivia

 * The Mannequin appears in the short film Fukuro.
 * The creatures bear a remarkable resemblance to Polish/German artist Hans Bellmer's dolls. However, Masahiro Ito claimed his inspiration came from monsters in traditional Japanese folklore, although he never specified which ones.
 * After meeting Maria at Rosewater Park, if the player goes toward the Silent Hill Historical Society, two Mannequins will jump from the bushes and attack James and Maria.
 * Although the creatures appear exclusively in Silent Hill 2, Heather Mason encounters a room filled with mannequin parts in Silent Hill 3 while searching the Hilltop Center. As she investigates the room, a feminine cry is heard, and she finds that the lone mannequin with a head has been beheaded and is now drenched in blood. This scene is possibly a reference to the sentient Mannequins featured in the previous game.
 * In Silent Hill: Origins, a regular mannequin (called "dummy") can be seen at Cedar Grove Sanitarium in the third cell from the male seclusion ward. Later on, Travis Grady encounters several dismembered mannequins at the Artaud Theater. The creature Ariel, a puppet, will also emulate the Mannequin creatures from Silent Hill 2 by standing on its hands and attacking with its kicking legs.
 * The film adaptation of the series combines various elements from the first four games, most notably, the first game's storyline and Silent Hill 2's creature designs. The Mannequins are acknowledged in two scenes (Rose Da Silva's arrival in Silent Hill and Sharon Da Silva's kidnapping before the witch-burning) where dismembered mannequins feature prominently in the background.
 * The film sequel features a spider-like monster which consists of mannequin legs and heads, which are created by killing victims and turning them into mannequins.

Silent Hill 2
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