Slurper

Slurpers are crawling humanoid monsters in Silent Hill 3.

Appearance
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
Lost Memories: Silent Hill Chronicle only mentions that they are named for their habit of slurping up the rust-colored blood and bits of flesh that stick to the floor with its pointed bill, so any intended symbolism is left to speculation.



Considering their resemblance to well-built human males wearing only shorts or underwear, their habit of surprise attacks and the way they shove Heather to the floor and climb on top of her, their symbolism could be sexual in nature, representing Heather's possible fear of rapists and stalkers. Heather wears a miniskirt, adding to her vulnerability and the possible sexual theming when a Slurper knocks her down and climbs on top of her. The Slurper's head with its elongated mouth could be interpreted as being able to reach into her skirt, as well as bearing oral sex and phallic overtones. They have a tendency to grab Heather's leg and tilt their head up, as if trying to sneak a peek up her skirt.

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 fears of problematic pregnancies.

Another possible interpretation is that the Slurpers represent children. Being only seventeen, presumably single and living in hiding, Heather is not prepared to become a teenage mother. It is confirmed that Heather works as a part-time babysitter and may already deal with unruly children, so the Slurper may symbolize Heather's anxiety and stress regarding becoming a young mother. The way they grab Heather and refuse to let go could be seen like a child that does not want to separate themselves from their parent. It is common for children to grab their parent when they are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with their environment, and Heather is already feeling overwhelmed by the Otherworld. Not long after Heather encounters a Slurper, she complains she feels like she is going crazy. The monster can be seen as a juxtaposition of child and adult attributes. For example, they are child-like in that they crawl on the floor like infants, are unable to dress themselves properly by wearing a shirt, and have lumps for arms, as if to echo a helpess child. This contrasts the adult musculature and figure of the enemy, meaning the monster could symbolize Heather's concerns if she would be able to properly raise a child.

As Heather was once Alessa Gillespie, the Slurpers may be seen as a parallel to the Romper. Both have somewhat similar two-syllable names ending in "er" and they are masculine enemies who knock their prey to the ground and try to climb on top of them.

Trivia



 * 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. 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 Lying Figures from Silent Hill 2, when they are knocked down, Slurpers quickly slither on the floor.


 * On top of the "mask" the Slurper has, the Japanese character 犬 can be seen, which translates to "dog" in English.
 * The Slurper's appearance and themes are similar to those of the kekkai, a childbirth monster in Japanese folklore said to devour its mother shortly after birth.

Gallery


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