ENTITY NO. 82
THREAT LEVEL
3
Habitat:
Majority, mostly indoor levels
Aggression: 5/5
Hostile to all entities
Intellect: 1/5
Basic cognitive function
Danger: 4/5
Life-threatening
Description []
Entity 82, known colloquially as Growlers, is a species of hostile entities found in a large majority of levels in the Backrooms, preferably in levels that take place indoors, with some exceptions. Growlers thrive the best in dark, unpopulated areas where they can go undisturbed for lengthy periods of time. These entities are fairly dangerous, so wanderers should avoid encountering a Growler if possible.
Growlers take the uncanny appearance of a blobby mass of tangled, randomly colored electrical wires with no definite shape. Instances of Entity 82 are able to effortlessly contort and manipulate their bodies to navigate their surroundings or to achieve a goal, but their typical stance resembles a headless quadruped. This species, while having variable sizes, is most often roughly two meters tall, but some can be much smaller or much larger. Individual Growlers also exhibit variable colors in wires, which is partly genetic. While most Growlers are a mess of random primary colors, some are grey-scale, some have no primary colors, and others are monotone. Additionally, Growlers are also much stronger than the average wanderer and are surprisingly heavy, with the average weight being upwards of 400 kilograms. The majority of the weight comes from an anomalous and unidentifiable source.
Behavior & Hunting []
While Growlers are both opportunistic and ferocious predators, unlike many other hostile entities in the Backrooms, they aren't often roaming freely. Instead, these territorial beings migrate between different nests roughly every month or so. Growlers prefer nesting in dry, dark, and cramped areas with occasional interference from entities and wanderers. These entities are ambush predators, luring their prey close to them before they strike. Of course, their lack of many visitors means that Growlers have to wait for their food to come close before they can lure it, and while waiting, Growlers go into a coma-like state, constantly listening for footsteps or any other sounds of living things. They move to many locations within the confines of their nest to get the optimal position to hear the most clearly while also staying out of direct sight.
When the Growler hears a prey item nearby, it begins the hunt using its incredibly accurate mimicry. They seem to understand that to get anything to come towards it, it needs bait, and it creates the bait with audio. As they deduce what creature is coming their way, they switch noises repeatedly until it seems to find the correct sound, like a remote flipping through TV channels. The sound is usually accompanied by white noise and electronic clicking. When the prey gets close enough, or the Growler figures out that the prey won't get closer, it will begin chasing the prey. As slow-moving creatures themselves, Growlers create a psionic disturbance through sound waves to make their prey move slower, almost drunken-like, to match the speed of the Growler. These noises sound like a steady, aggressive growl, which is how Growlers claimed their name. Growlers can chase prey for days without losing them, as they are very persistent. The effects of the noises often slow the victim down enough for the Growler to catch and kill them, but it can be ignored out of sheer will, and if the prey is quick enough, they can run far enough away, making the effects fade.
Biology []
The entire "genus" of Growlers is unbeknownst to science; biologically, Growlers cannot be considered living things. Their cellular structure (or lack thereof) does not align with typical animals or plants, and they lack any standard organs. The Growlers consist of copper wires that vary dramatically in length and are insulated with thick rubber, similar to the insulation found in circuits of an average building. While this insulation prevents electricity from electrocuting other beings upon contact, it allows energy to jump through and power the entity effectively. Growlers are tangled tightly enough to be invulnerable to unraveling but loosely enough to be able to shapeshift the way they do. They have similar compression abilities to an octopus, being able to pass into any opening as long as they can fit their thickest and most important wire, affectionately named the "spinal cord."
The spinal cord of Growler, despite its name, does not reside only within the Growler's torso but instead is a long, thick wire that runs around a Growler's entire body, acting as the entity's entire nervous system. The spinal cord is essentially a generator, holding all of the entity's energy before it uses it. When it decides to move a part of its body, the spinal cord releases a pulse of electricity to power the movement. The entity is constantly doing this for every micromovement it makes, and even when it is dormant, it uses one watt every seven hours to keep itself alive. Energy also goes into its senses and anomalous abilities. Growlers, despite having no sensory organs, have demonstrated the ability to see a short distance, feel, and most importantly, hear. A Growler's hearing is roughly equivalent to a human being's and, as previously mentioned, is how they mainly detect prey. Their mimicking of sounds to catch their prey is another example of an unexplainable phenomenon. It is unknown how they know what to mimic to lure their prey, and it is also unknown how they make the sound in the first place.
When a Growler catches a prey item, it uses its tentacle wires to immobilize the prey with a powerful jolt of electricity and begins the digestion process. Growlers during the digestion process always take their quadrupedal appearance. The Growler will position itself on top of the paralyzed or deceased prey and use its belly wires to move the prey to its core and center. Over several days, the prey will be absorbed, and the electricity in the body will be taken and stored in the spinal cord. The physical body is also (somehow) chemically transformed into more wires, making the Growler bigger and stronger.
Growlers reproduce asexually by cutting off parts of themselves. Growlers need a lot of energy to reproduce successfully, and when they have enough energy stored in the spinal cord, they proceed to slice several chunks of themselves off. The original Growler more often than not survives the ordeal and continues on, never to reproduce again. The several small piles of wires soon wake up as baby Growlers. Measuring from as small as ten centimeters tall to 38 centimeters tall. Growlers are unable to form strong bonds with each other leaving the babies to fend for themselves. Each baby is given a hearty amount of electricity from the parent and uses it until it finds its first prey item, usually a small entity or animal like a mouse or rat.
If one wishes to kill a Growler, it is recommended to go at it with a highly agile team, as confronting a Growler in solitude almost never will end up in a wanderer's favor. The team should be equipped with long blades like swords and cutlasses. Since catching a Growler by surprise is effectively impossible, the team should attack at once and violently. Start by removing the Growler's tentacles to disarm the creature, then take random slices until someone strikes the spinal cord. When this happens, everyone must find cover quickly, as an electrical explosion is imminent. Once the disaster is over, the leftover chunks are unable to take life, and the Growler is successfully destroyed.
Documentation []
Pierre: …So the Growler took these forms while you were being chased?
A: Yes, many more in fact. I could fill a whole notebook with different ones. I saw a lot.
Pierre: Seems like it. Can you describe the most prominent event?
A: Yes, I can. It was only a few hours into the chase, but I had found a door, the door on the paper actually, and the son of a [REDACTED] crawled beneath the crack of the door. That was horrifying, I was already backed into a corner, I just ran out behind it and kept the chase going longer, it was rough.
Pierre: Did you ever get to sleep?
A: On day 2 I found an airtight room besides a vent shaft, it was too small for it to come in and I got some sleep in, but I had to leave because I was out of provisions…
Do's & Don'ts []
Do's []
- Stay at least 20 meters away.
- Be quiet in their presence.
- Be cautious of any sounds that sound like bait.
- Attack with blades.
- Resist the psionic growling, surviving is possible.
- Attack with a team of at least three.
Don'ts []
- Get within range of a Growler.
- Make noise.
- Thoughtlessly walk towards television garble or radio noise.
- Stop trying to run from Growlers during chase.
- Confront alone.
Original Wikidot Author: CementSandwich
Original Page: Here
Theme: User:Pexy0