Bacillus sapiens

The Howler Entity, (Also known as Bacteria orLifeform) is a creature or possibly a group of creatures that inhabit the Backrooms and preys on victims that have found themselves in their presence. They're extremely hostile toward humans and have been cause for concern among the Async Research Institute in their mission to study the Backrooms.

The creature seems to "come to life" from a black substance resembling mold around the Backrooms. The entities presumably killed who is theorized to be Nicolas Bolton, evidenced by the severe tissue damage and mutated bacteria inside his body. It most likely killed many other people who fell into the Backrooms too.

History

The origins of the creatures are debated; it could have been in the Backrooms long before Async created the Threshold.

The creatures appear to wander the Backrooms randomly often making noises which seem similar to human speech, however it is unclear if the creature understands the meaning of these sounds.

On March 5, 1990, Async set up several motion detection cameras inside the Backrooms. At 01:06:44, an undetermined noise was detected, probably coming from the creature. But at 03:53:42, motion was detected of the unknown creature crawling across the ceiling and peeking behind a corner. The creature was far away, so the footage was not clear, but it gave Async the first clue to the existence of a dangerous creature. During this time, it had a more fluid appearance and seemed to be pretty slow.

The Bacteria would first come in contact with Async after Async member Marvin E. Leigh fell into a new area of the Backrooms. The creature lured Marvin deeper into the area and toward its hiding spot by precisely mimicking a human screaming for help. Since a human seemed to have lived in the area where the monster was, it most likely was imitating the person's voice. Luckily, Marvin noticed it was not a person as soon as he saw it and immediately fled. The monster chased after him, but by this time it was still rather slow, so Marvin managed to escape.

Importantly, Marvin got the creature on camera, and the team gave the footage to Async as soon as they came back. Now the organization had indisputable evidence of the dangerous creature living inside the Backrooms, and they promptly set up more safety precautions. They sealed off the way the research team found the monster in, but a construction worker heard a strange sound coming from above. It is unknown if this creature found a way out of this area or if any creatures seen after this are different entities.

Around a month after this incident Async reopened the pathway leading to the room seen in Pitfalls. After confirming the pathway was safe with the use of a unmanned rover Async teams traveled to the room to study it and install walkways. When a secondary team is sent to explore the nearby rooms they are equipped with a shotgun likely as a means of defense should they encounter the entity.

Kane Pints fell into the Backrooms on July 4, 1991 (The camera and its footage were found in September 1996). The creature stalked Kane as he traversed the Backrooms and hid behind corners when he saw a glimpse of it. After following arrows drawn on the walls, Kane found a strange drawing on a wall in a large open space. The drawing on the wall said “don't move stay still” with a depiction of a window with fields behind it. Then the monster revealed itself and Kane ran away as fast as he could. Kane narrowly escaped by jumping into a hole that led to a new area, but despite everything, he returned. Kane wandered around some more until the monster threw a chair across a hall. Kane heard the monster howling and hid. The monster searched for him, snuck up on him and killed him.

An instance of the creature would find another victim of the Backrooms on August 19, 1995 when it "wakes up" in a dark room and proceeded to chase after the Found Footage 2 Protagonist. This instance of Bacteria appears much bulkier than previous instances, with even more distorted sounds being made. The creature would chase after the victim throughout the Backrooms and into a dead end. It is unknown if the creature managed to catch up to the victim after the footage cuts by unknown means.

Appearance and biology

The Bacteria seemingly bears no concrete form, but is very tall, thin and vaguely humanoid in shape, standing on two legs. Its limbs are very thin and stiff, but it can still move fast and quietly. The arms reach the floor and it has long, thin fingers, while its legs are relatively short and lack feet. A cable-like string wraps around the body and legs. Despite its appearance, the monster is actually pretty strong and can easily lift and do considerable damage to a human. After it had failed to capture Kane Pints, it tossed a chair with incredible force.

The creatures intelligence is currently unclear as it is has mostly been seen running and making loud roaring sounds. It can possibly mimic sounds perfectly and uses that for its advantage to lure victims. Along with mimicry, it is an ambush hunter and stalks its victims for a long time, peeks around corners, and hides in the shadows while waiting for the perfect time to attack. Sometimes, it gives its victims a false sense of security before sneaking up right behind them and killing them. It is unknown if it is capable of writing and drawing, as it uses a written message to lure in Kane Pints, but it could very well be using a message left by another human. While chasing a victim, the monster produces a loud noise similar to distorted screaming or howling. It is not specified how it kills it's victims as the only body discovered to date died of malnutrition.

The monster is implied to be a colonial organism made of a mutated strain of hay bacillus, since the bacteria was found inside the corpse of which theorized to be Nicolas Bolton. It is described by the unnamed protagonist in Found Footage 2 as appearing "plant like". It's movements appear stiff and mechanical leading to theories that it may be using objects discovered within the Backrooms to support it's form.

Notes / Theories

1. The name "Bacteria" comes from Kane Pixels' Ko-fi gallery.
2. ↑ The creature may create a nest around dead bodies within the Backrooms, potentially using the corpses to grow new instances.
3. ↑ A strain of hay bacillus could have entered through the Threshold, or it could be a result from people falling into the Backrooms and dying there.
4. . ↑ It might be implied it took one of the cameras and used it as a makeshift skeleton.

A picture of the colloquial species Hay bacillus, which is now found out as the Bacillus sapiens species.