Hairshrieker

The hairshrieker is a creature that shows up from time to time in the game. While JJ is semi-immortal and can regenerate her body from any injury, certain things can still kill her, such as damage to her head when she's decapitated, drowning, and being caught by the hairshrieker. The hairshrieker's first appearance is early in the game, before JJ has gained the ability to regenerate. It is seen apparently killing a copy of JJ, and menacing Emily, before chasing after Emily. If JJ walks past the dead body, hands will come out of the ground and pull it under, making it no longer visible.

The hairshrieker's appearance is always preceded by gray hands coming out of the ground. As it walks, it often leaves a trail of such hands that come out of the floor that it walked on. If those hands grab JJ, she is pulled under and dies.

The hairshrieker can slash at JJ with its boxcutter, which reduces JJ down to a torso, arm and head, but JJ can regenerate right afterwards and keep running. Many of the hairshrieker chases feature a segment where JJ must close a door behind her, and the hairshrieker busts its arm through the door and grabs JJ, who must pull away and escape before it cuts the entire door down.

JJ's initial terror of the hairshrieker gradually changes over the course of the game, giving way to mild annoyance ("That thing again?") and eventually a desire to fight back.

On the roof of Moosefoot College, JJ finally manages to fight and kill the hairshrieker. Before doing so, she says, "My mind created that demon."

The hairshrieker is believed by many fans to be connected to JJ's secret, in that it represents JJ's feelings about not having been born female.