Crawler
Necromorph Made from Infants
Crawlers were explosive Necromorphs formed from reanimated infants, their swollen bodies carrying an organic explosive, encountered on the Sprawl and later on Tau Volantis in alien form.
Crawlers were explosive Necromorphs formed from reanimated infants, their swollen bodies carrying an organic explosive beneath the skin. They first appeared during the outbreak on the Sprawl, made from human infants, and later on Tau Volantis as reanimated alien young. (Dead Space 2; Dead Space 3)
Physiology#
A Crawler was a variant of Necromorph made from a reanimated infant, related to the Lurker but filling a different role. Its torso was grossly enlarged and held an organic explosive substance beneath the skin. The body and head were twisted backward so the creature could move with the volatile sac pointed upward, and its arms and shoulders were likewise turned around, the fingers mostly fused on both hands. The legs were nearly twisted and fused together, leaving only a single visible left foot, which gave the Crawler an almost caterpillar-like motion. Its head and face still resembled a normal infant's apart from swollen blood vessels around the eyes and forehead, with regular-looking baby teeth on the lower jaw and peg-like points on the upper. Its eyes were a sickly gray with no iris or pupil. The creatures often slipped as they moved, tumbling for a few seconds before resuming their advance. (Dead Space 2)
Origins#
The Crawlers encountered during the outbreak on the Sprawl were made from human infants, and many of them still wore hospital identification bracelets on their wrists. On Tau Volantis, Crawlers appeared instead as reanimated alien infants, spawned by Alien Necromorphs, sharing the traits of the human form but differing in physiology, movement, speed, and sound. The creatures retained an unsettling trace of their origins, sometimes cooing or even laughing as they approached, which suggested that some part of the infant brain continued to function after the infection took hold so soon after birth. (Dead Space 2; Dead Space 3)
Frequently asked questions
- What was a Crawler?
- A Crawler was a Necromorph created from a reanimated infant. Its torso was grossly swollen with an organic explosive substance beneath the skin, and its body and head were twisted backward so it could move with the sac pointed upward, giving it a caterpillar-like crawl.
- Where did Crawlers come from?
- The Crawlers encountered on Titan Station were made from human infants, and many of them still wore hospital identification bracelets on their wrists. On Tau Volantis, Crawlers appeared instead as reanimated alien infants spawned by Alien Necromorphs, sharing the human form's traits but differing in physiology and movement.
- How dangerous were Crawlers?
- A Crawler's body was fragile and easily destroyed, but the organic explosive it carried made it lethal at close range. The creatures often slipped and stumbled as they advanced, and others behind them would trip over the fallen, briefly leaving a group exposed.
Sources
- GameDead Space 2, Visceral Games, 2011
- GameDead Space 3, Visceral Games, 2013
Spotted a factual error or a primary source we missed? Email a correction. Every flagged claim gets reviewed.
Followed from this entry
Lurker
The Lurker was a small Necromorph specialized for ranged attacks, usually reanimated from human infants or, in later outbreaks, from infected dogs. It stalked walls and ceilings on sticky tentacles and fired barbs of sharpened bone at its prey from a distance.
Necromorph
Necromorphs were aggressive creatures formed when the Markers' electromagnetic signal reshaped dead tissue into monstrous new forms. Driven to kill the living and gather corpses for Convergence, they were the recurring plague that destroyed the Aegis VII colony, the USG Ishimura, and Titan Station.
Tau Volantis
Tau Volantis was a frozen planet where, two million years ago, an alien civilization flash-froze their own world to halt a Convergence Event. Mistaken for the Marker homeworld, it became the site of the final clash over the Brethren Moons.
The Sprawl
Titan Station, known informally as the Sprawl, was an EarthGov metropolis built around the last fragment of Saturn's moon Titan. Home to over a million people, it housed the secret Project Telomere and the Site 12 Marker, and fell to a Necromorph outbreak in 2511 that destroyed the station entirely.
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