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Danger isn’t always around the corner—it’s often standing eerily still, waiting for you to make the first mistake. Among the many nightmarish figures you’ll encounter in the Reagent program, few are as haunting and misunderstood as the Outlast Trials Screamers.
These twitchy, seemingly docile enemies don’t chase you like the Pouncers or slash at you with manic glee. Instead, Screamers keep to the shadows, lulling players into a false sense of safety. But make too much noise, get too close, or just have the bad luck of drawing their attention—and they’ll unleash a scream so intense it sends your character spiraling into panic and confusion. It’s less a warning, and more of a psychic gut punch.
Born of War, Not Murkoff
Most of Murkoff’s twisted creations are homegrown horrors—crafted in their underground laboratories, wrapped in a corporate bow. But Screamers? They’re legacy monsters.
According to an in-game Murkoff Case File, the Screamers aren’t technically Murkoff’s work at all. Their origins trace back to Operation PAPERCLIP, the real-world U.S. program that recruited former Nazi scientists after World War II. At Los Alamos, these scientists took horrific experiments conducted in Nazi Germany and pushed them even further—specifically focusing on altering the human voice.
Through what they called “cancerogenerative treatments,” the researchers discovered that intense vocal strain—sustained screaming—could trigger physiological mutations in the vocal cords. The result? Humans capable of producing sustained, shrill, and deafening shrieks that disorient and incapacitate.
Wernicke and the Morphogenic Engine
Like many experiments in the Outlast universe, the Morphogenic Engine is at the center of the Screamer’s suffering. These victims were exposed to Dr. Wernicke’s infamous device—a reality-warping contraption that twists minds, warps dreams, and unearths hidden potential in the most grotesque ways possible. The Screamers were made to scream until their bodies changed, their minds broke, and their souls barely clung to what was left.
To amplify the effect, Murkoff (or their predecessors) administered high doses of amphetamines, pushing the Screamers into a surreal state of non-REM near-sleep. Imagine being so sleep-deprived that your dreams bleed into reality—but never actually getting to rest. The Screamers exist in this fugue-like trance, constantly hallucinating, constantly aware, and constantly afraid.
Their high-pitched shrieks are not just weapons—they’re survival mechanisms. Screaming is the only thing that gives them brief relief from their hellish state, a twisted kind of self-soothing in a life ruled by pain and paranoia.
Screaming into the Void
As enemies, Screamers aren’t aggressive in the traditional sense. They don’t hunt. They don’t kill. But they see you. And when they do, they unleash a weaponized scream that can leave players temporarily helpless—prime prey for other enemies.
Their very presence in the game is an unnerving reminder of what happens when science and suffering are blended without restraint. They’re not just enemies—they’re victims. Trapped in a permanent loop of fear, insomnia, and experimental madness, the Screamers are the living embodiment of Outlast’s darkest theme: some nightmares aren’t born—they’re built.
Enjoying these lore drops? Check out our other lore drops on enemies like the Pushers, Berserkers, and Pouncers!
