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Trigger Warning
This article contains mature content, such as: "Implication of Sexual Assault" View at your own risk. |
The Umbilical Cord Demon is a demonic enemy that appears in FAITH: Chapter II.
Alike all the other demons haunting Gallup Cemetery, the Umbilical Cord Demon seems to be loosely connected to a thrall within Save Family Tomb and the short story of Note #8 from Chapter II, detailing a woman who recently lost her baby and was coerced into meeting a man named Gary Miller by a "strange woman".
Appearance[]
The pixelized version of this demon looks like some kind of abnormally tall human with bloody eyes and belly. There's a fleshy appendage stretching out from its stomach.
The rotoscoped animation provides more detail. Although it's partially obscured by a tree, it has two wide wavering bloody eyes and a gaping red mouth. There's a bloody appendage wiggling out of its open stomach; the animation makes it look somewhat phallic because it seems like the flesh is extending from around its crotch or directly underneath the stomach. It's twitching and jittering uncontrollably.
Biography[]
Most demons within the series don't have a personality, so we're going to cut to when it's relevant in the plot.
Unknown Time[]
It's important to analyze Note #8 from Chapter II[1] because the woman detailed in there, which we can assume to be a woman named Sandra Attwood (this'll be explained later), is affiliated with this demon.
Sandra recounts when she unexpectedly became pregnant. Nobody was thrilled or excited for her, and she even suspects that her doctor was silently judging her. Every time she would leave her doctor's office, she'd notice a strange woman giving her a warming smile from across the street, which made the office visits a bit more bearable.
Sandra continues that she lost the baby, it's unclear if it was a miscarriage or abortion. She spots the strange woman giving her a big smile after a doctor visit, but it wasn't warming or friendly as before. The note ends that, yesterday (this is undated), she was walking around and came across the strange woman in the middle of a path, who is now pregnant. The woman beckoned her into the woodland. Sandra followed her and came across a man named Gary.
Gary is in fact a cult leader in charge of the Eternal Order of the Second Death, who primarily perform operations within Sterling, Connecticut. Note #8 essentially provides a small backstory to Sandra's life before joining the cult. The reasoning from this note alone isn't clear, but as Chapter II begins and we take quotes from the Umbilical Cord Demon in consideration, it's implied that Sandra was sexually assaulted by somebody, and her community judged her for the sudden pregnancy as if it was her fault. Her coercion into the cult would soon become her doomed fate.
Between September 22nd to 27th, 1987[]
To keep this undetermined date brief and relevant to the Umbilical Cord Demon as possible, Sandra, a cult member named Troy Ingles, and another named Angel Nogales, were sacrificially murdered by their fellow cult members for some unforeseen purpose. The Sterling Police Department found their bodies off into the dense woodland nearby a cemetery, aptly named Gallup Cemetery, and identified them. A newspaper article was published shortly after their investigation[2], where investigators state that they believe the victims were ultimately killed in some kind of paganistic ritual. They plead for the Sterling community to contact authorities if there's any leads behind the murders.
This article, Note #18 from Chapter II, was important to analyze because it's heavily suggested that the locations John will eventually explore in his dream/Chapter II, Gallup Cemetery in particular, were affected by recent murders and disappearances that all connect to the cult in some way or another. John essentially dreams of the locations and the demons he'll eventually face, including the Umbilical Cord Demon, in some vein attempt of making a significant difference as if he was there[3].
September 28th, 1987 (Chapter II)[]
John falls asleep like any other day and experiences his worst nightmare yet.
The dream begins with him standing in the middle of five pebbles. He meanders through the trees and unlocks a gate leading to Gallup Cemetery. A tomb, named Save Family Tomb, lies in the middle of the cemetery. All the other nearby gates are locked, so John has no choice but to investigate inside.
enter the spirit house[]
The cramped tomb has three thralls giving John a cold stare, either because of his priestly outfit or they're dead.
They lay immobile as John stares at his own reflection from a mirror.
Spirits jump out of the bodies and scatter throughout the area. John exits the tomb and has to track each of them down in order to move beyond the cemetery.
Exploring the right area and purifying a purple skull, a gate nearby unlocks, and John explores the open area. The Umbilical Cord Demon shrouding behind a nearby tree stretches a fleshy appendage and shouts, "I'M AN ANGEL!"
After making a beeline towards John, it teleports to a different location and moves up and down in a wave-like pattern to kill him.
John banishes the demon after a short battle. It calls John a, "VIOLATER!" and promptly bursts into a puddle of blood. It leaves behind Note #8. Taking its quotes into account with the note, we can suggest that Sandra was a sexual assault victim that was ostracized by her community. The 80s weren't as opening nor welcoming of victims compared to today. Her baby's death and connection to the "strange woman" seems to be demonic in nature, hence why this demon is affiliated with her and why it shouted that it's an "angel". This is further proven if John goes back inside Save Family Tomb before defeating the other two demons; Sandra/the female thrall is missing.
October 31st, 1987 (Chapter III)[]
We flashforward a little over a month later to John and Gary battling in Garyland, a secret tunnel system underneath a daycare center. During the battle, Gary can summon a plethora of former foes, including the Umbilical Cord Demon. Alike all of the past enemies, they're red silhouettes, cannot be repelled by the crucifix, and knock John to the ground if they make contact with him. It's important to point out that Gary can summon two different versions of a woman named Tiffany, signifying that these red apparitions are solely phantoms and are not literally summoned from where they used to be to kick down John. They purely function as bad memories. This is the last time the Umbilical Cord Demon makes its appearance.
Quotes[]
| Context | Quote | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction | "I'M AN ANGEL." | |
| Defeat | "VIOLATOR!" |
Trivia[]
- Plenty of demons within the series are nameless in the plot, including this one. Extracting every asset used within Chapter II reveals that this demon is supposed to be called "Umbilical Cord Demon".
- Miriam's attack patterns in the Third Phase of her boss fight borrows the same attacking behavior from every demon within Chapter II, including the Umbilical Cord Demon. She would teleport to a random area and move up & down in a wavelike pattern.
Gallery[]
Gameplay[]
.png "Umbilical Cord Demon (flame 1).png (2 KB)")
.png "Umbilical Cord Demon (flame 2).png (2 KB)")
Animation[]
References[]
- ↑ Ref. - Note #8 Ch II
- ↑ Ref. - Note #18 Ch II
- ↑ Ref. - Airdorf Message Chapter II Meaning