Stay Out Of The House Butchers Key

[Dawnell Sechler]

TheButcher wears what is described by police as "seasonal clothing", consisting of a red-black patterned plaid shirt, light blue jeans, grey gloves and brown Oxford shoes. Over the outfit, he wears a black, heavy rubber apron splattered in blood, and a burlap sack haphazardly fashioned into a mask with eye holes and affixed to his head with rope. He is most commonly seen carrying a sledge in his right hand to knock victims unconscious. At some points in the game, he was observed using a meat cleaver and a chainsaw.

Much of the information that can be extracted from this otherwise unnamed man's background is gleaned from notes and the in-game environment. He lives in a large farmhouse in Cedarville, an otherwise abandoned ghost town in the Oklahoma countryside, where he lives with a wheelchair-bound elderly woman, widely believed to be his ailing mother. One of his notes implies that he had once held Christian beliefs, but eventually grew tired of "waiting for answers [and] rewards". Coupled with the total abandonment of his hometown due to economic decline, it was likely during this crisis of faith where he came into contact with an alternative religious group known as CFV, which had gained traction in the local area and ironically contributed to the mass exodus of small towns in the region on account of their twisted interpretation of the Bible. Under their tutorship, his beliefs were renewed, he was taught new "routines" and, as part of his new membership, eventually became the keeper of a man-eating outer-worldly being kept in the recesses of the fallout shelter in his cellar, which gave him a new mission in life. It is uncertain whether this conversion was entirely of his own volition, as a hidden research facility, apparently belonging to the CFV, can be found beneath his property, with some notes indicating that his sudden fanatic fervor may have been the result of prolonged exposure to radiation, which he might not have even been aware of.

Although the details are extremely muddy, the being and the Butcher appear to have formed a sort of mental symbiosis, granting the latter superhuman abilities to complete his tasks more effectively in exchange for the Butcher's undying loyalty, the most prominent being some form of telepathy that allows him to observe his targets and captives, as well as their thoughts, if focused, which might explain how he is able to keep track of potential escapees in his house. Other alterations, if certain gameplay mechanics are taken into account, possibly included increased strength, heightened durability, a regenerative healing factor and limited teleportation. The state of his mother, who appears to be partially decayed and the presence of the mutated baby also point to either him or the creature possessing the power of organic life manipulation. These abilities did come at a major drawback, as the entity was also causing the Butcher to become increasingly deranged and lose cognitive functions, as seen in his progressively worsening syntax and grammar in his journal entries.

The monster has a very particular palate, in that it prefers its meals in a state of emotional distress, specifically fear, as it gives them a "sweet" taste, which also allows it to "feel more". To maximize this experience, his victims are kept in squalor and are imprisoned in either large cages inside of his house or in his backyard inside two reutilized chicken coops in cells of six. Victims are doomed to one of two fates: they are either killed by the Butcher or are left to starve to death before being strung up on a hook to be processed in his kitchen, or are alternatively carted off to an uncertain fate inside the basement of the house. Their ultimate fate is dependent on how much of a fight they put up, i.e. whether they attempt to escape or not, thus showing either a will to life and fear of death, which makes them perfect for live feeding, or resignation of their inevitable end, in which case they are of no use alive and instead chopped up into more conveniently kept fodder. This bizarrely specific method of killing and processing his victims has earned him the nickname "The Butcher" by his captives. So far, there's only been one prior confirmed escapee, whose corpse can be found in a bedroom, dead from either blood loss or a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

One note indicates that he could initially satiate the creature with either dead bodies, likely acquired through grave-robbing, or his own farm animals, but soon enough, upon the being's wishes, the Butcher moved on to getting it "fresher meat", which was also the time where he began accepting the being as the listening, all-fulfilling god he had always desired. Starting out with homeless people he would coax into his home, the creature showed a distaste for them, forcing the Butcher to seek out more low-risk targets, who would be more likely to "struggle". In order to fulfill his duties, he has taken up kidnapping as one of many involved in a purportedly wide-spread network of killers and abductors across the nation. As such, he is responsible for a series of kidnappings across the western part of the state, primarily clustered around Custer County. He drives a van and stalks his victims, typically night-time workers at isolated businesses, during the late hours before ambushing and taking them to his house, thus earning him the name "Night Shift Abductor" by the media. Though first thought to be unconnected, it was only when he abducted his sixth victim near Mill Creek, that authorities realized they were dealing with a prolific single offender, finding he had also been responsible for disappearances in the town of Cordell and in Blaine County, but even with this revelation have been unable to put a halt to the culprit. In light of this, having started out afraid of being found out, the Butcher grew more and more bold, soon coming to believe that he has transcended human capabilities, thanks to his new god, and is now convinced that he cannot be stopped.

By the time of Stay Out of the House, his home has become as decrepit as the ruined buildings of the rest of town, with barricaded windows and doors, junk scattered all over the floor, rats running around, the walls covered in mold and paint peeling off. Satanic symbols, such as the number of the beast (666), upside-down crucifixes, and crudely scribbled pentagrams can be found on the walls. Having become a fervent believer of CFV, he constantly has numerous televisions inside the house running, showing an interview with the supposed head of the organization, even forcing some of his captives into watching the report during imprisonment. His backyard is surrounded by a large fence that's preventing his victims from escaping. Underneath his house is a large bunker where he keeps some of his farm animals, and, inside a specially sealed chamber, the pulsating mass of flesh the Butcher calls his master.

As shown in Night Shift, the Night Shift Abductor is also working alongside another man, a neighbour of his, who acts as a lookout and decoy of sorts, checking the gas stations for potential witnesses before his partner ambushes the workers.

As a prelude to Stay Out of the House, the protagonist is an initially nameless night-shift cashier (later revealed to be Debra Kopiske) at an Ecoo gas station outside of Mill Creek who becomes a target of the Night Shift Abductor. Throughout the game, a white van, which is later seen in a garage at the Butcher's house, routinely circles the gas pumps, never stopping, but always slowing down when nearing the front of the station. Near the end, a suspicious customer enters and asks the cashier whether she is alone tonight before purchasing a beer and leaving the gas station. Shortly after, a door is heard creaking in the back of the shop, revealing that the previously locked bathroom has been opened. If one either waits long enough in the restroom or goes back inside, The Night Shift Abductor will attack with his hammer, either outside or inside the store, beating and knocking out the cashier with a single blow.

Nine days after Debra's kidnapping, Brendan and Roxanne (main protagonist) pass through Custer County during a road trip, with the former deciding to take a leak at a roadside restroom. Roxanne wakes up from a nap, still in the car, realizing 20 minutes have passed with no sight of Brendan. She elects to get out and search, finding his ID card behind the bathroom, and a long, eerie path bordered with brambly trees. During her search, she comes across abandoned factory buildings, multiple random household items, and a friendly dog who starts to follow her. Eventually, she discovers a maze entrance in a cornfield, which leads to an old, dilapitated farmhouse. The dog starts barking and growling at the front door, runs inside, and whimpers after a loud metallic clank is heard. The main character decides to investigate, and finds that the interior is even more corrupted than the outside. The dog is rescued from a beartrap in the basement, and upon Roxanne's attempt to flee, the front door becomes locked. Seconds go by, and the killer comes out of nowhere, knocking her out with multiple blows to the head. This seals our fate as another victim of the infamous butcher himself.

Roxanne wakes up hours later, trapped in a cage and with extreme stomach pains. Before she can think about the cause of her condition, she finds her prison easily broken, now determined to escape the house with her life.

At some point in the game, Roxanne will come across Brendan, naked and tied to a chair in a room beneath the vent she is crawling through. First, believing everything to be a sick prank, he pleads with his captor before he is decapitated by The Butcher with a chainsaw, who then leaves the room.

The Butcher patrols the whole house and sometimes leaves bear traps on the floor. Any time the butcher spots Roxanne, he screams out loud and attacks with a hammer. To avoid being spotted by him, the player has to stay out of his sight, avoid making noises, hide under the beds and avoid his traps. If the Butcher spots the player hiding under the bed or under the table, he will flip the bed/table over and attack. The Butcher also reacts to light so the player needs to be careful when using the lighter. If the Butcher sees Roxanne in the ventilation system, either if she was spotted getting into the vents, or if Roxanne keeps the lighter on in the Butcher's presence, he will release suffocating gas into the vents, forcing her to get out of the vents before the oxygen runs out.

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