The Creature is the main antagonist of the 2024 indie short horror game Clap Clap, the first entry in the [Nightmare Files] series.
It is an unnamed, inhuman serial killer who attacks those who have a "Clap Clap" home automation and security system installed in their home at night, regardless of whether they actually live there or not.
Appearance[]
The Creature is a humanoid entity approximately 3 meters tall, with an almost entirely black body except for a red, constantly-grinning face.
Personality[]
Little is known of the Creature's personality, as it does not speak beyond a single word that is difficult to make out. However, it's methods and behaviour clearly establish that it is an intelligent, playful and sadistic entity. Rather than kill its victims outright or when they are vulnerable, such as while they are asleep, it actively toys with its prey by making them aware of its presence and giving them mocking threats. When it finally decides to go for the kill, the Creature viciously tears apart its victims.
Biography[]
During the 1980s, a brand new home automation system made the rounds and enjoyed considerable popularity. "Clap Clap" was its name, called such due to its most basic function, turning the lights on and off, being triggered with the simple clapping of one's hands. On October 8th, 2024 a man named Maksim placed an ad for a housesitting job in the newspaper of a suburban town. The game's unnamed protagonist needed the money and answered the ad due to needing the money.
On their way there, they asked Marko Botovski, one of Maksim's neighbours, for directions to his house. Botovski had also just received the Clap Clap system in his mail, having purchased it because another neighbour called Savo wouldn't stop praising it. Initial inspection of Maksim's house found nothing unusual, and he left a short list of instructions for the housesitter. First signs of trouble soon started showing themselves however.
The trashbag containing strange bones.
The mailbox outside contained a missing poster for Kemkal Zekson, another housesitter who disappeared just a few weeks prior. While watering the plants in the garden, heavy footsteps could be heard on the other side of the fence. The trashbag that needed to be dumped in the trash bin next to the mailbox was unusually heavy and appeared to have bones sticking out of it. The housesitter didn't pay it much mind beyond some simple confusion, until they were scared by Agent Ristolino from the Federal Investigation Bureau suddenly showing up at the door, who wanted to ask them some questions about reports of disappearances and other strange phenomena that occured in the area.
The Creature Attacks[]
The Creature watches the housesitter.
The agent eventually left, but upon returning to the house after taking the trashbag out, something inside the house clapped and shut off all the lights. Checking every room revealed nothing, so the housesitter chalked it up to them getting tired, grabbing a bowl of cereal to eat and resting in the upstairs bedroom. Everything seemed fine, until events took a drastic turn when the housesitter woke up 3 hours later and saw the Creature staring at them from over the bedroom door.
The Creature swiftly disappeared, prompting the housesitter to get up and search the house, only to find that a door that had previously been locked and off-limits to have been broken off of its hinges. The room inside contained the opened Clap Clap box and its walls were covered in claw marks. But just as they entered the room, the Creature shut off the lights in the stairway behind them. When going back, the door to the left got launched into the stairway, with the Creature peering in from the window as soon as the lights were clapped on. Checking the window, the Creature called out from behind and disappeared into the bathroom.
The bathroom window had a rubber ducky on the counter and the wall was scribbled in red with the message "rubber ducky?". Leaving the bathroom had the Creature finally decide to dispense with the theatrics and climbed in through the window, breaking the room's lamp in the process. It then reached towards the stairway lightbulb and crushed it as well before beginning its pursuit. Despite being rather thin and having long limbs, the Creature was not as fast as it perhaps could have been, chasing after the housesitter while twitching in an almost dance-like manner.
Aftermath[]
The Creature reaching through the broken window.
Finding the front and the garage doors both locked, the housesitter had no choice but to break and jump through the window next to the entrance, at which point the Creature broke off pursuit and disappeared back into the house. While running for their life, the housesitter saw that Botovski's windows were splattered with his blood. They continued to run until they reached the nearest police station.
During their investigation, the police found Botovski's corpse in his home as well as the remains of Maksim, who had been stuffed into the trash bag the housesitter carried out of his home. Their other neighbor, Savo, had also disappeared. The Creature was never discovered.
Gallery[]
