Shadow Creature

A Shadow Creature is a type of Monster in Don't Starve.
Shadow Mobs that the player can fight and drop nightmare fuel when defeated:
* Crawling Horror is the most common shadow creature. It usually appears when a character first goes insane, or can spawn from Nightmare Lights and other sources.
* Terrorbeak is a more dangerous form of Crawling Horror that spawns spontaneously when a characters' sanity reaches zero.
* Wavey Jones is the less dangerous aquatic shadow creature in that maliciously tinkers with boats.
* Terrorclaw is the more-dangerous aquatic shadow creature in that aggressively tries to kill the character.
* Shadow Pieces are a sort of shadow-boss trinity in , spawned from Marble Sculptures or certain Chess Pieces at certain nights of the Moon Cycle.
* Parasitic Shadeling is a shadow creature that spawns after the Nightmare Werepig is being freed. It doesn't attack the character, but the Nightmare Werepig.
* Swimming Horror is an aquatic shadow creature in 
Shadow Creatures that can affect reality, but do not drop nightmare fuel
* Night Hands try to steal a log from Campfires.
Shadow Creature visual effects or spells:
* Shadow Watcher takes over the character's mind with Ancient Fuelweaver's mind control attack. Other visual affects and sanity indicators are covered on this page as well.
Shadow Aligned creatures that are fully visible and can interact with a sane player are more substantial than the shadow creatures covered in this article:
* Reanimated Skeletons in 
* Fused Shadelings in 
At least one shadow-creature-like entity exists in a DLC that does not have Shadow Aligned creatures:
* Ancient Herald in 
Hostile Shadow Creatures have a Sanity aura that drains the player's Sanity at a rate of -100/min. Killing some may restore a small amount of Sanity, depending on how the creature was spawned. Most Shadow Creatures drop Nightmare Fuel when killed.
Shadow Creatures will spawn as nearly transparent entities when the player's Sanity drops below 82.5%. As Sanity continues to drop, a Crawling Horror can typically be seen stalking characters. As the characters' sanity decreases, the shadows become more "real" (less transparent). Most shadow creatures will attack characters who drop below 15% Sanity. More dangerous ones will spawn when the character's sanity reaches zero. In multiplayer, any shadow creatures stalking nearby players with low sanity will all begin attacking the first player to drop below 15% sanity.
The shadow creatures fully exist only in the insane character's head, so followers (other than Bernie) do not notice or attack them. Shadow Creatures are immune to Tooth Traps and Bee Mines. Nearby Shadow Creatures will prevent the player from using a Straw Roll, Fur Roll, Tent, or Siesta Lean-to. In Don't Starve Together, players can assist those plagued by Shadow Creatures by force-attacking them (CTRL-F). However, this causes the Shadow Creature to attack and follow that player instead.
During the Nightmare Phase, Shadow Creatures spawn from Nightmare Lights in the Ruins and Nightmare Fissures in the Caves. They're hostile, regardless of Sanity, and will pursue the player until they despawn after the Nightmare Cycle has reached the Calm Phase. Killing a Shadow Creature that has spawned from a Nightmare Light will not restore the player's Sanity.
== Fighting Strategy ==
Crawling Horrors, Terrorbeaks, and Swimming Horrors can be easily kited. When one reaches melee attack range, it will stop for an instant before biting the player. If the player dodges this bite, the shadow can be hit safely for about 2 seconds. After this hit, it teleports within 1 screen of the player. The player should "swing twice" when they attack in case the shadow's next position is right next to the player. Once the player misses, they can stop attacking until it's time to dodge again.
Shadow creatures periodically rear up on their hind legs and can be hit "for free" during this animation.
If the player knows their weapon will do enough damage to kill the shadow (the "final blow"), there is no need to dodge. Hold F, run in, and kill it.
Since shadow creatures are only visible to the player, most mobs cannot be recruited to defend against Shadow Creatures. Willow's Bernie is the only Mob in the game able to taunt and attack Shadow Creatures.
Shadow Creatures fought in a tiny room or cramped corridor which forces the crawler to repeatedly teleport right next to the player.
The Crawling Horror allows additional strategies, especially in .
Handling more than one shadow creature at a time without taking a hit is certainly a challenge. Even the pros run away from 4 or more. Care should be taken when going insane at base in multiplayer because other players often return to base with low sanity and several Shadow Creatures.
=== Going Insane on Demand ===
Shadow creatures can only be fought while insane (unless they spawn from Nightmare Lights). For characters who have trouble going insane (Maxwell and Wigfrid when she's fighting), here are some free ways to lower sanity (from early-game to later game):
* Jump back and forth through Worm Holes.
* Eat raw Green Caps (Wigfrid can't).
* Equip a Dark Sword and stand in the dark, then step back into the light just before Charlie attacks. Repeat as necessary.
* Touch the The Lazy Deserter.
For a complete list see: Sanity.
=== Farming Nightmare Fuel ===
Nightmare Fuel is very valuable for crafting (and refueling) many of the best items in the game. There are several ways to acquire nightmare fuel, but once a player is comfortable kiting these creatures, going insane and fighting them becomes the most practical way to harvest this resource. Farming a stack can still be costly in terms of time and weapon durability, making a few weapons much better suited to this task:
* In , an Ornery Beefalo with a War Saddle is the ideal shadow fuel farming tool, but any Beefalo Temperament/Saddle Combination that deals more than 40 damage per hit is a great choice. A beefalo in has infinite durability, offers a speed boost, takes melee damage instead of the player, and heals slowly over time from the occasional hit.
* A fresh Ham Bat does a high amount of damage for several days.
* In the rain, a Morning Star deals 72.25 damage against wet targets and loses durability based on how long it is wielded, not on how many hits it delivers. The high damage takes down shadow creatures in 5 or 6 hits, making the fight go very quickly. The very short usage time can make it economical. It also provides light. Using this on dry shadow creatures is a waste, as is keeping it weilded any longer than strictly necessary.
* The Glass Cutter deals the same damage as the Dark Sword, but with double the durability vs. Shadow Creatures. It makes fights go fast, but is expensive, must be crafted on Lunar Island, and still wears out eventually. Moon Shards can be slow to acquire between mining all glass boulders and fighting Celestial Champion. It's a great weapon for Ancient Fuelweaver and the Shadow Chess Pieces though.
* Walter's Trusty Slingshot allows him to simply "Hold F" to fire at the perfect rate to hit a Shadow Creature the moment it finishes teleporting. This is quick, easy, and even works well enough against 2 at once. The main problem is the cost of the ammo. Marble can be farmed, but a Beefalo is forever.
Below is the number of hits it takes (with a default damage modifier) to kill Shadow Creatures. The Weather Pain is not included due to the random nature of its projectile.
Weapon 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
No. of hits for	Immune	95	30	24	15	14	12	10	7-14	6 or 10	8	7	6	4	2
No. of hits for	Immune	71	23	18	12	10	9 	8 	6-11	5 or 7 	6	6	5	3	2
== Downloadable Content ==
In the Hamlet DLC, Crawling Horrors and Terrorbeaks can chase the player through Lily Pond Biomes, attacking along with Swimming Horror. Also, Crawling Nightmares and Nightmarebeaks can spawn when non-Nightmarefuel items are given to the End's Well. Those spawned at End's Well are the same as in the Ruin, restoring no Sanity.
== Trivia ==
=== In-Game===
*Shadow Creatures are one of the only mobs able to freely travel through walls and are the only mobs that can freely travel across the barrier that separates land from ocean. They can only do this while not aggressive. When Sanity drops below 15%, they will manifest into a physical form, unable to perform such feats.
*Attacking a Shadow Creature will cause any other Shadow Creature to become "real" and aggressive, regardless of the Sanity level. The hostility of a Crawling Horror, Terrorbeak or Swimming Horror may end after an attack if the player's sanity is higher than 15%.
*Shadow Creatures are the only creatures that cannot be examined but can be attacked by the players.
* Although Shadow Creatures cannot be examined, there are unused examination quotes for Swimming Horrors and Mr. Skittish in the game files.
*The smoke emitted by the Shadow Thurible and Tragic Torch skin in DST sometimes takes the shape of a Crawling Horror, a Terrorbeak, or a Shadow Hand.
*Wavey Jones and Terrorclaws were introduced in the Troubled Waters update.
== Lore ==
*Shadow Creatures make several appearances throughout the William Carter Puzzles.
** There is a Shadow Watcher in the source code of the fourth and the sixth puzzles. This is the only time a Shadow Watcher is pictured with an end to its body, which resembles that of a Ghost.
**The fifth puzzle includes what appears to be a journal page documenting an encounter with a Terrorbeak, presumably by Maxwell conducting rituals with the Codex Umbra.
**A Terrorbeak, a Crawling Horror, and a Night Hand appear in the source code of the eighth puzzle.
**Mr. Skitts and a Terrorbeak appear briefly in an intermission animation in the eighth puzzle.
**In the animation found in the eighth puzzle, The Amazing Maxwell - The Final Act, a Shadow Watcher appears on screen just before Maxwell and Charlie are grabbed by the Codex Umbra.
**A Shadow Watcher also appears in one of the final images of the eighth puzzle where it can be seen in the ruined apartment that belonged to Maxwell.
*Several Shadow Creatures appear in the Cyclum Puzzles comic.
*An image of a Terrorbeak eating a small figure can be spotted on a news article in the animated short Next of Kin. The headline reads "Do Evil Shadow Monsters Lurk Among Us?"
*A Terrorbeak torments young Willow in From the Ashes. It is shown to be repelled by Bernie.
*Multiple instances of Shadow Hands and Terrorbeaks appear to be terrorizing Wanda throughout the animated short Long Shadows.
=== Cultural References===
*Shadow Creatures are similar to the monsters in Lovecraftian literature; otherworldly beings that are able to move through dimensions and cause humans to suffer insanity. Their names are also allusions to Lovecraftian stories such as The Lurking Fear and The Crawling Chaos.
*Sleep paralysis victims often report seeing deformed shadowy creatures creeping around the room. Sleep paralysis is also commonly associated with lucid dreaming. The description for the Dark Sword is "lucid dreaming damage."
*Wavey Jones' name is a reference to the phrase Davy Jones' Locker, which is a common metaphor for drowning among sailors.
== Tips ==
* In the Reign of Giants DLC, tornadoes spawned by the Weather Pain may stop their teleports due to its fast and continuous attacks. It is very useful for stopping a group of Shadow Creatures during Nightmare Cycle#Nightmare Phase.
== Bugs ==
*A Terrorbeak's body can disappear, with only the beak and legs visible.
* Although shadow creatures generally cannot interact with non-player creatures, the shadow creatures spawned by any creature that strikes the Ancient Pseudoscience Station will become aggressive towards it.
* In the Shipwrecked DLC, Crawling Horrors and Terrorbeaks can teleport to the Ocean when hit, causing them to get stuck on the shore line, unable to get back to land. They can still be attacked next to the border, however.
*In Don't Starve Together, if a player walks away and comes back to their camp while a night hand is reaching for it, sometimes it will stay in place until it is either chased by the player or it is destroyed by a light source.
* In the Hamlet DLC, Swimming Horrors cannot actually teleport when attacked in the Lily Pond biome.
* Attack Shadow Creatures spawned from rooms of Ancient Pig Ruins, especilly in the room of End's Well may cause them teleport to the oustside of room's boundaries. If player kill them in these areas, their loots will become unpickable unless uses The Lazy Forager.
== Gallery ==
Insanity.png|Official artwork of a Crawling Horror and Terrorbeak attacking Wilson.
Crawling horror standing up.png|A Crawling Horror, standing up tall and showing its teeth after being aggroed by the player.
TerrorbeakGlitch.png|A glitched Terrorbeak.
Hallucination Party!.png|Shadow Creatures spawning from a Nightmare Light in the Ruins during the Nightmare Phase.
Insanity!.jpg|A Crawling Horror and Terrorbeak menacing Wilson in the Insanity! promo art.
The Stuff Of Nightmares.jpg|Nightmare Creatures attacking Wilson in the poster for The Stuff of Nightmares update.
Mr Skits + Terrorbeak in the William Carter.png|Mr. Skitts and a Terrorbeak in front of the intermission curtain in the eighth William Carter Puzzle.
Cyclum Page 1 2.png|The first page of the Cyclum Puzzles comic featuring several Shadow Creatures chasing and terrorizing Maxwell.
NextofKin Shadow Creature news.jpg|A news article about Shadow Creatures from the Next of Kin animated short.
From the Ashes 1.png|The Terrorbeak that stalks Willow in From the Ashes.
From the Ashes 2.png|The Terrorbeak fended off by Bernie's presence in From the Ashes.
From the Ashes 6.png|The Terrorbeak cornering Willow in the closet in From the Ashes.
Bernie Promo.png|Promotional image of Bernie and a Crawling Horror.
crawling_horror__large__by_mf99k-d9fruch.gif|Animation for an aggressive Crawling Horror.
terrorbeak__large__by_mf99k-d9fr75x.gif|Animation for an aggressive Terrorbeak.
Hallowed Nights 2019 Comic 1.png|Terrorbeaks and Night Hands featured in the Hallowed Nights 2019 comic.
Art Stream 20 Shadow Creatures.png|A Crawling Horror and Terrorbeak as seen in a drawing from Art Stream # 20.
Art Stream 52 Shadow Creature.png|A Terrorbeak as seen in a drawing from Art Stream # 52.
Art Stream 67 Big Bernie.png|Shadow Creatures as seen in a drawing from Art Stream # 67.
SW Update Hang Ten.png|Swimming Horror and Mr. Skittish as seen in the poster for the Hang Ten update.
Shadow Hand in Terraria.png|Shadow Hand in Terraria
==References ==
pl:Halucynacje
vi:Sinh Vật Ảo Ảnh
Category:Cave Creatures
Category:Mobs
Category:Monsters
Category:Ruins Creatures
Category:Hostile Creatures
Category:Neutral Creatures
Category:Sanity Loss
Category:Surface Creatures
Category:Lore
Category:Non-Flammable
Category:Ocean
Category:Aquatic Mobs
Category:Shadow Creatures