The Bathers

**The Bathers** are the main antagonists of the second chapter of the audio-fiction series, *The Sounds of Nightmares*. They are a group of giant, bloated monstrous bathers that attend The Bathhouse in hopes of washing away their filth.

## Appearances

Noone described the Bathers as plump men and women with faces hidden behind wooden masks. Their brown and raw bodies tucked underneath mucky brown robes.

## Personalities

The Bathers were described as giant, selfish creatures with an obsession with getting clean. Their obsession with becoming clean is so extreme, that they will scrub until their internal organs are exposed. They have a seeming disregard particularly for the lives of children, as seen when one of the larger bathers used Jester as a sponge in order to try and cleanse his body while the boy was still alive.

## *The Sounds of Nightmares*

### *A Penance at the Bathhouse*

Noone first witnessed the Bathers traveling to the Bathhouse via giant, fish-like contraptions. From the mouths of these ships were the Bathers who soon arrived to the lantern lit market and made their way to the Bathhouse in the near distance. She watched as they walked in a line, eventually dispersing individually to walk in separate directions so they could purchase soaps and perfumes from the many merchants.

Eventually, while Noone was distracted with the presence of The Candleman, one of the Bathers captured Noone's friend Jester from the ladder that he was climbing down on. As Noone climbed down the ladder to pursue him, she passed by an open window where she saw another Attendee who was purchasing a bottle of pink liquid from a store run by a merchant, who sold various goods that could help cleanse the customer's skin and ease his pain.

As she continued into the Bathhouse, she arrived in a room with shallow pools. She watched as the bathers either lathered themselves, swam in the pools, or huffed the sauna steam of the Bathhouse. She noticed the biggest one in the room muttering, "Divide the grime from the divine," to himself while rubbing something on his body that appeared to be alive. She eventually came to the realization that the bather was scrubbing himself with Jester's body, causing her to stammer back in fear and make a noise that alerted all the bathers. Once they noticed her, they began to ominously approach her and chant about cleansing her. As Noone tried to escape, the biggest grabbed her ankle. As the bather tried to pull her down, she tried to find anything nearby to latch onto, until she accidentally grabbed hold of a glass bottle filled with a white liquid, that melted the giant man after it shattered on top of him. Noone watched on as a cloud of gas began to fill the room, sending her into darkness.

## Trivia

* One of the co-writers of the story, Mike Bambridge, confirmed that despite their desire and obsession with getting clean, they inevitably never would due to their sinful actions.
* The Bathers designs and introductions are very similar to that of The Guests; giant monstrous creatures that barely resembled a human. However, the Guests attended The Maw in order to satiate their endless hunger. In addition, they share the same theme, *March of the Guests*.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6xzLrANJLU&t=1172
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 So I Wrote an Episode of The Little Nightmares Podcast - 'The Sounds of Nightmares'

Noone • The Counsellor • The Candleman • The Workers • The Prisoners • The Tall Woman • The Child with Gooey Hair • Cici • **The Bathers** • Jester • The Merchants • The Shopping Mall • The Counsellor's Professor • The Performing Children (Rusty) • The Man in the Purple Suit • The Carnival People • The Dummy • Nomes • The Naughty Kids • The Balloon-Headed Man • The Puppet
Animals • Children • Unidentified Characters