Paranormal Entities of Echo

— Chase and a voice in his head, during TJ's route in Echo

This is a list of paranormal entities that appear in or are mentioned in Echo, The Smoke Room, and Arches.

## Entities mentioned in Echo

### Brian's Aliens

**Brian's Aliens** are beings that appear to be aliens that have haunted Brian since he came to Echo. According to Brian, he began seeing flying saucers shortly after moving to the town, which eventually progressed to the point of sighting actual aliens themselves. He identifies one of these aliens as his mother, whom he was told was "abducted by aliens" as a child to explain her leaving the family. These alleged aliens are said to have tortured Brian for years, particularly by harming his genitals. It is assumed that these "aliens" are some sort of physical hallucination conjured by Echo based upon Brian's trauma over his mother's departure.

During the events of Arches, Brian reiterates his encounters with these aliens.

### The Embrace

**The Embrace** is said to be a tulpa inadvertently manifested by Leo Alvarez in the form of Chase Hunter.

### The Ghost Van

A **large white van** appears in Chase's dreams several times, and manifests physically in Route 65 and during Jenna's route. Despite being completely inanimate, the van has an uncanny ability to reappear in front of those whose pasts are somehow connected to it, and its presence often results in those keeping secrets related to it to reckon with them. It sometimes displays representations of its past or future passengers and is associated with red light and spiders, as well as garbled radio transmissions. Micha describes the van as a hotspot for The Hum, a term for the supernatural happenings in Echo. Because of the van's importance to the story of Route 65, it features on that game's title screen, and the text box cursor takes the form of a van instead of an anchor like in Echo.

The van's first chronological appearance is in a dream Chase has during Jenna's route, showing the night of Samuel Ayers' death in the 1970s or '80s. Mr. Bronson hits and kills Sam with the van, causing a manifestation of Sam's spirit to possess him. In another of Chase's dreams, this one during Flynn's route, Mr. Bronson sees a white van while he is on a hunting trip many years later with Sydney. The van is physically dissimilar and may not literally be the same one that killed Sam, but it nonetheless exhibits the same unnatural flashes of red light, and Sydney sees faces through its back window. The sight of the van sends Mr. Bronson into desperation over the futility of escaping his guilt and he shoots himself in front of his son, causing Sam's possession to pass on to Sydney.

During the events of Route 65, Leo and Micha record themselves having sex in the back of the van that killed Sam, which they stumble upon near the titular highway. Late in Jenna's route, Chase, Leo, Micha, and Jenna are suddenly warped to the location of the van, which has its headlights on and its engine inexplicably running. Chase immediately recalls the van from his dream of Sam's death, while Micha and Leo recognize it from their tryst years earlier. The van is awash with red light and Leo opens the back to reveal Micha's high school camera on a tripod, still recording.

The van's radio is seemingly able to replay and stitch together recordings of dialogue, and can speak with Chase's voice much like The Embrace. Notably, when the van begins playing back Chase's voice in Jenna's route, Sam says it's "not the van" from inside Chase's head, indicating that the van itself may simply be a conduit for other entities like The Embrace or Sam himself to act through.

During Arches, Devon is trapped by Brian inside a seemingly disused white van in a forested area of Echo, but it is unclear whether this van is the same one.

### The Hum

**The Hum** is a term coined by Keith to describe the noise resembling an orchestra tuning that is often heard when supernatural events begin occurring. It is thought that The Hum might be indicative of Echo itself (or some sort of entity within it) becoming active or even "hungry" and targeting people within its radius for sustenance of some kind.

The Hum seems to cause hallucinations and at times even create physical entities based upon the regrets and fears of its victims, including manifestations such as The Embrace and possibly also the false Keith seen by Micha and Heather. According to Micha interpreting ideas from Keith, the only way to avoid The Hum's influence is to get away from the places where it is most intense, and ideally leave Echo entirely. Places that Micha identifies as 'hotspots' for the Hum include Echo's mine, Jasmynn Street, the railroad, Lake Emma, and the ghost van.

In The Smoke Room, Cordelia Hendricks associates the unusual occurrences in Echo with an odd humming sound, possibly making her chronologically one of the first residents of the town to describe the connection in those terms. Beckett also remarks that strange occurrences in Echo's mine are associated with a 'buzzing' sound that intensifies as the tunnels go deeper.

### "Heartface"

**"Heartface"** is a large white creature that somewhat resembles Socket Man, albeit with a heart-shaped head and red eyes. It appears on Leo's route, where it saves Chase in the mine by presumably killing Brian.

On Jenna's route, Chase notices a white, facelike "rock" watching him while he hikes, only to disappear when he turns his back to it. It is unknown whether this entity is "Heartface" itself, though the description of it is extremely similar.

### Hanging Fox

Throughout Echo, Chase has recurring visions of a **hanging fox**. This is especially prevalent on TJ's route: when the gang goes into the woods to find their first clue of the treasure hunt, Chase recalls a childhood incident that happened in the same area, during which he saw what seemed to be a fox who had hung himself from high up in a tree. This incident caused Chase to start seeing a psychologist and taking medication, as everyone he told presumed this was a hallucination resulting from trauma related to Sydney's recent death.

On Sunday of TJ's route, Chase returns to the motel by himself and sees a vision of another Meseta fox in his room, described as a "small old kit fox in a button up shirt and tie," who hangs himself in the closet while Chase is forced to watch. The apparition of the fox goes into convulsions before gradually fading away.

It is possible that the identity of the fox Chase saw in the forest as a child was John Begay, as he also recalls the incident shortly after he and the rest of his friends see a hallucination of John's hanging corpse during the events of Carl's route.

The fox in the motel seems to be a different individual, however, since John was quite young when he was hanged and died in a lynching instead of by suicide. Additionally, during Arches Cameron has an extremely similar vision in what is implied to be the same room, albeit with the old well-dressed Meseta man who dies in the closet now depicted as a wolf.

### James Hendricks I's Ghost

**James Hendricks I's ghost** is shown to haunt the Hendricks mansion alongside that of his victim and former lover, John Begay. During the events of Echo, James' spirit possesses Carl throughout the week and causes him to "sleep walk" on various occasions, leading to him ending up in the crawlspace on the day of his birthday party across most routes.

On Carl's route this possession is delved into in more detail, revealing that James is locked into a sort of "game" alongside John Begay regarding the secrets of their shared past. During this route, James' spirit fully takes over Carl's body, though depending on Chase's behavior Carl may choose to fight off his influence. It is implied that a greater influence or entity is responsible for trapping the ghosts in their "game," as well as defining the rules.

### John Begay's Ghost

**John Begay's ghost** is shown to haunt the Hendricks mansion alongside that of his former lover's, James Hendricks I. During the events of Carl's route, he possesses Jenna as part of a "game" regarding his shared past with James that the two spirits are forced to play by an unknown entity. On Carl's good ending, he is appeased by Chase's promise to reveal the truth of James' actions and leaves Jenna's body willingly.

John Begay's ghost also appears several times during Cliff's route in The Smoke Room, and is shown possessing his descendant Tsela Begay.

### "Mirror Man"

**"Mirror Man"** is an entity that appears on TJ's route. On Monday, Chase enters the bathroom at the diner and sees his reflection become distorted, with his mouth seeming to stretch wider than it should as his eyes become bigger. As Chase's behavior becomes more unnatural throughout the week, he eventually drives away the rest of his friends.

Upon returning from the woods after attempting to kiss TJ and physically assaulting and threatening Flynn, Chase feels a presence urging him to come into the bathroom and shut the door. Upon doing so, he sees what appears to be a distorted reflection of an otter in the darkened mirror, though noticeably smaller and with a mouth stretching across its entire jaw. This "reflection" speaks to Chase and tells him that others are close to finding out what Chase has done, and urges him "to do the same" to Flynn before he is caught. It then offers to help him, explaining that Echo needs secrets before disappearing as soon as Chase turns on the light. After Chase drowns Flynn in Lake Emma at the mirror entity's behest, he sees a 'horrible, gashed mouth' in his reflection in the water.

When speaking to this entity, Chase notes that it sounds raspy, like "something old, monolithic, and ancient." The "Mirror Man" is also characterized by having its own unique font distinct from any other character, speaking in all caps with no punctuation. Though it has no true appearance of its own, the "Mirror Man" is said to move impossibly fast, unlike anything worldly. Despite its warning to Chase, this entity seems to take some sort of pleasure in his worries and taunts him before its offer to "help" him for the sake of giving Echo more secrets. Given this, it is likely that this entity is responsible for Chase's uncharacteristic behavior throughout the week. Furthermore, it may well be a form of the entity that haunts Echo itself.

It is possible that the **Dark Room Entity** Samuel hears in The Smoke Room may be the "Mirror Man," since they speak similarly and both goad those who hear them to kill, but this is unconfirmed.

### Robert Smith's Creature

**Robert Smith's Creature** is a monster said to have haunted a man named Robert Smith who died back in the 50's. After failing to hop a train, Robert Smith's legs were bisected by its wheels. Rather than bleeding out however, he was found hours later with mud packed into the stumps of his legs to staunch the bleeding, claiming that a creature arrived and "saved" him while whispering things into his ear all the while. When asked to describe the creature, he could only wail. He later committed suicide in the hospital.

In Leo's bad ending, after suffering a fate similar to Robert Smith's, Chase notes a creature of some sort watching him from the corner of Leo's room and smiling, possibly the same entity.

### Samuel Ayers' Ghost

**Sam's ghost** is an entity that is based upon the deceased Samuel Ayers. According to 'Sam' himself, he is not a ghost so much as he is a "simulation" of the actual Sam, though he still identifies as Sam. Sam's ghost is a body-jumping presence that causes his host's personality and actions to become repressed, leading to Sam stepping in to make decisions for them at times.

Sam's ghost first possessed Mr. Bronson after he killed Sam in a hit and run. After Mr. Bronson's death, Sam's ghost moved to Sydney, before jumping to Chase when Sydney drowned. Throughout his route, Flynn seems to have an unusually keen awareness of Sam's presence and reacts whenever Sam influences Chase's decisions. Near the end of the route, Sam leaves Chase and possesses Flynn.

Sam's ghost notably has his own unique font to designate when he speaks. Scenes from his point of view are written in the second-person.

### Socket Man

**Socket Man** is a creature resembling a tall, eyeless burned corpse, named for the way the holes in its face resemble an electrical outlet. It is a mangled version of Flynn Moore that was created when a possessed Flynn wandered into a fire in Danicka Mine during the Hysteria and was burned beyond recognition. It has the ability to travel between various timelines and time periods alike, seemingly being drawn toward moments and locations where negative emotions within Echo are at their strongest. The Socket Man is said to move as though it is a series of stop-motion pictures, and anything it comes in physical contact with seems to be eviscerated.

Socket Man also appears in Arches, and is mentioned in The Smoke Room.

### Static Creature

The **static creature** is mentioned by Janice on TJ's route. According to Janice, her grandfather told her that a creature that makes sounds resembling static and imitates voices as though channeled through a radio haunts the woods near Echo. Slightly later, Chase is stalked by a presence that seems to be this very creature, though he escapes.

The Static Creature makes a physical appearance during Arches.

### Voice on Baby Monitor

While driving to the dam on Jenna's route, Chase hears a **voice on the baby monitor** that he took from Heather's house. Chase appears to be the only one able to hear this voice, which reassures him that what he has done was "an act of love" and does not make him a bad person.

It is thought that this voice may be Jenna's grandmother, who was known to speak to truckers over the radio and give them reassurance on their travels. This presence is notable for its unique font when speaking, as well as the fact that it seems to be somewhat of a benevolent entity.

### Other Ghosts and Hallucinations

During the events of Echo, other less prominent apparitions are seen by certain characters, though it is largely unknown whether these are hallucinations by their respective viewers or actual entities being manifested, or whether this is even a meaningful distinction in Echo.

During the town meeting on Flynn's route, many characters claim to see the bodies lost loved ones in the place of Salem's corpse. For instance, Heather recoils as if she sees a dead Keith, whereas Kudzu's reaction implies he saw his boyfriend's body.

On Carl's route, Chase occasionally encounters the ghosts of James Hendricks I's victims within the basement of the Hendrick's mansion. All of these spirits appear to be young kit foxes under the age of fifteen, likely the missing children from the Meseta tribe. These ghosts tend to appear in the crawlspace or pawing at the windows of the basement, though they take a more active role on Carl's bad ending by physically pulling the ghost of James out of Carl in order to save Chase after the mansion catches on fire.

On Leo's route, Duke appears to see something on the ceiling at the diner that causes him to become terrified and claim that 'they can't be real' as they are dead. Presumably this refers to a vision of Duke's late wife, Rachel, who died at Brian's hands.

## Entities mentioned in The Smoke Room

### 88883

**88883** (as it is referred to in the game's files) is a creature that haunts the mine, as seen on Nik and Murdoch's routes. To Sam, it appears to be a large spider whose abdomen is made up of burned faces of various species and a head that resembles the skull of a mountain lion, with fourteen red eyes in its various sockets. There is also a patch of shaggy white fur separating the head and abdomen. The "legs" of the spider are made up of bone fragments and the arms of various characters, including Nik, Yao, Murdoch, Cliff, and Cynthia. The mouths making up the creature are capable of singing, screaming, and speaking in an eerie concordance that sounds like bubbling water.

88883 crawls through the mine and can be heard stalking Sam on various occasions, possibly as far back as the game's introductory sequence. When Sam and Yao go to look for Sam's missing coins, they are chased by what seems to be the creature just out of sight. Later on, Sam, Nik, and Yao talk with a "girl" who claims she is dead and being consumed by the creature, before being pursued by the thing itself on their way out of the mine. If Sam does not remember the directions on how to exit the mine during this segment, he and Nik will find themselves face to face with the creature. Notably, what Nik and Sam each see chasing them differs greatly, indicating that the creature's appearance may change for each person and possibly obscuring its 'true' form.

Later, 88883 returns just after Nate is killed in the same cavern. It comes to investigate his corpse, while seemingly ignoring the living people still nearby, and the mouths on its abdomen are described as opening and closing and 'tasting the air' around the body. Along with the little girl's claim of being consumed, this possibly indicates that 88883 derives some kind of ethereal sustenance from the recently deceased. While it feeds its eyes focus on Sam and he feels transfixed by it, as if he is seeing some kind of 'divinity,' and he realizes that it motivated solely by hunger and impulse, not any kind of thought.

A photograph of what appears to be the creature's eyes gleaming from the entrance of the mine also appears on Murdoch's route, though only Sam sees this image. In the mines, Melissa later overhears a conversation between a mysterious man and a "spirit" that seems to have some control over 88883, then encounters the spider itself while attempting to escape. She hides until Blithe, who presents herself as experienced in paranormal matters, finds her and claims that 88883 cannot directly harm them because it is not physical in nature.

### Dark Room Entity

The **Dark Room Entity** or **Flashes - blip** as it is referred in the files, is a presence that appears on Murdoch's route. It first manifests while Sam looks at at a series of portraits hung up in Red's General Store, greeting Sam and causing the photographs to take on altered form.

Later on, as Murdoch explains how photos he takes are sometimes wrong or altered, the presence speaks to Sam once again. It tells him that it knows him inside and out and claims that Echo itself is "its" land, where it is God. The entity then attempts to convince Sam to kill Murdoch before he can catch on to his crime, only stopping once Murdoch destroys the altered photo he had been showing Sam.

The presence next speaks to Sam later that night when he, Murdoch, and Ralph visit the lakeside cave beside Lake Emma, near where Seamus drowned. It once again tries to convince Sam that Murdoch's knowledge is dangerous and urges Sam to violence against him. When Sam tells Murdoch about it, the voice scolds Sam for revealing its existence and declares that it is 'coming.' Shortly afterward, Sam and Murdoch witness a body being dumped in the lake by an unknown individual.

This entity is notable for its unique font when speaking, though its words seem to be heard by Sam alone. It is possible that this presence is the same as Echo's **Mirror Man,** which shares similar mannerisms and also tries to compel the one hearing it to kill, though this is not confirmed.

### The Flayed Bull

**The Flayed Bull** is a skeletal bull that appears on Will's route. It takes the form of a bull's skull with long horns and glowing yellow eyes in its sockets, atop a bloodied, skinless body with visible muscles.

It first appears in a mirror behind Will, when Sam confesses his crime and Will declares that many others have spilled blood in Echo before him. The bull's next appearance is when Cynthia and her friends play an occult parlor trick called the 'Levitation Game,' during which it comes out of the ceiling and descends toward Sam. This causes Sam to fall unconscious, at which point it disappears. The bull can also be seen within the image that marks the beginning of Will's Chapter 3, standing in the back of the mine.

### Forest Beast

The **Forest Beast** is a creature that appears on Cliff's route. Though it is seen by many, none can agree on what it looks like. The beast's appearance may be based upon the fears of those who witness it: Cliff sees a rat, Murdoch an animalistic fox, Yiska a giant snake, Tsela a heavily burned rotting man, and Sam a creature with red eyes, grayish white fur, and enormous claws. The creature can also talk and mimic specific people depending on who witnesses it, as Jeb sees and hears his deceased partner bemoaning him for abandoning him and Avery witnesses his long-missing sister.

After Sam accepts Cliff's booking and the two spend the night together, the creature appears in Sam's bedroom, seemingly as part of a nightmare. Sam sees its red eyes and gray fur and smells something revolting, then awakens as it approaches him.

Later on, it can be seen lurking in the forest behind the expedition party as they sit and rest by their bonfire, just before it attacks their camp. The monster injures Sam and beheads Jeb's donkey Doris. It also attacks Avery's party off-screen, dragging off Shilah.

During the first night the group spends at the Meseta settlement, the creature seems to reappear once again. Sam and Tsela hear an animal in distress and upon investigating discover a mangled mule's corpse. Something then grabs Sam by the leg and begins dragging him through the woods, only to suddenly release him. Sam can tell it wants him to go back to the settlement, and feels its breath and tongue caressing him as he tries to crawl away. Tsela fires his rifle at the creature, which seems to dispel it.

Later at Tsela's cabin, a presence that seems to be capable of mimicking others just like the Forest Beast knocks at the door and speaks in a poor facsimile of Yiska's voice, then departs after Sam and Tsela refuse to let it inside.

Upon developing the photographs taken during their journey, Murdoch discovers that one now depicts a beast with a ‘wrong, contorted face' looming just behind Cliff, which must have been somehow invisible when the picture was being taken. When Sam looks at the photo, he can almost smell the corpses of Jeb's donkeys.

Additionally, at one point early in the expedition, Jeb's donkeys are suddenly spooked by something and he remarks that their behavior could indicate a predator nearby, even though nothing turns up. Given the forest beast's seemingly predatory nature and the eventual fate of the donkeys, this encounter could be an early indication of its presence, but this is unconfirmed.

### Nightmare

**Nightmare** (as referred to in its sprites) is a shadowy humanoid figure with glowing red eyes. It appears on Cliff's route, manifesting behind William as he argues with Cliff. None of the characters present seem to acknowledge its presence.

### Slide Rock Bolter

The **Slide Rock Bolter**, referred to as a **slug** when discussed by Red, is a massive slug-like creature said to prey upon unwary travelers by sliding down mountains and gobbling up anything in its path. One of Murdoch's photographs occasionally shows the creature when paranormal events begin occurring and affecting the minds of Echo's citizens. Murdoch and Ralph often use this photo to gauge when their perceptions are under supernatural strain, a trick they later teach to Sam.

Its appearance is based off a real-world cryptid of the same name, said to inhabit the mountains of Colorado.

### Train Creature

The **train creature** is an entity mentioned by Murdoch on his route. According to Murdoch, there is a local story that states that if a person hops onto the boxcar of a train called the Starlight 65 at midnight, and then yells their greatest regret as the train's horn bellows, they will encounter this creature. According to the story, the creature is incredibly tall and initially resembles a cactus before it walks toward the train and either forgives its summoner their regret or causes them to vanish in some way, possibly by consuming them.

## Entities mentioned in Arches

### Ghosts of Echo

Throughout Arches, Cameron experiences visions of various individuals who have died throughout Echo's history. These visions place him in the point of view of people who are going through suffering of some kind, some of which end in death.

Cam's first paranormal experience places him in the position of a wolf from the Meseta tribal council, who hangs himself in one of the rooms of Echo's motel.

Immediately after this experience, Cam sees a vision of Dev hanging in the same way and hears an entity imitating Dev's voice explain what death is like, followed by a distorted scream that the voice claims is Lupita.

Later on, Cam enters the perspective of a teenage bobcat who is killed by her drunken and vengeful ex-boyfriend by being pushed into Lake Emma from the roadside above.

While walking on a road a little ways out of town, Cam hears whispering voices coming up from the ground each time his steps disturb the gravel beneath him. The voices sound like a mixture of many speakers, and seem to simply be relaying pieces of past conversations rather than trying to communicate with him.

### Raincoat Monster

The **Raincoat Monster** is a creature that has haunted Cameron throughout his entire life, even prior to his arrival in Echo. It is a tall creature with matted black fur, yellow eyes with slits for pupils, and a permanent fanged grin across its flat, muzzle-less face. It wears a yellow raincoat that covers the lower half of its face and the majority of its arms, with only its long claws sticking out. The Raincoat Man doesn't seem to move while being watched, though upon glancing away it can reappear in new positions. Cam appears to be the only one able to see it.

Cam first saw the monster on his eighth birthday. Upon returning home from school, the creature was there in his trailer, unmoving. Though Cam initially assumed this to be a delusion, the Raincoat Monster continued to appear to him across many occasions, to the point that he grew accustomed to it and began thinking of it as cardboard.

In the short story "Halloween," the Raincoat Man watches Cam and Dev getting intimate in their car on Halloween 2019. Cam largely ignores the creature, having grown used to its presence. After Cam agrees to accompany Dev to Echo in a few months the monster moves for the first time, however, startling him briefly.

During Arches, Cam occasionally mentions the Raincoat Monster as an example of his past "hallucinations." The creature itself first appears shortly after Cam starts coming down from his high and is left alone by the abandoned motel. He sees the creature standing in the window of one of the rooms and enters it to investigate. While inside, the normally static monster begins moving around before cartwheeling into the bathroom. Cam follows it inside and feels a sensation similar to its claws running down his back before Dev intercedes and the creature vanishes.

After Brian's death, Cameron once again sees the Raincoat Monster while exiting the mines with Devon. He notes that it has returned to the nonmobile, "cardboard" appearance that he is familiar with and theorizes that the influences at play throughout Echo that caused its earlier behavior died with Brian.

### Static Creature

The **Static Creature** first mentioned by Janice in Echo makes its first physical appearance in Arches. Shortly after their car crash, Cam and Dev wander into the nearby woods. Cam then has a vision of a man talking about the creature's existence, describing it as a presence that haunts the woods and imitates static-filled voices.

Later on, Cam and Dev are forced to return to the woods in pursuit of Arturo. Before the three can leave however, Arturo and Dev notice a black shadow with static-filled red eyes hanging in a nearby tree, at which point it drops onto Cam and seemingly sinks into him.

As Brian chokes him, Cam sees the creature reappear, and realizes its apparent purpose is to observe and record all the violent and terrible things that happen in the woods.

### UFO

The **UFO** is a flying saucer seen by Cam in a vision from the point of view of Brian, in the moments after he committed his first murder. Brian is standing by the roadside and sees a black flying saucer with red lights across its bottom, one of several he recalls seeing while in Echo.

Notably, the lights on the saucer are arranged in an identical pattern to the eyes of **88883** from The Smoke Room.

### Alternate Cameron

Near the end of Arches, the Cameron that the story has been following seemingly begins glimpsing an alternate timeline while dreaming. In this reality, Cam was killed in Echo by Brian but some version of him nonetheless persists in Devon's mind. The personality of this **alternate Cameron** seems largely intact and it behaves affectionately towards Devon, but the dreaming Cam feels instantly suspicious of it; he describes it as lacking a soul and considers it to be some kind of vestige of Echo. This alternate Cam may be antagonistic towards the other Cam, as it alerts Dev that they are being observed and seems to then quickly send the dreaming Cam away somehow. Notably, this version of Cam uses the same font as another malicious entity that appears in Echo, possibly hinting that its motivations are sinister in some way.

## Possible Explanations

Echo's paranormal activity is largely unexplained within the games themselves, leaving much about the various entities up to the player's interpretation. Possible theories about the origins of Echo's strange properties brought up within Echo, Arches, and The Smoke Room include:

* Some form of extraterrestrial presence. Brian's hallucinations heavily feature aliens and are shown in both Echo and Arches, and 88883 is distinctly associated with stars. Sydney's mirage in Flynn's route also claims "they came through the stars," though this could be a cheeky allusion to how many of Echo's players were first fans of Adastra.
* The land being cursed, stained, or similarly haunted by spirits of some kind. Jenna, Yao, and Murdoch in particular all bring up beings or concepts similar to Echo's apparitions from their respective cultural backgrounds in attempts to explain what they encounter. In particular, Sam's "ghost" claiming to be a copy is rather in line with the Navajo belief in chindis.
* In TJ's route, Janice describes a theory that Echo's numerous quartz deposits have the ability to store and reflect negative energy, causing "echoes" of sorts to arise based upon the residents' fears and dark impulses.

Regardless of these theories, there is no concrete, comprehensive explanation for the entities seen and mentioned within Echo as of yet, and due to their highly fluid and allegorical nature it is unlikely that their origins will ever be spelled out precisely. It is consistently shown, however, that whatever afflicts Echo is ancient and deeply reflective of the fears, impulses, secrets, and insecurities of those within the town's radius, as well as tied to the land itself in general and to the mines in particular, which are routinely described as a source or seed of evil.

## Trivia

* Several aspects of Echo's supernatural circumstances can be incidentally likened to the Eternal from the visual novel Blackgate, most notably the link to a mine deep below the town. Echo was originally created as a side project to Blackgate and as a result the Echo entity, if such a thing exists, may have originally held some trace connection to the Eternal. During Flynn's route, something is described as coming to Echo from "beyond the gate," likely a nod to Blackgate itself.
* While mostly restricted to the Echo region itself, some entities can manifest outside of it. Examples include Sam's "ghost" (possessing Chase wherever he goes), the fake Cameron (same for Devon) and the Forest Beast (haunting the Meseta reservation).
* A similar entity is described in issue #3 of Glory Hounds, dwelling in the catacombs beneath Schippersburg. However, it is benevolent, feeding on hope instead and even brining Alex back to life