Staring
Staring is an appearance anomaly that can sometimes only be confirmed through security cameras. Ratthew can stare in a similar way but is not an anomaly.
Quick Answer
Sustained direct eye contact, head rotation that follows the player, and a gaze that does not break normally.
Move around the window and compare the patient's head movement. Reject if the stare follows you; do not reject Ratthew for this behavior alone.
What Staring actually is
Staring is a visual-layer anomaly defined by gaze behaviour. The patient maintains sustained direct eye contact, and its head rotates to follow the player as they move, rather than breaking gaze the way a normal waiting patient does. Nothing about the model is wrong; the anomaly is entirely in what the patient is paying attention to.
When it shows up
It presents on ordinary arrivals. The tell requires the player to move, which means a stationary player standing directly in front of the patient can observe it for a long time without noticing anything wrong.
Which layer catches it
The window view while moving. The check is comparative as much as absolute: a patient whose head tracks you while its neighbours ignore you is the pattern, and the contrast with the rest of the room is often faster to read than the patient itself.
How Staring reads in each layer
| Detection layer | What you see |
|---|---|
| Window | The primary layer. Move laterally and watch the head. Normal patients do not track you, and this entry does. |
| Clipboard photo | Uninformative. Gaze cannot be captured in a still photo, so a normal photo proves nothing here. |
| CCTV | Useful when the patient is in a corridor or a shared room, because the fixed camera angle makes the head rotation obvious without you having to move. |
| Document | No documented interaction. This entry is decided by observation, not paperwork. |
Step-by-step: a real Staring encounter
- A patient is waiting and its model, colour, and species all match the baseline.
- You step to the side rather than standing still.
- The head rotates to keep you in view, and it holds the gaze rather than breaking it.
- You glance at the neighbouring patient, which is ignoring you entirely, which confirms the difference.
- You reject the staring patient, while taking care not to reject Ratthew on the same behaviour alone.
False positives
Normal things players reject by mistake while hunting this entry.
- Rejecting Ratthew for this behaviour. The anomaly record explicitly warns not to reject Ratthew for staring behaviour alone.
- Rejecting a patient for looking in your direction, which is different from sustained tracking.
- Rejecting a patient in a small room where only one angle exists and every patient appears to face you.
- Confusing it with Staring at Cameras, which is a CCTV-layer entry where the patient tracks the camera rather than the player.
Often confused with
Entries that share a tell with this one, and how to separate them.
- Frequently confused with Staring at Cameras. The separation is the target: this entry tracks the player, while that entry keeps the camera in view.
- Specifically interacts with Ratthew, who should not be rejected on staring behaviour alone, making character recognition part of the correct response.
- Shares its observational method with Twitching, since both require watching the patient over time rather than inspecting a still frame.
What a wrong call costs
The cost runs in both directions. Rejecting a normal patient costs you a valid arrival, and on this entry the false positive is a documented trap involving Ratthew. Missing the anomaly is the more common failure in a busy shift, because the player is usually moving quickly between rooms and never gives the patient a fixed reference to track against.
Recorded appearance and response
Appearance: The patient stares directly at the player and rotates its head up to 60 degrees on either side at the check-in window.
Tell signs: Sustained direct eye contact, head rotation that follows the player, and a gaze that does not break normally.
How to handle: Move around the window and compare the patient's head movement. Reject if the stare follows you; do not reject Ratthew for this behavior alone.
Last re-checked against the live game on September 16, 2026. Last verified 35 days ago — re-check pending.
Staring FAQ
How do I test for Staring?
Move. The tell is head rotation that follows you and a gaze that does not break normally. Standing still in front of the patient will not reveal it.
Should I reject Ratthew for staring?
No. The anomaly record explicitly states that Ratthew should not be rejected for this behaviour alone. Recognising the character is part of applying this entry correctly.
What is the difference between Staring and Staring at Cameras?
The target of the gaze. Staring follows the player and is visible at the window, while Staring at Cameras is a CCTV-layer entry where the patient keeps the camera in view instead.
Is Staring visible on the camera feed?
Yes, and a fixed camera angle often makes the head rotation clearer than watching from a doorway where you are also moving. The distinction from Camera-layer entries is that this one is present in both views.
Related Guides
Other Appearance Check anomalies
Crooked Face · S
Crooked smile, sharp teeth, large mismatched eyes, or eyes positioned unusually high on the face.
Three Eyes · A
Three glowing red eyes, extra eye placement, or an eye count that does not match the patient's normal model.
Hollow Face · A
Dark hollow eyes, sunken facial features, twitching, and a hunched posture.
Smiling with Creepy Eyes · B
Large black-pupil eyes, heavy under-eye bags, and a fixed oversized smile that does not match the normal patient.
Twitching · C
Erratic jerking movements, unnatural head/limb twitches, movement pattern different from all normal patients.
Tiny Anomaly · C
Unusually tiny body size, high-pitched voice, short-tailed pink bunny model, or multiple glowing red eyes.
X-rayed Face · B
Small wide circular eyes, black pupils, realistic teeth, or an X-rayed-looking face that appears only in one expression.