Lost in Nightmares Analysis

by BSAArklay

This is an article I have worked on over the years that has evolved from originally a theory article regarding the security team, to mansion observations and finally texture references have been included. Please enjoy.

Environmental Observations

Main Hall

Bodies and Blood

First of all let’s take a look at the blood splatters in the main hall and the body count.

Once you enter the mansion you will notice this particularly large blood stain. This texture is reused many times throughout, Resident Evil, 6 and both Revelations as well as potentially other games but since I saw it here first I am going to apply logic to this specific texture and imagine how things played out in this instance. It seems to have what I can only imagine to be claw marks or someone dragging their feet through the blood as there are stripes and streaks throughout this mess. Either Wesker killed more than one person here which doesn’t make sense due to the other puddles of blood or he did significant damage to whoever lay here (we will revisit this blood stain later). The biggest question here though is with these blood stains primarily downstairs how did all of the security team’s bodies end up upstairs?

Exact same blood pattern is later used in the spiked trap room on both the floor and ceiling.

Tiled floor of the main hall.

There is a sufficient amount of blood here however not enough for someone to bleed out. It’s quite plausible that the victim did not meet his demise here, or if he did then he was quickly moved.

This however would be a sufficient enough amount of blood for someone to bleed out (notice the puddle of blood on the floor beneath the candle). It is quite easy to guess what exactly happened here. Wesker punched a security member into the candle holder who smashed his head against it and died upon impact. There is not a body here which means they were moved from the scene of their demise.

Another puddle of blood which is another location someone may have bled out. Quite possibly Wesker punched a hole in one of the team similar to how he killed Spencer. Upon reflection the streaks in the blood make sense now. They are drag marks where the bodies were in the process of being moved. How the blood trail does not continue is a flaw however. Maybe it is just an error on Capcom’s behalf because these blood stain drag marks should lead to the stairs but you could simply just put this inaccuracy down to resources and also Capcom didn’t want to plaster the entire floor of the main hall with blood marks coming from the several stains and all the way up the stairs. Or you could just simply imagine Wesker dragged them to their feet and then hoisted the dead men onto his shoulder and carried them upstairs.

Remember the dead security guy who falls onto the stairs as you are ascending them? Well he is nowhere to be seen here. Another error on Capcom’s behalf? Or was one of these guys on the brink of death and stumbled to the banister trying to make it to his feet and toppled over and onto the stairs.

His pose certainly suggests he was reaching for something. Yes Wesker did in fact punch a hole in all of these guys and in exactly the same area upon their body. All the character models also look identical. I don’t know if it is just shadows or they are made this way on purpose to hide their features but some have very dark skin almost like they are burnt. Others are a very pale white.

Another man murdered here. I did consider that this was drag marks from Wesker moving the bodies however this is one of the 5 blood stains and removing this as the scene of a death only leaves a small blood stain which I will get to later.

A close up look at the weird shade on one of the security members faces. This is also the first of the five bodies we are about to look at. This one is alone while the rest are up the small set of stairs behind Chris.

Notice here how there is barely any blood aside from on the wall. That guy could have been thrown or propped there and slid down the wall creating the blood streak. I think the team bled out for quite some time before being moved here. Perhaps Wesker entered the mansion and cleared out these guys. Searched the remaining area namely Spencer’s bedroom and then returned and began the process of moving the bodies. The fourth body is in the top left you can see his legs.

So here is the small blood stain I was referring to. Again a decent amount but not enough to suggest someone was murdered here. I checked the floor below and although it is a shady area of the map I could not see any signs to suggest a puddle of blood similar to the one under the candle holder downstairs. The reason I state this is because it is exactly the same blood splatter but without the puddle below it. How did this get here? It is completely isolated from the rest of the blood stains. It almost seems like someone was shot and the blood splattered on the wall behind them. Or perhaps this is the original location where the victim of the large blood splatter downstairs began his fight. It is possible that Wesker shot the man here and threw him off the balcony and he landed in the middle of the main hall creating the large blood splatter. It is also possible that it is blood from the man who falls onto the stairs when the player first ascends them. Perhaps he was shot here and then crawled to the banister where he later fell from.

Damage to environments

This carpet has been moved from its original area obviously suggesting that there may have been a struggle here. However with no signs of blood I think that perhaps Wesker started a dash here and the carpet moved under his feet. It’s quite possible that after starting his dash here he sprinted to the top of the stairs and impaled a security team member, hence the large blood stain left atop the stairs.

Collapsed landing and the remaining debris.

So this area has taken the largest amount of damage in the mansion’s main rooms. There is no blood in this area or bodies. Originally I believed that it was possible that Wesker pounced to the balcony area and due to the force the landing gave way beneath him. Had this been recent you would assume the wooden planks would lay not only in front of the double doors below, there is debris below but it has been moved aside to access the doors. It is possible that Wesker moved these planks aside to enter the double doors. However as we know these doors are locked and require Jill entering the door to the left in the screenshot. It is quite possible that the area just collapsed and Spencer saw no need to repair the mansion with this being the least of his worries.

On either side of the main stairs there are large stands which appear to be nothing more than decorations. Opposite boards are knocked over on either side of the stairs. No blood to be found in the area around them but it is possible that a security member was thrown into the boards by Wesker.

Other

So notice the size of this door and color. Now refer to the image below and notice the size and color. I always assumed that these two doors are one of the same. However as you can see this is impossible due to the differences.

Originally I had assumed that these brown double doors were the other side of the blue double doors in the Main Hall with the busted lock. It was only when comparing the two that I realized they not only are a different style and color but the brown doors are also quite slim whereas the blue ones are much wider.

However when re-watching the Shadows of the Past cut scene I noticed this second floor balcony in the library. Potentially the blue double doors could be the one on the far right, however could be a window but I feel like this is definitely the area where those blue double doors lead to. Also this area allows for alternative doors/rooms that we never got to visit, only questions is how do you get down from the second floor into the library.

Books from Spencer's library collection

Overall Theory of the Main Hall
It is quite clear that this area is where the majority of the fight took place. The security team had been guarding the area when an attack on the mansion took place. Five guards were situated in the Main Hall and there are six blood splatters to be found (seven if you include a very small one) however I feel that I have explained how the extra two splatters were caused.

Why were the bodies moved? My theory suggests that Wesker would have moved the bodies. So my first explanation would be that he wanted to maintain his advantage of the element of surprise. Seeing as the Security Team shows no evidence that they were armed it is plausible that Wesker used melee combat only and no gunshots were heard throughout the mansion. Wesker would not under estimate Spencer and probably expected the worst case scenarios, wanting to keep the advantage of stealth and not alerting Spencer of his presence.
Another theory would be that Wesker felt it was only a matter of time before the leak of Spencer’s whereabouts reached the likes of the BSAA, DSO or any rival companies and anticipated that he would not be the only one present that night. By hiding the bodies from plain sight it would at least buy him some extra time. The only problem with all this is sure the bodies are out of view from the main hall entrance however the mass amount of blood stains are not. Therefore moving the bodies and not clearing the blood stains is all a bit of a pointless idea.
Wesker arrived at the Spencer Estate before Chris and Jill giving him the head start. The conversation between Wesker and Spencer lasted only a few minutes. However Chris and Jill would have taken at least 30 minutes to navigate the estate and that is being very generous. What Wesker was doing in this time frame remains a puzzle in itself.

Here is why it was not the Guardians who killed the Security Team. It was suggested to me that perhaps the Guardians killed the Security Team and I have to admit due to the blood and drag marks the evidence supported this theory. I decided to re-examine the evidence and when it come to the Security Teams bodies the answer was obvious. If I can refer you to the image below and notice the damage taken to the Security Team.

As I stated earlier in my observations all Security Team members have the exact same hole in their chest which is the trademark execution that Wesker used upon Spencer and also tried this tactic on Sheva and Chris during the events of RE5. Punching a hole in their heart, the Security Team suffered an identical death to that of Spencer. Hence writing out the Guardians as the culprits indefinitely.

Alternative Security Team Theory
For the longest time I just simply assumed that this security team was Spencer’s private security. However it puzzled me as to why they were even there. Spencer left his butler go, he dismissed the only guy he trusted and relied upon. He summoned/leaked his whereabouts in order for Wesker to find him and yet he surrounds himself with security? Just did not sit right with me. So what if this Security team did not belong to Spencer and in fact were a part of the Rival Org and there to assist Wesker. When arriving at the mansion Wesker suddenly betrayed and killed them all knowing that anything he found whether it be research results or simply just information from Spencer. Wesker wanted keep this to himself and/or use this to his advantage and gift it to Tricell in order for them to gain his trust. Much like he did for the Rival Org when betraying Umbrella. Sometime after Umbrella’s End in 2003 Wesker began his communications with Tricell, at this time he was still with the Rival Org when Resident Evil 4 took place in 2004. Two years later in 2006 Lost in Nightmares happens and by the end of this year Wesker is officially with Tricell and the Rival Org have vanished. Another element to this theory is that the security unit is wearing the exact same outfit as Wesker wore in RE4 even down to the gloves. Could this outfit be a part of the Rival Org’s uniform for missions such as this? As far as the Rival Org knew they could have informed Wesker to simply go there and extract Spencer or bring him to them for questioning. But Wesker had other plans in mind. (Wesker uniform reference is credited to Welsh)

Mansion 1st floor East Wing

Moving away from the Main Hall let us look at the remaining bodies found throughout the mansion. I am just curious as to who Spencer may have killed in here. The blood appears to be very recent. Any theories that Wesker was here should be deemed impossible due to the fact that the doors are locked. If that is not enough proof let us assume Wesker was here. In this case we have to assume he would have found the files that Chris and Jill find and became aware of the truth surrounding himself and also the knowledge of Alex Wesker whom he was unaware of. My guess here is a Security Team member who failed an objective he was given or perhaps Spencer was not willing to let Patrick leave after all and had the butler executed here.

This appears to have been an area used to torture and punish any victims Spencer felt had betrayed/failed him. Blood on the wall between the shackles suggest the victim was punched with their head smacking against the wall behind. The blood stains on the right could suggest claw marks where someone tried to dig at the wall in a desperate attempt to escape while the ceiling is collapsing.

Empty photo frames are kept on the shelves as well as a bird cage. I compared it to the one in Remake however the changes are different. These bird cages appear to be a similar item in Spencer’s mansions. Perhaps Spencer is a bird lover?

Animal changes are also kept in storage. They seem to be large enough to hold a medium sized dog. No creature of this size can be found however.

Pet food to go along with the cages.

One of the animals potentially escaped chewing through metal bars you would have to assume the animal would have to have been infected to cause such damage to a metal cage.

1st Floor West Wing

If the player returns to the Dining Room right after the emblem has been retrieved and used on the door to the East wing hallway, piano music can be heard coming up from the piano room. However, if the player goes up to investigate, the room will still remain empty.

A smashed clock to go along with the rest of the destruction in this room.

Smashed Clock Texture

2nd Floor East Wing

Next I looked at Spencer’s bedroom. As you can see this cabinet has been smashed to pieces. I see no lock on this cabinet so the only other reason to smash into it would be if in an immediate hurry. The medication is laid out all over the bed and night stand so my first guess would be that it was there and Spencer needed them in a hurry. Or perhaps in a fit of rage from being betrayed by Alex he threw something at it shattering the glass. The last option would be a fight broke out here and someone was thrown into it however there are no combat damage signs in this room.

As you can see the bed is in disarray with a syringe and some sort of medicine scattered across it.

The bed sheets are untidy.

My conclusion for this room is that Spencer had some sort of medical issue and perhaps had a fit or was gasping for air, perhaps Patrick or one of the Security team rushed into the room and grabbed the medication from the cabinet is such a hurry smashing the glass when opening or shutting it. Or extending that theory perhaps Spencer was asleep in bed which explains why he is wearing a robe. One of the Security team or more likely a duo came into the room knowing of Wesker or an intruder at the mansion. They hurried Spencer out of bed grabbed and some medication from the cabinet to take with them. Then they carried him across the upper main hall and into the double doors smashing the lock behind them assisting Spencer into the Library area. Perhaps these Security members are the ones found dead just outside of Spencer’s library area.

2nd Floor West Wing

A balcony has been broken here with the carpet hanging off, I finally have an explanation for what happened here but also what was happening to Jill in the trailer.

As you can see above Chris is on the upper balcony holding Jill. Beneath Jill is the dining room table with the wooden beams, plates and place mats (Compare the tables in the pictures above and below).

Plate and Tray from Dining Room table.

So at one stage during the DLC Chris and Jill entered the upper balcony together. Meaning the collapsed landing outside this room in the main hall was probably not always collapsed. When navigating the upper balcony in the dining hall something happened to Jill and she fell off the balcony with the debris landing on the table below, Jill fell into the lower Dining Room but Chris managed to catch her just in time. I believe that Chris may have let go of Jill purposely lowering her down and breaking what could have been a nasty fall. The reason he would let go of her is so she could search the dining room area which they may not have had access to, this would cause them to split up much like in the released version and a way for Jill to open the dining room doors from the inside. All of this also explains a sentence from a file found in the lower Dining Room. “It was on the second floor of the dining hall, behind the stone statues lining the room.”

Sort of a homage to Remake don’t you think? Stone statue falling off a balcony onto a dining room table. How Jill managed to fall down after the statue is unknown. I would have actually preferred this because it is a nice homage but also more realistic than Chris throwing Jill across the broken landing.

The only object I could imagine to be inside this frame would be some sort of painting. Why it would need to be smashed to collect is a mystery. Perhaps this was part of a scrapped puzzle or simply a collectible.

Prison Area

Shackles along the wall as you ascend into the prison area. This area is actually very macabre. It seems that either Spencer or his workers were not satisfied with just testing on the subjects but they actually tortured the victims or that the Guardians broke free and turned the area into complete chaos, torturing test subjects who had been abandoned there.

A deceased subject bloodied and hung by a hook that is attached to a rope around the victims mouth. Why? Similar to Revelations 2 just post to Claire leaving her cell there similar body bags. They make no sense being there other than perhaps to scare the test subjects into obeying the workers or else end up in a bloody sack I guess. But it could be a potential nod to Alex Wesker who could have been conducting experiments here.

Another tortured victim which fits with Alex Wesker's MO.

Subject Textures.

Ignore the body bag here. I was focusing on the giant machete. I think that is too big of a knife for a normal human to be wielding. In comparison to a man of Chris’s size it would appear to me that an average man would struggle using this weapon. Makes you wonder why Spencer would have given the Guardians weapons.

The upper tier of the prison cells are blocked off by the broken cell door. However as you can see the amount of cells is greatly extended if you take into account the cell’s you cannot access.

Some of the cells walls have been knocked through potentially via the Guardians in their escape, or when they came for the abandoned subjects.

Another cell door smashed off its hinges. I did entertain the idea that perhaps someone freed the Guardians however why would they then need to smash the doors off their hinges if they had been freed? It is also possible that the Guardians were never kept in these cells and they simply tore through them all when killing all the subjects inside.

Outside courtyard with a confusing center-piece. For what purpose would anyone need that scaffolding type structure.

The room above is the exterior of the long corridor Chris and Jill walk down when approaching their confrontation with Wesker.

Bodies strung from the ceiling in this area. It appears the Guardians had taken over this area for quite some time much like the prison. What its purpose before the Guardians arrived is unknown.

Library Area on Top Floor

This is in the area where you pick up the handguns off the dead security guard after leaving the Guardians maze lair. The two guards died in the same manner as the others.

This guy’s fate is quite obvious. Wesker punched him flying through the air and he smashed into the wall behind him.

Not a whole lot noteworthy in this room other than the magical invisible table. Also the hole punched in Spencer is nowhere to be seen however we do know it should be there from the cut scene.

Layout

Just to make this easier I have added three square colored boxes to help my explanation. The blue box I believe is the West side of the balcony, the area with the dining room and piano. The red box is the window Wesker and Jill fall out of. If you check the cut scene you can see the same window as well as the rocky cliffs. That would make the white square the long narrow curved corridor Chris and Jill walk through just outside the library.

Note the windows on the roof of the mansion. The mansion has an attic area which we never find. Possibly this could be accessed from the upper balcony in the library.