The Granny is the first antagonist encountered in Secrets of the Maw. She lives in the Depths of the Maw and is the main antagonist of The Depths chapter.
Appearance
The Granny, as her name suggests, is a monster that resembles an old woman. Her physique is very lanky with long, bony limbs, a saggy neck, and drooping breasts. Her wrinkled face bares two dark, sunken eyes and a wide, toothy grin full of crooked teeth. Her long dark grey hair is thin and sparse, with the top of her head completely bald. Her skin is pale and waxy, and she wears only the tattered remains of a thin, brownish-gray dress.
Personality
Like the other characters in the franchise, the Granny does not talk and her personality is shown through her actions. Unlike other residents of the Maw, however, she appears to serve no meaningful purpose nor does she do anything to keep it running. Instead, her isolated life within the Depths seems to be only something that would be considered a life for a prisoner, left locked away and virtually forgotten, ultimately making her a very dangerous monster.
It looks as if being imprisoned for a long period of time has resulted in the Granny's extremely aggressive and vicious behavior. She behaves very deranged and feral as she will go to great lengths to make sure the Runaway Kid does not escape her grasp. When given food or otherwise obtaining a target, the Granny will grab it with a look of desperation, further indicating her insane nature.
Despite her animalistic tendencies, the Granny has displayed some level of intelligence. She has been seen using certain objects and is able to perform various actions in order to put the Runaway Kid within her reach. However, like many other enemies in the franchise, she is too determined which results in her inevitable defeat.
Background
The background of the Granny is unknown, but judging by the description of the chapter "the Depths", she was "abandoned to decay and rage".
Secrets of the Maw
When the Runaway Kid descends into an open drain, he enters the Depths where the Granny lives. She begins to follow the boy, swimming after and attempting several times to pull him under.
However, when the boy almost reaches the exit from the Depths, the Granny becomes more aggressive and destroys the deck he is standing on to force him into the water. However, the Runaway Kid pushes an operating TV into the water, electrocuting The Granny.
Strategy
The Granny lives in a large hall flooded with water, which cannot be drained. Usually she remains out of sight, making herself known only as a ripple on the surface of the water, accompanied by bubbles and a gurgling growl, which becomes louder as she approaches the Runaway Kid.
The Granny cannot harm a player if they are not in the same body of water as she is. Knowing this, the player can move between objects above the water surface, without fear that the Granny will grab him. In any case, the Granny can try to (successfully) push, break, or sink objects in order to push the player back into the water, where she can reach him, capturing the Runaway Kid in the water with ease. The player cannot escape the Granny so long as they are in the water and will need to get above in order to do so. Sometimes, the Runaway Kid can toss some meat into the water, distracting the Granny as she devours it.
Powers and Abilities
- Swimming: The Granny is able to swim effectively and quickly which helps her to catch up with the Runaway Kid faster.
- Underwater Breathing: Apart from breathing on land, she can also breath underwater. This can be seen as no matter how long the Runaway Kid is around the water, she will never raise her head out of the water to surface for air.
- Strength: Contrary to her wasted appearance, the Granny has been shown to be strong enough to perform actions to put the Runaway Kid within range.
Theories
- One of the most predominant theories pertaining to the Maw is that a cycle of successors exist in which a "Lady of the Maw" is overthrown and succeeded by a child who will obtain both the power and title of "Lady" for themselves, as seen during the ending of the first game. During the final chapter of Secrets of the Maw, the Lady of Little Nightmares can be seen staring at a grotesque reflection of herself, which has an uncanny resemblance to the Granny, leaving speculation that the Granny was once a former Lady of the Maw. Based on the description of the Depths chapter, the Granny was presumably banished to the sewers after being overthrown.
Trivia
- If the player is too far from her, The Granny will teleport towards the player.
- The Granny's stealth attack seems to be similar to that of the Shoe Monster and the Dump Monster encountered in the main game and Very Little Nightmares respectively. However, unlike the Dump Monster and the Shoe Monster, the Granny is entirely visible at some point within the Depths while the other two enemies are not.
- The Granny shares several similarities with Jenny Greenteeth of English folklore: both are old water hags, described as greenish-skinned and wrinkled, with long hair and teeth showing. Both Jenny Greenteeth and the Granny are best known for dragging children into water and drowning them.
- In a preview of the Granny's theme on the Little Nightmares Twitter account, the track is titled "Aquaphobia" instead of "Surface Tension".[1]
- The Granny shares the same theme as the main antagonist of the first chapter of the audio-fiction series, The Sounds of Nightmares, known unofficially as The Tall Woman.
- Although the Granny primarily drowns her victims, errors in the game's animation render her to have her run her hands lightly along the Runaway Kid's back, causing him to begin floundering while remaining on the surface, above the surface in midair, or while phasing through objects. In other parts, the camera will peer below the water to show the Runaway Kid flailing while separated from the Granny's grasp.