Story meaning? Spoilers, obviously!

[Poisoned Venom]

Is there some kind of a hidden message in the story? Is this a toddler's inerpretation of a failed marriage? I mean it's obvious that his parents aren't together anymore and the ending proves that his mother was no good. Was she abusive?

[Chaoscaine]

When I saw the game played by Markiplier (I don't have the guts for playing horror, though I enjoy watching it played) I was sure the ending was different than what everyone else saw. I saw a mother who killed her child in a drunken fit. The child is the narrator, and tells the story from his (her?) perspective. The upturned crib could have easily killed the child. Part of this is from a theory I heard long ago about the mind and how it works in the moments before death and how three minutes can become a limbo for those who are dying. The bear is a function of the child's subconscious, and thus going into the light means the end of life. Even the struggle over the bear at the end, and how the child is pushed to the ground could have caused it. The mother's struggles and the symbolism already discussed here are things I already agree with... but perhaps I'm more morbid.

[snoughl2]

I just go the obvious approach.

The baby realises he will be seperated from his mother like he did his dad. So he takes on his nightmares in order to find and lock away the good memories he had with her before she turned into the alcoholic monsterous bish that she does. Upon finding all the memories he wanted to lock away in his memory forever. He comes back to reality to face his mother one last time before going to the door and being taken away by CPS.

[susie from undertale]

The game's story was so see-through that I understood it by the end of the 1st chapter. Mom drinks and turns into tree-monster and coat monster. Teddy is the personification of Dad, this is why they sound the same.

[Ebobo_нах]

The Baby was born with a Disorder. Schizophrenia. So he hallucinates the things he fears most

[Elensar]

The bear was a gift from the babys father. The whole thing is basically the world seen through a babys eyes, everything is a saga, the world looks massive but simply takes place inside the house.

The mother is single and is an alcohol problem, she becomes angry and scary when she's drunk. You see signs of this all through the game with bottles all over the place that if you knock them down the monster comes, meaning if the baby is too noisy the mother can't deal with it and flys into a rage because she is drunk.

The crib at the start, knocked over by the mother angry and taking the teddy that dad has given the child, probably sitting drinking seething thinking of "her" child cuddling a toy "he" gave it.

So basically the whole world is babies imagination dealing with an abusive situation. When the monster catches you you're probably becoming a victim of shaken baby syndrome as your drunken mother reacts with anger to you making noise and being out of bed.

Next morning mum is weeping and sobbing on the floor having sobbered up. Could do with some counciling or something after failing relationship and single parenthood.

[pied6piper]

I agree with Elensar. I think it's about drinking abusive mother problem. She drinks, she becomes monster, she hurts baby. Next day she regrets it. Child with his little knowing of a world splits her mother into two personalities in her fantasies - good sober mother and evil drunken monster. Somehow it makes me deeply sad. Maybe because such ♥♥♥♥ happens in real quite often.

[that damn guy]

Just finished the game myself and it was wortth the sale price. Very creepy atmosphere with a powerful message in the end. I can see why they chose a toddler for the protagonist.
Growing up with a parent that's an alcoholic is never easy and it tears families apart. The Mother, being a single parent, found it overwhelming and hard to cope. The "monster" is what the Mother became when she was drunk. It was the Father that ended up with custody of the toddler because of it. I can see why some people would either like or dislike the game perhaps influenced with the way they grew up also.

[V1NCE]

The father was the good guy and was represented by the teddy because the gift came from him. The mothers drinking problem caused the marriage to fail and she got custody of the child and refused that the father take him.

[Defrostmode]

The Dad is definitly who is at the door. I think the "they" the mom refers to IS child protective services... which the dad used to get custody. I've seen it done in the real world with an abusive drug addicted parent. The other parent got custody after calling CPS to get proof of the neglect and abuse.

[The Party Man]

Now, I know this is not strictly linked with the ending of the game, but does anyone remember when teddy was shoved in the washing machine at the very beginning of the game? I have read through these forums and have found that most of you, like me, link the teddy as representing the dad in some way. Maybe this is the games way of slyly hinting at us that not only is the mother an abusive parent, but maybe she was also an abusive wife to? Anyways, what do you guys think of this?

[asdfman_I3I]

In the swamp on the painting where it shows how the swamp monster happened (i.e. the girl who drank from the bucket in the well and became crazy) I think that this is most likely referring to the mother, how when she drinks alcohol she goes into a rage and basically hunts the boy down so he has to hide. Also in the beginning where the boy wakes up with teddy being dragged away and his crib being flipped, I think that must've been his mother while she was drunk. Also through out the game I hear her saying "it's to much", I think this is referring to the new house and the boy after she split up with the father talking about the money witch she doesn't have so she drinks her problems away. It's also obvious that he misses his dad because he carries around his teddy which is from his dada do has the same voice and he (without hesitation) leaves his mother to go to his father but he understands her pain because he " rubs" her head showing that he still loves her.
Anyway that's my tasked on it

[rim6o]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από asdfman_I3I:

In the swamp on the painting where it shows how the swamp monster happened (i.e. the girl who drank from the bucket in the well and became crazy) I think that this is most likely referring to the mother, how when she drinks alcohol she goes into a rage and basically hunts the boy down so he has to hide. Also in the beginning where the boy wakes up with teddy being dragged away and his crib being flipped, I think that must've been his mother while she was drunk. Also through out the game I hear her saying "it's to much", I think this is referring to the new house and the boy after she split up with the father talking about the money witch she doesn't have so she drinks her problems away. It's also obvious that he misses his dad because he carries around his teddy which is from his dada do has the same voice and he (without hesitation) leaves his mother to go to his father but he understands her pain because he " rubs" her head showing that he still loves her.
Anyway that's my tasked on it

Good catch! Do you have a shot of that painting?

[Ebobo_нах]

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από rim6o:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από asdfman_I3I:

In the swamp on the painting where it shows how the swamp monster happened (i.e. the girl who drank from the bucket in the well and became crazy) I think that this is most likely referring to the mother, how when she drinks alcohol she goes into a rage and basically hunts the boy down so he has to hide. Also in the beginning where the boy wakes up with teddy being dragged away and his crib being flipped, I think that must've been his mother while she was drunk. Also through out the game I hear her saying "it's to much", I think this is referring to the new house and the boy after she split up with the father talking about the money witch she doesn't have so she drinks her problems away. It's also obvious that he misses his dad because he carries around his teddy which is from his dada do has the same voice and he (without hesitation) leaves his mother to go to his father but he understands her pain because he " rubs" her head showing that he still loves her.
Anyway that's my tasked on it

Good catch! Do you have a shot of that painting?

Nice theory.

[asdfman_I3I]

https://www.google.com/search?q=among+the+sleep+swamp+painting&safe=strict&client=safari&hl=en&prmd=is&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAWoVChMItrTF9tDYxwIVDIwNCh0r8AaK&biw=320&bih=460#imgdii=0gc2UULEl4IwEM%3A%3Brrhfr1Ct6mJK2M%3A%3Brrhfr1Ct6mJK2M%3A&imgrc=rrhfr1Ct6mJK2M%3A

http://geekparty.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Monster.jpg

Here are the pictures that reference the mother being the swamp monster from drinking

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από rim6o:

Αναρτήθηκε αρχικά από asdfman_I3I:

In the swamp on the painting where it shows how the swamp monster happened (i.e. the girl who drank from the bucket in the well and became crazy) I think that this is most likely referring to the mother, how when she drinks alcohol she goes into a rage and basically hunts the boy down so he has to hide. Also in the beginning where the boy wakes up with teddy being dragged away and his crib being flipped, I think that must've been his mother while she was drunk. Also through out the game I hear her saying "it's to much", I think this is referring to the new house and the boy after she split up with the father talking about the money witch she doesn't have so she drinks her problems away. It's also obvious that he misses his dad because he carries around his teddy which is from his dada do has the same voice and he (without hesitation) leaves his mother to go to his father but he understands her pain because he " rubs" her head showing that he still loves her.
Anyway that's my tasked on it

Good catch! Do you have a shot of that painting?

[Zephery]

I know you probably have gotten your answer way awhile back, since this thread was posted in 2014, I'll just let you know what I think is going on anyway.

Basically I believe that the child you play as is asleep, because the mother put him in his crib to go to sleep, and he woke up in a vivid dream world, the memories you collect remind the baby of times when his mother wouldn't get really mad at him, and the bad memories, such as the monsters in the dreams, that is the more recent bad memories of his mom lashing out at him, the three monsters stand for three things.

1. The first monster you see when approaching the grandfather clock right after leaving the kitchen is the state of the mom going out to get alcohol

2. The 2nd monster that you see in the Forested House, is the mom in the drunk stage

3. And the third monster, represents the mom being hungover because the monster will come after the baby if he makes a loud noise

In conclusion, I think that Teddy is the memory of his sweet dad, but in the form of a stuffed animal, the poor kid probably really wants his father back. I can even prove this, because at the end when the kid goes out the door in the end and the dialouge "Well hi there little one! Come here. Did you like your gift? What happened to his arm? Don't worry, we'll fix him up." That sounds just like teddy, and since in the beginning the dad stops by to drop off a gift and they start fighting, the baby gets really scared, and you can hear in teddy's voice "I'm not allowed here for that!?" and the mom screams "No" to him. What we / I can conclude is that the baby is safe with his father or some responsible adult, so if we think about it, it could technically be a happy ending, just in an obscured way.