Witches are not attracted to sugar. New Theory

[Jaffart]

So the theory for over the past decade is that witches are attracted to sugar because the largest concentration of them are in the sugar mill of Hard Rain, but I believe this theory is wrong. Witches were women that had extreme sources of grief. Once they turn into witches they tend to teem at the source of their grief such as the abandoned bride at her wedding in The Passing, the bikini witches in the p0rn yacht in The Sacrifice comic, and the sugar mill where their loved ones died in a sugar dust explosion.

What happened to Ducatel?

Hard Rain takes place in a small town, probably named Ducatel. By the time the survivors run through, there are multiple homes that appear to have been deteriorating for years as evidenced by collapsed walls and plants growing through the floor. Other homes have large moving boxes and one home was having a garage sale before the infection hit. That is not something to do when trying to evacuate a fast moving disaster, which the people of Ducatel have experience with due to hurricanes. Many people had moved away, were trying to move, or were too poor to take care of their homes. Something caused an economic collapse in the town; the permanent shut down of the sugar mill.

What happened to the sugar mill?

The sugar mill is extremely damaged and was starting to be demolished before the infection came, but all of the damage cannot be from controlled demolition. The roofs of all of the main buildings are either collapsed or completely missing. The walls of the main three buildings have partially collapsed with piles of rubble strewn about the place. The floors of the buildings are covered with dirt and grass. Large pipes and giant tanks have fallen over. The largest building, the one with the temporary elevator, is almost unrecognizable with the concrete showing signs of extreme deterioration and cracking. And while there are infected workers and contractor trailers present, there are few to no signs of large construction equipment or cranes being deployed. This was not a controlled demolition.

The damage to the sugar mill is also not from a hurricane. The survivors go through the mill during a hurricane and no additional damage occurs, even though all of the structures are structurally unsound.

If it wasn't a hurricane or demolition, what could have caused all of this damage? The answer is a sugar dust explosion similar to the 2008 Imperial Sugar refinery explosion. When fine sugar dust is suspended in air it can ignite like gun powder with just a spark. This is what happened at Imperial Sugar where 14 people died and 36 were injured. I recommended looking up photos of the explosion's aftermath. There are so many similarities between the Hard Rain sugar mill and the Imperial Refinery that I can't believe I haven't seen posts on it before.

The Effects from the Sugar Mill Explosion

The sugar mill explosion most likely killed well over a dozen people and left dozens more severely injured and crippled. This would have left many women with dead loved ones to grieve and/or surviving loved ones without a job or too injured to work. Either way this would also cause these women to financially struggle, adding to their grief. The high concentration of grieving women led to a high concentration of witches once the infection hit. The witches then congregated at the source of their grief, the sugar mill.

The idea that sugar attracts witches never made a whole lot of sense. If witches are attracted to sugar then why aren't they all in the sugar cane field? Why are they mostly inside a sugar mill that has been abandoned for possibly years with all of its sugar and molasses most likely washed away or spoiled?

Even if sugar does attract witches that would not explain their high concentration in such a small town. More witches are encountered in Ducatel than in major cities like Savannah (Dead Center) and New Orleans (The Parish).

Last Bit of Speculation

In the house with the garage sale there are multiple piles of dead bodies with splashes of blood on the walls. The only bedroom has a single person bed, but the bathroom has two sinks with two mirrors. I believe this points to the home being occupied by a woman who once lived together with a man who died in the mill explosion. The grief caused by the sugar mill explosion led to her transforming into a witch. The dead bodies in the house are her victims after she turned.

TLDR

The Hard Rain sugar mill is damaged the way it is because of a sugar dust explosion (look up the 2008 Georgia Imperial Sugar refinery explosion). The explosion killed the loved ones of many women in the town, leading them into extreme grief and becoming witches. They gather in the sugar mill not because of sugar (which is probably washed away or rotten), but because the mill is the source of their grief.

[RandomDude]

Imagine still starting sentences with 'Imagine..." like a cool dude.

Oh wait... :thinking:

[Witch]

Messaggio originale di Wiesshund:

Witches are attracted to an auto shotgun to the face
It is also the cause of their grief/anger

shooting witches with an auto shotgun doesn't kill them

[Bathtub Shitter]

Messaggio originale di RandomDude:

Imagine still starting sentences with 'Imagine..." like a cool dude.

Oh wait... :thinking:

Imagine dragons

[sʜᴀ]

Get back to first page

[Cursed Hawkins]

Messaggio originale di JAiZ:

That's a really interesting theory. I always found it weird how the sugar mill is clearly dilapidated and abandoned, so there obviously wouldn't be any sugar stored there anymore, which begs the question of what the witches are actually being attracted to.

It's the infection itself causing them to be crying firstly due to the infection causing organs inside of the infected to breakdown on top of possible hunger pains prior to the Witch's infection exposure and sugar is just ONE example of a carbohydrate that's easy to digest, there can be a number of carbohydrates at that mill and sugar just happens to be the large quantities there (you never see what's inside of those silo tanks).
"Witch mutations seem related to an abnormal mental state, indicating a predisposed mental disorder ― serotonin imbalance in the brain, etc. Neurotransmitter imbalances are theorized to be a cause of clinical depression. Psychological trauma could also be a factor such as with the "Bride Witch" who may have suffered from the mental stress needed to become a Witch when the Infected attacked her wedding. Since the Witch is one of the most notable sex-linked examples of the Special Infected, it is likely that there is also some sort of influence from female sex hormones. It might also be a reaction to anorexia nervosa. All Common Infected observed are of thin or average build, indicating that the virus breaks fats and muscles down in order to replicate itself inside the host. An anorexic woman, already lacking sufficient body fat due to malnutrition would experience severe pain as the virus began to break fats down in her vital organs which would explain why the Witch is constantly crying and so famously irritable. Constant hunger pains, which the Witch ignored prior to infection, would drive her to seek out easily digestible carbohydrates such as sugar. A nervous bride would be very likely to suffer from an eating disorder due to stress and a desire to look thin for her big day which may explain why the Bride Witch exists."

[Cray]

Messaggio originale di Witch:

Messaggio originale di Wiesshund:

Witches are attracted to an auto shotgun to the face
It is also the cause of their grief/anger

shooting witches with an auto shotgun doesn't kill them

nice try, shill. our weapons scare you so much you're playing the old FUD card.

but you can't even navigate through a door with 9 inch claws and a jackhammer.

you get distracted by fire, flashlights and loud noises, and scream like the whole world is ending if a pin drops.

you're a grown woman and can't even dress yourself.

you have no sense of direction, and you walk into brick walls.

even after a full day in heavy rain you smell so bad you get called out by humans passing a street ahead.

your hair looks bad.

[Witch]

Messaggio originale di Cray:

nice try, shill. our weapons scare you so much you're playing the old FUD card.

I actually really like weapons I love shooting survivors with them

Messaggio originale di Cray:

but you can't even navigate through a door with 9 inch claws and a jackhammer.

valve thought that was realistic for some reason. When a door is closed you naturally open it by breaking it completely, I thought valve understood such a simple concept?

Messaggio originale di Cray:

you get distracted by fire, flashlights and loud noises, and scream like the whole world is ending if a pin drops.

any normal person would get distracted and disturbed by those things

Messaggio originale di Cray:

you're a grown woman and can't even dress yourself

it's all valve's fault

Messaggio originale di Cray:

you have no sense of direction, and you walk into brick walls.

confusing me for somebody?
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3333407868

Messaggio originale di Cray:

even after a full day in heavy rain you smell so bad you get called out by humans passing a street ahead.

people have a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ sense of smell nowadays, they think good smells bad and vice versa.

Messaggio originale di Cray:

your hair looks bad.

hey, that was uncalled for!

[Wiesshund]

Messaggio originale di Witch:

Messaggio originale di Wiesshund:

Witches are attracted to an auto shotgun to the face
It is also the cause of their grief/anger

shooting witches with an auto shotgun doesn't kill them

Reading comprehension failing?

[Witch]

Messaggio originale di Wiesshund:

Messaggio originale di Witch:

shooting witches with an auto shotgun doesn't kill them

Reading comprehension failing?

just stating a quick fact!

[Cray]

btw., OP, this is a pretty cool theory. Though, when the survivors pass through the hard rain campaign, they always refer to "storms come up fast around here" and call it a "storm" when the wind starts whipping rain. I don't think those are hurricanes.

The sugar dust explosion disaster makes sense though. Coach says "maybe the rain's bringing them out", and that seems to be the case, but doesn't explain why they're all there in the first place, in that particular area.

[PöpThèséFøøls]

Coachizzy: "All them sugarbabes, it's a damn shame."
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1777079625

[Jaffart]

Messaggio originale di Cray:

btw., OP, this is a pretty cool theory. Though, when the survivors pass through the hard rain campaign, they always refer to "storms come up fast around here" and call it a "storm" when the wind starts whipping rain. I don't think those are hurricanes.

The sugar dust explosion disaster makes sense though. Coach says "maybe the rain's bringing them out", and that seems to be the case, but doesn't explain why they're all there in the first place, in that particular area.

I believe the flooding towards the end of the campaign points to it being a low category hurricane or at least a tropical storm.

[Zazian]

Nice thery but why are the comments trashing it so much xd

[Mike]

This thread was quite old before the recent post, so we're locking it to prevent confusion.