Surviving a night in Keep the Door Locked comes down to one skill: spotting an anomaly before you react to it. Every threat has a fixed tell, and every tell has a single correct answer. Get the response wrong and the night ends with a respawn, so the value is in matching the exact clue to the exact action.
Quick answer: There are 20 anomalies. Most visitor anomalies are caught on the hallway camera, and the fix is to lock the door. Room threats need a specific action instead — hide under the bed, stand on the bed, use your flashlight, or look directly at the threat. Two anomalies are safe to interact with, and one requires payment.
Every anomaly and its correct response
The table lists all 20 threats, the clue that identifies each one, and the action that removes it. Use it as a fast lookup during a run, then read the grouped breakdowns below for the details that matter under pressure.
| Anomaly | How to identify | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Transluscent Guest | Guest looks see-through on the hallway camera | Lock the door |
| Doppelganger | A copy slumps against the wall beside the visitor | Lock the door |
| Dead Doppelganger | A dead version of the visitor lies near the stairs | Lock the door |
| Spasming limbs | Visitor’s arms and legs flail uncontrollably | Lock the door |
| Long limbs | Visitor has unusually long arms | Lock the door |
| Neck Craner | Visitor’s neck is bent backward, facing the ceiling | Lock the door |
| Door Breaker | Gaunt white creature runs at the door, panting | Hide under the bed until it leaves |
| Vent Ghost | A dishevelled man drops from the vent and crawls | Stand on the bed until he leaves |
| Shadow Man | Shadowy figure stands in a corner of the room | Shine your flashlight at it |
| Room Hider | A figure hides somewhere inside the room | Look at it to trigger the jumpscare |
| Silent Lady | Tall, gaunt woman stares silently from the door | Look at her through the cameras |
| Window Seeker | Moans, knocks, scuffling or scratching at the window | Open the curtains and look at it |
| Headbanger | Visitor smashes their head against the door | Complete the quick time event |
| Spiders | Spiders with egg sacs on the ceiling | Don’t stand under them when they explode |
| The Darkness | Hands cover your eyes, sending you to a void | Follow the lights to the exit |
| Knife Killer | A man with a knife appears at the door | Turn off the light before sleeping |
| Bathroom Monster | Attacks if you sleep alone | Keep one innocent resident in your room |
| The cake is a lie | A lone cake sits on a trolley outside the door | Open the door and eat it for Sanity |
| Hacked laptop | Message says the laptop is hacked, blocking cameras | Pay $300 to decode it |
| Roach King | A giant cockroach asks for pizza | Let it in and give up five slices |
Visitor anomalies you catch on camera
Six anomalies arrive disguised as guests. They all share the same fix — lock the door — so the entire challenge is spotting the tell on the hallway camera before you open. Always run the camera check before touching the handle, because a normal-looking figure at the peephole is not proof of safety.
- Transluscent Guest: the visitor’s body appears see-through on the feed while looking solid at the door.
- Doppelganger: a second copy of the guest sits slumped against the wall right beside them.
- Dead Doppelganger: a corpse version of the visitor lies in the hallway near the stairs.
- Spasming limbs: the arms and legs flail violently and without control.
- Long limbs: the arms are stretched far beyond a normal length.
- Neck Craner: the head is tilted all the way back, eyes pointed at the ceiling.
For any of these, keep the door locked and do not respond to pleading or extra dialogue. The disguise never survives a proper camera sweep.
Room threats that force you to move
These anomalies appear inside your room or force their way in, so locking the door does nothing. Each one has a precise counter-action, and hesitating usually costs Sanity or the run.
Door Breaker
A gaunt white creature sprints to your door, panting, then starts forcing it open. When the game prompts you to hide, get under the bed and stay there until it gives up and leaves.
Vent Ghost
A dishevelled man drops out of the vent and crawls across the floor trying to grab you. Climb onto the bed and wait for him to crawl back into the vent before you continue.
Shadow Man
An ominous dark figure appears in a corner and watches you. Turn on your flashlight and hold the beam on him until he vanishes.
Room Hider
Instead of knocking, a figure hides somewhere in your room. Scan the space carefully and look directly at it. That triggers a jumpscare, and the figure then leaves.
Spiders
Spiders carrying large egg sacs crawl across the ceiling. After a while they make a sound and explode. Move out from under them before that happens to avoid Sanity damage.
The Darkness
A pair of hands covers your eyes and drops you into an endless black void. Follow the trail of lights ahead until you reach the doorway that returns you to the room.
Anomalies you defeat by looking or reacting
Three threats are cleared by a single well-timed action rather than by locking up or moving away. Two of them are also visitor-style encounters, so the response replaces opening the door.
Silent Lady
A tall, gaunt woman stands at your door and stares without speaking. Pull up the security cameras and look at her through them. That triggers a jumpscare and removes her.
Window Seeker
The Window Seeker announces itself with moans, knocks, scuffling, and scratching from outside the hotel window. It runs on a hidden timer and grows stronger across phases, moving closer until it reaches you and ends the night. Open the curtains and look at it to force it back to phase one, then keep repeating this every time the sounds return.
Headbanger
Seen through the peephole, this visitor repeatedly slams their head into the door. A quick time event appears — complete it to drive them away from the door.
Threats tied to sleeping
Two anomalies punish you at bedtime instead of at the door, so the fix is a precaution you take before you sleep.
- Knife Killer: a man with a knife shows up at the door. If he appeared that day, turn off the light before going to bed so he cannot enter your room.
- Bathroom Monster: a creature lives in the bathroom and attacks if you sleep alone. Make sure at least one non-anomaly resident is sleeping in your room before you go to bed.
The exceptions: harmless, helpful, or paid
Not every anomaly wants to kill you. Three of them break the usual “lock and hide” reflex, so treating them like a normal threat is the mistake.
The cake is a lie
A single slice of cake sits on a trolley outside your door. Despite how it looks, it is safe. Open the door, eat it, and recover some Sanity.
Roach King
If you have pizza in the room, a giant cockroach arrives and asks for a share. Let it in and it eats five slices before leaving. Refuse, and a swarm of normal cockroaches floods the room instead, so paying the five-slice toll is the safe call.
Hacked laptop
A message claims your laptop has been hacked and blocks access to the cameras. Pay $300 to decode it and restore your feeds. Without cameras, you lose your main tool for identifying every other anomaly, so restoring access is the priority.
The pattern holds across the whole roster: identify first, then react. Camera-tell visitors get the door locked, in-room threats get a movement or flashlight response, and the handful of harmless or paid encounters get the opposite of your survival instinct. Keep the reference table close, run a full camera sweep on every knock, and recheck the room between visitors so a window or ceiling threat never catches you focused on the door.
