The Jack-in-the-Box music box shows up from Shift 9 onward in Shift At Midnight, announced by an email warning that it has been spotted near the entity. It sits somewhere on the floor of the gas station once the spider entity spawns, and what you do with it decides whether you skip a fight or start one. Rewind it fully and the Marionette never appears. Let its song finish three times and the Marionette spawns, which is the only way to earn the Last Performance achievement worth 100 Gamerscore.
Quick answer: The music box has no fixed spawn. Lower your camera and sweep floor-level spots (aisles, back room, bathroom, and trash clutter) until you reach it. Interact and hold to rewind fully if you want to avoid the Marionette. To fight it instead, release the wind early and let the melody play three separate times.
Where the Jack-in-the-Box music box spawns
The box is small, sits near the ground, and blends into other floor clutter, so running through the store at normal eye level rarely works. Drop the camera below customer height and check the outline of every small object. It has no guaranteed location, but a handful of spots come up again and again.
| Search spot | What to check |
|---|---|
| Store aisles | Both ends of the nearest aisle, shelf bases, and gaps between shelving and walls |
| Checkout area | Floor beside the counter and the base of the register, where it merges with small objects |
| Back room / storage | Near the garage door inside the supermarket’s storage room |
| Bathroom side | Floor and corners of the restroom area |
| Trash clutter | Beside bins and trash bags, including the area outside the station |
Pick one loop and follow it in a single direction instead of doubling back every time the music sounds louder. A common route runs from the nearest aisle to the checkout base, then shelf ends, trash clutter, back room, and bathroom side before returning through the main aisle. The song only tells you the event is active. It is not a reliable direction finder, so rely on your position and unchecked areas rather than audio.
Rewind the box to stop the Marionette
If you just want the threat gone, the moment the music starts you should drop your current task and search. There is no dependable countdown for each song, so start hunting on the first melody rather than gambling on finishing one more customer.
Note: rewinding the box only cancels its special mechanic. Other entities in the store may still be active, so listen briefly and reassess the hunt once the box is gone.
Spawn the Marionette on purpose (Last Performance)
Doing the opposite of the warning is what unlocks Last Performance. Interact with the Jack-in-the-Box but release the button before it fully resets, then allow the melody to play through three separate times. After the third song, the Marionette spawns.
Deal with the spider entity before you commit to the fight. Lay bear and explosive traps along its routes, such as the supermarket aisles, barricade the doors, and equip an automatic weapon from the Emergency Weapons Arsenal in the storage room. A clean approach is to bring the entity down to roughly 20 percent health, then fail the box so the Marionette arrives right as the entity finishes. Once the entity dies, a message reads, “The entity has left. Eliminate remaining creatures to reach safety,” and the Marionette follows shortly after.
How to kill the Marionette
The Marionette is a cloaked, ghost-like figure that floats. Because it never touches the ground, bear traps and explosive traps do nothing to it. Your only real damage comes from shooting. Keep your distance, keep moving around the store, and fire whenever you have a clear line.
It has no visible health bar, so you cannot track how close it is to death. Expect to burn through a lot of ammo, and use the store’s firearm section to swap weapons when you run dry. A shotgun works, and a flamethrower is especially effective for steady damage while kiting. One useful pattern is to shoot from the storage room door out into the supermarket, then retreat to the far side through the other door when it closes in, jumping over your own traps as you go.
The more damage it takes, the faster it moves, so it becomes harder to shake late in the fight. Playing with friends splits the pressure. Have the group clear the spider first, then focus fire the Marionette together. When it finally dies, a message appears reading, “They are gone. You are now safe,” and Last Performance unlocks.
Common reasons the box or fight fails
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
| No interaction prompt | Move closer, lower the camera, and face the box directly |
| Prompt appears but box stays | The rewind did not finish; stay in place and interact again until it disappears |
| Song keeps playing after you leave | The rewind was incomplete; return to the same box before searching elsewhere |
| Marionette will not spawn | Confirm you are on Shift 9 or later and let the melody finish three full times |
| Traps do nothing to the Marionette | It floats, so ground traps miss; rely on continuous gunfire instead |
Whether you silence the box or turn it into a fight, the deciding factor is speed. Find it early on the first song, commit fully to either rewinding or failing it, and make sure the spider entity is handled before the Marionette floats in.
