The Janitor

The Janitor is one of the main antagonists of Little Nightmares in Chapter 2 of Little Nightmares.

Appearance
The Janitor is a character who is known for his grotesquely long arms and extremely short legs. His skin seems to have peeled from his skull and covered his eyes, thus making him blind. He manages to compensate for this blindness with his sharp sense of smelling. He has rotten teeth which can be seen when he captures Six, and during the elevator scene. The Janitor wears a trench coat that seems to be custom fitted to his unusual appearance; the janitor also has blood stains on his trench coat and a brown hat that he wears on top of his skull. He also appears to wear a name tag that appears to say "Roger". He wears trousers that are the same color of his trench coat, and has blue shoes on his short legs. Although he is short, he has long arms to help capture Six.

Summary
Known for his long arms, the Janitor is one of the characters that patrol The Maw searching for intruders. He is blind, and relies on his hands, ears, and nose to figure out where Six is hiding. He seems to be in charge of caring for the children, which are kept as prisoners in The Maw. That may be one of the reasons why he is chasing Six, as he may have mistaken her for an escaped prisoner. He even appears to be somewhat of a handyman around the Maw; packaging meals, transporting cargo, and making repairs when need be. Like The Twin Chefs, he has his own room adorned with cabinets and tables high off the ground to accommodate his physique.

He silently wanders hallways, closets, and ventilation ducts looking for intruders or would-be captives. Despite his thin frame, he is strong enough to lift himself off the ground. He is more than capable of overpowering Six, who he is hunting down with a cold and silent efficiency.

He was first seen around The Prison and later he lures Six into a cage around the Lair, and is seen wrapping children and hooking them onto meat hooks. Six eventually manages to chop the Janitor's arms off using a sliding door and from there Six moves onto the Kitchen.

Even though the Janitor makes sniffing noises whenever he hears Six, he does not seem to rely on his nose to locate her, rather only reacting to the sounds that she makes. The noises he makes are more akin to gasps and other non-verbal grunts than him sniffing out the player, who can sneak past provided there are enough distractions drowning out Six's footsteps.

The Depths
He makes only at least two cameos in the Depths, carrying a kid to another room and at the end capturing the Runaway Kid in a cage.

The Hideaway
The Runaway Kid avoid being captured by him when traversing the pitch black rooms of the Furnace.

Official Summary
The man with the Long Arms

With long forgotten things from long forgotten places, he fled the world and found The Maw. Now as the Janitor, he is a tall tale hiding in the shadows, stalking the silence, a monster alone.

Strategy
The Janitor can be considered a hard enemy to deal with in Little Nightmares compared to the other enemies. Despite being blind, the Janitor is extremely fast, and quick enough so to catch up to Six; if only for a short time (also note that he is sometimes able to grab Six from a distance). However, he will not chase you if you are in behind him, nor will he sniff you out (those sounds he makes are merely gasps and grunts). Instead, he will be able to hear you if you make a noise - Walking on the floorboards while he is nearby, as well as breaking items near him, will alert the Janitor to your presence. He will chase you if you do not find a way to distract him or silence your footsteps.

Throwing items such as a monkey toy or a tiny vase is enough of a distraction, but throwing too many items within moments of each other can be hazardous. Also, make sure to throw them away from Six, not near her, if you want to survive.

On the other hand, there are the floorboards and carpet. The floorboards make sounds when Six or anyone else walks on them, and will most definitely draw attention. The carpets, staying above the floor, or any soft surface, will make it even harder for the Janitor to figure out your location, so use them to your advantage when looking for hiding places, so long as you stay away from where you did make noise.

A third option is to move only when there is enough noise drowning out your footsteps, such as the Clock room or the room with the TV. Only when there is enough noise can you walk on the floorboards without alerting him, otherwise he will chase you, resulting in redoing the room.

Possible Theories

 * There's a possibility that the Janitor can grow his arms back. If not, it's possible the Janitor dies from blood loss after Six cuts his arms off. Or he is also a mannequin, which explains the lack of blood from his arms and lack of eyesockets. After you sever his arms, they can still move, and cause Six to fall over if she touches them, similar to a lizard's tail, which can grow back.


 * There's also a theory that the Janitor has no intention of hurting Six, as when she is caught, he cautiously holds her. It is possible the Janitor symbolizes the deadly sin of greed. This is because his room of dolls alike a hoarder and his blindness seems to symbolize the way that people who are greedy always want more and never take the time to appreciate what they have.


 * While the chance is slim, it is possible that The Granny may be the Janitor's mother. They both look somewhat similar and share the trait of having long arms. The Granny also appears to be older than the Janitor, so this can be taken into consideration.


 * Because of the ship's design and the lack of modern technology, it can be assumed that the game takes place in the aftermath of World War 2. One theory states that the Janitor, along with the Granny, were escaped test subjects of Nazi experiments during the war. The pictures of him around the Maw suggest that he was a child when the Nazi experiments took place.


 * There is a popular theory that both the Janitor and the Granny are cannibals.


 * The Janitor's origins are unknown, but it is theorized that he was raised in the Maw after running away from society. He has obviously been there a long time, as his picture can be seen all throughout the Maw.


 * It is possible there are two Janitors. In the Furnace, there is an Eye room, which shows different parts of the Lair. Six is seen going through the Shoe Monster's lair, after the child-wrapping room. He is no longer there, so he quits wrapping children to chase her. As he was chasing her the majority of Chapter 2, it's unknown how he found time to go to the Furnace. And in the Depths, he captures a girl and takes her back to the nursery. But in Six's campaign, he visits the same area again a short while later.

Trivia

 * The Janitor follows Six throughout the game longer than any other creature.
 * The Janitor's arms bend in three places.
 * The Janitor seems to have a habit of cracking his neck at seemingly random times.
 * Some players believe that the Hanging Man found at the beginning of the game is acually the Janitor's legs, however, a data mine revealed that these legs actually already had a body belonging to them.
 * A hat similar to the one the Janitor is wearing can be found around the Guest's Area.
 * A concept art of the Janitor shows the Janitor with what appears to be his skin not peeled to his eyes.
 * Due to a data mine search, it has been discovered that the Janitor's name is Roger.
 * The Janitor is extremely fond of television, and is mesmerized by the sounds.