It Lives Theory Page

Welcome to the It Lives (series) theory page. This is a place where you can discuss confirmed, debunked, and unconfirmed theories about the It Lives series.

Confirmed Theories

 * Noah secretly being a villain: Some fans noted that Noah seemed to act suspicious in several chapters and seemed too eager to have confrontations with Redfield. It was later revealed he intended to sacrifice either one of his friends or himself to take Jane's place as "The Monster". His stated hope at the beginning of Chapter 15 is that he will be the one who takes Jane's place. Despite this, if his nerve is too low, he might end up killing the MC while under the control of his sister.
 * Anthology: The message stating, "It Lives...will return" seemed to point out that future books will take an anthology approach, with a similar setting and feel, but with different characters, a new title, a new plot, and a new supernatural entity. This is proven to be true.
 * New main cast: Through the sneak peeks and the first chapter, it is confirmed that It Lives Beneath has a new main cast. This includes Tom, who is a supporting character in It Lives in the Woods.
 * Cult: In a new ad for the sequel, there is a person in the background wearing a hooded cloak with a symbol. This has led fans to believe that antagonists in the sequel will be cultists who worship the entity. Chapter 5 confirms that Tom discovered a secret society that exists in Pine Springs and the summary for Chapter 6 refers to them as a Cult.
 * It Lives Beneath Collectibles: It Lives Beneath features items players can collect for your character and friends, each of them having two objects associated with them in the form of a symbolic object. So far, the lantern and caged bird correspond to the main character and Imogen, respectively. It's theorized that the moth corresponds to Tom, who tries to break out of his status as a follower, the compass rose to Parker because his job as a police officer might make him question his moral compass, and the eye corresponds to Danni Asturias, who has been conducting independent investigations on the lake monster.
 * Alternately, the compass rose may correspond to Danni, who works at the Compass Café.
 * It's confirmed that the eye corresponds to Danni, leaving the moth and compass rose.
 * It's confirmed that the moth corresponds to Tom, meaning that the compass rose corresponds to Parker.
 * Arthur: It is rumored that Arthur may be hiding a dark secret given that this is the first time that your character has ever met him. Some players believe that he may be a part of the cult, and that your parents kept you and Elliot away from him because they believed he was dangerous. This is confirmed in Chapter 7, when it's revealed that he's a cultist.
 * Astrid: Some fans believe that Astrid will be a villain given her antagonistic nature. It is believed that she is either in league with the cult or is benefiting from their crimes. This is confirmed in Chapter 7, when she and her husband are revealed to be cultists.
 * Abraham Kelley: Some fans believe Abraham Kelley is a villain, most likely a cultist, because of the abnormal way he talked to Ned Mallory, as if the latter was a puppet of sorts. This is confirmed in Chapter 7, when he's revealed to be a cultist.
 * Imposter: It is believed that the Ned Mallory seen at the end of chapter 3 of It Lives Beneath is actually an impostor to cover up the real Ned's death. This is confirmed in Chapter 11 when it is revealed that Craig, Astrid's bodyguard, is actually a stone creature who assumed Ned's physical form.
 * Vincent Wescott cannot be trusted: Some players started believing that Vincent Wescott himself has powers and cannot be trusted - and may even turn out to be a villain - given that characters start to behave differently once he lays a hand on their shoulders. The two examples given are Ned in Chapter 2 who calmed down and Arthur in Chapter 9 who confessed the murder of his daughter. In both cases, Vincent had put his hand on their shoulders. This theory is confirmed in Chapter 11 when Vincent along with others in The Society tricks the main character and his/her friends to a ritual intended to kill the main character, and further in Chapter 12 when Vincent tries to use his powers to control the main character. Furthermore, in the same chapter Arthur confirms how him confessing to the murder of his daughter was Vincent's doing.
 * Lake Ghost's identity: There's a theory that the Lake Ghost was MC and Elliot's grandmother, which might explain why she seemed to recognize them and dragged Elliot away instead of drowning him. If this is the case, this might explain why the Society wanted to sacrifice MC, as they're of the same blood. It might also explain the parents' murder a bit more, as the mother may have refused to hand her children over to the Society. This theory is confirmed when our grandpa (Arthur) explained to the MC that the lake ghost is MC’s grandmother, Josephine.
 * Writer of journal entries: It is believed that the writer of the Journal Entries is the monster at the bottom of the Lake due to them believing that they are connected to the Power in the area. It would also make them similar to Douglas Redfield given that he wrote letters on his experience of the supernatural before becoming a demon. In Chapter 13, Arthur confirms that Josephine was the writer of the Journal Entries and he is the man repeatedly mentioned in them.
 * MC's mental health: After Chapter 6 of It Lives Beneath, it is believed that the MC did not encounter a monster while chasing after Imogen, but is instead of having some kind of episode from all the traumatic events they've been witness to recently. This is most likely true given that Imogen shows up with her horse shortly after.

Debunked Theories

 * Cid Is Mr. Red: For a while, the theory that Cid was Mr. Red was floating around, but this was disproven when the actual identity of Mr. Red was revealed.
 * Britney and Jocelyn would die: Some fans believed that Britney and Jocelyn would be Redfield/Jane's next victims after Cody, given that they also bullied and harassed the protagonists on several occasions. This was disproven since they both survived Redfield's attacks.
 * Jane Was alive: A plenty of fans thinks that Jane dying was an illusion, instead of believing she was alive. However, it was disproven, as she herself was Redfield.
 * Standalone: It was originally assumed that this book would follow the tradition of The Haunting of Braidwood Manor series and be a standalone book, as no evidence pointed to a Book 2. However, an untitled sequel was confirmed in the final chapter. The message stating, "It Lives...will return" seemed to point out that future books will take an anthology approach, with a similar setting and feel, but with different characters, a new title, a new plot and a new supernatural entity.
 * This would explain the sudden addition of several new characters in the last chapter: Izzy, Shannon, Jane, and a woman possessed by a supernatural entity in the lake.
 * Sequel Title: A popular theory was that the title of the next book in the series would be called It Lives In the Lake. This was disproven when a trailer announcing its release on October 10 revealed the title as It Lives Beneath.
 * The Victim in It Lives Beneath: On September 19th, 2018, a sneak peek showed a character named Imogen doubting the existence of the book's monster. This has led some fans to believe that she will die given that a common trope in horror media is for The Skeptic to die in the first act. However, this was disproven as Kyle Garza, Imogen's best friend is revealed to die at the end of Chapter 1.
 * Cultists are hypnotized: Because of the way all the cultists speak in a monotone way in unusually perfect sync (and the fact that MC's Grandfather went through without being even seen by MC, and made no attempt at preventing MC from attending the gala), it is very likely that the lake monster hypnotized the cult members, thus forming the cult. It was revealed that the Cultists were not hypnotized into worshiping the Lake Ghost, but are actually fighting against it.
 * Inspiration for new monster: The cover that was released on September 24th, 2018, has lead some fans to believe that the monster in It Lives Beneath is inspired by Cthulhu, an ancient god/sea monster created by horror author H.P. Lovecraft. It is also theorized in that there are real life cults who worship Cthulhu and engage in human sacrifice (see Cult theory above). The new monster is revealed to be a ghost with the ability to create and control zombie-like creatures, therefore it is not inspired by Lovecraft's works.
 * Tom: There is a theory that Tom is behind the events of It Lives Beneath, starting from the events in It Lives In The Woods, when he researched ways to stop Redfield forever if Ava survives. It’s possible that he’s seeking a way to gain immense power as a means to his end, and working for Arthur, whose cabin is full of mysterious artifacts, is a convenient way of getting access to the materials he needs. His disparaging comment on Pine Springs’s elite also indicates his lack of a social life outside of his work, which might imply his dedication to his goal even if it means making big sacrifices and succumbing to the dark side. His rejection of Imogen’s invitation to her party because he had some things to do raises another possibility that he’s up to something suspicious. Another suspicious moment was when he didn't reply to the main character's text messages in Chapter 4. This is debunked in the end, when Tom shows no intention to gain immense power and actively clashes against the Society.
 * Parker: Due to their similar uniform appearance, it is believed that Parker could be similar to Jeff Duffy, the main antagonist of Veil of Secrets. This is debunked in the end, when Parker doesn't turn against the gang. Instead, he runs away if his nerve falls too low.
 * It Lives, Book 3: The sled found in the final chapter of It Lives Beneath foreshadows the third It Lives book to be based in the mountains (It Lives in the Mountains?). This is debunked as of January 22, 2021, as PB released a blogpost confirming the series would not have another sequel.
 * Jocelyn Wu: Some players believed that if It Lives, Book 3 exists, Jocelyn Wu will play a major role or become a love interest as she appears in the bonus scene in It Lives Beneath. Following the official closure of the series, the theory is debunked as well.
 * Ned's wife: After It Lives Beneath, Chapter 2, it is believed that the woman seen in a premium choice at the end of It Lives in the Woods was Ned Mallory's wife. This is debunked as we never see how Ned's wife looks like.
 * The Old MC or Noah will come back to life if turned into Redfield: Some fans are theorizing that due to the plotline of the most recent chapters, Noah and the new MC will be able to bring the old MC back to life if the reader chose to turn that MC into Redfield at the end of It Lives In the Woods, or vice versa. This is debunked when the series is officially cancelled.
 * Lake Ghost's power source: It is believed that similar to Azura, the ghost needs to kill people in order to maintain its power. It is later revealed however, that the Lake Ghost only kills people as revenge to Pine Springs for all they did to her.