- "I'm sure there's some children somewhere who'd just love to meet Doctor Futterman."
- ―Mother Gooseberry.
- "You could have been a nurses. Somebody's wifeses. But noooo, you had to gets on the teevee. You hads to be a big star."
- ―Doctor Futterman, Mother Gooseberry's separate personality
Phyllis or Phylis Futterman, better known as Mother Gooseberry, is a Prime Asset and one of the antagonists in The Outlast Trials. She is a disgraced, mentally unstable children's show host struggling with psychosis and dissociation. Gooseberry's alternative personality manifests in the form of her ventriloquist goose puppet, Doctor Futterman, a crude avatar of her abusive father.
Background[]
Before the events of The Outlast Trials, Gooseberry was the daughter of a dentist in Philadelphia. She worked as her father's assistant from a young age, using puppets to distract adolescent patients during drilling/surgery. Back then, her hobbies included taxidermy and musical theater. Due to the popularity of her family locally, Gooseberry had her studio, called Futterland Studios, where she hosted a children's variety show known as 'The Mother Gooseberry Hour', which started airing in 1951. Following Dr. Futterman's death, the cause of which is still unknown, she had a hysterical episode and began experiencing dissociation. The tone of the Mother Gooseberry Hour shifted accordingly.
Throughout her tenure on the show, she used her television platform and mail-order "dental drops" business to get children addicted to narcotics, violence, theft, and possibly murder. Over the years, the children watching her show became cult-like, engaging in immoral behavior, drug use, and other shenanigans leading to larceny and assault. In 1955, Futterland Studios was raided by the police, after which she was charged with racketeering, kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit murder. The raid left two police officers dead and five others injured, as she escaped into the tunnels beneath the set to attack them with drills. It is unclear exactly what was inside Futterland Studios, but police captain Stanley Hoad described the contents of the studios as "The most grotesque architectural perversion since H.H. Holmes’ Chicago Murder Castle"[1].
After her arrest she was sent to Holmesburg Prison north of Philadelphia, where she underwent dermatological experiments under the supervision of a Doctor Kligman. During these experiments, Gooseberry was exposed to carbonic acid and dioxin and had grafts of necrotic flesh as well. Fortunately for her, she survived these experiments, with her physical health remaining remarkable. Clyde Perry was able to secure an interview with him, where she attempted to attack him before being restrained. She expresses interest in the facility, saying she would like a change of scenery. Clyde also notes that she has two carnal relations with guards, and that she also had other inmates and staff under her sway as well.[2]
Physical description[]
Mother Gooseberry is a large, moderately obese woman wearing a white blouse with a long plaid dress and knickers underneath. She wears grey stockings with a level of tear and damage as well as black low suede pumps. Mother Gooseberry wears a black belt with a golden buckle, a red neck tie above a white bib like accessory and black gloves. Her skin appears to be flaky and red, resembling something like an advanced sunburn. Notably, Gooseberry has what appears to be a skin mask with smudged makeup crudely stapled to her face to hide her deformities. The top of her head is hairless, yet the hair at the sides of her head remains and is greying. On Gooseberry's right hand is "Doctor Futterman": a poorly constructed puppet of a goose made out of what appears to be leather covered with white feathers, white string like protrusions and bulging red eyes. The puppet wears a top hat and a yellow bowtie with white polka dots. Futterman's bill is made of metal and the top and bottom have human like gums with human teeth. Inside the bill of Doctor Futterman is a powered drill able to be retracted and extended that Gooseberry uses to attack and mutilate unfortunate reagents.
"Alters"[]
Mother Gooseberry[]
In contrast to her murderous nature, Gooseberry speaks in a faux-caring and motherly tone of voice, as she often refers to the Reagents as "children", and herself as "mother". Her dialogue may sometimes denote that she thinks she is helping or educating the Reagents. Mother Gooseberry also shows hints of kindness as she says all people are welcome into the Root Canal after Doctor Futterman questions their presence. This kindness however is more than likely a luring tactic used to pull reagents towards her. Gooseberry also seems to express some level of seductiveness as seen by her regards of The Deviant during the Pervert the Futterman trial and how he is being sexually tortured, as well as her comments on Leland Coyle that often prompt Doctor Futterman to criticize her arousal. Her reaction to Franco Barbi is often confusion at him being armed and a motherly desire to nurse him.
Doctor Futterman[]
Doctor Futterman is the alternative or secondary personality ("alter") of Gooseberry's dissociation, manifested as a bird puppet with teeth, with a drill inside its mouth. When Gooseberry speaks as the Doctor, her voice will change to be higher in pitch, as well as more nasally and throaty. This second personality/identity is much more aggressive, profane, and outspoken than Gooseberry herself, even to the point of insulting her. This includes comments about Gooseberry being a "mistake". Gooseberry often reacts with shock and dismay to the Doctor's off-colored "remarks". Doctor Futterman is an extremely sadistic personality and often expresses interest and enjoyment in torturing the Reagents with his drill. Unlike Gooseberry during the prime time and Lupara event, Doctor Futterman is critical and very irritated by the presence of other prime assets and often expresses desire to harm them.
Characteristics[]
Much like every other enemy, Gooseberry will aggressively attack Reagents on sight, endlessly chasing them until she has caught up with them, lost sight of the Reagents, or is stunned by something - such as a blind or stun rig. Gooseberry does not have any visual cues to highlight her location when in the darkness, but the sounds of her Drill and singing are audible from a fair distance. Any doors that are impeding her destination will simply be opened, otherwise she may bash them open with just a single hit from her drill. She will also bash any wooden planks blocking a doorway and vault nearby windows if she has the chance. When Mother Gooseberry and a Reagent collide head-on, she will immediately grab the Reagent at close range and unleash a drill attack that deals considerably more damage to the Reagent than if she were to simply hit them. Mother Gooseberry will attempt to kill a player by savagely drilling into their face if she either manages to down a player or happens to come across one of them. Thankfully, Mother Gooseberry's execution can be temporarily stopped by another Reagent by knocking her off of the downed Reagent, much like Coyle. In Grind the Bad Apples Gooseberry will refocus to attack the Reagent that is pushing the boat into the grinder, this can be used to lure her into blind rig traps.
Despite her weight, she can pursue the Reagents at an above-average speed, being slightly faster than Coyle. She can also do more damage to players compared to most of the other experimental population, due to using her deadly drill as an attack. Throughout her trials, there are explosive traps (which consist of a Futterman goose doll holding a stack of TNT dynamites) scattered around the environment. Approaching these traps will cause them to make a hissing noise and puffing up the closer it gets, before exploding near the Reagent. They can be destroyed by throwing a Bottle or a Brick towards them.
Story[]
Before The Outlast Trials[]
Phyllis worked as her father's assistant in his dentist's office from a young age and used a puppet to distract adolescent patients during operations. Her hobbies included taxidermy and musical theater. Due to her charisma, her popularity increased, leading to a local broadcast show called "The Mother Gooseberry Hour" in 1951.
After her father's death, Phyllis suffered hysteria and dissociation; her father's body was never found.
A raid occurred at Futterland Studios in 1955, where she was apprehended and sentenced to life in a Philadelphian prison. In 1956, Clyde Perry interviewed her and determined her to be a good candidate for Project Lathe.
The Outlast Trials[]
Mansion[]
TBA
Orphanage[]
Mother Gooseberry makes her second grand appearance in Cleanse the Orphans. She is first seen in the Orphanage's lobby behind the front desk announcing the start of the day and then she enters Ex-Pop insertion gate. After the Reagents tune the frequency box in the Faith Broadcast Map room, she will appear in one of the random dorms and will go all over the second floor to prevent the Reagents from being able to tune her radios into religious broadcast. Once the Reagents return to the lobby and announce the school time, she will say over intercom that she will be their substitute in the classes and invites the children to watch some movies. Once the Reagents return to the lobby and announce the mass, she will say over intercom that she is throwing a party at the chapel instead of a mass. When the Reagents initiate the communion by killing Bootleg Jesus and the blood sprays down onto the kids, she burst through the chapel doors and attack the Reagents in rage for ruining and depraving her children. She will immediately rush to patrol the Orphanage's main gates to find the Reagents before they escape through the shuttle.
In Feed the Children, Mother Gooseberry will enter the cafeteria after the Reagents served the soup and poisoned the children mannequins. In Foster the Orphans, Mother Gooseberry will patrol the random rooms of the Orphanage, like swimming pool, laundry and cafeteria to prevent the Reagents from adjusting the frequencies in the radios to main doors. Once all radios have been adjusted, she will go to the main lobby to prevent the Reagents from fostering the children. In Gather the Children of God, Mother Gooseberry will always patrol the dorms and once all four children have been delivered to the van, she will emerge from Ex-Pop insertion gate by escape shuttle to kill the Reagents. In Reunite the Family, Mother Gooseberry will always enter the cafeteria once the alarm is triggered by the Reagents and will start patrolling it and the kitchen.
Fun Park[]
Later, she makes her third grand appearance in Grind the Bad Apples. Upon entering the main gates to the Fun Park, she can be seen gracefully dancing above the main gates entrance with dying Reagent, singing happily. Once Doctor Futterman spots the Reagents, she tells them that she cannot have anyone grumpy in her fun park before removing the face from the Reagent and walking away. She is not seen again until after the Reagents enter the Root Canal Attraction. She can be seen above them in her office, giving a corpse a new flesh face. Upon noticing the Reagents, Dr. Futterman will ask what they are doing there, and Phyllis will tell him that everybody is welcomed in Futterland, and they will never want to leave. Once in the upper canal she will announce through intercom that she is shutting the ride down thus lowering the water level in the tunnel. She will then emerge in the office area to thwart anyone that tries to locate the valves for the C/D pipes. After pushing the goose cart down to the grinder, she will spawn out of the Ex-Pop insertion gate right next to it. She is completely enraged that the Reagents want to hurt her children and will chase anyone that pushes the boat further to the grinder. The Reagents must then escape after succeeding in destroying the boat, which causes her to become hysterical that they killed her babies, and she was not able to prevent that. She spawns for a final time at the end, waiting by the escape shuttle to attack the Reagents.
In Punish the Miscreants, Mother Gooseberry will warn the children in the park about the Reagents and urges them to hide. She can patrol the upper area of the barn and will enter it through Ex-Pop insertion gate one more time when the Reagents threw the last child mannequin into the grinder. In Open the Gates, Mother Gooseberry will patrol the every area (red, green, orange and blue) of the park preventing the Reagents from opening the gates, going to another area once the gate has been opened. In Drill the Futterman, Mother Gooseberry will appear after the Reagents killed the Bootleg Futterman and patrol the entrance area to Root Canal Tunnel. In Deface the Futtermans, Mother Gooseberry will say to Reagents in the barn that nobody leaves her and closes the exit gates, forcing the Reagents to open it by hitting Futterman targets in the barn. In Redeem your Freedom, Mother Gooseberry will patrol her office with the ticket booth going from lower to upper floor.
Toy Factory[]
Finally, she makes her third grand appearance in Pervert the Futterman. Upon entering the Toy Factory's parking and main entrance, Doctor Futterman announces through various televisions the new fun massage doll inside. Once the Reagents enter the production line A, she will enter the room and starts patrolling it and expressing her disgust and arousal when seeing The Deviant. She will also scold Reagents for making sex doll out of The Deviant claiming that Toy Factory supposed to be making toys for children. Once the Deviant has been covered in hot wax, she will start patrolling every room on the first floor and the balcony area in warehouse D. Upon transporting the Deviant to the incinerator, Mother Gooseberry will enter a rage for humiliating and hurting her "father" thus wanting to kill the Reagents for that. She will finally appear in the parking lot of the Toy Factory waiting for the Reagents to attack the Reagents.
In Crush the Sex Toys, Mother Gooseberry will patrol sections, A, B and D often stopping by the conveyor belts and the compactor. Once all sex toy boxes have been crushed, she will appear in the incinerator area. In Incinerate the Sex Toys, Mother Gooseberry will patrol one of two sections of the basement of Toy Factory. In Shutdown the Factory, Mother Gooseberry will occasionally emerge from the Ex-Pop insertion gates to patrol the Toy Factory and once the it has been shut down, she will appear right by the escape shuttle, waiting for the Reagents. In Fumigate the Factory, Mother Gooseberry will appear either in section A or B where she will be patrolling whole area except for loading docks. Once the Reagents have poisoned the Toy Factory and its mannequin workers, she will be enraged and will appear in the incinerator area to hunt and kill the Reagents.
Player death animation[]
Mother Gooseberry nods at Doctor Futterman before crouching over a Reagent and drilling their mouth apart.
Balance Changes[]
May 19, 2023 (Early Access Launch)
October 26, 2023 (Early Access Update # 3 / Program Geister)
December 13, 2023 (Early Access Update # 4 / Winter Kills)
March 5, 2024 (Full Release)
July 16, 2024 (Project Lupara)
April 22, 2025 (Project Relapse)
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Trivia[]
- Mother Gooseberry's name is likely a namesake taken from Mother Goose, a fictional character based in French fairy tales and later English nursery rhymes. She is portrayed either as an elderly woman who owns a goose or the goose herself and, in some versions, she is the author of said stories. Although the character's origins are not entirely clear, the spread of its popularity is attributed to Charles Perrault's fairy tale collection Contes de ma mère l'Oye (French for Tales of Mother Goose).
- Mother Gooseberry seems to have been inspired by the real-life murderer Ed Gein, who himself inspired a plethora of other characters in the horror genre. Especially Gein's unhealthy and almost Freudian relationship with his mother - with him being dependent upon her well into his adulthood - his unstable mental health after her eventual passing, as well as his habit of grave robbery to fashion various items from human remains are very prominent traits which are mirrored in Phyllis.
- Additionally, her mentioned affinity for taxidermy and her goose theming in particular are reminiscent of characteristics that Norman Bates from Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 horror film Psycho—another character who was inspired by Gein—possesses. He too had a passion for taxidermy, specifically involving birds.
- Alternatively, Mother Gooseberry may also be inspired by Leatherface from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise (which in turn, was also heavily influenced by Ed Gein) as they are both overweight serial killers who remove the faces of their victims with a power tool (specifically, an electric drill in Mother Gooseberry's case and a chainsaw in Leatherface's case) and wear them to cover their disfigured faces. Her makeup is also very reminiscent of Leatherface's "Pretty Lady" mask in the 1974 film.
- Gooseberry's Freudian associations and use of a power drill could have been inspired by the 1982 slasher movie "The Slumber Party Massacre". In the movie, the main antagonist, Russ Thorn, uses a power drill and his weapon is given many phallic connotations as he written to represent the male sex drive and the fear of penetration.
- Additionally, her mentioned affinity for taxidermy and her goose theming in particular are reminiscent of characteristics that Norman Bates from Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 horror film Psycho—another character who was inspired by Gein—possesses. He too had a passion for taxidermy, specifically involving birds.
- It is not outright stated, as Dr. Futterman's body was never recovered, but in Phyllis' "conversations" with her Futterman effigy, he heavily alludes that his passing may have been the result of his simultaneous usage of benzedrine and gin. Taking amphetamines and alcohol together not only comes with a multitude of serious side effects but also takes a tremendous toll on one's physical health. It is therefore likely that Dr. A. Futterman's death could have come as a result of his drug habit. The line of dialogue where this bit of information is revealed is also a rare instance where Phyllis acknowledges her father's passing and displays a sliver of lucidity and self-awareness in stating so.
- Gooseberry's Freudian tendencies are most prominently displayed in the Toy Factory Program, where she expresses confusion at her simultaneous disgust and arousal at the sight of The Deviant.
- Contrary to popular belief, Mother Gooseberry does not fit the criteria to be diagnosed with DID (dissociative identity disorder); her symptoms more closely match the criteria for OSDD (other specified dissociative disorder).
- In the DSM-V[3], one of the most notable criteria for a DID diagnosis is lapses in consciousness and memory between the personality states present in a system. Since both personality states are simultaneously active, the criteria is not met.
- OSDD is used as a diagnosis when a subject experiences clear dissociative symptoms, but fails to meet the criteria for any particular dissociative disorder.
- Doctor Futterman seems to present as a "Persecutor" alter – which is an alter that engages in harmful or self destructive behaviors towards the body, in order to protect the host. As seen in his dialogue towards Mother Gooseberry, he is crude and mean, which in turn drives her to stay on her feet and to protect herself.
- Mother Gooseberry seems to present as a child alter. It is mentioned in the comic that she is age 14. It is common for those with dissociative disorders to have child alters. Child alters form usually as a "snapshot" memory of trauma which tends to keep them in the past. This is how Mother Gooseberry presents, with unusual childish behaviors yet a keen adult-level understanding of concepts.
- It is possible Mother Gooseberry has Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) with poor insight and delusion.
- Gooseberry is obsessed with maintaining the image of her father being a beloved icon and becomes severely anxious, distressed, and enraged when her beliefs about her father are challenged. The motion comic shows that Gooseberry is obsessed with rules and says "We have to save the children, we have to save them from lies, and from perversion, and from nasty old spoilsports. That's why we have rules and if you break the rules then mother breaks you [...] there are supposed to be rules and Doctor Daddy help us all if someday... the rules changed.".
- She shows signs of moral scrupulosity, a subtype of OCD characterized as fixating on moral obsessions and judging if they are comitting a sin or doing something wrong. Gooseberry's trials have her repetitively and ritualistically protect children, and protect her father's reputation by punishing deviancy (like how distressed she was to see The Deviant dress as Dr. Futterman). She's surrounded by mannequins dressed as nuns, and she punishes reagents for misbehaving or being bad.
- Although not a symptom of OCD, age regression is a common coping method in times of stress and anxiety. Gooseberry is often found regressing to the age and mental capacity of a 14-year-old. Gooseberry involuntarily does this around memories of her father and her current traumatic experiences in the Murkoff experiments.
- She shows signs of delusional beliefs. Despite the evidence of her father's abuse and drug use, Gooseberry maintains the delusion and intrusive thought that her father was perfect and she must do anything to please him so he doesn't lose his temper. On "The Mother Gooseberry Hour", she was arrested for indoctrinating her audience, encouraging drugs, and inciting criminal activity. The specific choice of cocaine as Gooseberry's preferred drug can explained in 2 ways: until 1914, cocaine was legal in the USA and was given to children, and her father likely gave her the drug in her adolescence. Which explains why Gooseberry has no issue selling or promoting the drug in her adulthood as part of her OCD.
- Gooseberry shows signs of cognitive distortion and selective abstraction (common symptoms of OCD) because she believes her father is alive, she is seemingly unaware of the attention she's getting from the other prime assets, and before the events of the game, Gooseberry was arrested for encouraging substance abuse and inciting other crimes on "The Mother Gooseberry Hour".
- In an idle conversation with Dr. Futterman, it's revealed that she takes pills (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) are used to treat OCD but they didn't exist until 1974. In 1959 - 1961, they would have used Tricyclic Antidepressants as treatment instead, albeit rarely. Although they weren't made widely accessible until 1964, it's possible that Gooseberry was given the early, experimental form of the drug).
- Trauma can cause or worsen cases of OCD and documents imply she was a victim of child abuse. In the comics, it's explicitly stated that her father's sudden death was the moment where Mother Gooseberry's mental health started to erode and decline. Not only that, Women are statistically more likely to develop OCD than men.
- Finally, puppet play or play therapy is sometimes used in the treatment of OCD in children because it's allegedly used to help the patient express and externalize their negative and traumatic feelings. With that in mind, it implies that Dr. Futterman is not an alternate personality but an outlet, expression, and externalisation of her compulsions. Certain pieces of dialogue from Dr. Futterman doesn't sound a like a conversation between 2 people or 1 half of a conversation. It sounds like the internalized compulsions, inner criticisms, and responses to rule breaking than an alternate personality. Dr. Futterman is consistant in being aggressive, controlling, and over-critical of Gooseberry, possibly as her inner-critic for breaking or avoiding these compulsions.
- When Futterman asks "Have you forgotten to take your pills, darling?", that's a sign of compulsive self-monitoring by making sure she's taking her prescribed medication.
- "Gets them, Phyllis! Gets them!" while chasing the reagents reflects need for control and perfection.
- "You thinks it's funny hurtin' kids?" and "Shhh. There we go. We'll hurt them for this Phyllis. I promise." reflects her scrupulosity because she's disproportionately punishing bad behaviors.
- "I WILL TEACH YOU ABOUT DENTAL HYGIENE! I WILL TEACH YOU ABOUT DENTAL HYGIENE!" is more ritualistic and compulsive than a direct threat because the rules about dental hygiene have been broken.
- "God damnit, Phyllis. They're going to grind those children to chuck. Is that what you want, you sputtering cow?" is a sign of negative self-talk, a common symptom of OCD.
- Futterman's behavior towards the other prime assets (i.e. protective rage) is a sign of hypervigilance and self-monitoring so she stays true to her rules.
- Although exaggerated, Gooseberry's disproportionate anxiety and Futterman's murderous reactions to these broken "rules" align with OCD.
- Dr. Futterman occasionally brings up “Schmaltz” which is a type of rendered fat, taken from a chicken or a goose. Given the context, he is possibly referring to the latter.
- He also calls Phyllis a “schmaltzhefer” which is combination of the words schmaltz (rendered fat) and hefer (young cow). Given the Jewish origins of these words, this could hint that Dr. Futterman speaks Yiddish.
- Like the rest of the Prime Assets, Gooseberry gets her own unique ping icon instead of the standard skull icon for enemies. Her icon is her Doctor Futterman puppet.
- The unused dialogue for Gooseberry suggests that her homeland or prison was was originally intended to be located in Pittsburgh.
- According to her unused dialogues, Gooseberry is afraid of the Scientists due to having undergone shock treatments. This is likely a consequence of her failed attempts to stop the Reagents in the Trials.
- Mother Gooseberry's songs in her trials reference real-life music released during the 20th century:
- In Cleanse the Orphans, her classroom song references "Take a Whiff on Me", also known as "Cocaine Habit Blues", which is first recorded in 1930 by the Memphis Jug Band.
- In Grind the Bad Apples, her entrance song references "Come to the Fair", which is first recorded in 1917 by Easthope Martin and Helen Taylor.
- In Pervert the Futterman, her hand puppet performs the Futterman song from the TVs, which are also hummed briefly by one of patrolling male grunts and Mother Gooseberry while grabbing the reagent. The song is a reference to "Mickey Mouse March" which is the opening theme for 1955 Mickey Mouse Club TV show.
References[]
- ↑ The Raid on Futterland
- ↑ Gooseberry Interview
- ↑ American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed). https://archive.org/details/DSM5Eng/mode/2up
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