| “ | I've left my mark on the world. Have you? | ” |
Manny Sherman is a supporting character in The Dark Pictures Anthology's fourth installment, The Devil in Me. He was a notorious serial killer inspired by H.H. Holmes, and Du'Met's mentor.
Appearance[]
Sherman is only seen as an reanimated corpse in the game. His entire body is in a clearly decaying state, with lips and nose rotted away, which gives him a skeletal appearance. With the help of mechanical contraptions, his face and arms are able to move. The brace-like metal on his face makes Sherman's mouth move.
Personality[]
Having revered H. H. Holmes, Sherman was a cold-blooded, remorseless serial killer. He describes killing his victims in an almost romantic fashion, comparing murder to a work of art, highlighting that nothing is more beautiful than watching the life bleed out of someone. He was also highly intelligent and manipulative, being able to persuade Hector Munday to act on his murderous impulses.
Biography[]
Manny Sherman was born on January 1, 1956. In the 1970s, Sherman began murdering women after becoming fascinated with the killings carried out by H. H. Holmes. Posing as a house flipper, Sherman would lure female realtors to abandoned homes near an airport and kill them. During his first couple of murders, he would deliberately wait for the sound of a plane to fly overhead to drown out the women's screaming, but eventually found this unnecessary, as they were the only two people around for miles. For his grisly killings, Sherman would be dubbed the 'Beast of Arkansas' by the press.
By 1997, Sherman had murdered thirteen women. Eventually, he was arrested at a motel in Alabama, thanks in part to FBI profiler Hector Munday, who was also assigned to interview Sherman to help create an overall profile of his mindset. During the interviews, Sherman described to Munday his admiration for Holmes, the method in which he killed his victims, and how he believed his actions would leave a mark on the world. In another interview, Sherman compared murder to art. Noticing Munday's increasing alignment with his world-view, Sherman goaded Munday into attacking him, telling him that he had the potential to truly be an “artist” if he wanted.
In 1999, Sherman was convicted of all thirteen murders and sentenced to death by lethal injection. He would be executed four years later on May 2, 2003. Following his death, Sherman was buried in an undisclosed cemetery in Springdale, Arkansas. Shortly thereafter, Hector Munday (having been inspired by Sherman to become a serial killer) retrieved Sherman's corpse and created an animatronic out of it, displaying it in his World's Fair Hotel Replica.
House of Ashes[]
| Chapter Appearances | |||
| Cursed | Absent | ||
| The Briefing | Mentioned in Text | The Assault | Absent |
| The Raid | Absent | The Horror | Absent |
| Underworld | Absent | Enemy of My Enemy | Absent |
| Pazuzu | Absent | The Well | Absent |
| The Temple | Absent | The Ancient One | Absent |
| Breaking Up | Absent | Brothers | Absent |
| After the Fall | Absent | The City | Absent |
| Slayer | Absent | Strange Aeons | Absent |
| The Truce | Absent | The Vault | Absent |
| Bloodbath | Absent | Semper Fi | Absent |
| The Signal | Absent | Daylight | Absent |
| The End | Absent | ||
Minor Story[]
Sherman was mentioned in the War Newspaper, which references his 1999 death sentence and subsequent execution.
The Devil in Me[]
| Chapter Appearances | |||
| The World's Fair Hotel | Absent | ||
| Crew | Absent | Ignition | Absent |
| Trial | Absent | Spa | Absent |
| Opportunity | Absent | Breathless | Absent |
| Ferry | Absent | Surgery | Absent |
| Island | Absent | Plan | Absent |
| Guests | Absent | Workshop | Absent |
| Cigarettes | Mentioned in Text | Interrogation | Debut (Dead) |
| Scouting | Voice | Morellos | Mentioned in Text |
| Dinner | Absent | Waste Disposal | Absent |
| Noises | Absent | Director's Suite | Absent |
| Staff Only | Voice | Reflection | Absent |
| Blackout | Absent | Chase | Absent |
| Blood Trail | Absent | Maze | Absent |
| Wall | Absent | Pool | Absent |
| Separated | Absent | Cliffside | Absent |
| Silver Ash | Voice | Homestead | Absent |
| Party | Absent | Lighthouse | Absent |
| Mannequins | Absent | Reunion | Absent |
| Incinerator | Absent | Lake | Absent |
| Riddles | Absent | Ultimatum | Absent |
| The End | Absent | ||
Main Story[]
Act 2[]
While exploring the 2nd Floor Corridors, Jamie comes across Sherman's animatronic placed in an interrogation room, similar to the one where he was first interviewed by Hector Munday. After banging the glass and startling Jamie, Du'Met walks over to the table and presses a recorder, playing Sherman Tape 4. Afterwards, Jamie flees the room, narrowly escaping Du'Met.
Switchback VR[]
Killed Victims[]
| Chapter | Character | Mechanism of Kill | Condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| N/A - Prior to events of game | At least 13 people | Unknown | Always happens. |
Relationships[]
Du'Met[]
Sherman first met Du'Met when the latter was Hector Munday, the FBI profiler that led to his arrest. Due to a combination of Munday's mental instabilities from his childhood and desire for recognition, Sherman was able to manipulate Munday into understanding his philosophy behind murder. While Sherman's true view of Munday is unknown, Munday seemed to eventually regard Sherman as almost a mentor, retrieving his corpse for his hotel and emulating Holmes from the stories that Sherman told him.
Trivia[]
Secrets[]
- Sherman Tape 1, Sherman Tape 2, Sherman Tape 3, and Sherman Tape 4 were all recordings of Hector Munday's interviews with Sherman.
- Joseph Morello was in the process of writing a book on Sherman.
- Sherman's arrest is detailed in the Front Page News paper.
- The disappearance of Sherman's body is the focus of the Body Snatching Article.
Quotes[]
Gallery
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| Protagonists |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antagonists | |||||||
| Supporting Characters | |||||||