This fact is not confirmed completely, but the novel Dead Space: Martyr describes a Necromorph fish which behaves like all other Necromorphs, as it attacks another fish in order to kill and infect it. The Necromorph infection seems to be not only limited to humans, but to all other creatures except the creators of the Marker. While it does inflict damage on and will kill them eventually, it is extremely wasteful and potentially lethal a person may waste a large amount of ammunition, or may be attacked by other Necromorphs while they are concentrated on one. As experience shows, shooting them in the torso, or even the head is ineffective. The bacterium responsible for the infection is also referred to as "The Corruption".Īll Necromorphs are extremely hardy and capable of surviving in lethal environments due to the fact that they do not need to rely on organs for respiration. This is a sign of greater intelligence in the form of planning and effectively utilizing resources. It is worth noting that some Necromorphs are clearly comprised of more than one human (see Brute), which is an indication that some bodies may be allocated for more efficient use. The actual type of Necromorph created depends on the location and circumstances, as well as the host body's current form (for example, Lurkers are created from any infant human, or dogs). The body of the Necromorph host is forced into new twisted shapes to fit the function of the newly spawned creature. This transformation is extremely gruesome and disturbing for observers. Once infected, the transformation into a Necromorph is extremely quick, typically happening in a matter of seconds. For most necromorph forms, decapitation (cutting off the head) also does little to stop them. It is only wasting your ammo, time, and energy. Because of the fact that the vital organs that were once in the torso and chest area of most necromorphs made from human corpses have been mostly replaced by muscle by the necromorph contagion, attaking the chest and torso areas do very little to stop them. The only effective way to "kill" a Necromorph is to shoot or cut enough of its limbs off to disable it (arms and legs). Injuries that would kill an ordinary being, particularly the attack on necromorphs of where the vital organs of the host organism would be, have little effect on them, and conventional methods of attack require tremendous skill to kill or even damage them.Ĭountless people have died due to not knowing the Necromorphs' only vulnerability: cutting their limbs off. The sole purpose of almost all Necromorphs is to create more bodies to spread the infection, while the role of one particular creature, the infector, is to specifically infect non-necromorphs to make more of themselves. These creatures are extremely aggressive, and will attack any non-necromorph on sight. The Necromorphs are the reanimated bodies of the dead, revived and reshaped into horrific new forms by recombinant extraterrestrial genes.