Man In The Hat

Man in the Hat

Main Features

Gender

Male

Age

Unknown

Relatives

Unknown

Eye Colour

Unknown (under his glasses, you can find closed eyes like Fake Neighbor, Officer Keith and Officer Leslie, but on the network you can see that he has blue eyes, as thought by the community)

Hair Colour

Unknown

Clothing

Bandana, hat, trench coat, vest, black striped pants and yellow glasses.

Year Born

Unknown

Occupation

Detective
Investigative Journalist

Relationships

Enemies
The Guest Beatrix Quentin

Opinions

Abilities and Miscellaneous Features

Physical Abilities

Unknown

The Man in the Hat is an unknown character that was planned to have a major role in Hello Neighbor 2, but that was eventually scrapped, and his appearance became more of an easter egg. He originally had a major role in Hello Guest.

Description

The Man in the Hat is a mysterious character, first appearing in Secret Neighbor. He was planned to have a role in Hello Neighbor 2, and was one of the antagonists in Hello Guest. He would be always observing. The player would be able to interact with him in-game, which was mentioned in the Hello Neighbor Showcase.[1]

Appearance

He looks like a man probably in his fourties, dressed in an outfit that hides most of his face.

He wears a dark blue sweater, a black vest, a beige trench coat with brown buttons, black striped pants, and black shoes. He wears a large dark brown hat. He also has a pair of pale yellow sunglasses that hide his eyes. His sweater hides his mouth. His nose has triangular shape.

Underneath the mask, we can see that the model has his eyes closed all the time and has a "shaped" beard.

In the Hello Neighbor Showcase [2] he can be seen sitting on a bench, reading a newspaper with missing posters of Nicky, Aaron, and Mya. he puts up the newspaper when the police drive by.

Storyline

Hello Guest Alpha 1

In the beginning of the game, the Man in the Hat picks between two park guards, Quentin and Beatrix, to guard the park. While the main character is driving to the park, the Man in the Hat drives past them next to the gas station.

While in gameplay, the Man in the Hat can be seen observing the main character from a distance. He appears both in the park in several locations, and outside the gas station for a limited amount of time.

At the end of the alpha, after the player reaches the ending spot, the Man in the Hat blinds the main character with his car's lights. After that he starts approaching our character and the screen cuts to black.

In an extended unused cutscene of the ending, the Man in the Hat tries to arrest the main character but stops when he notices the Guest hiding behind his car. He pulls out a spray bottle, and moves to the car to spray the Guest, who has now moved. They're about to arrest the main character when the Guest lunges at him, resulting in a fight. The Man in the Hat ends up retreating to his car, while the Guest kidnaps the main character.

Hello Neighbor 2 Alpha 1

The Man in the Hat can be seen throughout the map in this game. He is standing on a funicular in the main map, watching the player from a distance. In the ending scene of Alpha 1 with neighbor's arrival, he can be seen under the pole with the phone. After the game has been completed, he can be seen in the background of the main menu.

Hello Neighbor 2 Alpha 1.5

Just like in alpha 1 he can be spotted standing on the funicular but this time he does not appear in the ending. He is also in the Neighbor's house, under the roof, chillaxin'.

Hello Neighbor 2 Alpha 2

Mentioned in the AI Trailer, The AI's would be able to be interacted and 'find their own stories to discover'. Man In The Hat was shown in the AI trailer when it was being mentioned, so it confirms his existence in this build.

Hello Neighbor 2

He can be found lying inside one of the graves at the graveyard, that is located in Raven Brooks Forest.

History

Secret Neighbor

He appears on the bulletin board, in one of the photos after one of the game's patches. (February, 2020)
Then he appears as a secret character in the game and he hides among the bushes behind the fence.
He also appears in the recordings for the projector, where he grabs Quentin (HG Alpha 1 ending).
His hat is a trophy in Secret Neighbor. (August 12th, 2021)
He is shown on the investigative journalism badge in Secret Neighbor. (June 15th, 2023)
In one of the tips, it is implied that Quentin knows him. (October 26th, 2023)

Hello Guest

For the first time, he appears on the teaser with Mr. Peterson's House, where he just stands next to it.

He then appears in Hello Guest Alpha 1, where he appears during the entire game. First, he drives in the background in his car in the opening cutscene. Then he watches the player throughout the whole game, but these peeks are randomly generated and may vary. In the last cutscene, he catches the player.

Hello Neighbor 2 Alphas

In Hello Neighbor 2 Alpha 1 he can be seen in one of the funiculars. He also appears in the finale of the game, where he stands near an electric pole with a phone, which is located near the house.

In Hello Neighbor 2 Alpha 1.5 the Man in the Hat returns standing on the funicular but he is not present in the ending of this build.

Hello Neighbor 2

You were able to see him lying inside a grave in Patch 9, but the grave was closed in a Hotfix (3 or 4). However, he is still inside the grave. His hat can be found inside the church tower, though it has no collision, no physics, and is untextured, just having dust on it. One of the hidden photos shows him taking a photo with the photo camera.

Appearances

Secret Neighbor - Friday, March 20, 2020
Hello Guest Alpha 1 - Saturday, June 13, 2020
Hello Neighbor 2 Alpha 1 - Thursday, July 23, 2020
Hello Neighbor 2 Alpha 1.5 - Monday, October 26, 2020
Hello Neighbor Showcase (AI Trailer) - Friday, March 26, 2021
Hello Neighbor 2 - Tuesday, October 31, 2023 (Hello Neighbor 2 Patch #9)

Trivia

Most of the fandom has given a name to this character. ''Smith'. Based on the current name we have and the old joke name 'Sombrero man.' SMITH stands for 'Sombrero Man in the Hat The name itself created by Remington (Fear_Mayak) and RetroDiscoid/Diskette.
He likes hiding in cutscenes, teasers, trailers, in maps during gameplay, and more. You can find him by looking carefully.
In the Hello Neighbor 2 Alpha 1.5 he can be found in the attic of the Guest's house.
Through his first arrival in Secret Neighbor, he took photos of the neighbor's house with a professional photo camera. The players could scare him from bush to bush by going closer, or throwing items at him, until neighbor set the traps, and caught him, resulting the man leaving his hat and the car keys where he got caught. the car key opened his car's trunk, which contained a film reel (HG Alpha 1 ending).
He can be seen stalking the neighbor on the countdown for the AI Trailer.
Though he was promised by tinyBuild, he never appeared in Hello Neighbor 2.
- But, he might get added in future updates as a main story character, due to being the 17th on the list of the most wanted things, being Man In The Hat, as shown in one of the DevLogs.
  - He eventually appeared in Hello Neighbor 2 as an easter egg in Patch 9, and judging by one of the hidden photos, he might have a bigger role in a future update.