The Prickle Pine Safehouse is the strangest of all safehouses in San Andreas. Located in northern Las Venturas in Prickle Pine, the house is a two storey dwelling featuring a medium size three-car garage and luxurious decor. It is the only two-storey house for sale in the game and has a completely unique interior. It is also the only safehouse to contain a stealth zone, leading some myth hunters to believe the house is haunted.
Breathing Sounds[]
The house has become the focus of several investigations owing to the strange breathing that can be heard within. While walking down the hallway on the ground level, there is a specific section where breathing sounds can be heard.[1] Some have concluded that the house is haunted and the sounds originate from an unseen ghostly presence, however, the breathing is the result of the stealth mechanic within the game. Breathing acts as an audio cue to the player to signify when CJ is hidden from npcs in an area with shadows. This is most prominently displayed during the mission Madd Dogg's Rhymes. Stealth is an underutilized feature and rarely used throughout the game so it's likely many players forget about or are entirely unaware of this mechanic and mistake the breathing for paranormal phenomena. It is unknown why this shadow area exists within the house as it is the only known example within a safehouse.
Glowing Windows[]
Ground floor living room windows
All interior windows of the house exhibit a strange purple glow at night. It is unknown exactly what this ominous lighting is meant to represent. Traditionally, the hues for these dyes were sourced from rare precious pigments and have historically been used by royalty and priesthood, resulting in the color being associated with high social status.[2] It is unlikely this light is emanating from a nearby source, such as a neighbors house, due to its uniform presence throughout the entire home across both floors. It is most likely this glow was intended to reflect the purple evening sky that is prevalent in the desert regions of San Andreas, however this is the only known example of such an effect. It is possible this was a feature added early in development and was intended to be applied to other interiors in the desert region but was only used here because of the simple duplication of safehouse interiors, likely due to time constraints.
Rocking Chairs[]
First floor bedroom rocking chairs
The house features a unique interior with a few strange decor pieces. The most prominent of these are a set of mirrored rocking chairs in the first floor bedroom. Their central position and symmetrical layout make them stand out against the crimson themed color palette of the room. It is unknown what, if any, environmental storytelling is taking place here and the meaning behind the chairs placement in the room is unknown. Elsewhere in the house an exceptionally large candle can be found on the first floor living room table. In the ground floor bar area, there is an oddly degraded picture on the wall, although it is not clear if this is intended, a clipping issue or if the frame is merely empty. In the kitchen there is an unusually large empty planter pot full of dirt on the counter and a washing machine that appears to be made of stone. This is likely just an improper texture similar to other objects in the game like the Rusty Wheelchair.
Red Lighting[]
First floor bedroom mood lighting
The house contains a very unusual lighting source in the first floor bedroom. A single colored bulb bathes the entire room in a strange red glow. It is unknown exactly why this lighting choice was made or what it is meant to convey. It is most likely this is merely mood lighting and attempts to create a romantic atmosphere in the bedroom as red is associated with love, passion and lust and is often associated with Valentines Day.[3] This intention however contrasts with the rest of the bedroom's decor and instead the lighting conveys a strange eerie atmosphere not in keeping with its surroundings and so appears out of place, much like the rocking chairs. This red lighting can be seen improperly reflected outside the room on the newel post at the top of the staircase. This is a common lighting error that can be observed on some objects across the entire state of San Andreas in the form of Strange Lights. The house also features mirror finish tiled floors throughout the ground level which sometimes reflect the upstairs purple glowing windows and red bedroom lighting, both of which seem to situationally ignore the presence of floors and ceilings.
Hidden Interiors Universe[]
The safehouse is the only known safehouse interior that can be used to access the Hidden Interiors Universe. The left wall immediate to the entry point has no collision on the upper section. This is usually inaccessible under normal circumstances, however, if the kangaroo cheat is used to increase CJ's jump height, the upper section of wall can be phased through. Note that the rocketman cheat to spawn a Jetpack will be ineffective at reaching this upper section of wall as the safehouse interior exists beyond the Ceiling Height Limit and the Jetpack will not be able to gain any altitude within the safehouse. There is a very narrow ledge that can be used to observe this part of the Hidden Interiors Universe.
If equipped with a parachute, it is possible to jump from the ledge and land far below in another section of the Hidden Interiors Universe, however, due to the dark nature of the surrounding environment, it may prove difficult to judge when to open the chute. This can be overcome by observing the altitude meter. The safehouse exists many altitude meters in the sky, but opening the parachute approximately halfway down the second altitude meter should result in a successful landing. Nearing the ground, lighting will improve and the glitched Ghost Town will come into view below. Note that landing outside of this area can make it difficult to reach the town as there are collision barriers on the transparent floor. The safehouse interior exists within the Heaven P section of the Hidden Interiors Universe while the town far below exists within Heaven A.
Out of Bounds[]
The second-floor exterior windows lack collision, making it possible for the interior of the external house model to be accessible from the outside.[4]
