Iron Maidens were an experimental species of Bio-Organic Weapon (B.O.W.) created by the
Los Illuminados cult by experimenting with human hosts and Las Plagas, a type of parasite which could affect the mind and body in various ways. The creatures were an advancement of an earlier creation named the
Regenerador - a similar, but quite different B.O.W.
They were created under lab conditions under supervision of Dr. Luis Sera who at the time was one of the lead contributors and later became disillusioned with his work and any further creation of Iron Maiden specimens halted.
They were human shaped, albeit taller with a gaping mouth full of incredibly sharp teeth. Their body was also covered in sharp spikes which could be quickly pushed out incredibly far, causing great injury and death to anybody too close. They were slow moving and walked in a twitchy, shambling manner, similar to
t-Virus zombies. Their physiological changes caused by the
Plaga were so great that all of their human aspects had been lost.
They were named after the Iron Maiden torture devices used in neo-medieval times, which was a cabinet-shaped enclosure with spikes on the inside which a victim was placed inside and then the device closed, both causing great physical pain and claustrophobia. The creatures themselves preferred to approach their target, wrap their arms around them and then trigger their spikes to impale and kill them.
In Resident Evil 7, the
Molded creatures that feature in the game resemble Regeneradores and Iron Maidens. It's clear that some inspiration was taken from here.
