Earliest possible encounter? (Possible racing spoilers.)

[Mina Darsh]

Just curious, what is the earliest possible encounter in the game?

Spoiler below!

Earliest I saw was in the Archives. (When getting the key for the Whine Cellar.) At least, saw in a video (The one where the commentating guy freaks out in a hilarious way.) that when you don't hide when a monster roars, it comes to you, but vanishes right before you.

But with how the game works, it could easily be that there is an even earlier encounter, anyone know?

Edit: Fixed most first to Earliest.

[Frontcannon]

Most first?
What does that mean?

The first encounter with a monster you can get.. is the Archives. You can see one on your way back from the Local History Room to the Entrance Hall.
Just a short glimpse, but that depends on what you define as 'encounter'.

[Sexbad]

I think by most first he means earliest. Since most levels give the illusion of having monsters in them, it's hard to tell which is the first to feature a live one. To get the first real monster you have to

Spoiler below!

I believe the distillery is the first level to feature a real threat. In the demo if you get close enough to the monster it dissolves into thin air. On my second play through the full game I decided to test if this was true for the full version as well. After it appeared I ran straight toward it. It attacked me. FUCK, that was scary.

and a donkey.

[Kein]

^-> What Lee said. That's the first encounter.

[Mina Darsh]

But, of the ones that are an illusion, what would be the first then, Archives, or is there a hidden one in the earlier parts of the game?

[darkpast]

As far as I know, the first "illusionary" monster is in the Archives.

[Sexbad]

Since some of the game is nonlinear, there are places you can go in any order that have illusions. Daniel does

Spoiler below!

The Archives contain an imaginary monster. I believe that after the cave-in you can re-enter a room with a doorway that is blocked off by rubble and a monster will appear behind you. You can also go to the Wine Cellar and pick up a specific bottle of Laudanum and a monster will appear at the end of the hallway. I'm not sure if the latter is imaginary, though.

and then she gives him a restraining order.

[Kein]

Monster in Wine Storage is not real as well.

[MassacrMan]

Monster in Wine Storage is not real as well.

So I got all freaked for a fake monster...

[LoneWolf]

Monster in Wine Storage is not real as well.

Actually it as it chased me, or am i in the wrong place? is it the same place as in the demo ? if so then yeah its real.