"Robbing the Cradle" is a level in the 2004 video game Thief: Deadly Shadows, developed by Ion Storm. Unlike other levels in the game, it features a strong survival horror theme, in addition to the stealth gameplay typical of the Thief series. Players traverse an abandoned, haunted orphanage and mental asylum called the Shalebridge Cradle, while attempting to free the soul of a young girl from the building's captivity.
The level was designed by Jordan Thomas and Randy Smith, with a soundscape composed by Eric Brosius. Using theories of interactive horror design developed by Smith in 2000, the team sought to create the scariest level ever to appear in a game. They took influence from works such as House of Leaves, Session 9 and the Silent Hill series, and they studied mental asylums and reportedly haunted buildings for inspiration.
"Robbing the Cradle" was widely praised, and it has been described by several publications as one of the scariest levels in the history of video games. Jordan Thomas went on to create the "Fort Frolic" level in BioShock, and to serve as creative director for BioShock 2. The positive reception of "Robbing the Cradle" inspired Eidos Montréal to create a similar asylum level in Thief (2014).