There's an extra S in 'Jessica'.

We really need to figure this thing out, because I don't know about you, but it's not consistent for me at all. Do you turn in the general direction and head for the stairs? Do you walk backwards until you hear stairs?

I felt like turning would be faster because you're already facing the right way when you reach the stairs, but then I realised you're still a few steps away from the button anyway. Besides, walking backwards is a lot more consistent for me. Consistent in terms of reaching the stairs, at least; after that it's still just groping around in the dark.

I've even thought that using the keyboard for camera control could make it easier, but I've seen reports that this game doesn't do well with input modification programs and such.