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A plot analysis for the "Silent Hill" series.
Originally written by SilentPyramid.
Translated into english by Darth_Blade, MadRushn and 401st Stalker.
VERSION 1.0
May, 21, 2005
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This guide contains information about:
1) "Silent Hill" games by Konami:
Silent Hill 1 (PSone)
Silent Hill Play Novel (GBA)
Silent Hill 2 (PS2)
Silent Hill 2 Restless Dreams (PS2, PC, XBOX)
Silent Hill 3 (PS2, PC)
Silent Hill 4 the Room (PS2, PC, XBOX)
2) Other "Silent Hill" releases:
Silent Hill Dying Inside
Silent Hill Among the Damned
Silent Hill Paint it Black
Silent Hill OST
Silent Hill 2 OST
Silent Hill 3 OST
Silent Hill 4 OST
Lost Memories
Victims List
Another Crimson Tome
NOTE: This guide (obviously) contains TONNS OF THE EXTREME SPOILERS about the
plots of the mentioned above games and other "Silent Hill" releases!

_______________________________________________________________________________
CONTENTS.
_______________________________________________________________________________

ABOUT US/CONTACT US
PREFACE
PART 1: MECHANICS, BASE STRUCTURE
1. Alternative world, the first glance, main laws
1-1 What we see? (the laws of the alternative)
1-2. Nightmare or Paradise. (Ideological and plot analysis)
1-3. Is the otherworld real? (Ideological analysis, philosophical meaning)
1-4. Does the otherworld materialize the desires of the characters?
Are the monsters material?
1-5. The difference between reality, illusion hallucination
1-6. Can the monsters and the otherworld
simply be a hallucination?
1-7. The illusion of perception?
1-8. Monsters?! - They look like monsters to you?
1-9. "Monsters" strike back!
1-10. The material monsters problem. Round two.
1-11. Vision in alternate reality, Noise Effect
as a way of life (visual analysis).
1-12. Dancing in the dark (philosophical + psychological analysis)
2. Our worlds.
2-1. War of the worlds.
2-2. Hung above the ground on a leash of suffering. An essentially
new way of looking at the alternate
2-3. 3 worlds, 3 elements of consciousness
2-4. "Was I dreaming?" What happens with our body in reality?
2-5. "Even if I die, it's not the end?"
Death in "Paradise" and in the Otherworld
2-6. "They found him dead the very next day"
2-7. Gamer's "Paradise" (idea analysis, Konami guys moral)
3. Inner God
3-1. Incubus
3-2. Incubus is inside us all
3-3. Incubus development stages, hierarchy
3-4. Philosophical meaning of the "Incubus", duality of understanding
3-5. Is the Inner God material?
3-6. The principle of distribution and overlapping of alternate perceptions
3-7. Radio operations principles.
3-8. "Incubus" and television.
3-9. Subconscious projection on TV- and radio receivers
3-10. Silent Hill and Otherworld perception, the power of the town
4. Ghosts and spirits.
4-1. Close circuit
4-2. "White Noiz"
4-3. The power of thought, the power of emotion, the power of Pain
4-4 "Possessed"
4-5. Who is susceptible to the influence of psychic energies?
4-6. "Lingering thoughts", the remains of consciousness
4-7. The cycle of memories
4-8. Holy Mother, Mother Reborn, reincarnation spiral
4-9. "This is God??" (analysis of God based on all parts)
5. List of terms.
6. The end of part 2

PART 2: RELIGION OF SILENT HILL

12. White Claudia and the religion of Silent Hill.
12-1. What is White Claudia?
12-2. PTV, hallucinogenic properties.
12-3. Distribution.
12-4. White Claudia in SH2.
12-5. The role of White Claudia in the events of SH. White Claudia and the fog
12-6. The meaning of the name. Herbs in SH.
14. Rituals.
14-1. The origin of SH rituals
14-2 "21 Sacraments for the Descent of the Holy Mother\Holy Assumption" (FAQ)
14-3. The ritual of burning
14-4. Ritual execution in Toluca prison
PART 3: TOWN OF SILENT HILL [coming soon!]
PART 4: CHARACTER ANALYSIS
1. SH1 Characters
1-1. Harry (Harold) Mason
1-2. Cheryl Mason
1-3. Cybil Bennet
1-4. Michael Kaufmann
1-5. Lisa Garland
1-6. Dahlia Gillespie
1-7. Alessa Gillespie
1-8. Character rationality pattern in SH1 (compositional analysis)
1-9. Andy
2. SH2 Characters
2-1. James Sunderland
2-2. Angela Orosco. The events of SH2 through Angela's eyes.
2-3. Eddie Dombrowski. The events of SH2 through Eddie's eyes.
2-4. Laura. The events of SH2 through Laura's eyes.
2-5. Mary Sunderland, Mary's path.
2-6. Maria. Part 1.
2-7. Maria. Part 2.
2-8. Ernest Baldwin
2-9. Amy Baldwin
2-10. Walter Sullivan in the context of SH2.
2-11. Joseph Barkin
2-12. Jack Davis
2-13. Joshua Lewis
2-14. Director of Brookhaven Hospital
2-15. Jennifer Carroll (+ analysis of "she is an angel")
2-16. The Orosco family.
2-17. The Great DOG (Mira)
2-18. Other SH2 characters
3. SH3 Characters
4. SH4 Characters
4-1. Walter Sullivan. The way of Walter.
4-2. Henry Townshend. The way of Henry.
4-3. Eileen Galvin. The way of Eileen.
4-4. Frank Sunderland. The way of Frank (+a short history of SAHapts)
4-5. Joseph Schreiber. The way of Joseph.
4-6. Cynthia Velasquez.
4-7. Jasper Gein.
4-8. Andrew DeSalvo
4-9. Richard Braintree
4-10. South Ashfield Heights apartments residents.
5. SHDI Characters
6. SHAtD Characters.
6-1. Jason
6-2. Aaron
6-3. Dahlia
6-4. The soldiers
COPYRIGHT
CREDITS
CONCLUSION
_______________________________________________________________________________
ABOUT US/CONTACT US
_______________________________________________________________________________

Team Listing
SilentPyramid - the author, who singlehandedly started this whole thing and
wrote the original text. All comments, questions and suggestions regarding the
plot analysis are to be sent to him on [silentpyramid(at)mail(dot)ru], but bear
in mind
that his English skills are far from perfect, so some questions may be left
unanswered until the release of the translated FAQ section.
Darth_Blade - the head translator [and the guy who's typing all this up with a
38 degree fever %) - translator's note] and at the same time the laziest on
the team. Translated the whole Part 4, corrected other translations and wrote
some misc texts. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions regarding
the translation of the PA, send them to Darth_Blade on [Das.Zlo(at)gmail(dot)com
]
MadRushn - one of the first to sign up for the translation effort. Author of
the original translation of Part 1.
401st Stalker - author of the original translations of sections 12 and 14
of Part 2.
BAHEK - author of http://www.silenthillpa.narod.ru - the official webpage of
the Plot Analysis, where you can find the full version of the guide. Make sure
you visit it! If you have any questions, comments or suggestion regarding the
website, send them to BAHEK on [bahek(at)list(dot)ru]
_______________________________________________________________________________
PREFACE
_______________________________________________________________________________
Welcome, reader. Welcome to Silent Hill. The foggy town, that seems to
manifest people's delusions and fears is about to yield its mysteries to you.
I, SilentPyramid, will lead you through the subconscious worlds of numerous
people, unravel the darkness of the town and let you have a taste of the
unknown you so fear...
This mighty tome of mysteries was written by me and my fellow observers, based
mostly on the info of the dark magisters of Konami with only one goal in mind
- to decipher the mysteries of the dark town called Silent Hill. This tome is
the place, where the closer and the lying figure, the puppet nurse and the
sniffer dog meet. No longer shall the mysteries of Silent Hill be explain with
"Thus is the will of Sammael" or the less prominent "Sammael works in
mysterious ways". No longer shall Silent Hill be deemed a town taken over by
demons. Yes, demons they are. Demons of the human soul...
The tome was first written in a mysterious eastern language and posted on the
forum, which consisted solely of the speakers of said tongue on the 20th of
the sixth month of the year two thousand and four. Still, mysteries popped up
one after another, as if mocking the author. But, having joined forces with
other like-minded individuals, the team was able to defeat most of the
secrets. Then, a movement appeared for the translation of the tome into
English, so that even those tainted by the profane could read it and atone
their sins. As we speak, minds and fingers from all over the land are working
hard to present it. Enjoy the honor, dear reader. Enjoy the honor and fear,
for Silent Hill never lets its victims away... unchanged.
_______________________________________________________________________________
PART 1: MECHANICS, BASE STRUCTURE
_______________________________________________________________________________
Silent Hill - a town, where strange events happen more often than anywhere
else? Other worlds? Eternal memories? Birthing of Gods and mysterious
disappearances? Is there any logic to these seemingly unexplainable things?
What is the driving force behind them? Are they interconnected?
The primary goal of Part 1 is to try and give a logical explanation to all the
supernatural events, basing all conclusions on official info from the games or
other sources. But remember, that everything here is my THEORIES, so you are
not supposed to see it as the one and only true explanation. I hope these
THEORIES help you to understand the plot of the series better.
1. Alternative world, the first glance, main laws.
What do you think is the thing, that the SH series cannot be imagined without?
There is always a deep plot, bright characters, but I think that the main
structural part (if we can say so) of the game is the otherworld, as this idea
visibly deepens the plot, underlines the pscychologism of the characters and
reflects nicely the main idea of SH - the conflict between mind and reality
and apart from that it is just a great gameplay catch. So, considering the
role of the otherworld, we should start with it.
1-1. What we see? (the laws of the alternative)
Let's sort everything out, what do the characters see in the otherworld?
Firstly let's point out that for all the characters (almost) the otherworld is
seen differently (do you remember Angela "For me it's always like this?" - an
amazing moment actually), i.e. they see their OWN otherworld ("In the
otherworld, the world is seen differently depending on the person." - this
idea is confirmed by Lost Memories) Secondly, it is necessary to point out an
extreme resemblance of the "real world" and the "alternative" one. I think
that many of you have noticed that the "maps" stay the same, in fact the only
things that change are the "wallpaper" and the "mood" of the world. We can see
that on Heather's example: in the otherworld the position of doors and
corridors does not change. We can say that the world has kind of changed it
clothes or, more accurately, has been turned inside out. Sometimes Heather's
world resembles that of Alice's Wonderland - the world upside down, that at
first seems to be completely insane. But you get involved pretty quickly, you
start getting used to the new order of things. For example, somewhere near the
end of the game (SH3, morgue, where you get the Hanged Man Tarot card) Heather
admits that she is already used to the corpses, blood etc, and doesn't mind it
anymore? Se also asks herself: "I feel like I'm gonna go crazy myself sooner
or later. I might even already be crazy. Who knows?" But one cannot help but
ask: why does the human consciousness get used so quickly to such a world: is
that because of the flexibility of the consciousness or because such a world
grants a subconscious pleasure, fulfills hidden desires?
1-2. Nightmare or Paradise. (Ideological and plot analysis)
As we can see all the SH characters are OK with their own world (with the
exception of Cybil, Lisa, Douglas and SH4 characters who actually see a world
that is not theirs at all) We should once more take into consideration that
the image of the otherworld depends on hidden desires of each person. We can
say that in exchange for one's sanity this world fulfills one's desires. Does
insanity fulfill desires? Well, I think that's one bright metaphor. In the end
of SH2 James says: "I was weak, that's why I needed you?" (this phrase is
especially interesting in Japanese: "dakara omae no sonzai o nozonde ita"
(lit. "Thus, I wished for your existance?")). But does this phrase correspond
to a bunch of PyramidHeads? Or to Maria? No. James talks about his own world,
in fact the conscientious clerk's desire was to punish himself one way or
another for his sins, and this sadomasochistic desire the world is happy to
grant. Almost the same happens with Angela Orosco. The craving of Eddie
Dombrowski was violence, more accurately a bloody punishment of people who
have bullied him (in fact he wanted people to make fun of him, thus making
violence a righteous revenge from his point of view) - and a crazy world gave
Eddie such an opportunity, now he can see as many bullying people as he likes,
free to punish them. The desire of Alessa Gillespie was to hide from people -
and indeed she hid inside the hellish nightmare where there were no place for
people, where no sane mad dare venture. And Claudia Wolf has lived all her
life with Hope and Faith. She has always dreamed of those things she had never
had in real life. She dreams of a perfect place "where people would be happy
just by being there", that's why to her the otherworld is Paradise. But as we
can see on the example of SH2 characters not everyone dreams of Paradise?
That way it's clear that an otherworld can be both a Paradise and a bloody
nightmare. The perception of surrounding reality depends on personal
qualities, the system of values and personal desires. IMHO this idea is quite
symbolic and is genuine in our time.
1-3. I the otherworld real? (Ideological analysis, philosophical meaning)
Actually this is question is more philosophically subtle than it looks. The
thing is, there is no such thing as absolute reality (nether there is no
absolute truth). Thus we can only speak about a subjective reality - the way a
person sees the surrounding world is the ultimate reality for that person?
There is, however, a certain trick here: human mind tends to evade everything
that brings suffering, so it turns out that any person always sees the
surrounding world (or its elements) in a way that is more suitable for him?
And such a way a bunch of subjective perceptions, subjective realities and
subjective worlds is formed. The theories of ancient Greek philosophers spring
to mind at this point? Well, let's end the philosophical introductions here
and answer the questions, asked in 1-3. "For him there is simply no other
reality, furthermore, he is happy there" says doctor's diary, found in the
hospital. It seems to me that this phrase gives the most precise description
of the subjective reality of the otherworld and also its meaning. Alternate
reality is "real" only for the person who sees\percepts it.

1-4. Does the otherworld materialize the desires of the characters? Are the
monsters material?
So, as we know the otherworld is SUBJECTIVELY real. But how can we learn
whether it's an objective reality, whether it is material or not? The only way
to answer this question is to check if all the characters can see the world
the protagonist sees. Let's sort that one out on some of the brighter examples
(I'll just give you some from SH2, 'cause listing ALL of them should take '
bout the volume of "Romeo and Juliet" :)) :
a) If Alessa's (or Alessa + Cheryl + Heather) monsters had been absolutely
material, then they should have been in the town in SH2 as well, but James
doesn't see Alessa's monsters? Could it be that they had been all busted by
the SWAT teams?? ;)
b) The conversation between James and Laura (SH2):
"-What a little girl like you doing here anyway?
-Are you blind or something ?? "
Or this one:
"You don't even have a scratch on you!
-Why should I ?? "
These should make clear that Laura doesn't see any monsters. "To her the town
appears to be normal; she does not see any monsters, nor does she see Maria" -
says Lost Memories. Could it be that Lora had simply "missed" both monsters
and Maria? Or does the chitty sod just lie to James?
c) Eddie says that he didn't see any PyramidHead (SH2, toilet conversation:
"James: You're not friends with that red, pyramid thing, are you? Eddie: Red
pyramid thing? I don't know what are yer talkin' about. Honest." ). Could it
be another joke of the merry Dombrowski?? ;)
d) During the fight with a monster (SH2 catacombs) Angela sees the monster as
her father? Could it be that her father had been a double or a twin brother of
the monstrosity? Or does she see it differently than James? ;)
e) In the end of SH2, (on the stairs) Angela at first (first ten-fifteen
seconds) sees James as her mother. Is she "blind or something ??", if she
mistook Sunderland for her own mother at the distance of 3 feet? Or is James
her mother?
g) The same place, Angela speaks about her "world in flames" "You see it too?
For me it's always like this" For Angela, it's always like that but James sees
it only once.
h) If fires of Angela's world were real, the whole town should've been burned
to ashes.
i) If the holes, that James frequently falls through and Henry crawls about
are absolutely material, then? Ohhh, I can even think of something ironical
enough to say here. I think it's all clear without any jokes.
j) If PyramidHead had been material what with that Great Knife of his? Well in
that case James should have resembled some kind of bloody meat pastry towards
the end of the game?
k) Here is a note from SH2 (Memo next to corpse #2): "I saw those demons. They
were there, I'm certain. But my friend says he didn't see anything. If that's
true, does that mean that what I saw was an illusion?" - here's a 100% proof
of monsters' immateriality.
(I cannot quite remember the alphabet further on, so I guess we can stop at
"K" lol)
Anyway it's clear from the aforesaid that not everyone can see the monsters -
that means that the monsters themselves are immaterial.
Although? We should point out that in Lost Memories there is a certain phrase:
"Silent Hill 2 the materialization of delusions" - what is that supposed to
mean? Another joke of the creators? Unlikely, but more of that a bit further
on? At the moment note that the creators use the word "delusion"
(illusion(!!), fantasy(!) ) - this is quite important;)? BTW, in LM the term
"materialization" has a bit "strange" meaning, for example: "In the church
that is the final stage of the game, a young girl's crying voice and footsteps
materialize" Hmm :)? Sounds suspicious (more of that further on :) - in
section "1-10").
1-5. The difference between reality, illusion hallucination (the young
psychologist-silenthillist course)
To fully analyze the SH plot I had to read through a couple of psychology
books on the topic of hallucinations - here I shall write a summary, that is
required for anyone who wants to understand SH.
a) Reality - the way the surrounding world is perceived by "normal" people,
i.e. the true form and content of an object equal the form and content of that
object's image in human consciousness. If it's easier for you I shall
rephrase: the true (objective) object=subjective perception of that object.
Still don't get it, do you? Hmm?Tough luck? Let's cook up an example from
life: on the table there is a bottle of healthdrink, the dear reader wakes up
from heavily celebrating Christmas last night, stares at the bottle of
healthdrink and SEES (i.e. perceives) just a bottle of healthdrink. Did that
make things clearer :)?
b) Hallucinations - This really shouldn't happen to "normal" people, i.e. the
false perception of the surrounding world. What is (or at least supposed to
be) "false"? - something that only the "insane" can see and no one else - i.e.
the hallucinations of one person can never be seen by anyone, except the
"psycho" (Here is an interesting and thought-provoking write-out from Lost
Memories (the one about Red Devil and Walter Sullivan): "Sullivan says that he
saw a "red devil". What was it that he saw? - No one besides Sullivan himself
can really know what he saw." - this is quite relevant, isn't it ;)?? And do
these "false images", that are seen only by the psycho, actually look like?
These are elements of human subconsciousness (images from the
subconsciousness), that had "floated" to the surface and overlapped with
reality. Why doesn't anyone else see them? As they exist only in the
subconsciousness of a single person and do not in fact exist in reality, so no
one else can perceive them.
Example: my dear reader, having had a gulp from the bottle described in
part a), is running around the Christmas tree, waving his hands around and
screaming: "Help! He's going to kill me! Santa Claus is after me!"
It is therefore clear that hallucinations do not depend on reality.
c) Illusion - sometimes it happens to "normal" people/ The thing about
illusion is that a a person perceives a real object somehow differently, in
his own way, too subjective. It often happens because of the increasing
expectation (a "premonition") or an emotional pressure along with such factors
as sight defects (i.e. visual perception), hazy visibility (at night, for
example). The principle is that a person sees something not completely, but
partially (for example an object is hard to see) - then the consciousness
automatically "finishes off" the object's image, according to that person's
mood and to the information from that person's subconsciousness. It's a bit
hard to describe, so let me draw you an example: "Evening time, my dear reader
wanders down the road. It's getting darker, misty too it seems, he cannot see
much and my dear reader has been playing Silent Hill for half a day just
before going for this here walk. - so now obviously he's scared
shi?sufficiently scared - he makes his way trough the mist, leaping from every
shadow, turning to follow every sound and being uneasy from the sound of his
very own footsteps etc. - anyway a complete suspense. A bit further down the
road comes another man, but my dear reader cannot quite see him (mist and
darkness, remember?) - so the only thing my dear reader sees is a ghastly
silhouette, looming in front of him. The reader, as I have already mentioned,
has spent some time playing SH and now (thanks to the impressions from the
game) is actually ready to see a monster in front of him. He squints at the
silhouette - and voila! He actually starts seeing a monster. Of cause, my dear
reader immediately takes out his UZI and takes a quick burst at the upcoming
"monster" (i.e. a person that he sees as a monster.)"
Hehehe, does that example remind you of something? Let's change it a bit: "A
man comes back from the Church (after listening a sermon on the coming of
Christ) through the mist, he is a religious fanatic - then he in the looming
shape of a bystander (or of a dog\bush\post) he shall see an angel or
something like that :)"
There can also be an illusion of senses ("implied sense illusion") - for
example, does the name "Rosewater Park" strike you as ominous? If your answer
is "yes" that means that your consciousness itself looks for associations,
corresponding to SH (this is also a form of illusion), and if it so happens
that your answer is "no", that means you just haven't played SH for long
enough ("Silent Hill" also sounds kinda gloomy, doesn't it?)
So an illusion is a complex interlacing of objective reality and fiction,
matter and subconsciousness. This special phenomenon connects in itself the
proprieties of both reality and hallucinations. BTW, the same description of
the otherworld we can find in the notes of a doctor in Brookhaven (SH2): "The '
other side' perhaps may not be the best way to phrase it. After all, there is
no wall between here and there. It lies on the borders where reality and
unreality intersect." Now, what could that mean ;) ??

1-6. Can the monsters and the otherworld simply be a hallucination?

Now, let's see if all the monsters (as well as the whole of the otherworld)
just be a one big hallucination?
Actually there are quite a few confirmations of such a theory along the SH
series, for example:
a) SH1, the "Bad" ending - it turns out that all of SH1 was a hallucination, a
flash in a dying writer's brain. However, SH3 proves this ending to be a
"wrong" one.
b) SH2 if PyramidHead wasn't a hallucination, what else could it be? (more of
that later on)
c) In SH1 we can find a note, mentioning PTV (White Claudia) as a hallucinogen.
d) In SH4 after each "world" Henry wakes up in his own bed - was that just a
dream?
But according to this theory many questions remain unanswered:
a) A hallucination can only be seen by a single person, how come Claudia and
Heather can both see the Missionary on the roof, if he doesn't exist?? (I'm
not even commenting on him being described as a cult member in LM). And how
come an inexistent Missionary has killed Harry Mason?
b) Even if we propose that some characters can somehow see each other's
glitches, then how come Angela sees her father, and James sees a monster in
the same creature? Is it a simple coincidence that doesn't mean much?
c) If the otherworld has nothing to do with reality, then why does it resemble
the "normal world" so closely that you can make your way through both of them
using the same maps?
d) If this whole world is just a dream, then how could Heather get home? Or
were her home, her father, Claudia just a dream ??
e) If the monsters are a hallucination, how can you kill them using the gun,
that Cybil gives? Or with Heather's stun gun? Or in extreme cases, using
Heather's own leg? (I do hope that the reality and materiality of her leg
raises no questions. Or was she disabled =) ?)
f) In SH2 in the town (not far away from the traffic-light) we can find a
monster who had been run over by a car. An accident? If the monster is James'
glitch, then HOW a car could have run him down?
1-7. The illusion of perception?
As we can see not one of the aforesaid theories (i.e. the theory of
hallucination and the theory of material) cannot fully explain the phenomena
of the otherworld and the "monsters"? What can we do? Could this be a
dead-end? Anyway - the hope remains - the theory of illusion of perception,
which combines both the previous.
According to this theory (let's take Heather as an example) Heather perceives
the surrounding world as the otherworld - i.e. actually when Heather looks at
a normal wall, she just PERCEIVES it as rusty - i.e. during the transfer from
the real world to the otherworld the walls themselves do not change, also the
walls, the floor and the ceiling are not delusions - they exist in reality and
are only perceived differently. This explains the similarity of layouts. It's
only the "wallpaper" that changes, so to speak.
In such a case, it would be more correct to say that the character's
perception moves into an alternate world, not the world itself changing. Let's
introduce a new term - "alteration of perception of surrounding reality". The
type of alteration depends on the character - James and Angela can see the
same wall differently.
1-8. Monsters?! - They look like monsters to you?
So, if the most part the alternate reality has a real-world prototype (i.e.
bloody walls = normal walls), then what are monsters? What is it, that exists
in our world and is perceived as a monster in the Otherworld? In the MoSH3,
Hiroyuki Owaku, the scenario writer of SH2 and SH3 tells us about the monsters
"Maybe they are human beings just like you, maybe even your neighbors. What
you see might be true or false". So... Are monsters... people? Ordinary people,
who surround us on the streets, in the supermarket (SH3), and who are seen as
bloody monsters by us because of the dramatical change of our point of view on
the world, that surrounds us.. Facts supporting this Hiroyuki Owaku's line can
be found throughout the games:
a) SH2 - The key to the WoodSide apartment building is held by a Demon
Patient. A Demon Patient wearing a jacket and trousers, that is. We also find
a map with the entrance to WSA marked. So, the monster drew the map, grabbed
the key and died before reaching WSA. A strange monster, indeed?
b) SH2 - We find another dead Demon Patient dressed in a jacket and jeans.
Notes are scattered on the ground around the corpse: "I'm going to write
everything that I've learned so far. Maybe that will help you out somehow. If
you're reading this, it probably means I'm already dead." This couldn't have
possibly been written by a monster! But it was the "monster" that wrote them.
Thing is, it's James who sees a monster, while in reality it is just a human
corpse.
c) SH2 - The same notes describe the monsters: " It seems that they're
attracted to light; They also react strongly to sound; those creatures can be
killed" - they see, they hear (and in SH3 they even SMELL) and can be killed -
just like humans?
d) SH2 - "I saw those demons. They were there, I'm certain. But my friend says
he didn't see anything. If that's true, does that mean that what I saw was an
illusion?" - another confirmation, that the alternate reality and the monsters
are an illusion (see 1-5)
e) SH2 - Why do monsters dress up anyway? They're just monsters, they're
supposed to roam the town and be scary.
f) SH2 - The traffic lights in the town are working. Monsters need to regulate
traffic? Just like we do?
g) SH - In southwestern Silent Hill, on the ruined bridge James finds yet
ANOTHER dead Demon Patient. It has a map, on which the parking lot and the
Bowl-o-Rama are marked. What, monsters have cars and play bowling?
h) SH2 - Remember that place under the bridge, where you meet your first
monster? If you visit it after the Brookhaven stage, you'll find the gates
closed and sealed with a police line. The "monster murder" case is big on the
news! James Sunderland is the main suspect!
i) Why are the monsters walking around the town? Why don't they stay at home?
j) SH2 - During the night the player can spot a Mannequin jumping from a roof.
Why would a monster commit suicide?
k) SH2 - When James and Angela meet in the catacombs, they perceive THE SAME
OBJECT differently - James sees a monster, Angela sees her father. I wonder,
what that object really was?
l) SH2 - During the last meeting with Angela, she sees JAMES as her mother ("
Mama! Mama, I was looking for you. Now you're the only one left. Maybe
then.... Maybe then I can rest. Mama, why are you running away? You're not
Mama. It's you... I, I'm sorry.. "). If she sees James as her mother, why can'
t James see others as monsters?
m) SHPN - If you look carefully at the dog monster Cybil sees, you'll notice
that it is a normal dog (it has fur) - but in the next scene it is already a
Groaner. Now wait. Did Cybil mistake a monster for a dog or a dog for a
monster? "Now listen to me, before you pull the trigger, know who you're
shooting..."
n) Lost Memories - "Missionary. Cult member transfigured by Claudia's power,
to Heather's eyes the appearance it takes is that of a monster". There you
have it. The monster is a man, who Heather sees as a monster. Harry was right
when he wrote "I mean, appearances can be deceiving". Yes, looks are deceiving
(and the subjective perception too!). "Claudia's power" will be explained
later on.
o) SH3 - Leonard. Heather sees him as a monster, even though he is obviously
not.
p) SH1 - Even though there is nothing to point out the nature of the monsters
in SH1, I still found something. When I was ripping apart the disc with
psmplay, I found a VERY INTERESTING sound file:
At first I heard usual, peaceful sounds - the chirping of birds, barking of a
dog - it all makes a nice feeling of harmony, a typical picture for a resort
town. After some time, the barking suddenly turns into squealing and we hear a
something (the dog?) being hit by a hard object (steel pipe?). The squealing
stops and we hear drops (of blood?) falling on the ground.
As I see it, this is an explanation put in by Team Silent. This is what Harry'
s encounters with dog monsters really are. Maybe this file is a part of some
secret ending, still not found by anyone (was cut out of the US release?).
q) SH1 - Annie's bar. When Kaufmann is attacked by a monster, Harry shoots it
with Cybil's gun (you're not going to doubt the reality of her gun, are you?).
If the monster was just a hallucination, the bullet would have hit Kaufmann.
But it killed the monster?
r) SH3 - Brookhaven Hospital, 3rd floor, Special Treatment Room. There is note
posted on the wall: "Punishment for brutality towards patient: 12 hours
confinement in the Special Treatment Room" -which means someone has been
punished that way and the punishment became established. Now let's see - one
of the rooms in locked from outside and there is a monster nurse inside! Could
it be that Heather only SEES a monster in a real nurse, who was punished for
brutality?
s) Lost Memories - "Even now I get lots of questions about the true nature of
creatures. What Vincent says in the library room is something that was
provided as an answer to this question". Vincent's answer is the key. Not
just a joke, as many fans chose to believe. Let's recall the scene in the cult
library:
Vincent: "You're the worst person in this room. You come here and enjoy
spilling their blood and listening to them cry out. You feel excited when you
step on them, snuffing out their lives."
Heather: "Are you talking about the monsters?"
Vincent: "Monsters...??? They look like monsters to you?"
(Heather looks shocked? She is horrified by the realization of what she has
been doing. It looks like she's sick)
Vincent: "Don't worry, it's just a joke. "
I can go on and on with examples, but I suppose you got it by now. When you
think that you are shooting monsters, you are, in fact, shooting dogs, people
etc. Just as Cybil said - "before you pull the trigger, know who you're
shooting". But how can a deluded character tell a monster from a human being?
The moral? Psychos shouldn't be given guns.
It is difficult for one human being to kill another - this invokes a sense of
guilt, which is painful (! I... I killed a... a HUMAN being... A HUMAN
being..."). But the mind tends to escape pain. And killing a monster is not as
hard as killing a human. "Well I guess you're not a person anyway" - BANG!
Eddie is a similar case - he wants to be made fun of, because it justifies his
violence and settle his guilt. He takes almost everything as an insult (see
1-5 about illusions of meaning and Rosewater Park).
Possibly, the alteration is just a way for the mind to avoid the burden of
reality, which is not satisfactory enough, according to this mind's desires.
So it's not the world, that went insane... "Perhaps, it's we who are insane...
hopelessly insane".

1-9. "Monsters" strike back!

Now that we know that every monster you kill can be a real human, dog or
something else, a question arises - why do the monsters attack the protagonist?
a) SH1. A bird flies into the cafe (yes, the Screamers are most probably
birds) and Harry shoots it (you can leave it alive in SHPN).
b) SH2. Did the first Demon Patient attack James? Its only attack is spitting
out mist. But there's enough mist around, then maybe the spitting is just an
illusion? Maybe the monster did not attack him?
c) SH3. Did the Closer attack Heather? We know that Closers have the longest
attack range (apart from the nurses' guns), so it could've just hit her from
afar - it would be enough to kill her on Extreme X, but it just approached
her. And she shot it dead. Hmmmm?
d) SH4. The Sniffer Dogs came out of the male toilet and started eating each
other. What could that mean?
Of course, if when you're killing a monster in the Otherworld, your real body
is killing a man in the real world, then the protagonist should attract the
attention of law enforcers? But that way Silent Hill looks like GTA or
something. Of course, we can always assume that the victims see the character
as a monster too and attack, but not everyone would rush to a fight, if they
saw a monster on the street.
Actually, everything is like this:
Remember the scene in the prison morgue, when James examines a corpse and
comments: "...Did that just move or was it only my imagination?" (it appears
only once, don't miss it!).
When the character SEES the monsters attack him, it does not mean they really
do. It may be that he\she are so excited, that they see danger in a
"monster"'s every movement. Let's try to find out WHY the characters see
attacking monsters. Everyone has their own reasons:
a) SH1: Attacking monsters are a product of Alessa's aggressiveness.
b) SH2: James WANTS to be hurt - he takes pain as punishment for his sins
(("That's why I needed you.... Needed someone to punish me for my sins...").
Angela is similar to him. Eddie wants to be attacked, insulted and made fun of
- it justifies his acts of violence. And Laura doesn't want any monsters,
pain, violence, blood etc. - she just wants to be with Mary?
c) SH3: Alessa's aggressiveness and her wish to make it "easier" for Heather
("It would be better for "myself" to die")
d) SH4: Same as Alessa in SH4.
Accordingly, wounds, inflicted by unreal attacks are not real also (you can't
heal a cut by drinking brown liquid, can you?). A good example is Eileen:
Walter injured her, broke her arm, hurt her eye etc. Yet, in any of the good
ending we see her in the hospital. Both her eye and arm are alright and
there's not even a bruise on her! Makes you think?
1-10. The material monsters problem. Round two.
Thus, if the monsters are an illusion, then the question of their materiality
and why not everyone can see them becomes clear. Most of the monsters (MOST,
not each and every one, but only a major part of the whole!) have represent
real-world prototypes, which are perceived by the people in the normal world,
while the IMAGES of monsters exist only in the mind of the "psychotic"
characters (Sunderland and co.) and overlap with objects, that correspond (in
size, shape etc.) to them, creating a complex and effective illusionary system.
I think this whole idea of "monsters and people" is one of the best points of
the SH series: it makes you think and analyze your actions, trying to look at
the events in the subjective reality from the standpoint of objective reality.
It also reinforces the fear factor and touches the topic of guilt. Lastly, it
is a great way to protect the game from the Ethics Committee %)
1-11. Vision in alternate reality, Noise Effect as a way of life (visual
analysis).
As I have already mentioned, one is subject to the effects of illusion when
his or her senses are impaired. For example, in a situation, where vision is
limited, or when one is expecting something eagerly. Silent Hill fulfills both
of these? examples:
a) The town is always covered in fog, blurring the limits of reality.
b) It is almost never sunny in the town ("it's almost never sunny in Silent
Hill..."), which creates a gloomy atmosphere.
The weather effects are perfect for illusions, don't you think? But weather is
not enough to see a monster in a passing pedestrian, right? Because of that, I
want to point out one important thing (it most noticeable in SH3 and SH4):
The character do NOT see their alternate realities CLEARLY - this is reflected
in the Noise Effect. In the beginning of SH3, when Heather doesn't see the
alternate reality, the Noise Effect is all but unnoticeable. But as her
perception moves deeper into Alessa's world, NE get stronger. In the case of
SH4 all scenes seen from Henry's eyes in Walter's world are extremely blurred.
Obviously, when vision is impaired, the mind has to "complete" the image. This
is the duality of the Noise Effect - on one hand, it makes the outdated
graphics look better, on the other hand it symbolizes the "veil" over the
character's eyes.
1-12. Dancing in the dark (philosophical + psychological analysis)
As I have illustrated, even a simple impairment of vision weakens one's link
to reality ("Mist and darkness obstruct the horizon by creating a condition in
which visibility is limited. In other words, the boundary between heaven and
earth is obscured, which suggests a blurring of the line between dream and
reality"), but not erasing it entirely - the world is seen accordingly to one'
s expectations and desires. But what happens if this link disappears
completely? What if one's eyes are completely enveloped in darkness? Is the
dark room empty? Or is it full of black cats? In the dark, subjective
perception often becomes a substitute for reality. And subjective perception
is often in conflict with reality? But when reality has nothing, to grasp the
mind with, this perception becomes the only reality for the mind. So, the next
time you find yourself in the dark, know that darkness is also matter and it
reflects your consciousness. Or maybe darkness IS your consciousness?
In any case, whenever the link to reality is severed, the mind will surround
itself with its own reality. Just to have a place to exist in.
2. Our worlds.
2-1. War of the worlds.
I think that the dear reader should have guessed by now what I have been
hinting on in previous sections is. As we can see there are 2 different worlds
in the SH plot:
a) Reality.
This world is extremely severe and crushes anyone, who dares to disagree with
it. "Suffering is a fact of life. Either you learn to deal with that or you go
under" - Heather says during her talk with Claudia in the church. Probably the
severance of this world is generated by humans, living in it - sinful, unable
to give compassion, caring only about achieving their own happiness? "Why do
they cling to this corrupt world?"
?
b) Subconscious world.
But what if a person cannot accept harsh reality? If a person cannot exist in
it, cannot put up with it? This question is also answered by Heather's retort:
"Either you learn to deal with that or you go under. You can stay in your
little dream world?" That's right? "You can stay in your little dream world"?
and when reality brings a person only suffering, surrounding him with
impenetrable darkness - as I have already mentioned in 1-12, the mind tends to
surround itself with its own reality simply to exist somewhere. A new reality,
in which they might possibly find their happiness. But what does this mental
world looks like? This question is answered by Claudia: "A place with no pain.
No hunger, no sickness, no old age." This world is created by subconsciousness
and can fulfill any desire. More precisely this world is the subconsciousness,
a set of one's memories, desires and hopes, a reflection of one's personality
and essence?It somehow resembles a mirror or more likely the surface of a pond
that reflects the image of someone looking in it. It is a merging of the
subtlety of a reflected image with the depth of thought? But how it is
possible to get into that world? Crawl through the rabbit hole? It is only
possible to completely submerge in it by severing all the links that connect
the mind to reality, by casting away all human senses? Certainly, you can get
into the world of subconsciousness in dreams (BTW, a lot of medics call
dreaming "small death" and in Greek mythology the gods of death and sleep -
Thanatos and Hypnos - are twin brothers) - but once awakened the mind always
remains in the darkness of reality. Then? maybe the only possible exit (an
entrance, actually) is the "in Water" ending?
2-2. Hung above the ground on a leash of suffering. An essentially new way of
looking at the alternate.
I think it's clear that reality and subconscious world are always in the state
of conflict - but basically in a "normal" person reality should dominate (more
precisely the feeling of reality). But when a person cannot accept reality as
it is such, things start going wrong - the human mind tries to reject reality,
but nevertheless is connected to it with sensual links (hearing, sight etc.)
And then the mind goes along an alternative path - it submits to its own
delusions, starts looking at reality in a way that brings less suffering. Thus
the mind paints the reality of its own perception in the colors that are
acceptable to it ("Life? the game of turning white to black and black to
white?" - this idea is symbolically expressed even in riddles) Thus, while
still being bound to reality, the mind starts remaking it in its own way, so
that it resembles the mind's subconscious world more and brings less pain.
I.e. alternative perception (alt. world) is a transitive step for the
consciousness - it stands one leg on the reality territory and the other in
subconsciousness. And in SH we can see that it is always trembling (see
section 3-3) - it jumps from trying to cling to reality ("misty SH") to
otherwise - coming closer and closer to its own (in SH1 - Alessa's world)
"Paradise" ("nightmare SH", "Nowhere").

2-3. 3 worlds, 3 elements of consciousness.

So, as I have already said, there are kind of 2 "extreme" worlds and a
"transitional" one:
- Reality
- The Otherworld (transitional, a kind of "Paradise while still alive")
- Subconscious world ("Paradise").
Each of these worlds corresponds to a certain element of consciousness, a
certain type of perception (see section 1-5). I.e. reality = "normal
perception", otherworld = illusion, "Paradise" = hallucination, dream. Let's
analyze this on the example of SH1:
a) In my opinion, it is clear that in otherworld with a big part of reality
("misty SH") normal perception of reality dominates + illusion (normal town,
illusionary monsters).
b) "SH by night" is closer to "Paradise", so there the normal perception of
reality remain (the town is still perceived more or less normally) but because
the darkness impairs vision (see section 1-5, 1-11 and 1-12) the effect of
illusions is augmented here.
c) "Nightmarish SH" - even more alternative type of perception, this is as
close as it gets to "Paradise", so what we see here is illusion (for example
the grates are an illusion) + dream - i.e. many elements from it don't even
have a prototype in the normal world (for example in "Nightmarish SH" many
monsters are not even an illusion but a hallucination - for example it's not a
mere coincidence that in SH3 slurpers appear only when Heather switches to
"nightmarish" perception).
d) And finally the "Nowhere" the extreme form of alt. World, a type of
perception practically disconnected from reality. If other types of perception
merely let you see reality in a different light, this one actually resembles
dreaming - i.e. it completely covers reality, in fact it is an endless
hallucination.
I hope that the reader understands that not all characters see SH as
particularly "nightly" of "nightmarish" (I gave these names to simplify the
narration) - actually these are stages of APPROCHING the perception of
"Paradise", and WHAT a "Paradise" looks like depends on the person.
2-4. "Was I dreaming?" What happens with our body in reality?
At first I would like to make one thing clear - the protagonist's body, which
we can see in the game, can easily be not his real body - actually it is more
likely a reflection of his personality (i.e. "an ego"), manifested in the
subconscious world (BTW, if there is such a thing as a manifestation of the
"ego", there might be an "alter-ego" as well) - that's why, for example, James
does not fall to his death after jumping in the deep holes (i.e. the holes in
SH2 are just a hallucination - did you notice that they appear towards the
end, when Sunderland's consciousness is somewhere between the states of
"nightmarish perception" and "nowhere", where his mind is already starting to
lose connection to reality?) - i.e. when he's THINKING that he is jumping down
a hole his real body isn't jumping anywhere.
While character's consciousness is off playing with the fairies, what happens
to his (her) body in reality?
a) In my opinion it is clear that the body doesn't disappear anywhere from the
"normal" world while alternativisation of perception goes on and doesn't
appear in it (normal world that is) again once the consciousness is back to
its "normal" perception - otherwise people, perceiving different worlds (for
example James and Angela or Heather, Vincent and Claudia) would not be able to
see each other, besides - just imagine how absurd SH plot would become if the
idea of "disappearances" were to be accepted?
Though, if we assume that our reality is just another subconscious world
("What is real? What is real? What is real?" - SH4 OST, Tender Sugar) which
has consumed all people a long time ago? then why cannot they disappear during
a transfer to another world? But the whole "disappearance" theory is based on
some cloudy theoretical assumption? Anyhow, hardly?
b) Is it possible that all that time the body is just lying unconscious
somewhere? But then ALL of the otherworld is a dream, a hallucination, besides
if Heather, for example, had been actually snoring her head off in a gutter
somewhere, then how could she had taken the subway home? So anyway see Part 1,
section1-6 - there are stated arguments against the theory that all of SH
events are just a dream. "This is not a dream!" - Harry Mason :)
c) Actually the process of "interaction" between consciousness and the
physical body during the alternativisation of perception is completely similar
to the shift of "normal" perception into illusion and after that into
hallucination (see section 2-3). I.e. the more threads, connecting a person to
reality, are severed, the more of their "Paradise" they see, the more they
descend into it (Accordingly, the extreme stage, when a person completely
loses his grip on reality - the losing of connection with his physical body,
i.e. death).
It looks something like this:
a) during "misty" and "night" perception the link with reality is quite strong
- so in reality the character is wandering around the town (or the mall, the
sewers etc.) - practically everything he does in the otherworld he does in the
real world too.
b) During the "nightmare" perception all actions in the otherworld are
repeated in reality (for example if Heather has switched on the "nightmare"
perception on the second floor of Brookhaven Hospital and in the "nightmarish"
world walked to room C4 on the first floor - that that's where she will wake
up after going back to the "misty" one - i.e. she REALLY went down to the
first floor etc.)
c) When a character thinks that he is inside "Nowhere" - he is actually just
wandering about the place like a sleepwalker or even simply lying somewhere
with his lights out wriggling in his sleep - i.e. the link with reality is
extremely weakened. As an example we can take same James's holes: when
Sunderland THINKS he falls into the hole (for example before his conversation
with Eddie in the prison canteen) he actually walks (crawls?) in his sleep to
this cafe and comes to there. I.e. the fall never actually occured - it was a
dream, symbolizing his submersion into subconsciousness ("?Falling through
holes, James dives into his own subconscious"-LM). Another good example is
Richrad Braintree. If you look out of the window, you will see that, while his
consciousness is walking around in the Building World, his body is lying on
the bed - so, the whole time in the Building World Braintree's been snoring
off in his bed and it was actually only his mind in Walter's world) Thus we
can see that the closer one gets to the world of his subconsciousness, his
"Paradise" the weaker his grip on his own body becomes.
I think there are a lot of such ambiguous moments (like with them holes),
where, as Alessa has said, "fibs mixed in with truth" - and everyone is
interested to know what happened to the characters in reality ;). In "tome 2",
in a direct plot analysis, we shall try to analyze all such moments in detail.
2-5. "Even if I die, it's not the end?" Death in "Paradise" and in the
Otherworld.
Is it possible to die inside the world of your own subconsciousness? Well? the
"Game over" confirms that you sure can. But this death is not necessarily the
end - in fact the world of subconsciousness cannot kill human consciousness,
expressed in this world by a spirit. Actually the death in "Paradise" is just
like death in sleep. I.e. any person, whose consciousness went to "Paradise"
will live there forever. We find acknowledgement to this theory in Crimson
Tome (SH4): "Anyone swallowed up by that world will live there for eternity,
undying. They will haunt that realm as a spirit."
We found out that it is impossible to die while in "Paradise", but can you die
in the Otherworld - a middle realm between reality and "Paradise"? To answer
this question let's analyze Valtiel's actions. "Every time Heather (Alessa)
dies, he (Valtiel that is) is the one responsible for resurrecting her many
times over" (Lost Memories) - i.e. Valty is a force that does not let Heather'
s consciousness die. Now let's remember, WHERE do we actually encounter
Valtiel - during the consciousness' transfer from normal to "nightmarish" -
i.e. when getting nearer Alessa's "Paradise", Alessa's inner world. Now let's
remember when Valtiel can actually "resurrect" Heather, and when not:
a) When Heather dies from a monster's blow - he does. We do know that monster'
s attacks are mostly a "?Did that just move or was it only my imagination?"
b) When Heather dies from alternative perception - he does. Do you remember
that time when in alternative hospital the walls in the mirror room start kind
of pulsating (I.e. the wall's perception gets even closer to Alessa's
"Paradise" image) and Heather may die? Well - that's simply an illusion, so
there is no way Heather can really die - she just thinks she does.
c) When Heather falls into a pit - he doesn't. Unlike Silent Hill 2, in SH3
the abysses are real (most of them are anyway) - when Heather falls from shall
we say second floor of the Mall or from the rollercoaster in the park or from
a 5 storey building does she die for real?
d) When Heather is hit by a train - he doesn't. If Heather could actually take
the train home that means that the train wasn't a hallucination. Then maybe
when a real material train actually runs over Heather, she dies for real?
e) When Heather jumps from the train - he doesn't. If the train is real and
the rails are real then Heather breaks her neck in reality?
I think that from the aforesaid it is clear that human consciousness,
independent from the material world, is in fact immortal, but as the
otherworld is a mixture of the physical and a subconscious world - than in it
the link between spirit and body remains - i.e. in certain situations real
death (that is the death of the physical body) is possible, but when a
character just THINKS that he(she) is dying usually he(she) just loses
consciousness (the best example of that is the death of Harry Mason in the
beginning of SH1), but awakens in time (without remembering death - thinking
that it was just a dream). By the way, there is a difference between the
resurrection from an illusion of a death and a Reincarnation of a Holy Mother
(see 4-6 and 4-7 for detail)
Anyway as we know alternative perception resembles sleepwalking. Then maybe if
one BELIEVES in the death in one's world, one's body would reproduce the same
event in reality? This theory is confirmed by the newspaper article regarding
Walter Sullivan: "Sullivan used a soup spoon to stab himself in the neck,
severing his carotid artery."
Anyway, if a person BELIEVES that the death in his world is real, than it
would be real. "I'm real, if you want me to be?"
2-6. "They found him dead the very next day".
As I have already said the more the consciousness submerges into its own
world, the weaker its link with its body and reality becomes (see section 2-1,
2-3, 2-4). But what happens when the link is completely gone? We find the
answer in Joseph Schreiber's notes: "You've seen that world as well? But if
you get sucked into it, it's not just a nightmare. Don't get lost in there. If
you get pulled in, you'll be killed." - i.e. when a person is sucked into a
world of subconsciousness, starts enjoying it (like James or Eddie for
example) - he cannot (or doesn't want to) remain in the "real" world anymore,
the link between body and consciousness is torn and the physical body dies.
But what does this death looks like? This question is answered by one officer
Gucci's death report found in the police station: "Officer Gucci unlikely to
be murdered. He apparently died naturally. But medical records show Officer
Gucci Had no prior symptoms of heart disease" - i.e. the body dies in a normal
natural way apparently from a heart stop, but considering the events of SH4,
we can say that the death is preceded by a splitting headache ("My headache is
already killing me." - Schreiber writes).
2-7. Gamer's "Paradise" (idea analysis, Konami guys moral)
I wanted to point out one pretty interesting detail: did you notice the way
the Konami guys made a very thin parallel between the otherworld and
videogames? Let's take a good look on that parallel:
a) Both videogames and the Otherworld distance us from reality one way or
another.
b) Death in a videogame doesn't mean death of the physical body - the same is
with "Paradise", which is approached through alternative perception.
c) Both videogames and the Otherworld are a kind of a crossroads of the real
and unreal, they unite the properties of reality (the connection to reality
remains), but on the other hand the consciousness is "on the other side",
though? "The "other side" perhaps may not be the best way to phrase it. After
all, there is no wall between here and there"
4) The same as the otherworld, you should be EXTREMELY careful with
videogames: "If you get pulled in, you'll be killed." - so if you go slashing
in Silent Hill for three days in a row and forget completely about reality -
you'll kick the bucket from hunger or a heart attack :), and your
consciousness would forever wander in the Silent Hill game space, "suffering a
fate worse than death."
KONAMI GUYS MORAL. Without doubts, by making such a parallel the creators
wanted to say this: "spend no more then an hour a day at your computer, making
2 hours rests each half hour (not to defect your vision), do not play horror
and other games that are harmful to your mental health (AND GOD SAVE YOU FROM
ACCIDENTLY LAUNCHING SILENT HILL!!), do not spend your nights sitting in the
net, never visit any SH-forums, make exercises every day, brush your teeth, do
good at school :) etc."

3. The Inner God

3-1. Incubus.
We already know that each person has their own subconscious world, where all
their memories, thoughts and fears are manifested. In each of these worlds
exists a "God" - the strongest feeling coupled with an image (i.e. the feeling
of aggression is associated with an image of a demon in Alessa's world). Lost
Memories names this strongest feeling "Incubus".
It's worth noting, that the word "Incubus" was not invented by Team Silent.
Basically, the original Incubi are demons, that come to women in the night for
all kinds of sexual? activities. A nightmare, a feeling of suppression, the
sum of one's negative sides.
"Incubus" is also a derivation from "incubator" and can mean something, that
is inside an incubator. Summing it up, an "Incubus" is an "Inner demon from
the dreams". All "Gods" in the SH series fit into the term.
Now, what exactly IS an "Incubus"? Maybe it is the focal point of the
alternate world's energies? We know that the "Incubus" feeds on pain, hatred
and suffering ("He has been nurtured by that nightmare" - says Dahlia
Gillespie about Alessa's "Incubus", which will later become the most terrible
creature of her world - her "God", a reflection of her hatred and aggression
towards people) - all the negative emotions (makes sense - if the "Incubus" is
a manifestation of a feeling, then it would grow stronger as the appropriate
feeling does. I.e. if Alessa's "Incubus" reflects her aggression, it will grow
stronger when she is angry).
Accordingly, the "incubator" is a human, a person, which carries this inner
God and nurtures it with emotions. As is show by Heather's example, the
alteration process is directly linked to the "Incubus"' power and its growth.
The stronger the "Incubus" is (the more emotions it gets), the stronger the
alteration effect will be.
This may rise one question - why does the growth of the "Incubus" affect one's
perception of reality? That is simple. Imagine this: you wake up in a good
mood and see that the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the world is
beautiful, everyone likes you etc. And if you wake in a bad mood, everything
will be against you, the world will seem like the worst nightmare, people will
be seen as enemies (monsters?) and their words will sound hostile. We all
perceive reality subjectively and our own feelings and emotions affect this
perception. On the other hand, there are other explanations and combinations
of them available (see 2-4).
3-2. Incubus is inside us all.
But as we can see, alternative perception happens not only to Heather, but to
other people as well - Harry, James, Angela, Brookhaven patients etc. The
Director of the hospital in his notes also mentions alternative perception as
an illness ("Some say it isn't even an illness. I cannot agree with them.")
and in certain circumstances a person can get "to the other side" ("The
potential for this illness exists in all people and, under the right
circumstances, any man or woman would be driven, like him, to "the other
side.") That means that the "Incubus" is initially present in any human (we
should especially remember SH: Dying Inside on this occasion page 3 - there is
an graffiti on the wall "GOD LIVES IN US ALL") and in certain circumstances
starts developing and influencing that person's perception. These "certain
circumstances", as we are well aware, are experiences of pain. This quite
explains alteration for James and others - they have experienced enough pain
in their lives and their "Incubi" have developed and have started affecting
their consciousness.
3-3. Incubus development stages, hierarchy.
So, since we talk about the growth, development of an incubus in a human and
its increasing influence on perception, let's point out the main stages of
incubus development (this will help to simplify the narrative language further
on).
1st stage - a person actually didn't experience much suffering in life - their
"Incubus" hasn't developed yet, so alternative perception doesn't happen. Such
people see SH as a usual calm resort town where there is no snow in summer, no
obstacles and pitfalls, there is no meat hanging from the walls and "monsters"
don't hang about.
2nd stage - a person has experienced sufferings in life, but not much - the
town is seen a bit (a bit??) snowy and foggy. There are no "monsters".
Alternative perception is expressed by seeing snow, mist and pitfalls (I hope
that it's clear that the snow and pitfalls are just an example. Actually the
"incubator" can see something else from himself)
3rd stage - have suffered much - alterative perception of living objects -
they see people with low-stage "Incubi" as "monsters" (not only people -
birds, dogs etc will do just as well) (what exactly do they see depends on
subjective characteristics - monsters, angels, murdered fathers), the fog and
the pitfalls remain but there are no "meaty" walls yet.
4th stage - life becomes unbearable - sees people as personal "monsters"
(angels, fathers), the reality is completely altered - lattice, rust, flames,
meat (depends on personal favorites =)), darkness instead of/with fog,
pitfalls etc.
5th stage - Absolute Pain (Alessa) - all aforesaid together, "Incubus" reaches
level 5 and accumulates enough power to influence the surrounding people,
making them accept the world of the "incubator" (see section 3-6 and 4-4 for
details) and gets ready for the Birth (more details in Part 2, section 11).
Heather "inherits" a powerful incubus, but it accumulates enough power only 17
years later, when all of Alessa's aggression and hatred, hidden deep down in
the subconscious until then, shows up.
The transfer between stages happens very gentle, not spontaneously + "Incubi"
can be quite unstable and can change between stages.
I think that it is clear enough that all aforesaid is an example. A person
wouldn't necessary see pitfalls, lattices etc. The "Incubus" development
influences the degree to which the "incubator's" perception resembles their
own world (not always OWN - the stronger "Incubi" can drag others into their
worlds, but more of that a bit later on - in section 3-6 and 4-4).
3-4. Philosophical meaning of the "Incubus", duality of understanding (taking
into consideration the "religious" and "psychological" aspects of SH).
I think that to anyone who had played SH it should be clear that any object
inside the game is symbolic and possess a certain meaning. Naturally, the
"Incubus" idea - is not just something mystic but more of a metaphor. To
better sort out the sense, which this metaphor brings, let's first of all look
at the "Incubus" from a "religious" point of view, seeing it as Claudia would:
So, according to Silent Hill religion, the Otherworld is Paradise, then (as an
"Incubus" grows because of pain) the pain, experienced by a person, is a sort
of pathway to Paradise. But why is it pain that brings the believer to
salvation and eternal peace? During the final encounter Claudia said: "is it
so hard to believe that sympathy could be born from the pain and suffering?" -
i.e. she thinks that suffering improves people, purifies them (the "Flame
purifies all" picture springs to mind). I.e. from religious point of view an
incubus is a divine part of a man, his potential of salvation, that is hidden
inside any person, but that is show only in those, purified by pain.
Now let's approach the same problem from a "psychological" point of view (it
is shown most evidently on Alessa, but also works with James, Angela, Eddie
etc. Here is something for you to think about - fill in the name and change
"the case record" according to the character):
Well, if we look from this side, we should look with the eye of reason and
deny beforehand any mysticism - i.e. the "Incubus", God and Paradise - are
just a product of our patient's (Alessa's) mind. All her life her real
surrounding world has brought her nothing but pain and suffering (thanks to
Momma). So after some time a desire to save herself from reality and to hide
began to grow in the patient. And then Alessa had created a world in her
imagination, which was suitable for this. And the more unbearable the reality
got the more often the patient crossed over into her own world and after some
time she has become completely insane - her world became the only real one for
her. So according to "psychological" point of view the "Incubus" is an
abstract image, symbolizing a human mind, the force of the mind. Pain makes
the brain seek a way to salvation and it starts creating its own worlds.
I think you have noticed that both points of view are one way or another true
and they both lead to the same idea (just by different ways) - it is quite an
interesting feature of the SH plot.
3-5. Is the Inner God material?
I think that an attentive reader should have already guessed what it was I
have been hinting on in section 3-4 ;). The "God" does not necessarily have to
be material - it is just a projection of a feeling after all. We SEE the "God"
only in the alternate reality? The Otherwold is interesting in that it can
give unseen (and sometimes unexplainable) things a visual reflection (though
these images are completely abstract and subjective, being taken from the
person's subconsciousness).
Now, let's recall the final confrontation of SH3. Heather spits out the
"Incubus" and Claudia devours it ("Her"). Did all that really happen? Maybe it
was only what the characters saw under the influence of Alessa's world?
3-6. The principle of distribution and overlapping of alternate perceptions.
As we know, the "Incubi" can interact with each other. Very potent ones can
override the influence of less powerful - this explains how Lisa, who has
always been near Alessa, can perceive Alessa's vision of the world (pus
running from the faucet etc.) James also could see with his own eyes the world
of Angela Orosco during their conversation on the staircase. But it seems that
such "overlapping" can only be possible if one is very close to an extremely
powerful "Incubus". Besides it is better if there is a strong mental link
between the "Incubi" (like for example between Harry and Sheryl, James and
Angels, Alessa and Lisa etc). Accordingly when an "Incubus" levels-up to 5 it
begins to actively override the perceptions of other people even on big
distances - this explains how Alessa could make people see reality that
resembled her inner world. In fact this suggests that "Incubi" are some kind
of radio transmitters with a certain range - and they transmit the signals of
alternativisation that influence an "incubator's" mind (as it is within the
range of "Incubus's" transmission) As an "Incubus" grows it's transmition
radius becomes larger - and sometimes, under certain circumstances, it can
affect other people's minds.
3-7. Radio operations principles.
So it seems that "Incubi" work as radio transmitters, sending mental signals
to deform perception of an "incubator" and such signals can overlap with the
signals of other "Incubi" (though according to a book from the SH1 library, it
would be more accurate to say not "signals" but "external psychic energy
fields", (although I think there is not much of a difference) - more detail in
section 4-3) Logically, not only they override the signals of other "Incubi",
but other signals as well - for example they can overlap with radio signals,
creating static. Here's an example for you - Sunderland is strolling down a
street and there is a bystander nearby - James's "Incubus" starts emitting
signals of alternating the perception of the bystander into a monster - James'
s external energy field becomes stronger and affects the radio and it (the
signal) creates static - and that's it! By the way, did you notice that the
more "otherworldly" the surroundings are, the louder the static becomes
(besides Noise Effect gets stronger - but that's another story :))? (if, being
in the "nightmarish" world with meaty/rusty walls, you turn up the sound a bit
- it is possible to hear that the static doesn't stop - that explains a lot).
It is also important to point out, that in SH1, when Harry is in the resort
area, just before the alteration (on the bridge) the radio comes alive
seemingly for no apparent reason.
3-8. "Incubus" and television.
A TV is also a receiver of transmitions - and here everything is like the
radio effect - an "Incubus's" signals create telestatic (it's also called
"snow" - pretty symbolic) - this explains why incubators cannot watch TV in
SH. In can also be possible that incubus's signals can project something on
the screen.
3-9. Subconscious projection on TV- and radio receivers or "Cheryl on da box":)
Since we have started talking about receivers let's define the way such things
can reflect certain images. Let's start with listing the examples:
a)SH1, mall - Cheryl on TV.
b)SH2 - Mary's voice on the radio is the image of James' hope - it is better
to say that it is a "fruit" of hope, Hospital - radio show, Hotel (room 312) -
a television replays memories, hidden in James's subconsciousness (well he
didn't actually record himself killing his wife, did he? Lol), Hotel (library)
- the conversation with the doctor is played in the headphones, Hotel (the
long corridor) - James's and Mary's conversation on the radio.
c) SH3 - mall again - Sheryl on TV again - a reflection of Heather's "Lost
Memories".
d) SH4 - the TV "scare" in room 302.
In my opinion, fragments of human subconsciousness are not projected directly
on the screen, but on the perception of it (in most cases anyway). I.e. that
means that in reality (for example) when James hears Mary's voice on the
radio, the radio is actually just hissing (if it is on), while James hears
Mary's voice and he just thinks that it comes from the radio, and in fact it
is only inside his head. The same is with Cheryl on TV and on the phone (SH1).
The main argument for this theory is this - in SH2 before entering room 312 in
the hotel JUST TURN OFF THE RADIO - and Mary's voice (when she "calls" James
after viewing the tape) will still be there (though the power of the radio is
off - i.e. there is practically no receiver). Here an attentive reader might
jump to a conclusion: "if Mary's voice is not real, then maybe the radio
static too is only inside the character's head" The answer is: if, when you
turn the radio off, Mary's voice remains, then the static should also remain
whether you turn the radio on or off, but it doesn't, furthermore, you can
control the volume (!!! :) ) That means that the static is real (or it can
always be a bug).
As we can see, the phenomenon of projection is present in all four games and
is a base structure of the perception of the Otherworld. Of course, you can't
fully rely on information acquired in such a way, as while projecting the
consciousness, the receiver doesn't necessarily show real events, printed in
the "incubator's" memory - but abstract concepts as well: thoughts, feelings,
hopes, wishes etc. Anyway it's a kind of trick question - I wish to point out
that one's desires are also a part of one's memory and can one way or another
"cover" the real memories, changing one's memory (this idea is clearly
represented in SH2).
3-10. Silent Hill and Otherworld perception, the power of the town.
On one hand it is said in Lost Memories: "The power that absorbs and reflects
what people hold in their hearts is established as being exclusive to the town
of Silent Hill." On the other hand, from SH3 events we can see that
alternative perception is not dependent on the town and in SH4 the main
character Henry Townsend doesn't spend a single second in the town of Silent
Hill during the whole game. How can we explain that? Can it be that them bad
SH creators have simply meanly tricked the poor naive gamers :)? Well, we can
always suggest that this is a bug or a merry Japanese joke, but I think that I
have got to the bottom of this. The town's particularity is that in SH there
is a concentration of a certain force, energy (details in Part 1, section 4),
which causes the "Incubus" of every visitor and resident to "activate". Maybe,
they become more vulnerable to its influence? - after that there it does not
really matter where a "martyr-incubator" is granted "Salvation" (in the form
of an Otherworld). Besides such an idea explains another line from LM: "The
shift to the otherworld that takes place outside the town depends entirely
upon a unique power." If we combine that with the line "the human mind is
where the otherworld dwells and holds power" and also with section 3-4, it
becomes clear that the power of an "incubus" is the very same "unique power".
And besides? Silent Hill is the place where the outmost secret FEELINGS and
memories live forever, do you know what that means?..
4. Ghosts and spirits.
The problem of "ghosts" shadowed us throughout the SH series and has
especially sharply risen in the context of Silent Hill 4. Well? lets finally
sort them out (ghosts and spirits that is)
4-1. Close circuit
Undoubtebly, human consciousness is tightly bound to the physical body
(including the brain). But does the death of the brain mean the death of the
consciousness, complete oblivion? That question has been puzzling scientists
for centuries :)? Sure, human consciousness is bound to the matter and cannot
exist without it, but consciousness also tend to reflect matter in
subconsciousness (memories for example) thus constructing its own world of
reflected matter (then consciousness becomes a mirror and personal perception
becomes a curvature of this mirror. But let us suppose that consciousness for
some reason suddenly plunged into that world and manifested itself in it - so
that world became the only real one for the consciousness. So what do we get -
did the consciousness close on itself, creating an enclosed self-sufficient
system? You know the symbol of the Ouroboros (it's in SH1 BTW) ? Well, it's
the same thing with consciousness - it keeps on being sustained by its own
world ("nurtured by that nightmare" - as Dahlia puts it), continues to exist
inside it. Actually, there it can exist eternally - being in a closed circuit
it can go on forever. In that case even losing connections with the body
cannot break the circuit, simply sealing it forever, blocking "the way back"
into reality, and as for the consciousness, being in another plane of
existence, it wouldn't even realize the death physical body and considering
its own world the only reality would naturally go on "living" in it. It is
reminiscent of "The Reverse Will" from the SH2 OST where Laura repeats (the
lyrics are reversed):
"Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take" - I think, those lines reflect the aforesaid
as well as possible.
4-2. "White Noiz"
So, even after the death of the physical body the consciousness does not
disappear, but continues to exist in its own world ("Paradise"), the
subconscious world also doesn't disappear anywhere - we can observe that on an
example of Walter Sullivan (SH4). But in that case where is that subconscious
world located? Before it "inhabited" the brain of the "incubator", but where
does it go after death? We can certainly assume that this subconscious world
exists in some sort of "parallel world", but I think that "parallel world" is
not the best expression.
In fact it continues to exist inside reality, being at the same time "an
another plane" of existence (it is expressed rather clearly in the Crimson
Tome: "It exists in a space separate from the world of our Lord. More
accurately, it is within, yet without the Lord's world" - I'll explain about
the Lord's world a bit further ahead). Anyhow, the world continues to exist,
but represents some kind of "White noise" (for the information: White noise is
a type of noise that is produced by combining sounds of all different
frequencies together, completely covering any other sound. BTW if anyone's
interested - sound is a form of energy too) - a proportional "blending" of all
the different subconscious worlds.
Static is also called "White noise". I suppose many of you are familiar with
the "EVP theory" [yeah, especially after that recent movie - Translator's
note], which states that the dead can contact our world through static
(remember the radio?),
BTW it is rather interesting that the Indians, who lived before the colonists
arrived, revered the land, where Silent Hill will have been built as "The
Place of the Silent Spirits" and believed that the spirits continue their
existence in stones, trees and so on (also see 4-5) - then maybe the
subconscious world continues to exist inside reality, but it is "bound" to
certain locations (concentrated in them?)
The idea of a binding to certain location corresponds to the concept of the
most popular modern Japanese horror-films:
a) "The Ring" - negative mental energy of Sadako Yamamura had been
concentrated inside the well, where she had died and even after her death that
energy continued to exist - it has even influenced and created her image on TV
(remember section 2)
b) "Dark Waters" - negative mental energy of a drowned girl again inhabits an
apartment building, the girl is looking for her mother?
4-3. The power of thought, the power of emotion, the power of Pain.
And still in what kind does the subconscious world continue to exist after
death? This question is answered by a book from SH1 school library:
"?Poltergeists are among these. Negative emotions, like fear, worry or stress
manifest into external energy with physical effects." - that is any thought,
any emotion possess a certain force, an energy - and the stronger the emotion,
the bigger psychokinetic potential it possesses. But what a subconscious world
is is a set (conglomeration more precisely) of memories, feelings and thoughts
of a person. In that case, it's not surprising that this "Paradise", this
subconscious world possesses enormous energy, I think it would be true to say
that after physical death of an "incubator", all that world becomes pure
energy. We can also see that negative emotions (for example pain, hatred and
so on) often are the strongest, that is they dominate over "positive" feelings
(love and suchlike) in human consciousness and therefore possess the greatest
potential.
Now let's think - what is the force making people break their link with
reality and descend into their own world? That's right, pain, suffering, which
real life grants. Let's take Alessa as an example - why did her world become
so powerful that its force had spread throughout the town? It's as clear as
day that this happened because in Alessa's subconscious world vast amounts of
pain, hatred for humanity has collected - this gave her world such
unbelievable power, that (LM) "Her agony is manifested and the entire town is
swallowed up by the Otherworld."
4-4 "Possessed"
How does this psychokinetic potential show in reality? We can find the answer
to this question in the SH3 subway (Occult Magazine): "The souls of those who
had died suddenly by suicide or accident don't realize they're dead. Sometimes
they stay put and haunt the particular place? The pain can get so bad that
they turn to humans for salvation - or they begrudge humans their lives. At
such times they can possess humans. Places, known as "famous suicide spots" or
"high accident areas" are always to blame" - that means the more power the
subconscious world accumulates, the more it shows in reality - so, once it
accumulates a certain amount of power it begins to influence reality - some
people can even feel and perceive that world - that way normal people's (in
the town of SH there is some weed which grants normal people the ability to
see "Paradise" but that's further on - Part 2, section 12) perception is
altered, later they can even be sucked into that "Paradise", which causes
their death, but the consciousness and personality of these people will
forever remain in the world of another's subconsciousness (that happens to
Lisa Garland and the characters of SH4). In fact, this is the essence of
interaction of the "Incubi" and of distribution and overlapping of deformed
perceptions, as described in section 3-6. The more power an "Paradise" gains
the more it influences people's perception of reality - in fact, once
accumulated enough power, this subconscious world can spread over all people -
i.e. everyone will start seeing this subconscious world and it will become the
ultimate reality.
4-5. Who is susceptible to the influence of psychic energies?
In what situation is the mind most vulnerable to psychic energies and can
easily be drawn into a subconscious world? Obviously, when it is distanced
from reality:
a) Sleep (Richard Braintree, Frank Sunderland)
b) Intoxication (Cynthia Velasquez)
c) Impaired vision and other senses
d) As one suffers pain in real life, the mind.
I.e. the minds of people, who have suffered enough in their lives ("darkness
in their hearts") are more open to the influence of subconscious worlds. Just
as stated in Lost Memories: "people with afflicted minds are easily drawn to
the otherworld". That is why the town (which houses a huge concentration of
psychic energies of many people) starts to draw people with "darkness in their
hearts".
4-6. "Lingering thoughts", the remains of consciousness.
Being in the otherworld, it is often possible to see (to sense) the remains of
thoughts and feelings of many people. Probably these feelings were so strong
that they had transformed into mental energy, which forever remains in the
town (usually this energy remains in places where those feelings were
experienced - maybe that is why Indians believed that the spirits inhabit
trees, water and earth?), this energy interacts with protagonist's incubus, so
with alternative perception we can apprehend pieces of another's subconscious
worlds - their thoughts, feelings, etc.
Let's explain this on some examples from SH3:
a) In the tunnel, leading from the park to the church, we can find bloody
inscriptions. According to Lost Memories this is "The voice of a believer that
suggests self-sacrifice"- i.e. human thoughts became energy, forever remaining
in that tunnel and reflected in Alessa's world (those thoughts are so potent
that they break through the perception of Alessa's world)
b) In the confession chamber Heather hears a voice of a woman, who has killed
a child ("The owner of the voice committed a murder in order to get revenge
for the murder of her own child"- LM) - Probably the true feelings of the
believer still remain in the confessional.
c) Stanley Coleman's diaries - these are also the consequences of interaction
between two subconscious worlds.
d) Father's notes - not only the negative emotions bear energy, light feelings
of parental love also possess a strong psychokinetic potential.
These are only a couple of examples from the game - actually there are many
more of them - we will discuss all these phenomena in detail in tome 2.
4-7. The cycle of memories.
As we can see, initially a "Paradise" arises inside a person's brain and
concentrates there in the form of energy, but after the death of the energy's
host - the brain - this energy of the subconscious world is concentrated in
places, to which one's strongest memories are bound (for example "Alessa's
thoughts from her childhood linger in the church"-LM) - i.e. the energy of
memories itself finds a new haven, a new host.
In that case, this energy can possess another person's mind. But here new
difficulties arise: human consciousness would oppose such a possession. (as it
would cause a synthesis of subconsciousnesses, forming a sort of conglomerate,
apart from that it can cause dual (trial, quatroal) personalities, as the new
host is inhabited by all the other personalities, reflected in another's
subconscious world). Naturally, the consciousness would fight such "guests"
back (Harry Mason calls that "conscious resistance") , it would start to
resist the appearance of another personality in itself.
How is it possible then for energy (an "Incubus") to transfer to a new mind?
Here are three variants:
a) The new host wanted that and didn't resist (Example- Claudia Wolf)
b) The new host's personality is weakened (Examples - Heather Mason and Eileen
Galvin)
c) Or when the new host's consciousness is simply insufficiently developed and
is not expressed so strongly (i.e. there is nothing that can resist) - i.e. a
very small (newborn?) children (examples - Cheryl Mason, Heather Mason).
Thus, the personality, the memories and the subconscious world of one, who
plunged into their own subconscious world, can not only float around as "White
Noiz", but once it accumulates enough psychokinetic potential, can continue
its existence inside another's mind. The sub-subconscious? Well, I think that
is, speaking in SH2 terms, "The basement's basement". Pretty symbolic?

4-8. Holy Mother, Mother Reborn, reincarnation spiral.

For a start, let's sort out what is a Holy Mother. I think that it is clear
that a Holy Mother is something, that contains a God inside itself (I think
the name is given by analogy to normal mother and child).
I should rephrase to make things clearer: the God EXISTS (and forms itself)
INSIDE the Holy Mother. But let us see WHAT is called a Holy Mother during the
game:
a) In SH3 Alessa (Heather - i.e. a living human) is called a Holly Mother
(dialog recorded on the tape: "L.C. : I heard that the Holy Mother has been
found. Is that true? Vincent: Alessa has been found?")
b) The end of SH3 - Claudia absorbs Alessa-Heather's "Incubus" and takes the
role of the Holy Mother.
c) SH4 - cult followers call the stone in the forest "Motherstone".
I.e. a Holy Mother can be both a living human and some particular location,
also the role of the Holy Mother can be transferred from one person (or place)
to another. Doesn't it remind you of something? Shall we say section 4-5, 4-6
;)? Let's analyze: God is formed in the world of human subconsciousness, i.e.
figuratively speaking, the consciousness and the personality of an
"incubator", who has created their own world, are the Mother of a "Paradise"
and the mother of a "God". Even after death, the "incubator's" personality can
continue to exist in its own world, that is bound by memories to a particular
place (this is the MotherStone and the Mother-Room 302 -Indians believed that
the souls ("Incubi"/mental energy) of the dead can remain inside stones and
trees, etc.) Also this world (containing the personality, consciousness and
memory of the initial "incubator") can find a new host - this is the Rebirth
of the Holy Mother (Reincarnation is the transfer of a soul to a new body).
I.e. Holly Mummy is nothing more than a host for the subconscious world and
the God, reflected inside it. Anyway, the cycle of consciousness of someone
closed in their own world is endless.
4-9. "This is God??" (analysis of God based on all series)
In all of the Silent Hill series we can see a strange creature, inhabiting in
the depths of one's subconscious world - God, but its image and the raison d'
etre change constantly depending on the person. Let's see WHAT is this God in
each part:
a) Silent Hill 1 - "Samael". The main wish of Alessa (and it was her mind which
gave birth to the world of SH 1) was death. Dahlia has reached her goal:
thanks to mother's efforts her daughter had started loathing all people,
whishing for their death. But the girl's constant sufferings have developed a
suicidal side in her character - "It would be better for "myself" to die.
After all, it's nothing to be afraid of?" - Alessa wanted to release herself
from pain and suffering, which were caused by the surrounding people, and by
life itself. And who is Samael? - actually it is an angel of death. It all
adds up. I.e. Alessa's pain, hatred and desire of death found their reflection
in her world in the form of angel of death, which (according to name and
status) should bring death to all hated people and relieve Alessa of the
tortures of life.
b) Silent Hill 2 - there are 2 Gods here at the same time (even 3 - if you
count the Doggie in the "Dog" ending ;) ). God of James - a couple of
PyramidHeads. The feeling of guilt always lurked in Sunderland and maybe it
was the reason for his sado-masochism. James always tries to punish himself
for the committed sin ("That's why I needed you?. Needed someone to punish me
for my sins?."). And PH is the reflection of this feeling of guilt, hidden
deep within Sunderland's subconsciousness and expressed in his world in the
form of an executioner - he constantly tries to harm James - by attacking him,
killing Maria, sticking the truth up his nose, the very truth the distressful
clerk tries to hide from? Thus, the god of James's world is himself, more
precisely his destructive part.
God of Mary: "Mary" - Mary's despair, her suffering and aggression towards her
husband ("Flowers? I don't want any damn flowers. Just go home already? Well,
what are you looking at? Get the hell out of here! Leave me alone already!!")
were so strong that after her death they transferred into mental energy (see
section 4-5), creating Mary's world and her own God.
c) Silent Hill 3 - "Alessa\Samael". Alessa hates all people, wants to relieve
herself and Heather from suffering - i.e. the raison d'etre of her God remains
the same, but her image of God changes, as the energy of Alessa's subconscious
hatred mixes with delusions, desires and memories of Claudia - so now the God
represents something like a cross between Alessa and Samael - Alessa's face
(as Claudia believed that God should resemble Alessa) - but the rest of the
body is from Samael (as Alessa believed that God should look just like that).
d) Silent Hill 4 - "the Fetus". As well as Alessa, Sullivan could not accept
the surrounding reality, he required support, care which he has been deprived
of in his childhood. Needed someone to love him. But there was no one - and
Sullivan created her himself - his Mother. This is expressed in Walter's
subconscious world - the surrounding world (the underground, the prison) if
filled with feelings of fear and loathing ("he was still filled with
bitterness and resentment towards the rest of the world." - Schreiber's memo
confirms), the center of Sullivan's "Paradise" is Ashfield Heights Apt. (in
his world it is expressed as a giant organism - i.e. his Mother) and Room 302
- is the Mother's womb, where God (i.e. "the Fetus") is based. In fact, the
God of Sullivan's subconsciousness is Sullivan himself, being in his loving
mother's womb, more precisely - the reflection of Walter's strongest feeling
and desire.
Thus we can see that God is a reflection of one's personality and desires in
one's own subconscious world. God, being the most powerful creature of the
subconscious world, reflects the strongest feeling. The stronger the feeling
is - the stronger the God gets (that is why Claudia helped Heather's "Incubus"
grow by increasing the feeling of aggression and hatred in her). And, as the
God is the foundation of the subconscious world's power, the world increases
its influence along with the God's power, developing the potential to draw
others inside. When Heather asks Vincent in the library " "God"? Are you sure
you don't mean "Devil"?" - he answers: "Whichever YOU like." - really, despite
the fact that God (as well as "Paradise") in all the series is the generation
of the one and only force (mind's energy, feelings - see section 4-3) God is
subjective, it can be both "God" and "Devil", as it reflects the nature of the
one who has created it.
5. List of terms.
1) Reality - the world, which is perceived by "normal" people. If we take some
hints in the games, we can even assume that our reality is also somebody's
subconscious, which has drawn all people inside a long time ago.
2) Subconscious world ("Paradise", inner world) - a world, that is formed in
the depths of the subconscious. This world is created and changes accordingly
to the feelings and desires of its creator.
Example: Walter Sullivan's world.
3) Alternate world - a hub between 1 and 2, formed by the use of illusions.
Example: "alternate" school in SH1.
4) Psychic energy - the energy of feelings, emotions and memories. In the SH
series, every feeling has some value of psychic energy and thus can be
transferred to other people and influence their perception of the world and
behavior.
Example: "MANIFESTATIONS OF DELUSIONS"
5) Possessed - a person under the influence of another's feeling, memory or
personality (psychic energy)
Example: Eileen, possessed by the feelings of Walter Sullivan.
6) Monster - a manifestation of somebody's [negative] feeling in their
subconscious world through a grotesque image, associated with this feeling. In
the alternate world, any real object can be seen as a monster, according to
the principles of alternate perception.
Example: Jumper - a manifestation of Alessa's fear of adults.
7) God ("Incubus") - a reflection of the strongest feeling\desire (again,
psychic energy) in a person's subconscious world, associated with a particular
image. The power of this feeling is directly linked to the power world and the
degree to which it influences others. To put it simply - God is the strongest
monster.
Example: Alessa's God
8) Victim (ghost) - a person, trapped inside an unending cycle of another's
subconscious world and forced to exist by the laws of this world.
Example: Lisa Garland; Jim Stone
9) Alternate Perception - perception of real objects as images of the
subconscious world.
Example: James' alternate perception of the hospital.
10) Descent into the subconscious world - the process of the human
consciousness transferring to "Nowhere", the subconscious world. Signified by
fainting\sleep\death.
Example: Richard Braintree descending into the subconscious world of Walter
Sullivan.
11) Laws of the subconscious world - the beliefs of the world's creator become
laws in their subconscious world.
Example: Alessa's belief that Aglaophtis is harmful to evil spirits is
reflected in her world.
12) Fantasy - a product of imagination. Fantasy changes the image of reality,
that is reflected in the consciousness, usually replacing certain elements of
reality with different others.
13) Autism (greek. "auto" - "by myself") - disorder that severely impairs
development of a person's ability to communicate, interact with other people,
and maintain normal contact with the outside world.
14) Split personality - disorder, that causes groups of ideas, actions etc. to
be separated from one another. Usually, all sides of the split personality are
manifested in the subconscious world.
Example: Walter's two personalities: the adult Walter and the young Wally.
15) Pain - the most revered feeling in the Silent Hill religion. Pain has the
largest potential psychic energy.
6. The end of part one.
Well, that's about it :) - we can finish the first part with this. It seems I
finally got round to writing all I wanted. Though?if I have any more ideas - I
would be sure to continue describing the mechanism, and them thoughts would as
sure as anything, 'cause SH4 - is not the end yet, I'm sure that SH5 will come
up with a lot more food for thought :)
_______________________________________________________________________________
PART 2: RELIGION OF SILENT HILL
_______________________________________________________________________________
12. Silent Hill religion and "White Claudia".
12-1. What is "White Claudia"?
Despite the fact that White Claudia is only slightly mentioned in SH plot,
this plant plays an important role in it. White Claudia's description can be
found in SH1: "WHITE CLAUDIA Perennial herb found near water. Reaches height
of 10 to 15 inches. Oblong leaves, white blossoms. Seeds contain hallucinogen.
Ancient records show it was used for religious Ceremonies. The hallucinogenic
effect was key." As we can see, this herb usually grows near the water. So,
what is situated in Silent Hill? That's right - Toluca LAKE, so as a result
this grass grows in the town and, most likely, grows for a long time and even
is a part of some ancient rituals. Is it possible, that this herb grows only
in Silent Hill? Is it possible, that this fact is a reason of special power of
the town?
12-2. PTV, hallucinogenic nature of White Claudia.
In the beginning, White Claudia was used only for rituals, but after a while,
cult has found a way of getting profit from the narcotic nature of this grass.
Right after the fire that was set by Dahlia Gillespie (and had purpose to
summon the God) cult has concluded an alliance with Alchemilla hospital - and
a new sort of drug - PTV - appeared ("After the fire in the business district,
a drug known as "PTV" becomes prevalent in town." - Lost Memories). It was
produced from White Claudia ("Product only available in Select areas of Silent
Hill. Raw material is White Claudia." - This is written on board in the police
station.), and cult began to sell the drug to the tourists. However, the drug
was rather dangerous - inexplicable deaths began to occur. (""PTV" Dealers
still at large. Suspicious deaths continue." - This is what we can found in
SH1 in the newspaper.) Hmmm? that's strange: as we know, process of tearing
off the real world and transition to the subconscious world is accompanied by
"suspicious deaths". (see Part 1, 2-1 and 2-6) We also know that the drug has
appeared right after the first fire took place - and a special drug was tested
on Lisa Garland (she was working in Alchemilla then) - as a result of this
experiment she began to see Alessa's world? Guess it's obvious that
"hallucinogenic" properties are contained in this effect - i.e. the drug
allows a man to dive into his subconscious world (i.e. tears his consciousness
off the real world and increases his sensitivity to the psychical energy) -
and, as we know, this process can lead to death, if this subconscious world
consumes the victim. But Lisa began to see not her own world - but Alessa's
one (this happened because psychical energy of Alessa was strong enough to
influence Lisa's mind and to force her to see Alessa's world - see Part 1,
3-6), which has consumed the unlucky nurse.
12-3. The full scheme of White Claudia's dealing. White Claudia's turnover in
the city.
First, White Claudia was collected ("Raw material is White Claudia") near the
Toluca Lake ("Perennial herb FOUND NEAR WATER") - this was in cult's
competence. Then, Dahlia passed the grass to Kaufmann - for the purposes of
mediation between cult and Alchemilla and also for storing the grass the
shop/warehouse "Indian Runner" was used - it is situated in north-eastern part
of Resort Area. I.e. Dahlia left the grass (or any other item that had to be
passed to Kaufmann secretly) in "Indian Runner", and, later, Kaufmann took it
(Remember the Indian Runner's owner's diary: "August 20 He came by. I handed
over the package That the woman left here." - of course, Dahlia Gillespie and
Kaufmann are mentioned here). Kaufmann transferred the grass to Alchemilla ("A
plant peculiar to the region. Manufactured here? Dealer=Manufacturer?"), where
the hallucinogenic powder PTV was produced from White Claudia seeds ("Seeds
contain hallucinogen") and tested on Lisa Garland ("I try to stop it, but it
won't turn off. Need drug. Help me..." - Lisa Garland's diary). Manufactured
drug was stored in IR (remember the packages with PTV in safe), and later it
was from the shop by Dahlia, transferred to the cult, and after that, PTV was
distributed among tourists in Resort Area by cult members ("Must be on drugs.
They sell 'em to the tourists.")
Generally, we understand, that only formal, even symbolic, conspiracy took
place - of course, in such little town as Silent Hill people know everything
about each other - and if PTV is at open sale to the tourists, only the
deaf-mute legless cripple with progressing dementia can lose the drug-dealers
=). Of course, police was, from one side, bribed by cult, and, on the other
side, it was paralyzed by fear of "suspicious deaths", which cult was,
according to the rumors, connected with. So, town police department has just
shut eyes on the event that took place in town - "INVESTIGATION STALLED. "PTV"
Dealers still at large."
12-4. White Claudia in SH2
Guess, lots of SH fans worry about the question: "If White Claudia was so
often mentioned in SH, why there aren't any mentions of it in SH2 and
subsequent games?" So, who said that there aren't any? Let's take a
look."Ancient records show it was used for religious Ceremonies. The
hallucinogenic effect was key" - this is what the plant encyclopedia tells us
about this plant. So, what SH rituals do we know? First is ceremonial burning.
Second is "21 Sacraments", which includes special part named "Holy Assumption"
- to know more read the cult bible from SH4:"The Second Sign And God said,Offer
the Blood of the Ten Sinners and the White Oil. Be then released from the
bonds of the flesh, and gain the Power of Heaven." Where's White Claudia
here, you might wonder. Let's read "Book of Crimson Ceremony" (from SH2),
which describes the same ritual:"Thou shalt ever call upon me and all that is
me in the place that is silent. Oh, proud fragrance of life which flies
towards the heart. Oh Cup which brims with the whitest of wine, it is in thee
that all begins" Hmm? "White Oil", "Whitest of wine", "White Chrism" - all
these things are mentioned in ritual's description. What is missing in this
logical chain? That's right, you've finally solved the puzzle, and you can
take one more cake from the shelf (while father Vincent is away, collecting
money from parishioners) :) . Actually, White Chrism is White Claudia, or,
more precisely, not White Claudia itself, but it's seeds (in fact they contain
hallucinogens), pounded in a powder (that's the reason of such color -
remember PTV) and, later, combustible oil was manufactured from these seeds
(hmm? I wonder if it includes spirit or not? =) ). So, that's it - it turns
out that White Claudia idea wasn't forgotten right after wine party devoted to
SH1 release (this version is one that too smart SH "fans" had) - on the
contrary, this idea was stretched down to SH4 The Room, where the vessel with
White Claudia seeds oil can be observed on the table in the immured pantry,
where Walter Sullivan was conducting the "Holy Assumption" ritual.
12-5. White Claudia role in SH events. White Claudia and fog (based on Silent
Hill: Dying Inside)
In SH comic series there is a certain hint on an origin of the fog and it's
connection with White Claudia. The main character of the first 2 issues - Troy
(he is psychiatrist) - says: "Something causing this...The mist. Not natural.
There must be chemical spill. Some psychotropic drugs causing
hallucinations.", and from SH4 we know, that "people say that when the fog
comes out, strange things happen." So, we can suppose that SH events are
connected with "strange fog", and "fog" itself can be connected with
suspicious hallucinogen. So, what kind of hallucinogen grows in SH? White
Claudia, containing hallucinogen in it's seeds, grows near Toluca Lake, and
the lake is, "for some reason" ;) , covered with fog - so, maybe the reason of
the fog is narcotic Claudia flowering ;) ? Heh, maybe, it is, but in the
certain degree, though, it's not the only reason (SH3 and SH4 events take
place outside of Silent Hill).By the way, by making such hints, developers
refer to the "Fog" (written by Stephen King, just read it - and you will
definitely understand what I'm talking about), which is considered to be one
of the main inspirers of SH1.
12-6. "White Claudia" name's meaning, flowers in SH-series.
Guess, everyone knows that "White Claudia" is a fictitious plant. But very few
people knows that plants named "black Dahlia" and "pink Heather" exist. Well,
when we know who is Dahlia, Heather and Claudia in SH-series plot, everything
is put on it's place.

14. Rituals
14-1 The origin of SH rituals
In fact, the rituals of burning and 21 Sacraments were not created by cult
adepts. These rituals had existed a long time before the colonists came and
originally were performed by the natives of America - Indians (more precisely,
the Maya and the Aztecs), and were adopted by "the Order" (so the rituals are
older than the Cult itself), edited and modified in religious style.
14-2 "21 Sacraments for the Descent of the Holy Mother\Holy Assumption" (FAQ)
Religious meaning: birth of one's own God through blood and violence.
Description: "The First Sign. And God said, At the time of fullness, cleanse
the world with my rage. Gather forth the White Oil, the Black Cup and the
Blood of the Ten Sinners. Prepare for the Ritual of the Holy Assumption. The
Second Sign. And God said, Offer the Blood of the Ten Sinners and the White
Oil. Be then released from the bonds of the flesh, and gain the Power of
Heaven. From the Darkness and Void, bring forth Gloom, and gird thyself with
Despair of the Giver of Wisdom. The Third Sign. And God said, Return to the
Source through sin's Temptation. Under the Watchful eye of the demon, wander
alone in the formless Chaos. Only then will the Four Atonements be in
alignment. The Last Sign. And God said, separate from the flesh too, she is who
is the Mother Reborn and he who is the Receiver of Wisdom. If this be done, by
the Mystery of the 21 Sacraments, the Mother shall be reborn and the Nation of
Sin shall be redeemed."
Explanation: so, let's examine
a)
(Q)estion: Why 21?
(A)nswer: this tradition was brought into the SH religion by some occultism
and fortune-telling lover (heh, who was that, I wonder?), the number is based
on Tarot cards numbers (from 0" to 21", card 22" is The Eye of Night",
which symbolizes the God. (Of course, this is not an Indian tradition - they
didn't know about Tarot) The meaning of the victims is connected to the
meaning of the cards - let's see:
-- Tarot card #1, "The Magician". "The Magician" usually symbolizes a
person with organizational and manipulative talents, strong personality, which
is controlling the situation. Let's compare it with Walter Sullivan's 21
Sacraments - victim 01121, Jim Stone, priest of Valtiel. Magician = priest,
organization talents = Jim organized the Sect of Valtiel. 100% match.
-- Tarot card #2, "The High Priestess". This card symbolizes faith,
intuition, etc. Let's compare it with the Victims List: Bobbie Randolph,
horrors fan, he is into occultism and believes that paranormal activity exists
- 100% match again.
-- Let's try Tarot card #4" - "The Emperor". This card symbolizes parental
care, good management, success, authority and power. Now we check - Steve
Garland, 04121. Parental care = he's Lisa Garland's father, success = he has
his own shop in Ashfield and, besides, according to the victims list
information, the police has found a scoop used for cleaning after the dog -
isn't that a symbol of good management (in house and near it)?
-- Now let's examine Tarot card #9, "The Hermit" - it symbolizes caution and
isolation from the surrounding world. It's also a symbol of defeating one's
lusts and also a symbol of will to understand the nature of every event. It
also can symbolize intention on work, intention on one's self, the
self-absorption of one's character. So, who is number 9 in Sullivan's victims
list? The old watchmaker William Gregory (quite punctual by character, and
obsessed with his work). Old = isolated from the world (old Gregory was so
withdrawn from the world that, according to the victims list, his body was
found after Sullivan's suicide - nobody noticed the disappearance of the quiet
watchmaker), obsession with work and enthusiasm in his work (watch making and
repairing) is the will to understand the nature of the events". As usually,
200% match.
-- We can also check someone else. Randomly we choose a card from the Tarot
deck - it is number 15, "The Devil" - it can symbolize degradation of
someone and death of one's soul. In some situations this card can symbolize
that someone's goals were false and it would be better to give them up before
they go down. So, who is number 15 on Sullivan's list? Joseph Schreiber,
"Despair". Let's compare: Schreiber had lost his hope, he had fallen into
despair = death of the soul and his paranoid attempts to discover the cult's
mystery had led him only to Sullivan's world. Besides, in the context of SH4
Schreiber is the "Giver of Wisdom", and who was it that gave the Wisdom to
Adam and Eve and offered to take the Forbidden Fruit from the Tree of
Knowledge? That's right - the Serpent, a.k.a. Devil.
Guess these examples were enough.
b)
Q: Why Tarot cards?
A: It's thought that Tarot cards express every side of the world (after 21st
Tarot card there are cards which symbolize paranormal events and things - such
as God, reincarnation etc., but they are mentioned only in special
literature), watch the logic: to gather all the Tarot cards (symbolizing all
the world) is to GATHER THE WHOLE WORLD - to kill definite amount of people
(who symbolize every side of the world) is to GATHER THE WORLD. So, wasn't
Walter Sullivan doing that? "Through the Ritual of the Holy Assumption, he
built a world" - Crimson Tome confirms this opinion. In the SH religion the 21
Sacraments symbolize Creation.
c)
Q: Why is number/victim 0 is missing?
A: This card ( 0", the Fool" can symbolize
recklessness/inexperience/simplicity/the power of fate over man, and in
definite situations it can symbolize death - it seems like someone from the
cult decided that these sides of life shouldn't be represented in new world
built with 21 Sacraments+ But the victim 0 probably has not been found, or
lazy Sullivan didn't do his job as it was supposed to be done?
d)
Q: Ten hearts = the blood of the ten sinners?
A: Ten hearts is the first half of the 21 Sacraments for the descent of Holy
Mother ritual, it came from Aztec rituals and originally it looked like this:
"Offering prayers, pierce a man's chest with a copper stake. Drench the altar
in the blood which spouts red from the heart, to praise and to show loyalty
unto God" (Lost Memories) - i.e. the meaning of this operation is just to show
one's loyalty unto God - in fact, there can be any number of victims - i.e.
the more the better" =). Besides, Ten hearts" isn't just pain honoring in
cult, but also is an important psychological aspect, which means there is no
way back anymore".
e)
Q: What is Holy Assumption"?
A: We can see parallel meanings here: assumption (which means taking
something) and Assumption ( taking into the Heaven. This parallel is a good
example of self-intention ideas of the SH series.
f)
Q: What is the meaning of the ritual of the Holy Assumption?
A: The Holy Assumption ritual is an intermediate point of 21 Sacraments
ritual. According to the SH religion, its meaning is: "Be released from the
bonds of the flesh, and gain the Power of Heaven". Let's watch the whole
ritual from the beginning. The prerequisites are: obsidian goblet (symbolizes
night/darkness), sinners blood (symbolizes blood - strange, yeah?), and White
Claudia seed oil (symbolizes the mist - hallucinogenic grass" White Claudia
also fuddles the mind, we can also remember "The lies and the mist are not
they but I". The believer spills the blood over the altar (despite the
discomforts, it is better to do this with the ritual Great Knife, and it is
also better if heart and the blood are fresh), then he fills the Obsidian
Goblet ("Oh Cup which brims with the whitest of wine" - this symbolizes that
darkness and fog are mixing and takes the person away from reality - see Part
1, 1-11) with White Chrism and uses the hallucinogen (how is this "using"
done, we don't know, because developers haven't left any hints on that because
of censure. I (SilentPyramid) think that the oil should be kindled and smoke
should be breathed in: "Oh, proud fragrance of life which flies towards the
heart. Oh Cup which brims with the whitest of wine" - fragrance of life" is
probably the fragrance of burning oil) - and begin to dive into his
subconscious world. Now the only thing that is left is to get rid of the
physical body - and the mind will be enclosed in this world forever. This is
the meaning of Power of Heaven".
g)
Q: Are there any connections between Reverse Will" lyrics (from SH2 OST) and
Holy Assumption ritual?
A: Let's remember the lyrics:
"Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take "
Despite the fact that these lyrics originally are the pray, in SH2 and
Rebirth" ending context it is getting a different meaning, darker than it was.
The connection is obvious:
"Now I lay me down to sleep" - it stands for using the hallucinogen to get
asleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep," - this is for Ten hearts" ritual, which
shows loyalty of believer.
"If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take" - this means
that believer, who got rid of his body in the moment of diving into his
subconscious world, stay there forever. So, the name Lord" does not mean the
creator of reality" (this is what the Lord was understood in Lord's sect), but
mean one's own God, which man believes in, and which is represented in the
subconscious world (e.g., in yellow sect" the name Lord" was given to the
subjective God, because the followers of the sect believed that in 1865 God
was born by people - Part 2, 13-6).
h)
Q: Is there anything after the Holy Assumption or is it the end of the ritual?
A: The Holy Assumption is not the end of the ritual, after the physical body
dies, the soul exists in its own world (this happens if inner universe" had
been shaped in incubator or if incubator himself was possessed by some idea).
As it was mentioned, this world itself has some kind of energy - energy of
feelings, and, when a particular amount of this energy is gathered, other
people begin to see and feel this world, and their mind is dragged into the
world of the believer - this is a chance. If the mind of the victim stays in
the world of the believer, the world will assimilate its energy (because the
mind itself has a definite amount of energy) - as a result, more people will
start feeling this world, and more of them will be drawn into it. So, the
subconscious world can be filled with energy so much that absolutely everyone
will feel it, and this world's God will really exist.
i)
Q: What does "If this be done, by the Mystery of the 21 Sacraments, the Mother
shall be reborn and the Nation of Sin shall be redeemed" mean?
A: The Nation of Sin in the SH religion means the people who had not let the
God (i.e. the Pain) enter their souls. But it isn't a problem - everyone will
get their salvation. Remember the Cult's scriptures:
"By the Sacraments, the Holy Mother
shall appear in the countries of the world
and shall bring salvation to the sinful ones."
Of course, if the subconscious world gathers an enormous amount of energy,
EVERYONE will preceive it, even the sinners (that's why Nation of Sin will
have Salvation). This happened in Silent Hill once: "Alessa's powers runs wild
... Her agony is manifested and the entire town is swallowed up by the
otherworld". If the psychic energy can swallow the whole town (even a small
one), then it can swallow the whole world too.
Q: Why is the victim/symbol Assumption number 11121?
A: This is also connected with Tarot cards. 11 is "Strength" (***NOTE***: In
a traditional Tarot card deck 11 is "Strength". 8 is "Justice", but there
is a not so widespread Tarot of Ryder-Waite, where 8 is "Strength" and 11
is "Justice". But I (SilentPyramid) think that in the 21 Sacraments the
traditional deck is used, i.e. 11 is "Strength". What does Strength"
symbolize? This card's main idea is in understanding one's soul power and
ability to resist the worst conditions of life, and, with will and faith, with
believing that one's right, one can reach the height which no one can imagine!
And 11121 is the believer that performs the ritual, should have a strong, even
fanatical, faith in what he does - without this faith the ritual cannot
succeed.
k)
Q: What is the way of choosing the victims?
A: In fact, you may feel free not to choose them. Sullivan has learned the 21
Sacraments by heart, and he was choosing his victims so that the numbers (or
Tarot cards) were connected with the personality of the victims. I.e. "The
Magician" was associated with a priest, and so on. But this is optional and is
left for the believer to decide. For example, Alessa didn't choose anyone, but
the effect still was very strong.
l)
Q: Why are we counting people?
A: Carving the numbers on victims' bodies isn't mentioned in the cult
scriptures - then where from did Sullivan get it from? Well, there are enough
"teachers" in the Cult - Leonard Wolf, Andrew DeSalvo, Jimmy Stone, George
Rosten, Dahlia Gillespie, etc - seems like someone managed to convince
Sullivan that carving is necessary. By the way, we know that it is prohibited
to count people in the Christian religion and to give them numbers, so we can
say that Sullivan's carving is a real religious offense for Christians. But we
also need to mention that occult/satanic/anti-Christian thoughts were strong
in the Cult when Sullivan was being taught, so he took them. Of course, when
Claudia began to rule the cult, carving became forbidden (and maybe the 21
Sacraments ritual itself was forbidden for it's violence, or it was replaced
with a self-sacrificing ritual - that's Claudia's style).
m)
Q: What is the Mother Reborn"?
A: It's a symbol/victim 20121 which is considered to be the ultimate element
needed to create one's own world. Due to some well-known reasons, the
religious term "Mother Reborn" is associated with Eileen in Sullivan's mind.
There are 2 reasons for this: 1) Eileen lives next to Walter's "Mother" - Room
302. 2) In fact, Eileen was the only close person Sullivan had, so she became
a kind of "mother" to him.
Some memories and feelings of Walter are also connected to Eileen - these
feelings are represented in his subconscious world.
The Tarot card 20 is "Judgement" - take a look at the card's design - people
are standing around an open grave. One of them is looking at the flying angel
with a trumpet. People are being brought back to life by the sound of angel's
trumpet. That's why Walter's memories and feelings are represented - "brought
back to life" - in his world through Eileen.
The Victim/symbol 20121 is also mentioned in the "Halo of the Sun" section.
(Part 2, 16).
n)
Q: What is the "Receiver of Wisdom"?
A: The Symbol/victim 21121". In a Tarot card deck 21 is "The World" - this
is a "positive" card and it symbolizes Wisdom, Love, defeating one's
weaknesses etc. So, Townshend has enough of this wisdom/love/compassion
(remember - he cares about every victim - despite the fact he should care
about himself only), that's why he is the 21st victim. The meaning of
symbol/victim 21121 is also mentioned in the "Halo of the Sun" section.
o)
Q: Why must the next resident of Room 302 be the last victim?
A: It should be mentioned that Walter Sullivan associated the "Receiver of
Wisdom" with the next resident of the Room (his "Mother" after the "Giver of
wisdom" ("Whoever lives here after me... You'll be the 21st, the last of the
sacrifices..." - this is what Schreiber writes in his letter to the next
resident). Guess this choice of victim is connected with Walter's strange
associations (Room = Mother) - if we compare 15121 and 21121, we will find
out that Walter associated "Wisdom" with "Mother". That's why the "Receiver of
Wisdom" is the "Receiver of the Room", the next tenant.

p)
Q: Is there any connection between the 21 Sacraments/Holy Assumption and the
ritual of the Resurrection of the Dead, which was described in "Lost Memories"
from SH2 sub-scenario?
A: Let's remember the Lost Memories text, which we can found in Maria's
scenario (ATTENITION: this file is missing in the original SH2 version - so if
you don't have Restless Dreams, you'd better run and buy it now).
"I have the strongest trust - you may even call it faith - in the miracle
called "Ressurection of the Dead". Upon the hill where the light descended,
the Beast intoned his song. With words of blood, drops of mist and the vessel
of night, the grave become an open field. The people wept in fear and joy at
the reunion, but my faith in the salvation of Xuchilpaba did not waver. It is
also spoken of in the ancient legends. The original worshippers did not
believe that death was the end but that it was simply the path by which the
deceased returned to nature. They also believed the process was reversible.
(There's something imprinted towards the bottom of the page. Did Ernest write
this? What could it mean?) Blood = Red, Mist = White, Night = Black"
Of course, "Resurrection of the Dead" and the 21 Sacraments/Holy Assumption
are the same. Firstly, red blood, white powder and black goblet - all match.
Second, we can find the name Xuchilpaba here - it is a little altered
Xuchilbara - the name of the red god.
q)
Q: How can the dead can be resurrected by the 21 Sacraments/Holy Assumption
ritual?
A: As we know, the consciousness of the believer, who has performed the ritual
and gained the "Power of Heaven", and also the minds of people who somehow
managed to get drawn into someone's subconscious world, stay there, manifested
by some symbol. So, what will happen if this world gains enough power to draw
in everybody? These "dead men", enclosed in the subconscious world of the
believer, will exist again - they will be "resurrected" by the alteration of
realities. This way everything can be resurrected - one's self, one's
illusions, one's God, etc. - everything that person who "powered" this
subconscious world believes. This way, Alessa gave birth (almost gave birth)
to her subconsious God (well, not by means of the Holy Assumption, but the
idea is the same).
r)
Q: Why did Walter carve his name on victims?
A: According to the 21 Sacraments description text, name carving was not
necessary - seems like it was added by Walter or his teachers from the cult.
Anyway, taking into account that the 21 Sacraments' meaning is to suck people
into someone's subconscious world, it can be said that these people stayed
inside Sullivan's world - i.e. they became a part of Sullivan.
14-3. The ritual of burning.
Religious meaning: birth of someone's subconscious God through pain and
suffering.
Description: Lost Memories "In another sacrificial rite mentioned in the same
book, the victim is burned alive. This was a more dignified ceremony in which
prisoners and sinners were not allowed to participate, only the clergy could
be sacrificed. Similar to the burning at the stake, no comparable rite can be
found in the religions practiced nearby. It may have some connection with the
main deity being a sun God."
Explanation: this ritual is common in the "yellow" sect; it was practiced by
Indians and was introduced to the cult by St. Nicholas. The main idea of
summoning the God is the same as in the 21 Sacraments. First, a victim is
needed (a girl will suit better - this is connected with psychoenergetic
potential - "Negative emotions, like fear, worry, or stress manifest Into
external energy with physical effects...Although it's Not clear why,
adolescents, especially girls, Are prone to such occurrences" - this is what
we found in library in SH1), the victim will be tortured for a long time to
make them feel as much pain as possible (or, we can say, to strengthen the
power of feelings) - of course, the victim's mind will try to save itself from
the pain of the material world and its consciousness will try to run to the
world of the subconsciousness (this will lead to creation of a strong
subconscious world) - and, when it tries to escape, White Claudia should be
given to the victim (if it's necessary) and the victim should be burned (this
is caused by origins of the ritual - the native Americans were worshiping the
Sun as a God, and it's also very Painful). So, in fact this is just like Holy
Assumption" ("Be released from the bonds of the flesh" and the martyr,
released from his body, gains the "Power of Heaven" - if everything goes as
planned, he (pr she) is no more bound by flesh in this world. So, later
everything goes just like in the 21 Sacraments ritual - if martyr has
experienced enough strong" feelings (or if he was forced to experience), his
subconscious world will gain enough power to swallow another people - and,
this way, it will gain more and more energy, until it gains enough to swallow
up every person in the world (remember Alessa from SH1).
Religious metaphor: The eternal flame of pain moves the world around.
14-4. Ritual execution in Toluca prison.
(The original text of this article was written by BAHEK, additions were made
by SilentPyramid) [then it was translated by 401st Stalker and the resulting
"translation" was then corrected by Darth_Blade in a very pissed off mode -
Translator's note]
It is known that native Americans practiced human sacrifice. The original
Indian ritual of blood-spilling is "Offering prayers, pierce a man's chest
with a copper stake. Drench the altar in the blood which spouts red from the
heart, to praise and to show loyalty unto God", but it was made more violent
later (this ritual is the origin of ritual execution in SH and 21
Sacraments". Let's examine the "upgraded" version of the ritual.
First, let's remember some scenes from the game:
A picture in SH1 near the altar in "nowhere", where Alessa is praying: a naked
woman with tied hands is hung on a rope. The executioner holds a spear near
her chest.
SH3, first dead body in the alternative cafe has a scar on the right side -
wound inflicted by a spear?
Victims from SH1 - the corpses seems very... thin - maybe their stomachs are
empty? I.e. there is NOTHING inside? On some corpses we can clearly see
stitches.
The corpse from SH3, alternative Brookhaven, from which blood was dripping
into a bucket - Heather describes it as a "full all-out bloodletting".
The picture named "Crimson and White Banquet for Gods", where we can see two
Pyramid-headed executioners with a bucket of blood.
Ritual of spilling blood over an altar which Heather does before meeting
Leonard Wolf.
Pyramid-Head's room - we can see a corpse in a cage.
The picture "Misty day, remains of the Judgment" - an executioner with a spear
is standing in front of skewered prisoners.
So, a victim is needed (a woman - picture from SH1). The victim is hung on a
rope (the rope is tied to both hands, but, in rare cases, to one hand). Then
victim's chest is pierced by a copper spear (yeah, the spear originally was
the "copper stake" of the Indians), but the spear hits not the heart but the
right side of the body - because of this the victim does not die at the time
of the hit, but it will suffer from pain for a long time. Then, the victim is
hung on the rope (but this time upside-down). What a victim does - we can see
in one of the corridors in SH4 and in a video from SH2 (Pyramid-Head holding
one of the Lying Figures).
It is possible that then executioners let out the victim's guts while the
victim was still alive. Many corpses from SH have slashed stomachs. When all
internal organs (even the heart) are taken out, the wound is stitched up (we
can see the stitches on some corpses), and the body (dead already) is hung
upside down over some bowl to collect blood (remember Crimson and White
Banquet for the Gods). The heart of the victim is cut and the altar is
drenched in blood (SH3 - LM).
Now let's say a couple of words about the stomach slashing and taking the guts
out. The stitch can be seen on the corpses in PH's lair. By the way, we can
mention the interesting similarity between SH execution and ancient Egyptian
traditions: the picture on the gallow is made in Egyptian style + the pyramid
(the symbol of pharaohs' power) = the triangular hood of the executioners. So,
what did the ancient egyptians do before embalming a body? Yeah, the guts of
the pharaoh were taken out, and the cut then stitched.
So, after that the body of the sinner who has received his punishment (it
wasn't always a deserved one: "Death upon the head of a sinner!"), was nailed
to an iron cage (the body in the cage symbolizes that even after death the
sinner will still stay in the cage, and something in it reminds me about the
eternal circle of the subconscious world), and the paper describing the crime
committed by the sinner was often fastened to the face of the corpse.
After that the dead body was hung somewhere to provide fear and terror among
the citizens of Silent Hill. "Dead men, dead men swinging in a tree. How many
dead men do you see?"
So, the justice is done and the Gods are pleased.

To Be Translated:
1. Philosophical analysis of the religious myths.
1-1. Origin
1-2. Birth
1-3. Salvation
1-4. Creation
1-5. Promise
1-6. Faith
2-1. The name of God
2-2. Samael - the name of God or misinformation?
3. Date of the first Birth.
4. Factual analysis.
5. The winds of change. The Silent Hill religion revised and edited.
7. The Saints.
7-1. Saint Nicholas
7-2. Saint Jennifer
6. PyramidHead - the executioner of nightmares
7-3. "Xuchilbara"
8. The Cult
8-1. Legal issues
8-2. The spread of influence.
8-3. The end on Claudia's ideals. A new chapter in the Cult's history.
8-4. The Church near LSAP
8-5. Wish House
9. Metatron
9-1. Why did the seal not work in SH3? (according to the religious doctrines)
9-2. Metatron's role.
9-3. What is the seal supposed to do?
9-4. Only the Holy Mother can seal the Otherworld (psychological analysis)
10. The nature and methods of creating Paradise.
10-1 The basics of creation.
10-2 Unnecessary people, heretics and executioners.
11. The conflict of Paradise and "Paradise". Reflection on the problem.
11-1 Absolute Paradise.
11-2 Salvation for believers.
Paradise for the chosen (analysis of Leonard Wolf's ideas)
11-3 "Everyone will be released, from pain and sufferring!"
(analysis of Dahlia Gillespie's ideas)
11-4 "Paradise, where people would be happy just by being there"
(analysis of Claudia Wolf's ideas)
13. The sects
13-1. The "yellow" sect of Lobsel Vith.
13-2. The "red" sect of Xuchilbara.
13-3. The unity of "colored" sects.
13-4. The sect of the Lord of Serpents and Reeds.
13-5. Analysis of the sect of the Lord through Vincent's image.
13-6. Mixing of the sects.
13-7. Merging of the sects. The "white" cult of Saint Alessa.
15. Items and books of Silent Hill.
15-1. Flauros
15-2. Aglaophtis
15-3. Lost Memories book
15-4. The items for the ritual of Holy Assumption
15-5. The Book of Crimson Ceremony.
15-6. The Crimson Tome.
15-7. Otherworld Laws.
15-8. The Seal of Metatron\Samael
15-9. "Silent Hill's Ancient Gods: A Study of Their Etymology and Evolution"
(About Syncretic Religions)
15-10. Sword of Obedience
15-11. Holy Candles and Saint Medallions
15-12. Channeling Stone
15-??. ???
16. "Halo of the Sun" - the link between mechanics and religion
16-1. Religious meaning
16-2. Rotation, the meaning of circular movement
16-3. Psychological subtext
16-4. Halo of the inner power
16-5. My Holy Mommy
16-6. What is written on the Halo of the Sun?
16-7. What do the runes in the outer circle mean?
16-8. The history of creation
_______________________________________________________________________________
PART 3: TOWN OF SILENT HILL
_______________________________________________________________________________

TO BE TRANSLATED:
1. Geographical Location
1-1. Towns and historical facts
1-2. Location of Ashfield
1-3. Ashfield and Silent Hill. What state is Silent Hill in?
2. The town of Silent Hill.
2-1. General Description
2-2. Toluca Lake
2-3. "We're happy to have you!". Tourist guide.
2-4. The districts.
2-5. Old Silent Hill
2-6. Business District
2-7. North Resort Area
2-8. Paleville
2-9. South Resort Area
2-10. South Vale
2-11. Neigboring towns.
3. History of Silent Hill.
3-1. Before the XVII century. The Place of Silent Spirits (FAQ)
3-2. Second half of the XVII century. "Then a lot of new people came in"
3-3. Beginning of the XVIII century. "God drove the unbelievers away and
threw them into the Abyss"
3-4. Around 1810. "A part of that abyss is in the old society"
3-5. The XIX century. The plague.
3-6. Around 1850. Wiltse Coal Mine opened. "There was a HOLE here...."
3-7. The Civil War
3-8. 1865. "God was born from this two people"
3-9. 1865. The Cult. "We wait in hope for the day when
the Path to Paradise will be opened"
3-10. 1866. Toluca Prison. "Misty day, remains of the Judgment"
3-11. Blood Swamp
3-12. Beginning of the XX century. "We're happy to have you"
3-13. 1918 and 1938. Accidents on Toluca Lake.
3-14. The 1950-s.
3-15. The 1970-s.
3-16. Events of SH1.
3-17. The Cult between SH1 and SH3.
3-18. Walter Sullivan's killing spree.
3-19. Mysterious events in Ashfield.
3-20. Events of SH3.
3-21. Events of SH2.
3-22. Events of SHDI
3-23. Events of SH4.
4. The Power of the town.
The Silent Call.
Interaction
"In my Restless Dreams I see that Town...Silent Hill"
5. The end of part three.

_______________________________________________________________________________
PART 4: CHARACTER ANALYSIS
_______________________________________________________________________________
In this section you'll find my thoughts on various characters of the series.
You may not like my style of going into great detail about their
personalities, but I just can't restrain myself to a few wide-known facts when
discussing such well-developed characters as Lisa, or James. Such researches
sometimes bring great results - interesting facts can be devised from
analyzing their personas. All sections in this part have a common structure.
First comes a full analysis of the character, then you have some curious
facts, like the meaning of the name (partially from LM, partially from my own
speculations), the character's "personal" soundtrack (i.e. the track[s] that I
think describe him\her the best) etc. etc.

1. Characters of Silent Hill 1

1-1. Harry (Harold) Mason
Age: 32
Occupation: Writer
Bad luck followed Harry Mason through his whole life... His first wife died 11
years ago (Lost Memories says that Mason's wife died 11 years before SH1, yet
we see him with a woman in the intro - this can only mean that he had two
wives). But he came through the pain and remarried after some time. But his
second wife's health prevented her from having children ("We didn't have any
kids of our own, my wife was sick, and it didn't look like she was getting any
better").
It happened 7 years ago. Returning from their trip to Silent Hill, the Masons
found a newborn child on the roadside - it was a girl. How did she get here?
Was she abandoned by her parents? What will happen to her (remember Walter
Sullivan)? Taking pity on the lost child, the Masons took her with them and
later adopted her. She was given the name Cheryl. Even though she wasn't their
biological daughter, Masons loved her nontheless and saw her as a gift from
God ("Since we were childless, we thanked God for letting us meet this
child.... this girl. We took her home."). [For you nitpickers - he's NOT
talking about the Cult's god - Translator's note] But they didn't know what
hid in the dark corners of the girl's subconsciousness.
Three years later Harry's wife died. Another blow... How much can he take?
Creative people like Harry are usually very easy to hurt, thus it is not hard
to imagine what effect the death of his beloved wife had on him. There is
speculation, that he became a writer AFTER her death, abandoning his previous
job to spend more time with Cheryl. It very well may be, that his wife's death
served as a sort of inspiration and Cheryl was the power that kept him from
drowning in his sorrow (unlike James, who had nobody to rely on) and channel
it through his novels. When Heather looks over her father's letter in SH3, she
says: "As always, this should be novelized" - this shows us an interesting
side of Harry's creativity: he tends to wrap real events into a literary form
and transform them into his novels. Thus, Mason's preferred genre is probably
cheesy novels of unshared love, tragedies of life etc. etc. It is possible,
that he inserts detective and mystic bits to attract more readers. But I doubt
Harry and his daughter live a life of luxury, otherwise they wouldn't go to a
small town in the middle of nowhere and would've bought a better car.
Harry managed to fend off his pain, although "fend off" might not be a correct
term - he just adjusted to it, so that it wouldn't bring him much suffering,
but the inability to have children and the deaths of his two beloved wives
bred sadness in his mind. And, as we know, suffering minds are more
susceptible to psychic energies and are thus easily drawn into subconscious
worlds ("people with afflicted minds are easily drawn to the otherworld" -
LM). That is why Harry falls under Alessa's influence so quickly. But for now
he doesn't know that Fate has yet another blow in store for him. He has no
idea, that on this trip to Silent Hill he will lose Cheryl - the only meaning
of his life.
Can he endure this? Can he cross the Hell of a little girl's mind with only
the faint glow of his flashlight to illuminate the darkness of the human soul?
And, after all this, can he start a new life?
Quote: "My daughter... I've gotta find her."
Metaphor: "Wandering in the darkness in search of hope"
Symbol: "the Lovers" tarot card.
Music: "She"
Name: He was originally to be named Humbert after the protagonist of Stanley
Kubrick's screen adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita", but was later
renamed to Harold Mason. By the way, the last name is an obvious reference to
the Masonic secret society, whose goal is the recreation of Eden on Earth, the
Golden Age, a kingdom of love and truth. Quite ironic to see that Harry MASON
opposes an cult with VERY similar goals, which is also called "the Order".
1-2. Cheryl Mason.
Age: 7
Occupation: Elementary school student.
Harry's adopted daughter ("Cheryl isn't my biological daughter. I actually
haven't told her yet...We found her abandoned on the side of the highway.")is
that part of Alessa that found the strength to forgive her mother.
She lived happily with her father and was his only hope and light in this
life. Being a single child, Cheryl is probably quite a spoiled girl, but she
loves her father, of which his portrait in her sketchbook speaks clearly.
There's a peculiar duality in this - she inherited the love of drawing from
Alessa, but draws not monsters, but her beloved father.
It is unknown how Cheryl reacted to her mother's (I mean Harry's wife here)
death - little children (Cheryl was 3 then) usually take these things easily.
But she never forgot her mother - in SH3 after reading Harry's diary the
memories of her mother return to Heather.
But, despite the happy life she had, Alessa's identity still dwelled in
Cheryl's subconsciousness and grew stronger with time. So, one day, when she
saw (or heard) a Silent Hill advertisement, she felt a sudden need to go there
(because of Alessa's memories). "I came to Silent Hill. I heard the girl's
pleas and took her with me, not knowing why she wanted us to go there."
When they came to the town, Cheryl remembered her previous life full of
suffering and the "Lost Memories" she had been hiding from returned to her.
Alessa Gillespie has awakened into the nightmare. And that's what Dahlia has
been waiting for the last seven years - with Alessa, the God, born of her pain
and hatred, will awaken... "My daughter will be the Mother of God!"
Quote: "Daddy, where are you?"
Metaphor: "The lost hope"
Symbol: Sketchbook
Music: "I want love"
Name: She was going to be named Dolores, but was eventually renamed to Cheryl
after Sheryl Lee.
1-3. Cybil Bennet.
Age: 28
Occupation: Police officer
Cybil came from Brahms (according to the road sign at the beginning point in
SH2 she covered 26,5 miles to get to SH!). She is probably the only character
in SH1 (not counting the monsters), that got into Alessa's world by pure bad
luck.
Judging by the dialogues, Cybil cannot see all of the Otherworld - she doesn't
see any monsters or bloody walls, but neither she does the citizens. When
Harry tries to explain everything to her in the boat, she says: "Harry, this
whole thing's been a major blow to you. You need to rest". But she can see the
fog and the collapsed roads. In the intro, Harry sees her bike on the
roadside. Cybil probably saw a big hole in the road and decided to walk around
it on foot (of course, it only exists in her subjective reality) - that was
the first time when Cybil was affected by the power of Alessa's inner world.
She can't find any logical explanation to the strange events going on around
her ("The phones are all dead, and the radio, too") but feels that there's
something wrong going on ("But from what I can tell, something bizarre is
going on. That's all I know"). That is why she gives Harry a gun and always
keeps on guard. Her behaviour in the hidden church is a good example.
But she does not believe in mysticism - she is an officer of the law,
representing rationality and logic in SH1. Even seeing Cheryl (Alessa) walking
on the water does not change her mind. The police can't catch the drug
dealers, but even Harry, who is not a detective, easily finds the drugs. PLUS
Silent Hill is a very small town. Just HOW could the police not find the
dealers? The answer is simple: Kaufmann and co. had it all covered. Was Cybil
in the deal? The question is left unanswered. But whatever the answer, Cybil's
mind was vulnerable to Alessa's psychic energies for some reason, which means
she has a lot of problems in her life or has something on her record that she
doesn't find fitting of a police offcer. What darkness resides in the heart of
Cybil Bennet? For instance, Cybil's supervisors have struck a deal with the
cult and she feels guilty for it. She feels she has to enforce law and
justice, but she is forced into cooperation with the culprits (even though it
is against her will), or maybe she is in fact helping the dealers (her last
name comes from a real-life policewoman, who was a murderer). This
self-contradiction makes her suffer, dragging her deeper and deeper into
Alessa's world.
But that is not all. The more she is drawn into Alessa's world, the more she
is overcome with fear and despair. These emotions also weakened her resistance
to the Alessa's power. Cybil's mind is clinging to the remains of rationality,
but one by one they fall all around her - girls walking in the air, snow in
summer, crazy old women shouting nonsense about demons awakening. Her view of
the world comes into conflict with the surrounding reality. In the end, when
Harry meets her at the merry-go-round, she is completely under Alessa's
influence and the girl's hatred of people overcomes her. Driven by this
hatred, she attack Harry, probably seeing him as a monster. Considering what
we saw in SH3, this was the end of America's last honest cop.
--------------------------------
Cybil is a ghost?
In Cybil's scenario of Silent Hill Play Novel there is an analog of the "Bad"
ending. In it, Cybil comes to the cemetary and sees a woman dressed in white
and funeral going on. But what's more amazing is that she sees a gravestone
with the name "Cybil Bennett" (yes, double t). What were the authors trying to
hint with this ending? That Cybil was dead from the very beginning and her
consciousness is just caught up in Alessa's world? Or that Cybil has crashed
her bike after falling unconscious while driving and now we see her funeral?
Or is the whole scene just a figment of her imagination?
Unfortunately, the Play Novel was never translated and my skills at reading
Japanese are not enough to understand the text in the ending. Anyway, the
official ending of SH1 is "Good", in which Cybil dies by Harry Mason's hand.
--------------------------------
Quote: "Darkness devouring the town? Must be on drugs..."
Metaphor: "Even if you close your eyes, the fear will not go away"
Symbol: Sunglasses
Music: "Hear nothing"
Name: Her name was taken from a policewoman and murderer Lawrencia Bembenek,
and her first name from the model Sybil Buck and the action-movie star Sybil
Danning. I want to point out that in all names starting with S the first
letter is replaced with C and nobody on Team Silent has a name beginning with
C. Is there some connection?
1-4. Michael Kaufmann
Age: 50
Occupation: Doctor
He is probably a specialist on hallucinogenic drugs and the discoverer of the
properties of White Claudia (although it was probably discovered before him by
the Indians. He may also be some great-great-great-grandson of St.Nicholas,
who may have discovered the "magical" herb). Doctor Kaufmann is a very
practical man - he immediately came in contact with the Cult, established a
profitable drug business and relaxed with his porn-magazines (see his
apartment) or tried to improve the drug by experimenting with Aglaophtis and
testing the mixtures on his guinea pig - Lisa Garland. It's difficult to say
if he truly believed in the Cult's teachings, but he surely did not expect
THAT kind of paradise ("Quit screwing around! Return things to how they were
before! Did I ask for this!? Nobody uses me! You won't get away with this!").
It is possible that he only wanted to see the birth of God out of scientific
interest, or maybe he wanted power (blackmailing God with Aglaophtis), or
maybe he didn't believe in it at all and only wanted Dahlia's money, but he
did believe in the power of Aglaophtis. No matter which one of these
statements is true, Dahlia knew that Kaufmann did not expect an Apocalypse and
thus cannot be trusted.
The first meeting with Kaufmann occurs in the Alchemilla Hospital, where
Alessa's influence is the strongest. He's examining a bird corpse, probably
being interested in it out of scientific curiosity - "Have you ever seen such
aberrations? Ever heard of such things? You and I both know creatures like
that don't exist!" But, even though he relies on his intelligence, Kaufmann
still doubts his own sanity - "Did you see those monsters?" - he asks Mason
trying to make sure he is not the only one who sees those creatures.
One interesting fact is that when he first sees Harry, he shoots him. It may
be that he was so nervous that he shot at the first moving object he saw, but
he may have perceived Harry as a monster at first. Another interesting fact -
Kaufmann says: "A military rescue squad should be here anytime now" and Cybil
mentioned calling reinforcements. That could mean that somewhere between the
beginning of the game and the meeting with Kaufmann in Annie's Bar Cybil met
with him and told him about those "reinforcements". I ask: why would a police
officer meet with a drug-dealing doctor?
Quote: Something's gone seriously wrong. Did you see those monsters? Have you
ever seen such aberrations? Ever even heard of such things? You and I both
know creatures like that don't exist.
Metaphor: Insanity is the only prize in a twisted mind's game.
Symbol: PTV
Name: His name is a combination of two not very famous movie directors Lloyd
Kaufmann and Michael Hertz. Personally, I [SilentPyramid] don't see any hidden
meanings here. The authors probably used this name to emphasize the doctor's
european heritage.
1-5. Lisa Garland
In SH4 we learn that the Garlands own a small pet shop in Ashfield. This
suggests that Lisa was born and spent her childhood in Ashfield. Her caring
nature tells us that she must've spent a lot of time tending to pets in her
father's store. Considering all this, she would find a nurse job most suitable
for herself. Alessa was a shock for the young woman - it was the first time in
her life she encountered Absolute Pain, constant agony. It can be said, that
Alessa died time and time again, but could not really die. ("Still has an
unusually high fever... Eyes don't open... getting a pulse. But just barely
breathing. Why! What is keeping that child alive?") Lisa's kind and caring
nature actually decided her sad fate. Being close to Alessa all the time, Lisa
saw her suffering and was affected by it. She and Alessa developed a kind of
psychic link - Lisa "absorbed" some part of the girl's pain. After a time, she
even started to see her alternate reality (the drug Kaufmann has been giving
her also contributed to the alteration effect). And what she saw horrified
her. All this can be read in her diary ("The room is filled with insects. Even
with doors and windows shut they get in to spite me. To the Hospital...
Feeling bad. Need to throw up. But nothing comes out. Vomiting only bile.
Blood and pus flow from the bathroom faucet. I try to stop it, but it won't
turn off. Need drug. Help me... "). After first seeing the Otherworld, she
wanted to leave Alchemilla, but Kaufmann stopped her (see SH1 intro). He saw
that the drug had worked and Lisa's perception of the Otherworld sharpened.
Obsessed with making an even more effective version of the drug, he could not
allow his test subject to leave. His work resulted in the creation of a new
drug - PTV.
Also, he discovered the "wondrous" effects of Aglaophtis, a drug that allowed
to remove one's consciousness from the Alessa's alternate reality (see Part 2
15-2). Kaufmann tested both drugs on Lisa (gave her PTV and, after some time,
Aglaophtis). But, being always close to Alessa, she quickly always succumbed
to her influence again. But this experiment could not go on forever. Every
time he sent her to Alessa's world, Kaufmann checked how long she could stay
alive in there. Finally, Lisa gave in and her consciousness became trapped in
Alessa's world, while her physical body died (or was killed by Kaufmann to
check the "Power of Heaven" theory). And so, one day Lisa could not leave
Alessa's world and stayed there forever, not realizing her own death (just
like St.Nicholas and Walter's victims). We can see that Lisa is trying to
forget the suffering she saw and felt when she was with Alessa, she tries to
hide from her death (in her wish to forget she is similar to James). The
player first meets Lisa in the Otherworld hospital (by the way, we ONLY see
her in the Otherworld). By that time she's completely forgotten about the
experiment and Alessa.
Harry: Do you know anything about all that weird stuff in
the basement?
Lisa: No. Why? Is there something down there?
Harry: You don't know?
Lisa: We're under strict orders never to enter the basement
storeroom. So, I really don't know.
The last meeting with Lisa obviously has a lot of symbolic value. By that time
Lisa has already realized that she is inside an endless nightmare. She may
have thought that all her friends and collegues started to see others as
monsters and killed each other (thus trapping themselves in Alessa's world).
Lisa is afraid of dying - she comes to Harry for protection: "Stay by me,
Harry! Please! I'm so scared! Help me! Save me from them! Please... Harry..."
- she thinks he will help her, but she is mistaken. Mason cannot understand
her and when she says "I'm the same as them" he cannot perceive her as a human
anymore - she becomes a monster for him. Lisa DOES NOT MUTATE - she is just a
consciousness (psychic energy) trapped in a closed cycle. And when Lisa
realizes this and accepts her death, her self-perception changes as does her
role in Alessa's world. All her life Lisa relied on other people, thinking
that if she is good to others, they would be good to her. But Kaufmann used
her, and Harry abandoned her in the hardest moment. The image of Lisa Garland
in SH1 is a symbol of kindness, understanding and altruism. It is unknown what
fate befell Lisa after SH1, but in SH3, when Heather is climbing the ladder in
the Alternate Brookhaven Hospital we can see the ravaged body of a nurse on
the railing. Is it Lisa still suffering in Alessa's Otherworld, or is it just
another Nurse - a monster of Alessa? I think the authors intended this for the
player to decide. In the good and good+ endings we see can see Lisa one last
time - she drags Kaufmann away. Depending on your understanding of her image
you can think that she either forgives and saves him, or drags him into Alessa
world to make him suffer as he did her.
Quote: "I get it now. Why I'm still alive, even though everyone else is dead.
I'm not the only one who's still walking around. I'm the same as them. I just
hadn't noticed it before."
Metaphor: A shining light in the endless dark
Symbol: bloody tears
Music: "Not Tomorrow 1", "Tears of ..."
Name: The name Lisa is taken from the movie "Sanguelia" - it was the name of
the actress, who played a murderous nurse in the movie. Garland was taken from
Judy Garland, who played the main character in "The Wizard of Oz" - a little
girl lost in a magical country - very symbolic.
1-6. Dahlia Gillespie
Age - 46
Occuaption: leader of the Cult. Maybe the owner the fortune teller tent in LSAP
Dahlia is an expert on the occult. SHe owns the antique store "Green Lion".
Also, she cooperated with Kaufmann on the matters of keeping Alessa in
Alchemilla Hospital and selling PTV.
It is important to note, that Dahlia was not an ordinary member of the cult.
There is no evidence that she actually believed in the cult teaching. As we
know - Dahlia is an occult genius, but we will never hear Cult-related words
like "Holy Assumption", "21 Sacraments", "Holy Mother", "Lord of Serpents and
Reeds" etc. Nothing about the SH religion. Instead, she talks a lot about
Tarot, magical artifacts, metioned in Kabbalah, demons and so on. Thus we see
that Dahlia did not spend all her life in Silent Hill and most likely she came
to that town from Europe (where such things are much more popular than in the
US. Plus, her last name is clearly of non-american origin) when she was 20-30
years. By the time of SH1, she is 46 years old, so it is possible that she
witnessed the horrors of the World War (notice her scar - is it from the War
or did her parents abuse her?) and this global massacre influenced the young
Dahlia Gillespie heavily. She believed that life can bring only suffering,
while death is a release. Because of this, she gained an interest in black
magic, hoping to trigger an Apocalypse and free humanity from the chains of
life. Then she moved from Europe to the USA (reason is unknown. Could she have
done something at home?). Settling in Silent Hill, she found herself a new
thing to do - she learned of the peculiar local religion. In her mind this
religion mixed with her knowledge of black magic, creating a very explosive
mixture. She joined forces with Leonard Wolf, whose view of this world
appealed to her, and their influence in the Cult quickly grew, until she
became its leader. Despite all her childish beliefs, Dahlia was the only one
in SH1 who really knew what's going on and understood the meaning of magical
signs and items (because she was the one who taught these meanings to Alessa).
Dahlia knew everything - the power of Aglaophtis (although she didn't know
that using the herb in Alessa's world would have such a surprising effect),
the coming of Harry Mason, HOW to summon God, the power and meaning of signs
etc. This knowledge gives her enormous power - she easily manipultes Mason to
fit her goals, playing with his mind all for the length of the game. An
interesting point: Dahlia call the God Samael: "It is The Mark of Samael.
Don't let it be completed." - and we know that it was the name given to it by
enemies of the Cult. She also meets Harry in a Christian church on purpose -
to mislead him and present herself as an ally. She truly believed in God's
birth and devoted (or sacrificed) her and even her daughter's life to it
(well, after reading the article about the Hope House we can suscpect that
there was a whole school for godmothers). It's hard to say if she understood
WHAT she did with her child - I doubt that she cared about Alessa's feelings.
She probably thought: She MUST understand that I do it all for the the coming
of Lord Samael. Dahlia must've known that her "God" is not a big good guy who
would bring happiness to the whole world - why then would she think that
Aglaophtis, that affects evil spirits, would hurt him. Dahlia wanted to become
the forger of history, to change the world and bring "Salvation", using the
evil Demon. She says: "MY daughter will be the mother of GOD!". This could
mean that she is not interested in power, like Kaufmann. Even when she burns
in Samael's flames, Dahlia is happy. Her beloved God finally granted her
Salvation. Although she did not understand salvation in the traditional sense,
like Claudia did ("The time is nigh! Everyone will be released from pain and
suffering! Our salvation is at hand! This is the day of reckoning, when all
our sorrows will be washed away! When we return to the true paradise!"). These
words bring images of everyone dying. Destroying the world is an interesting
way to leave a trace in history. In her last moments, Dahlia laughs. God has
been born and her dream will finally come true - the world that will be
devoured by the flames of Apocalypse will forever remember Dahlia Gillespie
and her daughter Alessa as those, who have changed its face forever. But Harry
killed God and in SH3 nobody remembers Dahlia. Only Vincent mentions "this
crazy old hag" (but now that Vincent, Claudia and Leonard are dead there is
nobody in the Cult to remember her name). There's a deep meaning in the fact
that despite all her struggles the only person to remember her was the one she
cared about least - Alessa.
Quote: "The time is nigh! Everyone will be released from pain and suffering!
Our salvation is at hand! This is the day of reckoning, when all our sorrows
will be washed away! When we return to the true paradise!"
Metaphor: To let the darkness into your heart you must sever all the ties to
the light of this life.
Symbol: "The High Priestess" Tarot card.
Music: "I'll kill you", "Over", "Claw Finger".
Name: Named after Dario Argento's ex-wife. Also, her name is reference to
Black Dahlia. Quite an interesting line - Black Dahlia, White Claudia, Pink
Heather.
1-7 Alessa Gillespie
Age - 14
Social Status - Victim of fire
Dahlia Gillespie's daughter, along with the other children, was brought up
with the birthing of God in mind (that was the only reason for her to exist
from the point of view of the cult members). At this time child abuse was
wide-spread in the Cult (remember Walter Sullivan?) - it was probably Dahlia's
idea, which was actively supported by her lapdog - Leonard Wolf. They knew
that God could be born only from pain and suffering. Maybe some members of the
Cult did not like this idea, but Andrew DeSalvo (the warden and guard of the
Water Prison) and Leonard (Claudia's father) quickly began to bring Dahlia's
ideas to reality (Vincent about Leonard: "The memories of his cruelty are
forever burned into my mind"). Of course, thanks to her mother, Alessa wasn't
quite the cheerful kid ("It's a picture of me when I was 7. I look bored and
sad. Well, of course I do. I was always like that back then" - says Heather
about her past life), she closed off from the world and immersed herself in
books and fairy tales. So, when she went to school, her classmates also abused
her (Scratched on her table are words: "Thief. Go home. Drop dead."),
unknowingly helping Dahlia achieve her goals. The surrounding world brought
the girl only suffering. She quickly became fearful of people, alienated,
short-tempered. She hated people. This reality became intolerable and her mind
found only one suitable solution - to create a new world. A world, where there
is no place for the evil humans. They were replaced by monsters, whom Alessa
liked so much more (see her drawings). And thus, she created a sanctuary for
herself, her own Paradise, her Lost World (it was her favorite book, as we
learned from SH3). But because of all the sufferings in her life, Alessa could
not imagine a world completely without pain, so the world, as we all know it,
is quite sick-looking. At this time, Dahlia was waiting for God to appear, but
her patience grew thin (she was 39 then - maybe she feared not living to see
the birth of God). Finally, she decided to take matters to the extreme - she
tried to burn Alessa (see Part 2 14-3) to create a hatred for everyone, even
Alessa's own mother - in this agony, God should have been born. But despite
all this, Alessa still love her mother ("Mommy, I just want to be with you").
Because of this, God was not born - Alessa's essence split into two parts: one
forgave her mother (Cheryl), another hated her mother. Because of this split,
the "Incubus" could not achieve full power. The part that forgave Dahlia was
picked up by Harry and raised with love. Cheryl is a symbol of happines, and
Alessa represents eternal suffering, lonely soul in the world of endless pain.
All this time, Alessa time and time again experienced death, but this death
did not end the suffering. Real death became her only dream and desire - a
normal death that would end her pain ("It would be better for "myself" to die.
After all, it's nothing to be afraid of"). But her wish was not granted.
Respectively, Alessa is symbol of pain and suffering.
Anyway, Alessa's body held only half of her soul so, her mental energy wasn't
strong enough to bring "Paradise" to the world (or swallow the entire town in
darkness). Other half of her personality, memories and power was buried in the
dark depths of Cheryl's subconsciousness, held at bay by Harry's love But when
she got to Silent Hill (see Part 3 1-2) Alessa began to awaken in her and the
two halves of one soul began to merge. This triggered an increase in Alessa's
psychical influence and it began to affect more and more people. Alessa wanted
Cheryl to return to allow her to birth God and end the pain, but at the same
time Alessa did not want God to enter this world. Her motives in these are
unknown: maybe she wanted to get revenge on God for torturing her, or maybe
she did not want Harry to lose his daughter and die himself (and he would've
died undoubtedly had God been born). Finally, Alessa decided to resist God
with all her strength. She was well-versed in the Cult teachings and occult
magics and knew how to destroy Samael - use the Seal of Metatron. Also, she
helps Harry because after the girls reunited Alessa received all the good
memories of Cheryl, but the suffering half of the soul was clearly dominant in
her. As proof of this, in the bad ending the first thing Saint Alessa does is
kill Dahlia with a lightning bolt. But Dahlia foresaw everything and used her
father against her by giving him the Flauros, destroying Alessa's will to
fight. Despite this, the Seal of Metatron was still spread and Alessa's God
was born weakened (plus Alessa believed in the power of Aglaophtis as did
Kaufmann) and Harry Mason managed to defeat the horrible God. After this,
Alessa appears once again and gives Harry her reincarnated self - Heather (who
still holds Alessa's consciousness deep inside her). Will she be able to find
her happiness in this new life and forget the pain? Or will these dark
memories come back to haunt her, dooming her to continue this cycle of pain
and hatred?
The answer is found in SH3...

Metaphor: "Oh the sweet sugar saves me, it's the room that confines me".
Symbol: Wheelchair
Music: "Ain't gonna rain" or "Far"
Name: She was originally to be named Asia after the daughter of the
aforementioned Argento, but was finally named Alessa. IMO, this name is
derived from Carrol's "Alice in Wonderland" (in many languages the spelling of
her name was close to "Alessa". For example - in Japanese "Alice" and "Alessa"
are pronounced like "Areesa" and "Aresa"). Just like Alice, Alessa is drawn
into the world of her subconscious. What's interesting is the fact that
despite it being wide-spread, this book is not recommended for children of
early age by some psychologists because it supposedly distorts the world so
much that it could make the child perceive the world inadequately which could
result in mild schizophrenia. At least that's what my psychology professor
told me - he's obviously never seen the Dog ending of SH2.
1-8. Character rationality pattern in SH1 (compositional analysis)
As we know, one of the main ideas presented in SH1 is the problem of
rationality and human ability to discern between illusion and reality and the
resulting conflict of the surrounding world and the protagonist's mind.
Naturally, to best describe it, the author presented us with a "rationality
pattern" - the characters. Let's try to look at it closely:
a) The first side of the pattern is Cybil. She believes in nothing but law and
order. She relies on common sense and supports others, whom she has to "serve
and protect". Cybil does not believe that things like magic exist ("Darkness
devouring the town? Must be on drugs") - even when she has to face them
herself, she prefers to close it off and act like nothing extraordinary is
happening. But as we can see, not believing is not enough.
b) Next is Michel Kaufmann - he can accept all the mystical mumbo-jumbo (he's
even read Dahlia's occult books), but he still believes that the human mind
shall triumph over anything. It would be more correct to say, that he
perceives black magic only as a product of a human mind's concentrated effort.
Despite this, he made at least three mistakes: about the rescue squad, about
Lisa and about Aglaophtis. This is showing that you cannot survive on logic in
the chaos and darkness of a tortured soul.
c) Lisa Garland knows compassion and thus can believe. She believes in the
alternate reality, but sees it as a completely independent world that can
bring only suffering to those inside it. She cannot accept it, accept the pain
it hold - wether it's her pain or somebody else's. Lisa wants to get out, but
instead of searching for the way out in herself, she comes to others for it.
d) Harry Mason's last hope is his daughter - Cheryl. Without her the world
would become an endless pain for the writer. He doesn't care where he is if
she's not with him. He has nowhere to run so he can only wander inside this
nightmare, searching for hope, or live in his own nightmare for the rest of
his life.
e) Dahlia Gillespie was devoted to God. Could she have even thought that all
her sacrifices were in vain? She believed, no, she KNEW that God would be
born, that it would be her chance to change the world, to become the angel of
Apocalypse. Her faith was the power that allowed her to leave everyday life
behind and concentrate on achieving her goal.
f) The second side of the pattern is Alessa - she couldn't stand the real
world and preferred to forget about it, creating her own world and believing
that it's real. It would seem that placing both Cybil and Alessa is
inappropriate, but they both accept only one reality - one that is easier for
them to comprehend and exist in.
1-9. Andy.
Age: 7
Occupation: Elementary School Student.
Andy was neighbor of the Masons. Through his bedroom's window he often saw
Cheryl going to school. He obviously liked her (otherwise, he wouldn't be in
the story - Translator's Note), but was too shy and couldn't say a word to her.
Weird things started to happen - he saw a 14 year old girl in a school uniform
- Alessa. Her psychological energies have begun to surface and the Masons'
neighbor saw her projection. It is unknown what drew him to do this, but just
before the Masons leave, Andy hides in their car. Does he know where he's
going? Anyway, on the way to Silent Hill, Harry gets into an accident.
Andy comes to in Silent Hill. The fog is unusually thick, the streets are
seemingly devoid of life, the roads are collapsed in many places... What
happened to the town? What of Andy?
Whoops. Yeah, too bad. Looks like we'll never know that, because the
adiitional scenario "The Boy" was part of the Silent Hill Play Novel, which,
due to its low ratings in Japan, was closed. I don't even know where to get
this scenario now (even in Japanese), so the Andy's fate is up to your
imagination.
In addition, I can say that there's some sort of connection between Andy and
the red doll in Cybil's scenario.

2. Characters of Silent Hill 2

2-1. James Sunderland.
Age: 29
Occupation: Clerk
James lost his wife three years ago - this is when his life lost its meaning
and became an endless nightmare. Three long years, which Mary spent in
St.Jerome's Hospital, while James kept an uneasy balance between hope and
despair, still believeing, that his wife could be saved, but becoming more and
more convinced that it is impossible. He wanted to help her somehow - read
medical literature, but with little results ("I've already read enough medical
books. None of them ever did any good"). Mary's disease was slowly killing
them both. Like two prisoners, sentenced to death, they waited for the end.
James was tired, he just wanted to end the torture so that the painful wait
caused them no more suffering.
Around a week before the events of SH2 Mary returned home to her husband - not
because she was better, she knew that her death is near and it may be her last
chance to see James. She wanted to visit Silent Hill for the last time, but
her condition was getting worse and worse, the three years given to her were
running out - she may have not survived the ride.
Thus she spent several days with James, slowly dying before his own eyes.
And one day, James made the final decision: he put a pillow over her face and
held it until she died. "Here's a lullaby to close your eyes...Goodbye." Rest
in peace, Mary, and let all your dreams be good. Dreams of Silent Hill.
Now the only thing left to do is to fulfill her last wish - to take her body
to the town of their memories ("The real reason I came to this town. I wonder
what was I afraid of? Without you, Mary, I've got nothing" . James hid Mary's
body in the car trunk... (Lost Memories gives a clear hint at that)
And then the sum of everything that has been pressing on him for so long
finally broke him. He couldn't take it anymore and fell into a trance-like
state... His life did end that day. He had no strength left to live and no
strength left to die.
After Mary's death, James couldn't live anymore, but he was too weak too die.
He has lost his will and reason to live. In a sense, he is a walking corpse.
He cannot move forward, thus always returning to the events of the past and
his happines, every time suffering from realizing that he will never have it
again. In his mind, James tries different ways of coming through it ("What
would happen if I did a different thing then?" "What if eveything went
different back then?") and all these versions lay down deep in his
subconscious, forming a complex web of thoughts, emotions and memories. And,
like a spider, James returns to this web time and time again, trying each
thread. This brings him great pain, but he wants this pain, because it is the
only feeling left for him to remind him that he exists. But human memory is
not infinte - it tends to remove or refuse to accept those events that bring
it pain (people that remember WW2 as "good times" - they prefer not to
remember the negative things or portray them as good). And thus, removing
himself from reality, James becomes trapped in his "web". He remakes true
statements in his own favor and accepts them as reality, creating his own
world of false memories. I tried to show the metamorphoses of James' thinking
as one gradually changing statement.
This happened very quickly... Maybe it took several hours, maybe several
days... A thought can encompass millenia in a second. But when James came to,
he was already hopelessly lost in the labyrinth of his own delusions. Unable
to find accept the truth, he convinced himself that his wife died three years
ago. Died from the disease, and it's not his fault. But he wanted her to be
alive... he wanted to be with her. And then he received a letter from Silent
Hill. A letter from Mary.
"In my restless dreams, I see that town. Silent Hill. You promised me you'd
take me there again someday. But you never did. Well, I'm alone there now...
In our "special place" Waiting for you..."
----------------------------
a) The letter
Obviously, the letter was not real - it was just another delusion. Notice that
towards the end of the game the text disappears. But... was it only James'
imagination? Why is it so similar to what Mary wrote in the hospital? It could
be just a coincidence, but I have a different explanation for that.
As we know, one is more susceptible to psychic influence when he\she is
suffering from a psychological trauma or the mind is in disarray. When James
killed his wife, he fell into a state similar to a trance and fell under the
influence of Mary's thoughts and memories, that continued to exist even after
her death. It may very well be that the letter was a combination of James'
delusions and Mary's memories. See 2-5.
----------------------------
Could Mary still be alive? Is she really waiting for him in Silent Hill. No,
this cannot be true... But what good is truth, if it destroys happiness, ruins
life and leaves no place for hope? This letter is James' last hope - and he
sets out to the foggy town of memories.
-----------------------
b) The toilet scene.
And so, we find James on the south-eastern outskirts of Silent Hill. He is
looking into a mirror - maybe he is trying to look deper into his soul? Trying
to determine what is real and what is not... For now he sees only the
reflection of his body, but soon he will find himself on the other side of the
mirror - in the world of his subconscious, where his nature will show itself.
In his 29 James looks much older - he is tired of life. Mary's disease really
drained the life from the both. But with her death life did not return to
James...
----------------------
James came to Silent Hill, which means that he at least WANTS TO BELIEVE that
Mary is alive (He was left with either that or "In water" - "I'm going to find
Mary..... It's the only thing I have left to hope for". We all understand WHAT
James would do if it turned out there was no hope for him), but there is still
the delusion, that his wife died three years ago ("Mary died of that damn
disease three years ago").
Also, it's worthy of note that he enters Silent Hill from the side, where the
cemetary is (just don't tell me he came to this part only because there was
toilet %))) ). That means he believed that Mary was buried in the Silent Hill
cemetary - in the "sacred place".
And he goes to the cemetary. He walks the forest path through the fog. The
path is so long, that it is impossible to turn back ("It's so long you don't
feel like turning back", as creators tell us in "Making of Silent Hill 2"
video). Fear takes root in his soul and even the sound of his own footsteps
seems like terrible sounds, made by unseen forest beasts.
But what does he find in the cemetary? There is no grave marked "Mary
Sunderland". But he meets a strange girl, who is looking for her mother. She
warns James, that there is something wrong and dangerous about Silent Hill.
But James can't give up. There is no turning back. All he has can do is keep
looking for Mary in the fog of his own soul. Where will this road lead him?
Will he be able to find the truth and accept it?
We all know it from the game: after coming to Silent Hill, James find himself
in the flux of the "White Noiz" - the constantly overlapping subconscious
worlds of many people - he can see other people's thought, but mostly, of
course, his own world prevails - the world of his hopes, desires... and fears.
A world of darkness, in the bowels of which lies the Ultimate Truth, carefully
hidden by delusions.
---------------------------------
) The Light of Hope
After receiving the letter, James gains Hope - a great, unstoppable power,
that propels him forward. Following this paranoid Hope, James descends deeper
into the nightmare.
Remember how Henry Townshend, the prisoner of Room 302, uses his last Hope -
the HOLE and crawls through it towards the light at the end of the tunnel,
unable to turn back. And now remember James, rowing his boat in the fog,
towards the distant beacon of the hotel, where his dead wife is waiting. Also,
remember room 205 of WSA - the mannequin is dressed in Mary's clothes and the
flashlight is blinding to James' eyes. The metaphor is obvious - "the blinding
Light of Hope".
And what do we see? Henry, following the faint hope of getting out of the
Room, finds himself in an even more horrible prison - the subconscious world
of Walter Sullivan where he has to fight for his life to find the Ultimate
Truth. And Sunderland, searching for his dead Mary, descends deeper and deeper
into the world of his own delusions, where the truth he has been hiding from
awaits.
d) Eros and Thanatos
According to Sigmund Freud's theories, two basic instincts exist in every
person - "the life instinct" (libido, Eros) and "the death instinct" (mortido,
Thanatos). The two polar powers are the unconscious desires of man and are
supposed to determine the whole life of a person. Seeing as how Team Silent
said that they used this theory in making Silent Hill 2, let us look at the
Eros and Thanatos of the protagonist:
--- The first side. Felicitative. An infantile, egoistical side, that wants
happiness. But this happiness is characterised by nostalgia. It is like a
small child: a child has a toy, which he is not interested - it's lying around
and he doesn't care. But TAKE IT AWAY and he will cry, turn away from all
other toys and will demand to give this toy (which he didn't care about until
now) back - his whole world will spin around this toy. But give it back and he
will play with it for a while and leave it lying around again. James
relationship with Mary is similar to that.
But that is not all. Eros is does not represent only the instinct to live and
be happy, but also sexual instincts, which are bound to life. And these
instincts play a major role in the creation of Maria. So, Maria is basically
the manifestation of James' libido.
--- The destructive side. It knows of the egoism of the other side and wishes
to punish it by inflicting pain. These two sides are meant to be able to
co-exist at least to some degree, but there's a twist. When James is happy,
the destructive side gains power and tries to fight this happiness. When James
is unhappy, the felecitative side becomes stronger and goes to lengths to get
the happiness back. Thus, James is doomed to be forever trapped between these
two extremes. I think that because of his masochism James actually wasn't
happy with Mary in the full sense of the word "happy". ("he doesn't laugh
much" - Mary writes about her husband. Was he always grim or only when she
fell sick?). James' constant doubts prevented him from being happy. His trail
of thoughts was something like that: "Right now I'm happy - I have a loving
wife, a good job. I have achieved my happiness. But do I deserve it? Maybe I
deserve suffering?". Or something like that (I suppose not so many of you have
noticed the similarity between James and the characters of the famous Japanese
writer Yukio Mishima). James just couldn't live in the present... That's why
when Mary died he wasn't able to start a new life, he couldn't find a new goal
to pursue in life and started to drown in his sorrow and memories. It was his
false world that gave him these goals, gave him Hope. Or rather, an illusion
of Hope ("I wanted to see you. Even an illusion of you... That's why I came
here" - he says in the "Maria" ending).
James' subconscious world is built around these two instincts. His two
greatest desires - to find happiness and to punish himself for his sins -
nurture this world with psychic energy. Each of these instinct has found a
material representation - these are Maria and PyramidHead.
e) Maria.
The long three years went on. Three painful years. James was tired, tired of
waiting, tired of hoping - he already knew, that Mary was lost to him, that
his happiness will die with her.
Suffering, despair, loneliness... "And that's why you needed this "Maria"
person?" James needed someone, who would be close to him, who would support
him, someone to replace Mary for him. And then, he created a new Mary for
himself - a perfect woman, who would fulfill all his dreams and give back his
lost happiness.
So, how would a "girl of his dreams" look? She must look like Mary, of course,
but be much more open ("I can be yours..." - "Don't you want to touch me? Come
and get me "), always cheerful and kind ("And I'll never yell at you or make
you feel bad."). For some reason, James associated the image of a perfect
woman with a certain strip dancer from the bar Heaven's Night - "Lady Maria".
Thus, her name. I should note, that James still loved Mary, so his image of a
"dream girl" was highly affected by the image of his wife. She must be a
blonde, because, according to some stereotypes "Don't you think blondes have
more fun?". Red and pink colors prevail in Maria's clothing - this is
obviously the result of his frequent visits to Heaven's Night.
For these three years, James dreamt of this perfect woman, his wife dying from
the disease. And, after some time, this image took root in his subconscious
world and became part of it.
f) Between Mary and Maria
There are actually two sides of James' Eros presented in the game:
One side knows, that without Mary James cannot be happy and wishes her return
by any means ("I want her back! Give her back to me!"). The desire to come
back to happiness by coming back to the "good times", i.e. James wants that
very same Mary who was with him 3 years ago - even dressed the same (remember
the mannequin in 205?).
The other side doesn't want to return to the past and wants to find NEW
happiness in a new life with Maria. But Maria is not real. But it doesn't
matter, because this side of James rejects the harsh reality in order to
achieve happiness. The goals justify the means. Because without happiness
there cannot be hope and without hope there cannot be life. This Eros cannot
allow.
But what will James choose? This depends on your actions through the game.
----------------------------------------
Exploring James' subconscious world we meet a strange creature with a red
pyramid on its head - the image of an executioner. His appearance is
inextricably linked with death. This is the manifestation of James' Thanatos,
which strives to force the truth into the light and punish James for the crime
he committed.
----------------------------------------
g) PyramidHead
I know that most fans believe, that PyramidHead is one of the demonic servants
of Samael, sent down to Earth to torture the poor clerk for some reason. But,
if you take one good look at the official info, you will see that it is
nowhere near true. Let us try and determine the true nature of this terrible
executioner, using facts from the games and information from Lost Memories as
a base.
3 years ago, when James was in Silent Hill, he visited the Historical Society.
where he saw the picture "Misty day, remains of the Judgement". It depicted a
cult executioner and his victims. The picture made a great impression on James
- the image of the executioner remained in his subconscious to appear three
years later as James' guilt and desire to punish himself. This was the birth
of PyramidHead.
Through the whole game PyramidHead is trying to inflict pain and even kill
him, but he does the same to Maria (Eros and Thanatos are always at odds) -
this is a way of showing, that self-punishment, when it gets out of hand, can
hurt others as well.
The pain PH inflict on James is not just physical - he also leads James to the
realization, that he killed Mary. PH forces James to see the truth he was
hiding from.
There are two PyramidHeads. This could mean that James was familiar with the
customs and traditions of Silent Hill, but there is also a theory that the
second PyramidHead is the second side of James' Thanatos, just as there were
two sides of his Eros. Also, the second PH appears only in the hotel and can
be a manifestation of James' guilt for killing Eddie. One for Eddie, one for
Mary...
---------------------------------
Searching for Mary, James makes his way to the Lakeview Hotel, the chapel of
memories, which holds his last hopes and dreams... He believes, that his
search is nearing an end and Mary is waiting in room 312.
---------------------------------
h) Truth and Hope.
James is balancing between his hope for Mary's return and the realization of
truth. On one hand, he is falling deeper and deeper into his delusions, but on
the other hand, the memories of his crime still live deep in his subcosncious,
making their presence known. Let us look at some quotes:
-- "Mary... Could you really be in this town?" - the first phrase. James is in
doubt - a letter from a dead person defies all logic.
-- "It's ridiculous, couldn't possibly be true... That's what I keep telling
myself... A dead person can't write a letter. Mary died of that damn disease
three years ago. So then why am I looking for her?" - but despite all doubts,
it is his last hope.
-- "Anyway, she's dead. I don't know why I think she's here" - James says this
to Angela. James is already starting to doubt his sanity. Well, this doubts
are not unfounded...
--"You liar! ...Last year Mary was already..." - even though he wants to
believe that Mary is alive, but can't leave the "web" of his delusions. Can't
accept that one year before SH2 Mary was still alive.
-- "Mary... What... What should I do? Are you... really waiting somewhere for
me? Or is this your way of taking... I'm going to find Mary..... It's the only
thing I have left to hope for" - James follows this last hope, because he has
nothing else left.
-- When Maria dies in the catacombs, James remember Mary "for some strange
reason". Maybe this reminded him of Mary's death?
-- "Eddie! I... I killed a... a human being... A human being... Mary... Did
you really die three years ago...?" - James emphasizes the word ''DIE". After
Eddie's death, James begins to doubt that Mary died three years ago. Maybe
something ELSE happened to her then. Or maybe he thinks "Did you DIE or did I
KILL you".
-- "So Mary couldn't have died... three years ago... Could she really be
here?" - after the conversation with Laura in the Hotel James belives, that
his wife is still alive and is waiting for him in Lakeview.
i) The Tape
Room 312 will be just another disappointment for James. Mary is not here. It
is just an empty, lonely room. And memories of James' wife, of the happy time
they had together in Silent Hill. And with them - the memory of the murder.
James realizes the truth. But with the coming of truth, hope departs. James is
once again filled with despair.
He falls on the chair before the TV. This is reminiscent of the person in
front of the TV in room 208. This man was James... After seeing that tape, he
has no reason to go on living - maybe he was supposed to kill himself then...
But again he hears Mary's voice: "James. Where are you? I'm waiting. I'm
waiting for you. Please come to me". A the faint hope returns to his ravaged
mind and he sets out to search for her again. But now he already knows the
truth and is ready to make the final decision...
---------------------------------
What will this final decision be? Will James choose to live in the world of
his delusions and be happy with Maria? Or will he sacrifice his own life to
resurrect Mary through a the ritual of the Holy Assumption? Or maybe he and
Laura leave the town together and remember Mary forever. Or James won't be
able to live without Mary and will give in to his Thanatos ("Angels Thanatos"
after the In water ending), joining his wife in a deep dream.
All we know is that James never returned from Silent Hill...

Quote: "Mary died of that damn disease three years ago... So then why am I
looking for her? "
Metaphor: "Trapped in a cage of delusions"
Symbol: Cage
Music: "True","Prisonic Fairytale", "Angels Thanatos".
Name: According to LM, the first name was taken from one of the men, who was
suspected of being Jack the Ripper (probably to emphasize the paranoid and, I
dare say, maniacal sides of James' personality).
The last name is more interesting, though. There theories concerning it:
a) Sunderland - derived from "Sun". The sun is a symbol of Hope, goals and
happiness. If we interprent "Sunderland" as "Sun above the land", it can be
seen as symbol of inability to achieve all these thing on in our world.
b) Sunderland - derived from the German "sunder" - "sinner". The connection is
obvious, I think.
c) It is also worthy of noting that in the state of Massachusetts, where
Ashfield is located, one can find two towns - Townshend and Sunderland. Maybe
it was a way of showing how the characters are linked to towns?
Now, if we look at all three points and try to combine them, we'll get
something like that: "A sinner, hiding from the truth for a desire to find
happiness in memories".
2-2. Angela Orosco
Age - 19
Social Status - Runaway Student
We first meet Angela at the cemetary - she is examining a gravestone. By her
looks, one wouldn't say she's 19 and she doesn't sound young. She feels that
the there is some sort of danger in the town and is scared. James' sudden
arrival scares her even more ("I, I'm sorry...I, I... I was just...."). She
talks like a small girl that did something bad talks with her father...
She is looking for her mother ("I'm looking for my mama..."). In this she is
similar to James - Angela also starts her search from the cemetary. From this
we can assume that her mother is DEAD, as are her father and brother. Further
in the game we see her searching in the following places:
1) Blue creek apartment, Room 109.
2) Halfway between the Historical Society and the Meat Factory.
3) LakeView Hotel.
This means that Angela didn't even know where exactly her mother lived.
Actually, even the existence of this "mother" is yet to be proven. What if she
is only a part of the Angela's "web"? What if Angela's mother died at birth or
not long after? What if Angelf was an orphan adopted by Thomas? Still, there
she DID have a mother, which is stated by the photo found in Blue Creek. It is
torn into two pieces - on one piece we see a woman holding a baby (Angela's
"mama" with a baby - small Angela), on the other - a man. Here's my version of
the tragedy that befell the Orosco family: At first, it was a normal happy
family - mother, father, a son and a small daughter. But then, when Angela was
still very young, her mother died (judging by how Angela's subconscious world
looks, her mother died in a fire along with her brother). Broken by the loss
of his beloved wife, Thomas Orosco started to drink, bringing suffering to
himself and his daughter (once again, a striking resemblance to James, don't
you think?). Accordingly, Angela only saw him as a drunk and agressive man.
Each day when she came back from school she probably found him lying in a pool
of his own vomit. Or away in a bar. Judjing by her lines ("You're only after
one thing. Or you could just force me. Beat me up like he always did") we can
assume that Thomas raped her. Or at least she thinks he did. It is never
actually stated.
So, what could Angela think of his father (and, as a result, all men in
general), seeing him in this condition all the time? "You disgusting pig!!".
Although, I doubt she tried to help him somehow. She was too weak for that and
needed someone to love her too ("Will you love me? Take care of me?").
Angela couldn't take this life anymore. She hated her drunkard father... She
even tried to run away from home (obviously, she didn't consider what would
happen to him in that case), but Thomas stopped her. He didn't want his
daughter to leave - he found her and forced her to come home. Maybe he even
loved her, she was his last close person after all... He just couldn't deal
with his own pain and Angela was unable to understand and help him. It was
probably then that she killed him with a knife. The Orosco family may have
lived in room 109 of WSA and it was the place where Angela got that knife. Or
the knife in the game couldn've been an illusion altogether.
After doing such a terrible thing Angela decided to leave the town to forget
what happened. She had no friends or relatives and was left alone. We don't
know anything about her brother - he probably died along with her mother in
that fire. She was left with only memories of her happy childhood. She spent
her time thinking about her kind, loving mother (even though she might not
have been like that) and how everything would be good if they lived apart from
Thomas (this is signified by the torn photo). After her mama died, life
brought Angela only suffering... She was tired from the pain and wanted to end
the suffering. But can she heal her pain alone and attempt to find happiness?
No... "It's easier just to run. Besides, it's what we deserve." She is too
tired to seek happiness, she can't live on, she doesn't even have hope... She
just wants to run away again. Run away from life. Run away to where her mama
is.
-------------------
a) Angel Thanatos
In the course of the game we see Angela display a strange interest in death.
She is so tired of life's sufferings, that thoughts of suicide, which could
end them, please her. We find Angela in room 109 of WSA with a bloody knife in
hand, lying in front of a mirror. She is pondering suicide. Why is there such
a big mirror in the room? It is part of Angela's subconscious world. She
wanted to see her own death and enjoy it to the maximum.
If we look at her other appearances we'll see that all of them are somehow
linked with death:
---Cemetary - no comments. If you don't understand the connection between
death and cemetaries, I don't know why you're reading this anyway.
---Room 109 of WSA - an illustration of Angela's suicidal tendencies.
---The Labyrinth - Angela is in danger, but all she does is cower in the
corner and seemingly accepts the inevitable death. But James KILLS, the
monster, saving Angela.
---The burning stairwell. - we see the scene of the fire - corpses with blood
in the pelvic area on the walls (a reference to the raping when she was
young). Angela says that James shouldn't have saved her and asks him to return
the knife. Suicidal themes again.
We see that Angela's main themes are suffering, death and suicide. Angela is
sort of a martyr, obsessed with death - the "Angel Thanatos".
-------------------
A short time after killing her father, Angela's mind collapses from the stress
and she becomes lost in the labyrinth of delusions. That is when Silent Hill
"calls" her. She starts to believe that her mother's still alive and is
waiting for her in that town...
------------------
b) When did Angela kill her father?
In the catacombs we find a newspaper, according to which Thomas Orosco was
killed between 23:00 and 00:30 - that was probably when he found his daughter
and tried to bring her back home. Now, in the next part of the hallway there
are also newspapers and one of them has today's date ("Newspapers are
scattered all over the walls and floor. There seems to be nothing of interest.
But this one has today's date... That's kind of strange"). Could that mean
that the above mentioned paper had been published a few days before the events
of SH2?
Quoting LM: "From the article in the bloodstained newspaper, the conclusion
can be made that Angela was unable to bear her abuse and took her father's
life. After this incident, being in a state of emotional turmoil, it may be
that Silent Hill called out to her". So, the chain of events was something
like that: Angela runs away from home, Thomas finds her and brings her back,
she kills him and runs away again. After that she gets under the town's
influence etc. etc. Basically, what LM was trying to say is that there wasn't
a long time period between Thomas' death and the events of the game.
------------------
The main monster of Angela's subconscious world is her father. Accordingly,
she sees him everywhere. Even in James, during their second meeting (remember
WSA - she screams "No!! I'm sorry...I've been bad... Please don't..." - what
did she see?).
Also, she sees her mother. Probably not the real mother she had, but the image
of Angela's mother from her memories... The ideal mother, of whom she dreamt
all her life. But Angela thought herself unworthy of her idealised mother's
love... The stronger, more beuatiful, kinder (etc. etc.) she imagined her to
be, the more miserable she saw herself. And, obviously, if Angela thinks
herself unworthy of love, so does the ideal mother in her world... "Even Mama
said it... I deserved what happened... Don't pity me... I don't worth it".
Angela sees Silent Hill as engulfed in flames. This reflects her wish to join
her ideal mother by dying in fire just like she did (yes, it is a reference to
her death). Also, the fire represents Angela's unending pain - the fires of
Hell, lit up by her alone. Sunderland sees it on the stairwell in the hotel
(at this point Angela's energy is so strong that it can suck other minds into
her world). Angela found what no one else could - the one way to defeat the
God inside you. She is tired of her pain and asks James if they could start a
new life together ("Or maybe you think you can save me? Will you love me? Take
care of me? Heal all my pain?"), leave this place of lost memories and
restless dreams, stop following the illusion of Hope (it could've been a
verison of the "Leave" ending with Angela instead of Laura). Together they
could support each other, heal the pain and free themselves of the suffering,
but James is too weak for this. Angela offers him another solution - to run
away from this cruel world, to commit suicide ("Give me back that knife" and
end the suffering. By giving her back the knife, James could release her from
all this pain - just like he did Mary. But, the memories of what he did to
Mary stop him from doing so, forcing Angela to continue this endless psiral of
death and dooming her to live in this nightmare. Maybe James wanted to keep
the knife to kill himself? No, he was too blinded by his hope to see the
truth. And he doesn't WANT his pain to end. And so, he keeps the knife,
dooming Angela to further suffering...
We can only wonder what way Angela'll choose - will she find the strength to
live on, will she join her family in death, or will she stay in her world and
burn, as her God wishes her to? When she leaves it is as if the fire devours
her - could it be a sign that she crosses over to her world of pain and
suffering to exist forever? This is for you to decide.
Quote: "It's easier just to run. Besides, it's what we deserve. "
Metaphor: "A wingless angel in the flames of despair."
Symbol: Fire
Music: "Theme of Laura (Reprise)" , "Forest"
Name: Her name is taken from the main character of "The Net" - a movie about
the danger of advanced technologies. Also, "Angela" reminds of the the "In
water" ending with the "ANGELS Thanatos" track.
2-3. Eddie Dombrowski.
Age - 23
Occupation - Gas station employee
Eddie was hated, picked on, spit on all his life - at school, at work. His
last name is hard for an English-speaker to pronounce, he's overweight and
paleness, that doesn't fit with his complexion - from early on in life he
became the target of numerous jokes. The worst part of it was the fact that
Eddie couldn't do anything about it. Despite all the modern fuss about
"equality", Eddie is unable to do anything about his life. He doesn't have any
friends, he can't get a decent job (what employer would accept a man with such
a name?) and he has no money, which prevented him from "buying" friends. Eddie
is trapped in an endless circle of despair, punished, yet not guilty of
anything. With his passive nature, he couldn't really fight back and could
only ignore all those who made fun of him, put up with everything etc. for all
his life. I don't think he was happy with this life. The insults were even
more painful for him, because he knew that he really DID have all the flaws
that people laughed at, and he would always have them, and would always feel
the shame. But it was okay, Eddie clenched his teeth and went on - he still
had Hope in him, a hope that someday everything will change - a hope that he,
the ugly duckling, would become a graceful swan (or, at least, the other would
get tired of laughing at him. They used Eddy as an example of "really bad":
"Ha, you think I'm a gutless fatso? Just look Eddie DUMBrowski!" - or
something like that.)
Eddie had a hobby - american football. He probably wanted to be a player -
success, popularity, pretty cheerleaders [> ~~~ - Translator's note]. But
Eddie's complexion was a little... unappropriate for a sports career. Again,
his dreams have been shattered. In one of the rooms in WSA, where we meet
Eddie James' world overlaps with Eddie's. And what do we see? Lots of american
football posters and a crude, child-like drawing: a boy and girl and something
huge somewhere on the edge of the picture. It very well may be that the latter
is Eddie. This drawing is a representation of his depressed sexual interests,
which is not surprising, considering his looks.
But time passed and the anger and frustration collected in him without venting
out every so often. This created paranoia, tearing poor Eddie apart.
1. On one side we have Eddie - a good-natured guy, thrashed at by everybody,
while he shows no real resistance (Laura: "Hah! You're just a gutless fatso!"
, Eddie: "Whadda ya have to say that for?" - he didn't shoot Laura and didn't
even try to argue with her on that). Maybe because of Eddie's passive nature
his offenders even didn't have an idea that their "jokes" were very painful
for Eddie?
2. On the other side - his inner aggression needed to be taken out - every day
in his thoughts Eddie ripped the offenders into bloody pieces and tore out
their hearts.
Think about how painful it was for him to replay this in his mind and then
suffer through another portion of insults from his neighbors, colleagues and
supervisors. It's quite understandable that one day his patience ran out -
Eddie snapped. He killed a dog ("Yeah, I killed that dog. It was fun. It tried
to chew its own guts out! Finally died all curled up in a ball" - Eddie
enjoyed the death of a living being) and shot its owner in the knee ("Then
'He' came after me, I shot him too. Right in the leg. He cried more than the
dog!"). Maybe it was the dog's owner, Eddie's boss, or just some random
citizen that made fun of him again. Basically, Dombrowski is your typical
image of an "american psycho", the hero of many new-metal songs by bands like
KoRn, SLIPKNOT and somesuch. Anyway, we know that he ran from his hometown and
came to Silent Hill to lay low and hide from the police. Really? Or maybe he
just THOUGHT that he did something terrible ("Nobody will ever forgive me" -
says Eddie, but he exaggerating the seriousness of his crime) and the police
are after him? Violent animal handling, assault and causing light injury - not
really an outrageous crime, is it? Maybe it'd even get overlooked. The most
he'd get is a fine and a couple of years in prison plus a prohibition to keep
a firearm. If he surrendered as Laura suggested ("if you did something bad,
why don't you just say you were sorry?"), he'd get even lesser punishment.
But, "It's easier just to run. Besides, it's what we deserve"...
James first meets him in Room 101 of the Woodside Apartment Building, hugging
a toilet (watch CAREFULLY, in the fist few moments you can catch a slight
smile on Eddy's face). Eddie is VERY excited about the contents of the fridge
and vigorously assures James that he didn't kill anybody. But when James is
about to leave, Eddie looks like he wants to say something, but only blurts
out "James, I... I... um... You be careful too." Notice that his eyes are
looking in different directions and the pupils are moving quite quickly, as if
he is avoiding James' eyes. Also, he says he saw some "weird-looking
monsters". Let me guess... dead dogs? %)
------------------
a) Body in the fridge
In room 101 of WSA we find a body in the fridge. Eddie claims he didn't do
anything, but it seems he's not telling something... Let us look at the
possibilities:
-- Eddie's consciousness crossed over to the subconscious world, a man walked
in, Eddie saw him as a monster, killed him and put the body in the fridge (why
the fridge? Some sort of sadistic fantasy maybe... or Eddie tried to hide the
evidence of his crime), but then he went back to reality and saw WHAT he did.
-- When Eddie's consciousness crossed into the alternate, he saw a man
laughing at him and a shot him (yes, there's a box of bullets in the room) and
put the body in the fridge.
-- The corpse was originally there, which I have trouble believing.
----------------------
Eddie also sees other people as his supervisors, "friends" etc. What does
Eddie's alternate reality look like? Do you remember the room in Woodside
where you got the pistol? The walls are full of bullet holes. When Eddie came
to Silent Hill, he probably tried to hide from the police in Woodside, but the
world suddenly changed around him - he saw faces on the walls. They laughed at
him. Finally, he exploded and started to shoot at the walls and soon ran out
of ammo. He left the pistol in the room and ran to room 101, where he met his
"monster". So, while James' alternate world consists of rust, cages and
monster, that come to punish him for his sins, Eddie sees people making fun of
him. I think his world's is VERY annoying. Just think of it - Eddie's paranoid
delusion that everyone was making fun of him was his strongest feeling. And
the strongest feeling is often blown to great proportions in a dream or a
similar state. And what is an alternate world? It is basically a dream
overlapping with reality. Now try and imagine a world, where EVERYTHING makes
fun of you - the walls, the people, even the pieces of meat in the plant -
everything makes fun of you (yeah, the pieces of meat remind of Eddie, don't
they?). Yeah, one can easily go insane in such a world...
After he got better, Eddie made his way to Pete's Bowl-o-rama and meets with
Laura. She calls him a gutless fatso, but he just eats pizza. That means that
he thinks everything that happened in Woodside just some sort of bad dream (if
you look closely, you'll notice that he's eating the same piece of pizza all
the time. No appetite, Eddie? Did you do something bad?)
Despite James' advice to leave the town, Eddie walks around it without fear
(then again, James didn't listen to Angela too). Next time we meet him is
under the Historical Society, in the Toluca Prison. Eddie is so busy
reflecting on the frailty of human life, that he doesn't even notice James at
first. The corpse is real (and James once again sees it as a monster) and
there's nobody else who could've done that but Eddie. But he's hiding from the
police - then WTH is he doing in a prison? Maybe after talking to Laura, he
thought of the possibility of surrendering (which would mean he felt guilty)
and to think it over he went to the prison, which really is an exhibit in the
SHHS. But when he entered the prison, his perception shifted to the
alternative again (Eddie's and James's mental states are very unstable, which
causes their shifts from the "foggy" to the "nightmarish" world).
The last meeting in the meat factory shows that Eddie has changed. The
original Eddie was like a closed boiler - he can't let out the steam and
explodes. This Eddie looks more like a merciless butcher - the boiler has
exploded, his patience has run out completely. Now there's nowhere to store
the aggression to forget about for a while - no more good Eddie. For the first
time in his life Eddie has Power. The Power to stomp out all his fears. Now he
has his own excuses. Almost all criminals have their own twisted morality
scale, according to which their actions are highly moral. Humans need to
jusity their actions. "They treated me like garbage all my life, and they
continue to do so now! That's enough! They've been slowly killing me all this
time - I have a right for self-defence!" - this "right" (and a gun in his
hand) allow Eddie to kill anyone without doubting his actions. (For reference
read F. Dostoevsky's "Crime and punishment".) There are several corpses in the
room where James meets Eddie - he probably killed everyone (the corpses are
STILL monsters for James) thinking that they're making fun of him again. It
seems as if Eddie is taking great pleasure in killing...
---------------------
b) The sexual subtext of Eddie's actions
Agression, hatred, murder... To try and understand Eddie better, let us look
at the less obvious sides of his personality, using the basics of
psychoanalysis and criminology.
The definition of agression was first given by Sigmund Freud in 1920 when he
published his work "Beyond the pleasure principle". He defined agression as a
merging between the sexual insitinct and the instinct of death with the latter
being dominant - i.e. all agressive acts have a sexual subtext. This is
supported by the fact that, statistically, most serial murderers had sexual
disorders and\or suffered from sexual dissatisfaction. "As we know, the
greatest pleasure available to us - the pleasure of a sexual act - is the
pleasure of the instant dissipation of high arousal". But people, who are
denied this pleasure, are forced to find a "replacement". Violence is a part
of the sexual instinct, so maniacs finds sexual pleasure in killing. Put
simply, according to this theory, killing for them is like getting laid for
normal people.
Now let us observe Eddie: a defensive agression builds up inside him (seeing
how agression is a product of both the sexual and death instincts - arousal),
then he lets it out on his victims. Not even on someone, who insults him. The
dog obviously couldn't do that! Eddie needed to show others and himself his
ability to attack and the insults were just the "trigger", that released this
defensive agression. And when he lets it out, Eddie feels pleasure. His
victims were obviously shot more than once. And the dog? "Yeah, I killed that
dog. It was fun. It tried to chew its own guts out! Finally died all curled up
in a ball" - Eddie feels pleasure even from talking about it. Accordingly,
Eddie's condition after killing someone is similar to that of somebody, who
has just had sex (read: who has experienced instant dissipation of arousal).
This is most clearly seen in Toluca Prison, where Eddie is sitting in a
trance-like state, reflecting on how easy it is to take a life.
In the game, the author always mix themes of death and sexuality ("To make
like a death scene. Like somebody died, or monsters died, or if you make that
kind of scene... we tried to mix erotic essence") and the strong sexual
subtext is of course found in Eddie's actions.
-------------
James was shocked by what he saw in the plant. He didn't even think that he
too was a murderer ("Don't get all holy on me, James. This town called you,
too. You and me are the same. We're not like other people. Don't you know
that?!") . No, James clung to his own illusion of innocence. And that is why
he judges Eddie ("Eddie, have you gone nuts?... You think it's okay to kill
people! You need help, Eddie!").
But Eddie already knew the truth about James' crime ("You and me are the
same") and probably saw him killing "monsters" (remember, that Eddie sees
them as people). No wonder he was so offended by James lecturing him. This led
to their final confrontation and Eddie's death.

--------------
c) A marked heart
During the last meeting with Eddie, we can see a mark on the left side of his
chest - a circle, inside which there is another circle. With the markings in
the area between the circles, it looks kinda like the Halo of the Sun. It
could be a shooting mark, a symbol, at which James should shoot. But also it
is reminiscent of the HOLES of Walter Sullivan. Remembering the meaning of
HOLES in SH2 and SH4, this mark could be a representation of the darkness in
Eddie's heart...
---------------
Eddie learned how to destroy his fears - but with that he achieved the only
goal in his life and had no Hope left. He became a simple-minded killing
machine, while Sunderland still had to find Mary, which nurtured his Hope and
allowed him to kill Eddie. Once again we see that Hope is a terrible weapon in
human hands. But with Eddie's death James finally starts to remember. "Eddie!
I... I killed a... a human being... A human being... Mary..." - he says
thoughtfully, looking at Eddie's lifeless body.

Quote: "It doesn't matter if your smart, dumb, ugly, pretty...it's all the
same once you dead. And a corpse can't laugh." (Hiroyuki Owaku said that he
wrote this line himself and it is his favorite piece of monologue in the game)
Metaphor: "Don't play around with death"
Symbol: the "Gluttonous pig" tablet
Music: "The darkness that lurks in our minds", "Ashes and Ghosts", "Noone love
you".
Name: Initially, he was supposed to be a cheerful character (a reference to
Eddie Murphy?), but soon after the creators decided to completely change his
personality (now the name is more associated with Ed Gein). The last name is
probably a twist of the word "Dumb" (so every "joker" could easily offend
Eddie by making fun of his last name) and also a way to show Eddie's
non-american heritage.
2-4. Laura. The events of Silent Hill 2 through Laura's eyes.
Age: 8 years
Social status: orphan
First, let's clear up Laura's past - LM states she has no mother ("Having no
mother of her own"), and, probably, no father. How could this come to be?
Let's see:
1) In Restless Dreams we can find photos of Laura in the hotel - this means
she stayed there at one point. Maybe she lived there with her parents.
2) Laura's name is taken from the story "No language but a cry", in which a
little girl is put on a frying pan by her parents - this inflicted not only
burns, but also a very deep psychological wound on her.
3) The Lakeveiw Hotel BURNED a year before the events of SH2.
4) And exactly 1 year before the events of SH2 Laura finds herself in
St.Jerome's Hospital.
1 year ago Laura came to Silent Hill with her parents - they stayed in the
Lakeview Hotel. Then the hotel burns down and her parents perish in the fire,
while Laura survives with burns and is taken to st. Jerome's Hospital
(Ashfield) for treatment.
There she met Mary, who'd been in there for about two years now. Ironic, how
such different people - a woman, living her last days in despair and a young
girl, hoping to find the love and happines that she never had (not unlike
Alessa and Claudia). They spent hours talking about Silent Hill ("Me and Mary
talked a lot about Silent Hill"). It was as if Mary relived the happiest
moments of her life, which helped her fight back her sorrows, while Laura
found in her the mother she lost year ago. This continued for about a year,
but, of course, such things can't go on forever. One day Mary left the
hospital ("It's not that I'm getting better. It's just that this may be my
last chance..."), but she was so eager to go back home to see her husband for
the last time ("I'm glad to be coming home. I've missed you terribly") that
she didn't even tell Laura anything and only wrote her a letter. Laura, when
she couldn't find Mary anywhere, thought that Mary got better and finally went
home (people always hope for the better). To better understand the situation,
she stole the letters from Rachel's locker ("But don't tell Rachel, okay? I
took it from her locker." - later, she admits her "crime", but she doesn't
feel guilty, so she is not stalked by a ghost of Rachel wearing a pyramid on
her head %) ). After reading the letters, she thought that Mary actually went
to Silent Hill, so she runs away from the hospital (because she'd be sent to
some orphanage if she had waited for her treatment to end) and makes her way
to Silent Hill. On the way she meets another kind person, that agrees to take
her there. This happened to be Eddie Dombrowski, who was "running away from
the police". He didn't really care where to go, so he agreed to help the girl
out. They came to Silent Hill together (see the seventeenth scene of the SH2
intro movie - we can see Eddie resting next to his van and Laura, urging him
to move on). More accurately, they arrived at the observation deck and went to
the Woodside apartment building (probably to rent a room)
James first meets her in Woodside when he tries to get the key. She kicks it
away, exacting her own little revenge for Mary.
----------------
a) The encounter in WSA
Tell me: do you often see metal bars in hallways of apartment buildings? Of
course not. The bars are an element of James' world (prison\cage bars), which
affects only James. Now, we know that Laura doesn't see any
monsters\bars\meat\blood\Marias and the town looks pretty normal to her - "To
her the town appears to be normal; she does not see any monsters, nor does she
see Maria." Now try to imagine how stupid James looks to her - he is trying to
grab a key through the bars. But SHE doesn't see any bars! I wonder what she
thought about James back then...
"Huh? Are you blind or something?" Not surprising, that she decided to play a
little "joke"
----------------
She will continue to get in his way for the length of the game. Why doesn't
she like James? It's simple - when she was in the hospital she noticed that he
rarely visited his wife (these visits were very hard on James, but she decided
that she just didn't care about her: "You didn't love Mary anyway!"). Plus, he
probably never even noticed her during these visits, while she remember what
he looked like well enough. Also, her childhood egoism played a major part
here - she didn't want the bad James to have HER Mary. That is why she tries
hard to get to him.
After that James meets her outside Woodside, she is sitting on the wall,
thinking about Mary's whereabouts. The drawings on the wall are important, as
they are symbols of Laura's character.
--------------------
b) Meaning of the drawings
-- Flowers - metaphor: "children are the flowers of life". Yellow flowers mean
happiness. This could mean that Laura is searching for happiness. Also, there
are yellow flowers on the walls of Wish House in SH4. A symbol of orphans?
-- A cat - metaphor: Cats see in the dark. That means that despite all she had
to suffer in the orphanage, Laura holds no darkness in her heart, thus she
sees no monsters. She does not want to hide in a dream-world. She wants to
find happiness IN THIS WORLD (similar to Vincent in SH3) - to live a happy
life with a loving family.
We could say that even though she has immense psychical potential, Laura
didn't form a subconscious world. She perceives Silent Hill as a typical
resort town, a little foggy, but without any monsters\blood\railings etc.
Maybe she does see elements of her own world, but her vision of "paradise" is
very similar (if not identical) to the real world.
Another meaning for the cat - "the cat walks around by herself" - a symbol of
Laura's loneliness - she is trying to find a close person, who would support
her in life.
-- Teddy bear - in psychology, a teddy bear symbolises infantilism and
nostalgia. This can be applied to Laura: wouldn't you call someone, who tries
to find parents infantile? Most children of her age want to be free of their
boring "parental units", nostalgia = Laura wants to get Mary, her "mother",
back, because Mary is strongly associated with happiness in the little girl's
mind. On the other hand, it could represent her love for Mary (who also wanted
to bring back her happy days = nostalgia). Thus, the Teddy Bear and the Car
represent Mary and Laura in St.Jerome's. I think that this wall is the main
way of understanding Laura's character and her past.
--------------------
After her meeting with James near WSA Laura goes to the Bowl-o-rama to ask
Eddie if he found any info on Mary.
------------------
c) Why the Bowl-o-Rama?
The advertisement for Pete's Bowl-o-Rama is right above Eddie's van on the
Observation Deck - it was the first thing they both saw and decided to visit
the place. Maybe they arranged to meet there later.
------------------
Obviously, he could care less about some Mary - he was too deep down in his
problems (don't confuse Eddie with the altruistic Henry!). After realizing his
indifference and uselesness, she leaves with a stingy remark ("You're just a
gutless fatso!", "a fatso like you would just slow me down" ). By the way,
Eddie's reaction to James' question (Eddie: "...Huh?... Laura...? But
why...?") is curious - Dombrowski believes that she's some sort of a guardian
angel, a figment of his imagination and is surprised by the fact that James
asks him about her.
At this time, Laura starts to doubt the fact that Mary got better. She decides
to visit Brookhaven Hospital, thinking that Mary could've been transferred
from Ashfield to Silent Hill. James finds her playing with teddy bears. Laura
is playing out the scene of her future meeting with Mary: two cute teddy bears
- how touching. But, again there is tension between the two. James, convinced
that what he thinks is true, yells at her. And she decides to pay him back by
locking him in one of the rooms so that he would think how to behave himself
in the future. If only she knew what was going through James' head at that
time... A few minutes later she started to feel bad about it and opened the
door (James was too busy fighting his delusions to notice, of course). This
means Laura is not a spiteful person.
Now, Laura isn't sure if Mary is in Silent Hill at all! And she decides to
check one last place - Lake View Hotel, of which Mary told her so much (note
that she KNOWS that the hotel is no more, it's the last place she checks, her
last Hope for happiness i.e. meeting with Mary). Her desire to meet Mary is so
strong, that she really starts to see the hotel - it exists for her.
-------------
d) The "nostalgic" hotel.
The hotel burned down... but why does Laura sees it, then? That is stimple -
at the same time James arrives there and his mental energy, the power of
James' thoughts and memories starts to affect Laura and makes her see his
"nostalgic" hotel. But the image is taken not only from James' memories. The
photos, the timetable from one year ago... all this could not have been in
James' memory. The FAIRY TALE puzzle also leads to some suspicions. The Hotel
is not just a part of his subconscious. It is the merging of his and Laura's
memories of it, their subconscious worlds. Also note that the "nostalgic"
hotel disappears as soon as Laura leaves and James realizes the truth.
---------------------
For the last time we meet her in Room 312. She didn't find the letter, yet she
still retain her hope and wishes to continue the search, not realizing (she
couldn't accept that) that Mary is dead. "So there you are, James. Did you get
the letter? Did you find Mary? If not, let's get going already." - she urges
him to go. Even when James tells her the truth ("Mary's gone. She's dead. I
killed her"), she still can't believe that her hope is forever lost ("Liar!
That's a lie!"), but finally accepts the truth and pours out all the pain of
this acceptance on James ("I knew it! You didn't care about her! I hate you,
James! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" - another similarity to Mary: "I
was so angry all the time and I struck out at everyone I loved most.
Especially you, James.") and leaves the hotel.
So, what will happen to her next?
If we take the Leave ending into account, then James and Laura accept reality
and leave the town together to start a new life, keeping the sweet memory of
Mary in their hearts. But according to SH4 Leave never happened. Then, maybe
Laura left the town and found her happiness alone? Or does she retain her hope
and keep on searching the town?
Team Silent decided to leave the end of Laura's story open...
Quote: "Huh? Are you blind or something?"
Metaphor: "Looking for happiness"
Symbol: Cat
Music "Theme of Laura" , "Laura plays the piano"
Name: According to LM, the name is taken from the book "No language but a
cry", written after real events, in which a little girl was fried on a frying
pan by her mentally sick parents (remember Alessa and Dahlia). After this
Laura didn't speak ("a tale of birds WITHOUT A VOICE" and "SILENT Hill" - see
the similarity?).
By the time she was 12, she was deemed schizophrenic and was sent to a
catholic church to spend her days as a "vegetable" (remember Wish House and
the flowers).
In short, nobody believed that this girl could be returned to normal - but one
doctor doctor D'Ambrosio didn't lose hope and took her in for treatment. Was
he successful? Can Laura deal with her shock and speak again? Can she find
happiness with D'Ambrosio's help? Read the book :)
I think, the conceptual link between this book and Silent Hill is obvious.
2-5 Mary Sunderland (Shepherd) - the path of life of Mary Sunderland
Age - 25
Occupation - Unknown
In the Midwich school level of SH1 we could find a drawing of a cat (a very...
strange cat, indeed) labeled "Mary" - could Mary have spent her childhood in
SH? At that time Mary was... hey, it fits quite nice - by that time Mary
should've been in school.
In her early twenties, Mary was living in Ashfield, which is not far from
Silent Hill, as we know. There she met James Sunderland (whose father, Frank
Sunderland, probably gave them a room in South Ashfield Heights for free). For
some reason, the gloomy clerk attracted her (She writes about him: "It's true
he may be a little surly sometimes, and he doesn't laugh much. But underneath
he's really a sweet person." Well, maybe it was just the free room that
attracted her. Just kidding =) )
And so, they married and began their happy new life together ("We had some
wonderful years together"). James worked as a clerk and Mary was a good
housewife, tried to learn to play the piano ("I remember how much Mary likd
playing the piano"), paint ("She even showed me all her pictures." - says
Laura) etc.
A kind housewife + an introverted melancholic clerk = ideal family. Or does it?
Three years before the events of SH2, the young couple visits the nearby
resort town of Silent Hill. Why Silent Hill? As we know, it is advertised on
the Ashfiel radio station ("Come 2 Silent Hill 4 the ultimate peaceful
getaway!"). They were right with their choice (or wrong. In the long run.).
The time in Silent Hill was the best time in their lives - they spent a whole
day in Rosewater Park, staring at the lake, spent a fun evening in the
Lakeview Hotel (maybe Mary even played the piano there) and room 312 became
their "special place". And everything would be good, if not for the fact that
Mary already had a terminal illness then (remember James' tape), but refused
to accept it ("I just didn't want to accept it.") and James also didn't
notice, that his beloved wife is ill (or didn't WANT TO notice? When looking
at the photo, he still says that she was healthy, although she obviously
couldn't have been). Probably, Mary caught the thing in Ashfield.
After their vacation ended, they came back to Ashfield, and only then James
started to take action. But it was too late and Mary couldn't be saved ("I'm
afraid I'm not sure. 3 years at most.... Perhaps 6 months... It's impossible
to say with certainty. "). The happy days departed.
Mary was admitted into St.Jerome's Hospital (the Sunderlands' neighbor -
Rachel - was a nurse there), but she didn't believe in any miraculous cure
("It's be easier if they'd just kill me. But I guess the hospital is making a
nice profit off me, they want to keep me alive..."), yet didn't want to die
and WANTED to believe in the possibility of it, but knew, that death was
inevitable. Pain, sorrow, despair. This suffering, paired with the suffering
from her inner conflict, she took out on James.
She realized, that this illness is not only taking her own life, but is
hurting her husband. She always wanted him to leave ("Just go home already",
"Get the hell out of here" , "Leave me alone already!" , "Are you still
here?", "Don't come back!"). The central word here is "Leave". In reality, she
wanted him to leave her, to stop suffering for her, to start a new life. She
wanted to end his pain, but couldn't find the right words and just inflicted
more pain. Although, Mary also couldn't sever her link with this world (i.e.
with James) - she still wanted to believe that she could be saved, wanted him
to chase away her despair ("James.... Wait.... Please don't go.... Stay with
me. Don't leave me alone. I didn't mean what I said. Please James.... Tell me
I'll be okay. Tell me I'm not going to die. Help me...")
This went on for 2 years. For 2 long years, during which Mary lay in her
hospital bed, staring at the ceiling most of the time, living only in her
memories. In her thoughts, she returned to Silent Hill time and again, going
deeper and deeper into her subconscious world, her Sacred Grounds. Even though
her body was in the hospital, her mind was in the foggy resort town. Thus, she
got more and more stuck in her world of memories. How she wanted to return
there with James...
She waited for James, but didn't want him to come, because he would have to
suffer seeing her again. During her third year in the hospital, she met a
small girl named Laura there. The two quickly became friends - a girl,
striving to find the happiness she never had, and a woman, who can only
remember the happiness that will never be again. She held onto Laura to keep
herself from drowning in sorrow - they talked about Silent Hill, reviving
Mary's sweet memories of the town, and Laura found in her the mother, whom she
never had ("I love you like my very own daughter. If things had worked out
differently, I was hoping to adopt you."). Mary even wanted to adopt her, but
knew that this would never happen.
This went on for a year, but one day Mary finally left the hospital ("It's not
that I'm getting better. It's just that this may be my last chance..."). She
was so eager to get home that she probably didn't wait for Laura to show up
and left her a letter, same as she did for James and asked Rachel to give it
to her husband (she asked Rachel because she was their neighbor).
She returned to SAHapts to James and wanted to visit Silent Hill for the last
time in her life. But her condition was getting worse and worse and it was
obvious that she wouldn't survive the journey. And so, she spent her remaining
days with her husband, slowly dying before his eyes. One night, he decided to
end this three-year long nightmare. He waited for her to fall asleep and
smothered her with a pillow. Here's a lullaby to close your eyes...Goodbye.
Rest in peace, Mary and may you have the sweetest of dreams in your pocket of
eternity.
Now he only had to comply with her last wish - take her to Silent Hill. "The
real reason I came to this town.I wonder what was I afraid of? Without you,
Mary, I've got nothing...."
But did Mary's personality really die, or was she left to forever wander the
restless dreams of Silent Hill?
"Be then released from the bonds of the flesh, and gain the Power of Heaven."
Mary is dead - long live Mary! WIll her memories go on living in the town of
her dreams? "Well, I'm alone there now... In our "special place" Waiting for
you..."
Will she meet her husband and dive with him into the world of their memories,
or is she doomed to wait for him in her world forever alone? Will James
abandon her? This will be decided by your actions in the game.
Quote: "In my restless dreams, I see that town... Silent Hill" (the famous
quote that send the heart of SH fans all over the globe racing)
Metaphor: "Drowning in memories"
Symbol: Water
Music: Promise, Magdalene, Waiting for You
Name: If James' name was inspired by Jack the Ripper, then we could try to
find Mary under the same topic. The name is derived from Mary Kelly - Jack's
victim, who lived with a man named Joseph, who was suspected of being the
Ripper.
2-6. Maria, part 1 (real)
Age - 25
Occupation - dancer in Heaven's Night
When visiting Heaven's Night, James saw a strip dancer, performing under the
stage name "Maria". Looking at the posters in the restroom at the beginning of
SH2 and in SH3 we can see that she actually has LONG DARK HAIR. James did not
remember her face, but her name was stuck in his memory (probably because the
similarity with his wife's name and their age. )
2-7. Maria, part 2 (subconscious)
Mary is still imprisoned in her coccoon of suffering and loneliness, the
restless dreams of Silent Hill. But some day, a beautiful butterfly will
emerge from this coccoon. What will it look like?
The long three years went on. Three painful years. James was tired, tired of
waiting, tired of hoping - he already knew, that Mary is lost to him, that his
happiness will die with her.
Suffering, despair, loneliness... "And that's why you needed this "Maria"
person?" James needed someone, who would be close to him, who would support
him, someone to replace Mary for him. And then, he created a new Mary for
himself - a perfect woman, who would fulfill all his dreams and give back his
lost happiness.
---------------------------------
a) Appearance analysis.
So, how would a "girl of his dreams" look? She must look like Mary, of course,
but be much more open ("I can be yours..." - "Don't you want to touch me? Come
and get me "), always cheerful and kind ("And I'll never yell at you or make
you feel bad."). For some reason, James associated the image of a perfect
woman with a certain strip dancer from the bar Heaven's Night - "Lady Maria".
Thus, her name. I should note, that James still loved Mary, so his image of a
"dream girl" was highly affected by the image of his wife. She must be a
blonde, because, according to some stereotypes "Don't you think blondes have
more fun?". Red and pink colors prevail in Maria's clothing - this is
obviously the result of his frequent visits to Heaven's Night.
She has a butterfly tattoo - James' association with "night butterfly". Also,
there is coin hanging on her neck. It means love for money and is just a cute
strip accessory.
For these three years, James dreamt of this perfect woman, his wife dying from
the disease. And, after some time, this image took root in his subconscious
world and became part of it.
---------------------------------
So, Maria exists in James's world (his memories of the town), because James
associates her with this place. Her only purpose is the fulfillment of his
desires ("I can be yours... I'll be here for you forever. And I'll never yell
at you or make you feel bad. That's what you wanted"). James himself the
reason she exists - her Fate, her God. Can this be called love? To live only
for the lived one, to bring him\her happiness - is this not love? Maria has no
past (at first she thinks she is a real strip dancer, but soon realizes that
she knows nothing about herself, apart from a few of James' speculations) and
not even a future (she's not even real!).
To live only for the loved one. The most terrible thing is that her love is
already doomed - James has rejected her ("Maria...? It's you... But I don't
need you anymore." - the "dream girl" was just a toy for his injured mind and
now James tosses IT away), he needs Mary - the Mary he knew, dressed the same,
acting the same (nostalgia at its worst!).
Now that he has once again gained Hope (the letter), Maria has lost her
purpose ("I don't have any reason to go on living" - says Maria, holding the
revolver to her head). She is left alone, abandoned by the person she loves
("When I woke up, I was all alone.") - what is she to do? Try and get James'
love back ("Do I fight and live?") or give up and cease to exist?
Maria cannot stay alone - she has been created for another purpose: to beclose
to people, to be social, thanks to James' imagination. Thus, she tries to find
at least one person in the town. Somebody, who could become a new reason for
her to exist. But it is all for naught, the only denizens of James' world are
monsters and herself.
But, as I have already stated in this PA, the subconscious world (and their
energies) have the ability to mix ("other worlds began to force their way into
his universe and it began to swell horribly") and merge into "White Noiz". At
one moment, James' world comes in contact with the world of Ernest Baldwin.
Maria finally finds a person to communicate with (and to explore his world -
the mansion from his memories). But she confronts the very same problem - he
does not need her ("Would you leave me alone?"). No matter how she tries to
get closer to him - all useless. He just uses her to get the White Chrism,
needed to resurrect his daughter.
-------------------------
b) Interesting fact concerning Maria's hair color
In "Making of SH2" Sato Takayoshi makes an interesting remark about Maria's
hair color: "I think she is a brunette. She's not blond, she dyed red, but
then she dyed... she bleached". Notice the three colors - black (brunette),
red ("she dyed red") and white ("she bleached"). Remind you of anything? What
color are the tablets she has to arrange in her scenario? Black, red and
white. And what are the ingredients of the ritual to "resurrect the dead"?
Blood (red), Obsidian goblet (black) and White Chrism (white). Another link to
the theme of Rebirth.
-------------------------
Thus, Maria could not escape her fate. She is bound to James and no one else.
And she obeys fate (Maria: What if I had said I believed in Fate? Ernest: That
James, he's a bad man. Maria: James...? Y,yes...... I know.") - she decides to
fight for James' attention and love. She decides to play her part of the
seductress.
Will James reject the girl from his dreams, or will he love her back?
At this time, the worlds continue to mix... James's world gradually draws in
Mary's world of memories, that still exists in the foggy town.
-----------------------
c) Rebirth
Do you remember what happened to Eileen Galvin in SH4? "She's being taken
over...The Mother Reborn" - Walter's memories, that existed in his world,
forced their way into her mind.
Maria is a similar case - Mary's memories are reborn through her ("...Maria
has Mary's memories" - LM). Memories of the hotel, for example ("Remember that
time in the hotel... You said you took everything... But you forgot that
videotape we made. I wonder if it's still there... : How do you know
about that! Aren't you Maria?").
Mary's memories (and her psychic energy as well) merged with James' world and
were channeled through Maria (because Maria was somewhat of an impersonation
of Mary, thus she absorbed Mary's energy) - this was the beginning of Mary's
Rebirth (and Maria starts to show signs of a split personality. Or rather,
"mixed personality" - "It doesn't matter who I am..."). Out of the coccoon of
pain came a beautiful butterfly.
-----------------------
But can James see the shadow of his wife in Maria? Or does he only need his
"nostalgic" Mary?
Quote : "It doesn't matter who I am... I'm here for you, James."
Metaphor: Butterfly of Rebirth.
Symbol: Butterfly
Music : "Heaven's Night" , "Overdose Delusion"
Name: The name "Maria" comes from the Chrisitan Mary - mother of Jesus, the
Godmother. In some way, Maria is also a Godmother (similar to SH4's "Mother
Reborn") because the memories of Mary are reborn in her. The memories, which
are to become one of the "Gods" of James' subconscious world.
2-8. Ernest Baldwin.
Ernest Baldwin was a member of what one might call Silent Hill's aristocratic
layer of society, owning a large luxurious mansion filled with "difficult
books" ("The bookshelf is lined with complete editions of difficult-looking
books.") - overall, an intelligent man. Some years ago he lived happily with
his daughter Amy, who was center of his attention and the meaning of his life.
But then...
November... A sad month... 10 years ago in November little Amy Baldwin fell
out of the window. An accident, nobody's fault. She was taken by God at an age
of 7 ("She was loved too much by God. Seven years was not enough time."). But
the death of his beloved daughter turned Ernest's life in a different
direction - he has lost his child, lost the meaning of his life, his hope and
future ("Along with you died joy. All that remains is despair and a future of
meaningless tomorrows.")... His life has stopped, he could not go on without
Amy (remember James: "Without you, I just can't go on. I can't live without
you, Mary.") But he still hoped. Somehow he learned of a ritual known in a
cult, indigenous to Silent Hill, as the ritual of the Holy Assumption. Will
the ancient Gods hear Ernest's plea? Will they return the life of his
daughter? In any way, he had nothing else to try, and so he did. He sacrificed
his life to bring her. Did he believe that a miracle would happen? Simply put,
no. He didn't. When Maria asks "Do you really think it will work?" he only
gives her a doubtful "I don't know...". Moreover, he didn't even complete the
Holy Assumption because he couldn't find the White Chrism - we see that deep
down in his soul Baldwin never believed that some sort of occult ritual could
bring his daughter back. After he freed himself from the chains of the flesh
and gained the Power of Heaven, he became trapped in the world of his
memories, his subconscious world. But as he didn't believe in Amy's
resurrection, no miracle happened in this world. Now he is doomed to forever
"haunt" the mansion in eternal loneliness and despair. If only he BELIEVED,
everything could turn out differently.
A lot of time passed since then, but the Baldwin mansion was never occupied
(the new owners risked a similar fate as the owner of Room 302 in SAHapts).
Sinister rumors have spread over the town about the "Baldwin Haunted Mansion".
Ernest's consciousness has been trapped in his world all this time - he could
not leave the house of his memories. At first, he did not realize that he was
death, but soon he found out the truth ("By the time I found out about it, I
could no longer leave this house."). He will forever be in this lonely world,
where there is no place for people - but it is for the best. Others would just
annoy him, disturb his solitude, his reminiscence of the times when Amy was
alive. He did not forget - that day still lives in Ernest's memory. There are
things, that we can forget, and there are things, that we can never forget. He
did not know what was worse - to forget, or to remember... On one hand, these
memories were painful, he suffered, but on the other hand - Amy continued to
live in her father's thought and to forget her would mean forgetting the
dearest memories.
Thus, Baldwin drowned in his endless mourning of his daughter, became a part
of Silent Hill... But strange things have been happening lately. Ernest's
world started to flux and overlap with the world of another - James
Sunderland. Could it be because these people were similar? Both James and
Ernest lost their loved ones and because of this lost their will to live? This
cannot be known. But the fact remains - the silence, that has claimed its
place in the Baldwin Mansion, is broken with the coming of Maria from James'
world. She has yet to realize her purpose, but Ernest can perceive James'
world just as Maria can perceive his - and he learns the mystery of her birth
("You were born in this town."). Now, Ernest has once again gained Hope - even
if can't leave the mansion to get the White Chrism, he can use Maria to fetch
it from another's world ("Maria...? So you must be... That's why. That's why
you could see me. So perhaps that means that I can hope for a miracle as well?
In the apartment next door, there is a bottle containing a white liquid.").
Although, Ernest is still doubting the success of his endeavor, he at least
hopes that if the ritual is performed correctly a miracle can happen.
It is understandable, that after getting the White Chrism Baldwin will once
again try to perform the Holy Assumption - but will it bring his daughter
back? This question is left open. Well, it is his own world and only that will
come to be, what he believes in.
Quote: Along with you died joy. All that remains is despair and a future of
meaningless tomorrows. But I will never give up. One, to see your beautiful
smile again. One, to beg the blessings of the Gods. I wait for that day.
Metaphor: Prisoner of sad memories
Symbol: The three tablets
Name: The meaning of his name is revealed in the game itself. It is taken from
Ernest Hemingway, who, by the way, committed suicide in 1961.
2-9. Amy Baldwin
Ernest's seven-year-old daughter lived a happy life with her father in Baldwin
Mansion. She liked plush toys, fairy tales and loved playing with matches -
just as all little children do. But most importantly - she loved her father
more than anyone else. His birthday was in November - Amy even bought him a
pretty postcard ("TO MY DEAREST DADDY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! FROM AMY BALDWIN") and
gloves to keep his hands warm during winter - with these gloves it would be
fun to play snowballs... She wanted to make it a surprise and decided to hide
the presents in the attic. Apparently, the attic was quite dark and she forgot
the matches in her room, so she couldn't light the lamp. So, the girl opened
the window to look at the postcard again, but suddenly Ernest came into the
attic, startled her and she fell out of the window. That is why she was
holding an open envelope - Ernest realized it only after all that time
("Now... when it's too late, I finally understand why. Why she was there...
Why she was holding the empty envelope in her hand when she... when she
fell."). Now, without his daughter, Ernest's life has lost its meaning, his
joy died. But he has one last hope - he tries to resurrect her through an
ancient ritual...
Worthy of note is the occult magazine from SH3, which says that people, who
died a sudden death, can still exist (as psychic energy), not realizing their
death. And when Maria picks up the postcard, she hears a girl's voice: "Give
it... to my daddy...". Is this just Maria's imagination, or does Amy still
live in the mansion after death, just as her father does? Could it be that she
is living in her world and some day it will come in contact with Ernest's
world, just as James' world did? Then Amy and Ernest can once again be
together and find happiness after death.
2-10. Walter Sullivan in the context of SH2. (also see Part 4, 4-1)
We find mentions of Walter in SH2, but, of course, in the light of the
different psychological themes, the meaning is a bit different.
Judging by the newspaper (not taking SH4 into account for now) we can assume
that Walter Sullivan killed two chldren, but could not take the weight of
guilt and also descended into a world of delusions. He believed, that he
wasn't guilty ("...it wasn't me!"), tried to hide from the truth, but deep
down knew that their death is his doing. Note the phrase "I did it, but it
wasn't me!" - he says he did it, but instantly contradicts himself. But, [now
he's talking about SH4 too - Translator's note] maybe there are two identities
inside him - a bloody murderer (the man in coat, who perform the 21
Sacraments) and the other - a weird university student, who "didn't look like
the type of guy who would kill kids"? So, Sullivan murdered the children, but
it was the other Sullivan - the man in coat. This explains his phrase quite
well.
Walter also mentioned a Red Devil (from SH4 we learn that it was Jimmy Stone),
who was trying to punish him. Does this remind you of something? We can assume
(again, without taking SH4), that Walter's feeling of guilt started to pursue
him and finally drew him to suicide. Walter stabbed himself in the neck with a
spoon. The very same way the PyramidHeads do. This is not a coincidence, but a
result of James reading about the maniac. For some reason, James associated
himself with the maniac... hmm... what kind of reason is that, I wonder? Did
James do something bad? %)
James and Walter have similarities - both carry the weight of guilt, both are
prisoners of delusions.. And if remember the Rebirth ending, in which James
perform the Holy Assumption to resurrect Mary...
By the way, in SH2 we can visit Sullivan's grave. Interesting... "Walter
Sullivan" is written on the gravestone. It becomes even more interesting after
we learn, that Walter was buried in an unmarked grave ("His body was buried in
a cemetery just outside his hometown of Silent Hill in an UNMARKED grave"), so
his name couldn't have been there. So why did Walter see it? Do the memories
of Walter Sullivan still live in the foggy town?

2-11. Joseph Barkin

The authors of SH2 once said that they planned to main characters for the game
- one was to be named James, another - Joseph ("In the initial stages of the
scenario, the two characters we had were Joseph and James"). I assume the
Joseph in question was Joseph Barkin. Later, Joseph's line as a main character
was dropped and only James was left as protagonist. But the character of
Joseph wasn't abandoned. We finds mentions of him in the game and can even
trace his history. Let's take a look at how the plot could look, had Konami
left him.
Joseph Barkin was a patient in Brookhaven Hospital. He suffered from a mental
disorder. Most of the time he was calm, but when overly excited, he became
violent.
The cause of his disorder was the death of his beloved daughter Louise, which
Barkin blamed himself for ("His illness seems to be rooted in the fact that he
believes he is guilty of causing his daughter's death"). Unable to cope with
the guilt, he started seeing hallucinations ("His symptoms suggest a psychotic
break and paranoid delusions") and crossed over to his own world - a world,
where he is happy, where he can be with his daughter forever. Reality left him
only a piece of Louise's hair, but he guraded its image in his world with zeal
("Louise I'll take care of you four ever. It's my destiny!"). So, is it really
necessary to drag a man out of the world, where he is happy, just so he can be
"normal"? The answer to this question avoided even the director of the
hospital...
-----------------------------
a) Barkin's feature
It is strange to see, that Joseph - a grown-up man, a father - could't write.
Maybe he never went to school? All his notes contain terrible mistakes ("I
took the direckter's key I took the direckters's key - the one to the
mooseum.") - his style is easily recongnizable among the other notes. What
other character in the SH series couldn't write? Young Walter Sullivan -
spending his time in the orphanage, he seems to have never learned to write
properly. Maybe Joseph is from Wish House too... who know. He buried the key
under the statue of one of the Cult's founders... what could this mean?
b) The box
Joseph put his most sacred treasure in a metal box and locked it with four
locks... The hair of his daughter - the memories of her, which he will keep
forever. Also, by locking what remained of her away in a box Joseph wanted to
forget, that she died in reality - if he forgets it, then the guilt will
leave. Yes, now he believes that Louise is still alive and writes "I'm not a
krimminal", no longer blaming himself for her death.
--------------------------
For some reason, Joseph was locked up in the Special Treatment Room on the 3rd
floor.
--------------------------
c) The secret name
In of the rooms we find a message - "Tern tern tern the numbers better not
forget them So i'll right them down here The other one, my secret name". This
is Barkin's writing. But what is it - he writes down a four-digit code and
calls it HIS SECRET NAME. Four digits! Think Walter's ritual, where every
victim received a such a "name". Maybe Joseph wanted to perform a ritual to
resurrect his daughter?
--------------------------
After some time, when Joseph calmed down, he was let out ("If Joseph looks
calm, he can be taken out of his cell"). But then he steals the director's key
("key I took the direckters's key - the one to the mooseum. I hid it behind
the preying woman when I went out for the day trip. I picked it up but I did
not steal it. I'm not a krimminal") and hides it behind the Statue of Jennifer
Carroll ("The key to the society is in the park. At the foot of the praying
woman, inside of the ground, inside of a box. To open it, I need a wrench. My
patient buried it there. I knew, but I did nothing"). But why did Joseph steal
the key? So that nobody can find it. The museum hold the history of Silent
Hill, the Ultimate Truth. But people look for peace, not truth ("I wasn't
looking for the truth, I was looking for tranquility."). Sweet lies are always
better than hard truth - that is why the director was uneasy with having the
key ("It made me uneasy to have such a thing near") and that is why the
patient decided to bury the key of Truth in the ground - just as he buried the
painful memories of Louise's death in the depths of his subconsciousness.
But what will James Sunderland choose? The Ultimate Truth or a world of
illusions? Well, truth often betrays people...
------------------------
d) Joseph Barkin and James Sunderland.
What is the difference between Joseph and James? One blamed himself for the
death of his daughter, while really innocent, another killed his wife and
believed that she died from a disease. Both men couldn't take reality and
believed, that their dead loved ones are still alive. This was easier... But
if Joseph tried to hide from the truth, James delves deeper and deeper into
his own mind and moves closer to the realization of the crime. One after
another, he opens the boxes buried in the depth of his mind and remembers what
he wanted to forget...
Quote: Louise I'll take care of you four ever. It's my destiny!
Metaphor: Hiding from truth
Symbol: a locked box
Name: Joseph was the name of another suspect in the Jack the Ripper case. In
that case phrase "I'm not a krimminal" makes perfect sense ;)
2-12 Jack Davis
Another patient of Brookhaven, Jack Davis has a history of 3 suicide attempts.
Strange, seeing as how he has no reason to kill himself, had a family... He
was a calm patient, always followed the doctors' instructions, but sometimes
he just becomes suicidal - maybe the attraction to death is in his nature?
-----------------------------
a) Davis' feature
Unlike Barkin and Lewis, Davis can write properly - his grammar, spelling and
punctuation are perfect. There are only two notes by him in the game - "The
basement's basement" and "Diary from the roof".
b) The basement's basement.
One day Jack found himself in the dark "Basement's basement" - a very dark,
scary place (probably in his subconscious world). He was so scared, that he
dropped his most precious thing - the ring. Jack has a family, so it's
probably his engagement ring... But however precious it was to him, he
couldn't find the courage to look into the dark "basement's basement" of his
soul.
c) Diary from the roof
It may be that this diary is not real, but just a manifestation of Jack's
thoughts, that James receives. What do we learn from this diary? During the
period from 9th to 13th of May, Jack has been staying in Brookhaven. It is
raining outside ("Rain as usual") and the rain often leads to sad thoughts.
Davis is going into a deep depression - he thinks, that the doctors wouldn't
have even tried to save him, were it not for his family. He reflects on his
own uselesness and misery, on how he creates problems for others ("I don't
want to cause any more trouble for anyone, but I'm a bother either way") -
thought that maybe it's better for him to die. Life became a terrible burden
for him ("It's too hard like this. It's just to hard....") and he sees suicide
as the onyl way out ("Can it really be a such a sin to run instead of
fight?... It may be selfish, but it's what I want")...
But finally he is let out to his family. Here we see an unfinished sentence...
If we remember that James falls from the roof, it's only logical to assume,
that right before he was let out, he jumped from the roof... "I also like the
rooftop. It makes me want to fly. You too?"
Attraction to death, low self-esteem, reflections on powerlessness and
uselesness - Jack Davis and Angela Orosco have a lot in common.
Metaphor: It's too hard like this. It's just to hard....
Symbol: Diary from the roof
Name: Probably taken from Jack the Ripper, but also a name in the line of
mentally sick people - Jack-Joseph-Joshua... you want to put James there too,
don't you?
2-13. Joshua Lewis.
The most emotionally unstable patient with a long history of hospitalization.
He likes to solve problems the violent way, which leads to agressive behaviour
and numerous displays of violence. He is also very paranoid. Judging by his
notes (about the demon in the box and the angel of the door) we can assume
that he was a cult member.
--------------
a) Joshua's feature
Unlike Joseph, Joshua's writing is grammatically correct, but he almost
completely ignores punctuation. This is the characteristic, by which we can
tell his notes from the others'. There are two notes by him - "She is an
angel" and "Imprint on carbon paper".
b) She is an angel
Some time ago Joshua started to see "the door lady" - Jennifer Carroll. He
thinks, that she devours all sinners, but will save him. So, Joshua thought
himself completely innocent. He shows a special disgust in sin ("they fall
from the weight of their crimes like bloated and ugly corpses their sins she
devours them sin and sinner alike"), characteristic of religious fanatics -
his agression probably comes from his religious views, his desire to punish
sinners.
c) Imprint on carbon paper
Joshua learned the code to Barkin's box somehow ("i know it i know the number
of the box *random code* it cant help him anymore the button key doesnt scare
me") - but he doesn't know that there is just a hair inside. He writes: "i
know the secret i'll give them something to deal with this DEMON shelter is of
no use any more he is my instrument he must follow my orders yes, the box will
be useless now i must not forget it *random code* that's good he is the lowest
now i too will be free and he will serve me i am a genius no one can stop me
one can stop me no one can stop me can stop can stop no no" - Lewis believed
that there's a demon living in the box (well a DEMON in the box goes well with
an ANGEL on the door) and if he opens it, the demon would be his to control
("he will serve me") and will help him get out of the hospital ("now i too
will be free").
Notice, that Lewis' thoughts get confused towards the end start to resemble a
madman's ravings. He gets so confused in his delusions, that he forgets who he
is - "who i am i don't know who i am is who i am is who i am is".
Quote: i am a genius no one can stop me one can stop me no one can stop me can
stop can stop no no
Symbol: Demon in a box
Name: Joshua is a name in line with other patients. Jack-Joseph-Joshua... you
want to put James there too, don't you?
2-14. Director of Brookhaven Hospital
The director was a very important man in the hospital and worked alongside the
other doctors to help the patients. But what help did they need exactly? Must
the doctor free his patient from suffering, or show them the grim truth,
making them suffer and destroying their world? The director didn't know the
answer to this... Why drag someone outside of the world, where they are happy?
Truth betrays people, so maybe it's better to lock it up in a box and bury it,
so it won't inflict any more pain.
--------------
The director and Joseph
Some time in the past, the director was working with a patient named Joseph
Barkin - a man, who blamed himself for his daughter's death. The patient
locked the painful memories away in a metaphorical box and locked it with 4
metaphorical keys (just like Murakami's "metaphorical seals") and gave one of
the keys to the director. The director decided not to open the box and show
the patient the painful truth, and the metaphorical key was left lying
somewhere in the hospital.
A while later, when the patients were taking a walk, Joseph stole the key to
the Historical Society from the director and put it in a metal box, which he
buried under the statue of Jennifer Carroll.
--------------
The museum is the place, which holds the history of Silent Hill - the Ultimate
Truth... Truth about the executions, about the reason Brookhaven was built and
about the first director. The director had the key, but he was uneasy with
having such a thing. That is why he did nothing, when one of the patients
stole it. He just wanted peace and tranquility. Later, he caught "the plague"
himself and started to see his own and\or his patients' subconscious world ("I
also saw that thing. I fled, but the museum was sealed as well").
Well, now he is also a part of Silent Hill, doomed to an endless existance in
the "Otherworld" of the town. In SH2 we can find letters from him, adressed
directly to James. Of course, these are not real letters, but realizations of
his thoughts.
2-15. Jennifer Carroll (+ analysis of "she is an angel")
Jennifer Carroll - a woman killed by christians. A statue of her can be found
in Rosewater Park. The monument was created so that future generations can
remember the tragedy, that happened because of the religious conflicts and
don't repeat the mistakes of the past ("What happened here shall never be
forgotten"). Also, Carroll street is named after her.
Later we will learn that Jennifer, as one of the founders of the cult, is a
saint of its religion. We can even assume that she participated in the first
birth of God.
Also, we can find mentions of her in Brookhaven Hospital. Let us take a look
at the "She is an angel" note and try to decypher its meaning:
"She is an angel no one knows only I can see the Lady of the Door they cannot
walk along her Bridge of Thread they fall from the weight of their crimes like
bloated and ugly corpses their sins she devours them sin and sinner alike she
saves me she is an angel"
Okay. "She is an angel" - this is a direct reference to the statue in the
park, which was made right after she was KILLED by the christians near Toluca
Lake. She was probably THROWN INTO THE LAKE and her body is still there.
Notice, that people fall from her "Bridge of Thread" from the weight of their
sins and she "DEVOURS" them. Get it already? No? Okay...
Toluca Lake - 1918, "The little baroness". A tourist ship disappeared and was
never found - as if the lake DEVOURED it. And in the town itself, rumors
abound, that DEAD MEN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE drag people down. In the
hospital we can even see a picture of bony fingers reaching towards the
battery. "Many corpses rest at the bottom of this lake. Their bony hands reach
up towards the boats that pass overhead. Perhaps they reach for their
comrades". Now, I think, everything is clear.
The "Bridge of Thread" is basically Toluca Lake - sinners cannot cross,
because they drown from the weight of their sins. As if Jennifer Carroll still
lives in the dark waters of the lake, taking sinners away to punish them. Of
course, it could be just rumors and speculations... But what if the thoughts
and memories of the dead draw people into subconscious worlds? Maybe a part of
this story is true?
Metaphor: Unwavering faith under death's blade.
Symbol: Angel
Name: Named after Jonathan Carroll - a horror writer, who wrote books, such as
"The land of laughs" and "After Silence".
2-16. The Orosco family (also see 2-2)
The torn photo of the Oroscos can be found in WSA.
a) Angela - see 2-2.
b) Mother - Angela calls her "mama" - such words are usually used only by
small children. Maybe in Angela's memory, she remained as "mama"? "It's been
so long since I've seen her" - this leads me to assume, that Angela's mother
died in a fire (look at her world) when she was a little girl.
c) Angela's brother - there is exactly nothing known about him other than that
he's dead. Probably died in the fire along with his mother.
d) Thomas Orosco - after losing his wife and son, Thomas started drinking and
of course cause no small amount of trouble to his daughter - beat her up and
probably even raped her. The Abstract Father is a symbol of Angela's past. It
looks like two bodies, lying under a bedsheet, with one figure lying on the
other. Notice, that the one "under" has a mouth and it looks like the figure
is giving out silent screams of pain - that is what Angela's past with her
drunkard of a father looked like... One day she couldn't take it anymore and
tried to run away, but Thomas found her and brought her home. He probably
loved her, because she was his last close person - but he couldn't deal with
his pain alone and Angela wouldn't help him. It was probably then that Angela
killed him with a knife. Later we can find a newspaper article describing this
and even the murder weapon itself.
2-17. The Great DOG ("Mira")
Around your third run through the game James can find a doghouse with a key
(further proof, that he can perceive Alessa's world) - but what does this key
open? Undoubtedly, it is the key to all of SH2's mysteries! It opens the
Observation Room...
Oh, My doG!!! WTF is THAT!? We see a well-lit room filled with computer
equipment... and we see a DOG. Not just a DOG, but the Great DOG - headphones
on, it's busy manipulating the levers. On the monitor we spot the faces of
James and Maria! That's it! All the events of SH2 are the masterplan of the
Great DOG!!!
----------------
a) the DOG
I think all of you want to know WHY the Great DOG. "doG" is "God" writteb
backwards =). Thus, the Great DOG is the true God of Silent Hill (if only the
cult knew, WHO they worship...). Well, it's "God" backwards, so the Devil of
Silent Hill would be more appropriate...
DOG lives. Just look around you!
Just think of the phrases said by cult members now. How do you like "My
daughter will be the Mother of DOG" , "DOG? Are you sure you don't mean Devil"
or "Only those who hearken to the voice of DOG will be given the keys to
Paradise".
----------------
We see that the DOG is all-powerful. It controls everything in SH.
Essentially, it is a God, that rules the fluxing mass of subconscious world in
the town, just by moving levers. But the DOG does not only control the
"Otherworld". There have been rumors, that Mira is a great guitar player and
sometimes even gives performances in Heaven's Night... Could James have seen
the DOG there? Then his remark ("So it was all your work!") makes sense - he
has met the DOG before.
----------------
b) "Yeah, I killed that DOG. It was fun."
Can the Great DOG have any connection to Eddie? As we know, everything in the
SH plot is interconnected. Let's see: Eddie kills a dog, the dog dies in great
pain ("It tried to chew its own guts out! Finally died all curled up in a
ball") - but that looks almost like a sacrifice! The DOG went through the same
things Walter Sullivan did - it created its own world and now lives in and
rules it. Moreover, when its world started to mix with other, it took control
of the rest of SH too... looks bad.
c) the CAT
Now that we know the meaning of the DOG ending, it becomes absolutely clear
why Laura draws a CAT in the hotel. Thing is, that there is a... *drum roll*
...Great CAT living in SH - it is a representation of all good things. Laura
doesn't see any meat, blood and monsters thanks to the Great CAT's protection.
Apparently, the Great DOG and the Great CAT are always at odds and to thwart
the evil plans of the Great DOG, people must spread the mark of the Great CAT
through the town, which Laura did.
----------------
In the end, James collapses to his knees in front of the Great Dog and it
licks him, which represents forgiveness and repentance. And then it shows him
a set of funny pictures, accompanied by a track called "Bark!". Finally, James
will find his happiness. These pictures will make him fall over from laughter
and forget all the suffering of his past...
---------------
d) Alternate explanation of the DOG ending
But that is not all. I have another explanation in store for you!
Along the course of the game James is tearing apart between his beloved Mary
and the sexy Maria, who could fulfill all his wishes... But in reality he
needed neither of the two... He desired only the DOG! Yes, only the DOG could
fulfill his wildest dreams... Only Mira could give James what neither Mary nor
Maria could...
And because the DOG was James most true and most secret desire its image was
also manifested in James' world. That is why the DOG now exist there and can
manipulate the events going on in James' world. Now James' search has ended
and he can be with his beloved Mira forever. Mira licks James and the song
follows. In the end we hear an erotic sigh... hmmm... what could that mean?
Quote: "Bark!"
Metaphor: The all-powerful Great DOG
Symbol: Control console
Music: "Bark!"
Name: "DOG" is "GOD" written backwards and "Mira" is derived from "Mary".
2-18. Other SH2 characters
a) Billy Lockane - one of the two children murdered by Walter Sullivan.
b) Miriam Lockane - was playing with her brother, when they both were attacked
by a maniac and chopped with a rusty axe.
c) Roger Widmark - a journalist, who wrote the tourist brochure on Silent
Hill. He was successfull in describing the peaceful atmosphere of the town.
d) Tim - a man, who was asked to look after a room in WSA, while the owner was
gone. We find the room in terrible disrepair - wet floor, broken windows, etc.
The owner apparently never reutrned to Silent Hill.
e) Uncle David - resident of WSA. He collects "strange" coins.
f) Patrick Chester - son of Edward Chester. Participated in the civil war. Has
a monument in Rosewater Park.
g) Edward Chester - father of Patrick Chester. Participated in the civil war.
His son has a monument in Rosewater Park.
h) Louise - Joseph Barkin's deceased daughter. We find a piece of her hair.
For some reason her father blamed himself for her death.
i) Allen Smith - author of "Waterfront Landscape" - a picture that shows the
Silent Hill landscape of the 1820-s (when there were few building). Later, the
picture was stolen from the SHHS.
j) Prison Warden - watching over the prisoners, this man noticed, that none of
them thinks himself guilty. Every man tries to justify his own deeds, however
terrible they are. His observations fit well with modern psychologists'
discoveries in a criminal's mind mechanisms. There is a "self-defense system"
in every mind, that, if needed, lowers the barriers of moral control and
allows the mind to justify the committed crime.
k) The hanged men - all these people were executed for different crimes. But
are they all guilty?
l) Miriam K - "traitor". We find her grave in the cemetary next to Walter
Sullivan's grave. Does the name remind you of someone. Of course, it's not a
coincidence.
Miriam KAY is a derivation of Miriam LoKAYne - the name of Walter's eighth
victim ("Judgement" Tarot card). She probably betrayed her brother somehow.
Obviously, the gravestone is just a hallucination, which was only a part of
James' world. Or was it? James could see other people's worlds too, so maybe
he saw Walter's world. Walter, being on bad terms with grammar, could have
written "LoKAYne"\
m) Johnny - the fire in Lakeview Hotel is his fault. The hot guy was so stupid
as to light up an oven right next to a curtain. Of course it caught fire
and... Now there's no hotel and no hot guy Johnny...

3. Characters of Silent Hill 3

CoMiNG REaLlY SOON!!

4. Characters of Silent Hill 4: The Room

The main character of SH4 is, of course, Walter Sullivan. Basically, the whole
plot revolves around him and his tragic story. So, in this section he will get
the most attention. I'll try to make my analysis as good as it is possible.
4-1. Walter Sullivan. The way of Walter.
Age: 24 (+10 years in his world)
Social Status: Univeristy Student
34 years before the events of SH4 a boy who was to be named Walter Sullivan
was in born in Room 302 of South Ashfield Heights. But this new life brought
joy neither to him, nor to his parents. He wasn't wanted, nobody needed him
("I told you we shouldn't have a baby, didn't I?!"). His parents abandoned him
soon after he was born and left him to die in Room 302 ("Ran off just like
thieves in the night." - Walter writes in his diary), leaving only a few
blurry images in his memory.
Abandoned babies usually died (and Walter had a good chance of not being found
in time, which is probably what his parents wanted - else, they could have
given him to someone). But what does not kill me, makes me stronger, right?
Memories of their first moments in life seem to haunt abandoned children for a
long, long time and Walter was not an exception.
For some time, he lay in Room 302. This apartment was the FIRST THING HE SAW
(many higher animals, including humans, tend to remember the first thing they
see as their mother - this is one of the reasons to Walter's delusions later
in life). Also there was his umbilical cord. He thought that it was the cord
that connected him to his mother (see how the image of his mother as an
APARTMENT forms step by step), but now this cord has been cut ("There once was
a baby and a mother who were connected by a magical cord. But one day the cord
was cut") and he was left in this cruel world, alone ("The baby was left all
alone.").
The newborn boy was supposed to die, Room 302 was supposed to be the first and
the last thing he saw. But, fortunately for him, this did not happen. The
superintendant - Frank Sunderland, found the baby before he died, called an
ambulance and Walter was taken to St.Jerome's hospital (the hospital not far
from SAHapts, where Rachel works and where Mary and Laura will be receiving
treatment), where he was at last saved. But did he really need or want to be
saved, only to be left in this life which brings only suffering? Maybe he
would've preferred to die in the apartment, next to his mother, than to
continue his existance in the horrifying "Hospital World"? As we see in the
game, the hospital made a terrible impression - his mother was somewhere far
away and he was surrounded by evil strangers.
The boy was named Walter Sullivan and soon sent to Silent Hill - to an
orphanage, belonging to the Silent Hill Smile Support Society charity
organization. To the Wish House. This was yet another unfortunate turn in
Walter's destiny - Wish House was run by the "red" sect, the members of which
believed in creating Paradise (and reviving God, of course) through violence
and blood sacrifice, refined in the ritual of the 21 Sacraments and the
Descent of the Holy Mother. The children were taught that the surrounding
world is hostile, that they should fear it (remember the note near the gate?)
and that only in the confines of the sect's temple were they safe. Safe like
in a mother's womb. Also they were taught the "red" scriptures and the sect's
understanding of God and Paradise. Jimmy Stone and George Rosten helped the
children learn to read (so that they could study the holy scriptures) and
write ("I like to write. Teacher told me how."). They told Walter about the
five sacred swords for fighting the souls of the dead, which fear only these
swords, magic medallions and candles. It was in the Wish House he learned
about the 21 Sacraments. When they got older, the children were influenced
more actively - to convince them that the outside world is evil, they were
taken "outside" - to the Water Prison, where Andrew DeSalvo fulfilled his
sadistic fantasies. Thus Walter's life became a "zebra": reading holy
scriptures (no suffering) - sitting in the tower (suffering). Soon he got the
impression that without the scriptures there is only suffering.
Even though "the baby made lots of friends at Wish House, and everyone was
very nice to him. The baby was happy.", Walter was not happy in the orphanage
(how could he? with people like DeSalvo... "He beat me up after it.") - the
cult was using him to reach its own goals and didn't care about him or his
feelings.
Sullivan wanted someone to care about him. Someone like his mother.
-----------------------------
a) Walter Sullivan's Diary.
When he was 6 (i.e. 28 years before the events of SH4) Walter started a diary.
Although, in the game we don't see the diary itself - it's Walter's memories
of what he wrote there, implicated through these writings.
October 1st.
Walter starts a diary. Even though he understands that no one will see it, he
still like to write - he need to express his thoughts and feelings. Maybe,
laying his thoughts on paper he wants to make his link with the world
stronger, hoping that someday somebody will find this diary and read it (the
writings on stones is just that - his desire for his thoughts to live on
forever). He hoped to somebody, who would be interested in his fate. Maybe he
should've become a writer like Harry Mason? %)
October 2nd.
Walter found a friend at last - Bob. But, playing with him, he went outside
the orphanage grounds and wandered into the cemetary. As we know, leaving WH
was prohibited (because there was a danger of children learning that the world
is not as terrible as they are told). When DeSalvo caught them, he beat
Sullivan up.
Note: Bob is not Bob Randolph. He wasn't born then.
October 3rd.
The two boys left the orphanage again. This time they saw the Mother Stone,
which made a strong impression on Walter, though it seemed a little spooky.
Walter was again beaten by DeSalvo.
October 4th.
Looks like Andrew went a bit too far with his beatings - Walter still feels
pain ("My cheek hurts."). His hatred is growing ("I hate him!"), which fits
the cult's way perfectly. But a God born from hate can never create a perfect
Paradise...
October 5th.
Now the beatings continue even though Walter does nothing bad ("I got hit
agein. I didn't do aneething wrong") - of course, DeSalvo is using Walter for
his own pleasure, but there is also something else. "There is another reason:
to fill your heart with hatred. It must be this way. One day you will
understand why." (though Andrew wasn't really a believer). Walter's hatred is
growing rapidly, now he really wants DeSalvo to die ("I wish he wuz ded!").
October 6th.
Reading lessons start in the orphanage. Children, who can't understand the
scriptures are taken to the Water Prison. Just a few days ago another friend
of Walter was locked up there - John. Now Walter is very scared - he is afraid
of being taken there.
October 13th
Walter failed at reading and was locked up for a week (during which he
couldn't write). But today they let him go, though John is still in there.
There are reading lessons tomorrow and Walter is going to try very hard not to
get into the Prison again.
October 14th.
Today Walter read "21 Sacraments for the Descent of the Holy Mother" - it was
hard, but he made it. Today he is happy.
October 15th.
Bob is dead. Walter is sure that DeSalvo murdered him. Probably, the sadist
overdid it and accidentaly killed the kid. Or was Bob used as a sacrifice? In
the Forest World we can find something wrapped up in a cloth and pierced with
metal spikes - somewhat reminiscent of the executions in Toluca Prison. Maybe
Andrew knowingly killed Bob for misbehaving?
October 16th.
Immediately after DeSalvo killed Bob, the orphanage was visited by several
important members of the "yellow" sect. Among them was Dahlia Gillespie, who
has come to meet with her friend Leonard Wolf. Strange - an important visit
just after a murder (sacrifice?). Maybe it's linked somehow? Maybe Dahlia came
to check if the "reds" were able to summon God?
October 17th.
Walter is becoming more and more disappointed in people. He wanted to find a
person, who would be close to him, but no one was there. Not even his loving
mother, whom he wanted so much. But with each passing day he lost hope.
And the Dahlia Gillespie felt sorry for him (right - what good is a cult
member who's losing faith?). She looked through the children's files and told
him a fairy tale. A happy fairy tale, in which Walter still had his mother
waiting for him in Ashfield. In his absence she was asleep and only Walter
could wake her (yep, you got it right - it's a remake of "Snow-white"). To top
it off, she lectured him about Succubi (remember the Succubus card in Walter's
world). And Walter believed her (Dahlia was a VERY persuasive person) - maybe
somewhere deep down he knew, that his parents abandoned him and he was alone,
but he couldn't accept this thought and chose to believe in a fairy tale. Now
he had a goal in his life, he knew that there was someone waiting for him. Now
he was happy - he passed all the challenges and acquired Hope.
October 18th.
The sadistic tortures become more and more widespread in the cult. The
children are taken to the Water Prison even if they didn't do anything wrong
and however good they are at reading. But Walter is strong, he will endure for
God and for his Mother. DeSalvo often comes into his cell on the second floor
and forces him to drink water with leeches - "I had to drink something with
black things in it." (the consequences of Dahlia's teachings about the Incubus
- idiots like DeSalvo thought that by feeding them leeches they could make
them "Incubators"). Sullivan wants him dead ("That guy, the fat one...Next
time I'll stick this triangle sword into that pig!") - this wish found its way
into Walter's subconscious world.
Over time, Walter gets used to confinement. Being unable to see the real
world, he begins to imagine his own world, in which, for example, the tower
stands in the middle of a large body of water, works as a hydroelectric plant
and that it rotates. After a short time he is unable to tell his fantasies and
reality apart.
At the same time he hears rumors among the orphans that there's a morgue next
to the Prison's dining hall and that they serve human meat there ("I heard
there's a death chamber behind the kitchen, and they take meat straight from
the dead people and cook it.").
October 21st.
Now they only let him out on Sundays when he has reading lessons. Walter is
already quite good at reading and understands some of the scriptures better
("I read realy good today too!" - "That kid, Walter... He was really into that
mumbo jumbo... Especially that "Descent of the Holy Mother" business... ") and
when Dahlia learned about it, she decided to encourage the talented child -
she told him that if he can read the 21 Sacraments really good, he will see
his Mother.
October 28th.
Dahlia has kept her word and Walter is let out of the Wish House so that he
can make a trip to Ashfield. This is going to be quite a long way for a
6-year-old kid and his teachers are preparing him for the worst, telling him
again and again how horrible the outside world is. Thus, Walter is already is
already expecting to see a bad place.
The lessons pay off and Walter is scared of the big city around him. He's used
to expect the worst from people and here he is surrounded by them - each of
these people seems very scary and evil to Walter, who associated them with
DeSalvo. He wanted to hide - he would feel more comfortable in his cell, than
in this hostile world, but he had a goal - to find his Mother.
Somehow Sullivan makes his way to SAHapts and finds Room 302, where his mother
slept. But no matter how much he knocked on the door and screamed, Mother did
not let him in. He even tried to offer her gifts ("Mommy, I'll giv you this so
pleez wake up soon.") but still had no luck. Despite this failure, Walter
still knew that she is there and she WANTS TO LET HIM IN, but she is sleeping
and cannot open the door, so he need to wake her up. Let us try to rebuild
Walter's trail of thoughts:
"I need to wake Mommy so that she can let me and I can be with her, protected
from these evil people. But how do I do this? In the fairy tale, the prince
kissed Snow-white and she woke. So, what do I have to do with Mommy? The
important lady said that I can see Mommy if I can read the 21 Sacraments
really well. That means Mommy is somehow linked with "21 Sacraments for the
Descent of the Holy Mother". Alright, what does this book say? It say that to
bring the Holy Mother into this world a ritual must be performed ("Walter
became preoccupied with one particular tract from the cult's Bible.. "By the
Sacraments, the Holy Mother shall appear in the countries of the world" -
Joseph Schreiber). Holy Mother... Mommy... I got it! I need to perform this
ritual - then Mommy will wake up and let me in. Okay, don't forget, Mommy is
in Room 302, Mommy is in Room 302, Mommy is in Room 302" - thus, in Walter's
mind the word "Mommy" became associated with "Holy Mother" (which practically
had no connection whatsoever to Walter's mother) and "Room 302". Over time
"Mommy is in Room 302" transformed into "Mommy is Room 302".
February 10th.
Walter makes a second trop to Ashfield. Again, he didn't see his mother. He
becomes more and more convinced that only the ritual can wake her up. In the
subway he met some "mean girls" (hookers?), which told him something which
scared him ("Some mean girls in the train said mean stuff to me"). Most
probably this "mean stuff" is something about sexuality because in Walter's
subconscious world the subway is associated with "Temptation".
In Wish House, Walter is again beaten up by DeSalvo.
March 17th.
As we can see, Walter doesn't write much now and prefers to keep his feelings
to himself. March 17th is his fourth visit to Ashfield. He still believes that
his mother is in Room 302 - he once again tries to open the door and it opens!
But, to his disappointment, his mother is not there. There was someone renting
Room 302 at that moment ("the apartment where mommy is has a scary guy in
it"). It could've been anyone - Schreiber, a total stranger, even James!
Walter was shocked. Mommy was not in Room 302. That means he is really all
alone. But he couldn't accept this as reality, couldn't think that Dahlia was
lying, and gave in to his delusions: when he realized that mother is not IN
Room 302, he decided that his mother IS Room 302. The apartment is his Mother
(his earliest memories also contributed to this).
Then Mommy is an apartment. She is asleep and the only way to wake her up is
"21 Sacraments for the Descent of the Holy Mother"
-----------------------------
During the following 10 years, Walter is obsessed with his Mother, visiting
Ashfield every week. It is the only meaning of his life (not even life, his
whole existance). Of course, his visits are not welcome by the residents,
especially Richard Braintree, who can't stand children ("Braintree, that
prick. He's always yelling at kids."). He threatens Walter with a gun. A real
GUN!
Walter saw nothing good from other people - DeSalvo beat him up in Wish House,
Braintree almost killed him in SAHapts, in the Garland's Pet Store he turned
over a cage and angered Steve Garland... He hated the world, wanted to hide,
but couldn't ("I want to hide , but i can't hide"). He wanted his mother to
protect him from the outside world and all the evil people. If only he could
come back to Mother's womb and leave the world behind.
"He was still filled with bitterness and resentment towards the rest of the
world.". Note that he doesn't think of his mother as a human being (something
like "All humans are evil, Mommy can't be one of them"). He probably didn't
think HIMSELF a human being - he's a son of an apartment (this is emphasized
by the clearly inhuman moan when you deliver the final strike). People have
rejected him, so he has rejected them. Walter is clearly misanthropic (just
look at how the "people" in his world). In part, his real parents are to blame
(see below).
------------------------------
b) Walter Sullivan and his biological parents.
Walter must have realized that he had real parents - not Room 302, but
ordinary people - they just abandoned him. But this thought made him suffer,
led into despair and he refused to believe it, rejecting the thoughts and
memories of his real parents. But deep in his subconscious, these thoughts
still live, feeding his hatred towards them.
Young Walter, when asked about his parents, says: "Yeah...but I never met
'em... They left South Ashfield Heights right after I was born. But soon I'll
get to see my mom." He KNOWS that they abandoned him, but on the other hand,
he wants to believe that they were not his real parents and that his mother is
Room 302.
c) Memories of his real mother
Walter saw his biological mother only once - right after he was born. Since
then he has been trying to forget her, convince himself that she does not
exist and that he was born of thr apartment, his ideal Mother.
But memories don't disappear easily - thus, Henry Townshend gains Walter's
"lost memories" when he picks up the umbilical cord. For a moment, we can see
Walter's mother. It seems she was a blonde. Yeah, "blondes have more fun"...
Note that the body being dissected by Walter in the beginning of the Hospital
World is that of blonde-haired woman, symbolizing his mother. Also note that
he is cutting into her belly. In fact, he is performing an abortion - his
thoughts that a child would be better off dead than born into this world by
such a mother and be doomed to suffer for the rest of his existance. And THEN
we encounter these horrible "mothers" with holes in their wombs (yes, they're
NOT nurses or patients. They are monsters, embodiments of Walter's hatred for
his mother). I should also point out that in the "spiral" we can female
corpses with their bellies pierced by spears - also a symbol of abortion.
Even though he believes in Dahlia's fairy tale, Walter still acknowledges the
existance of and hates his real mother, which later transforms into a general
fear and loathing of women (that's why the "mean girls" scared him so much).
d) Memories of his real father
We can also find mentions of the father in Walter's world. On the first floor
of SAHapts there a 6 bodies of hanged men. These are the memories of Walter's
father mixed with his hatred for him. Walter wanted to punish him for
abandoning his own son ("Hurry up -- get packed!") and here he is - hanging
here, even though that's just Walter's imagination.
Also, in Walter's sketchbook we can see a drawing of his father - a figure
with a crossed out head. This means that Walter is trying to forget him - he
made an image of him, but then destroyed it to never see him again. Also we
can hear Walter say "Dad , I can't see your face" - he has forgotten his face
completely, erased the memories.
e) Walter Sullivan and Eileen Galvin
When he was 16, Walter met Eileen Galvin, who was a small girl then: "She was
younger than me back then... She looked so happy holding her mother's hand..."
- this meeting made a stong impression on Walter. Eileen was kind to him, even
gave him a doll: " I got this from Miss Galvin a long, long time ago..." -
note the kindness and respect with which he adresses her - "Miss Galvin" -
this little girl became the only person, who did not reject him. She just gave
him a little attention and a doll - not much, it would seem, but Walter was
delighted to finally feel, that he is not alone.
But, unfortunately, the link with the imaginary Mother (and imaginary world)
proved stronger that the link with Eileen (and the real world) - in the
future, Walter will choose the apartment, but will he wholly accept this
decision, or will some part of him protest against sacrificing her?
-------------------------------
Three years later (Walter's 19) Claudia comes to power, the sadist Leonard is
removed from the Holy Mother sect (removed to Brookhaven) and Toby Archbolt is
placed in Wish House. Now children are just brainwashed and are not used to
summon God (they're looking for Alessa to do this - "Have you found Alessa
yet? Send me a report.") and Walter finally leaves the orphanage.
He moves to a nearby town of Pleasant River and enters the university to study
medicine ("All 10 of Sullivan's victims were found with their hearts cut out
and their chest wounds sewn together EXPERTLY with thread." - it seems the 21
Sacraments were not his only area of expertise).
-----------------------------
f) Doctor Walter Sullivan
But why did he choose medicine? Lisa Garland became a nurse to help people,
but Walter had other goals in his mind - maybe he was preparing for the 21
Sacraments all this time and became a surgeon to perform all the gruesome
parts of the ritual as precise as possible? Or maybe he wanted to perform
abortions to "save" children? Or maybe he just got his kicks by dissecting
human bodies?
In any case, Walter wasn't going to save any lives with his knowledge - his
main goal was to "reanimate" Room 302, so that it can take him in.
------------------------------------
For the next 5 years Walter lives in Pleasant River, studies in the university
and is overall an ordinary student ("He didn't look like the type of guy who
would kill kids."). On weekends he works part-time in Albert's Sports store in
Ashfield (which means he still visits Ashfield each week). But, as Schreiber
notes in his diary, "he was still filled with bitterness and resentment
towards the rest of the world." - he couldn't come to terms with this cruel
world ("I guess now that I think of it, he was kinda crazy.") and couldn't let
go of his delusions. Thus, on the 8th day of an unknown month his desire to
unite with Mother takes over and he starts the ritual of 21 Sacraments for the
Descent of the Holy Mother.
---------------------------
g) The meaning of the ritual.
So, why didn't Mother wake up? According to Walter's beliefs, people are the
cause of all the suffering in this world and Mother doesn't want to wake up
into this "bad" world. So, he needs to cleanse her from the taint of the human
world ("He decided to "free" her from the stains and corruption of this world.
At the orphanage, he learned of the "21 Sacraments," the only way to purify
her.").
Walter studied the Silent Hill religion (he even read the "blasphemous"
Crimson Tome of the rival sect) and knew that through the 21 Sacraments (and
the Holy Assumption) he could create a new world ("Through the Ritual of the
Holy Assumption, he built a world.") - maybe in this world Mother would be
more willing to wake up?
This was his last hope - for his Mother, for his childhood dream and for his
life, he decides to perform this ritual.
---------------------------------------
Walter comes to Silent Hill to fetch the White Chrism and Obsidian Goblet from
the Wish House basement and, according to the Victims List, kills Jimmy Stone
- "01121" (Walter chose his victims carefully - see Part 2 14-2. Stone was the
first because he symbolised the "Mage" Tarot card), returns to Pleasant River,
kills Randoplh and Martin, then Garland and Albert in Ashfield, then Rosten,
the Lockanes in Silent Hill and finally William Gregory and Erik Walsh in
Ashfield. He removed the hearts of all his victims, sewed the wounds together
and cut out the numbers and his own name - the name, which was given him by
people ("That's what everybody calls me, but I don't really have a name.").
There was no turning back and with each murder Sullivan got closer and closer
to his Mother, leaving the real world behind.
It took him 10 days to make these sacrifices. The police was shocked. By the
time they gathered their wits, Walter was preparing to perform the Holy
Assumption, but he didn't get that chance. On the 18th day of the same month
he was arrested and put in jail.
Sullivan's consciousness has already shifted into the "misty" stage and he saw
the real world through the lens of his subconscious world - saw his victims,
drawn into this world and probably was horrified: "He's trying to kill me.
He's trying to punish me. The monster... the red devil.". The Red Devil is, of
course, the ghost of Jimmy Stone, whom Walter has seen in his own world - the
victim pursued his murderer, continuing his existance in Walter's world.
Walter spent 4 days in the Silent Hill prison, surrounded by his victims, his
mind submerging into the subconscious world more and more. He couldn't take
this anymore and finally, on the night of the 22th day comitted suicide by
stabbing himself in the neck with a spoon.
Rejected by all, he died a terrible death away from his Mother, to whom he
devoted his whole life. He couldn't perform the Holy Assumption and complete
the 21 Sacraments. He only wanted to be reunited with his mother. Was his
dream still to come true, or was death the end of it all?
Early on the 22th day Walter's body was found by a guard and it was determined
that he died from blood loss. After that it was buried in the Silent Hill
cemetary not far from Wish House. Fans can pay their respects to Walter
Sullivan in SH2, when James finds his grave.
People and the media were shocked by these murders, but mostly by the fact
that the killer didn't even try to hide his name. The case became known as the
Walter Sullivan Case and Walter himself became a hero for all psycho satanic
freaks and fans of SH ("After that, his name became famous all over the
world").
Ironically, nobody wanted him when he was alive, but after dying he became
somewhat of celebrity, whose life was open to the public (remember Schreiber's
research); only after rejecting the world completely he became a part of it.
IMPORTANT NOTE: I never pointed out WHERE Walter was arrested because there is
no info on that whatsoever and the article in SH2 leads us to believe that he
was caught in SH, so I have two theories:
1) Sullivan was caught in Ashfield after he killed 09121 and 10121 and was
taken to Silent Hill to be judged for the murder of the Lockanes (especially
if Ashfield is really that close to Silent Hill - APD just handed him over to
the SHPD) and then he comitted suicide.
2) Sullivan killed Gregory and Walsh on the same day he killed Garland and
Albert, which would imply that he killed people according to their association
with the Tarot card and not in a strict order.
For now, I'm like the first variant more, but the second one is also quite
possible.

-----------------------------------
h) To die twice: Walter Sullivan's self-sacrifice. 11121.
There was no turning back for Walter - with each sacrifice he moved a step
closer to his Mother and further away from the real world, into his
subconscious. "Maybe killing you here is the only way to end this
nightmare...". When he comitted suicide, he just trapped himself in the
eternal prison of his "Otherworld".
Some time after his death, Walter found himself in the cemetary of the Forest
World - he came back to life, just like the Son of God. Did he realize, that
he is dead? The answer can be found in the occult magazine in SH3: "The souls
of those who had died suddenly BY SUICIDE or accident don't realize they're
dead.". That means Walter did not know that he only continues to exist in his
subconscious world (just as Lisa and Harry, if you got the bad ending, didn't
know they were only a part of Alessa's world).
Walter still had his fanatical faith and desire to reunite with his mother and
they brought him back to existance in this twisted world. He decides complete
the self-sacrifice (actually, he has already completed HA: he has "freed
himself from the chains of the flesh and gained the Power of Heaven" - he just
hadn't realized it yet. See Part 2, 14-2). In his world, he gets the hearts
and the items he needed for the ritual and then uses the Subway World to reach
the Building World, from where he finally gets to the Apartment World.
Finally, he will be able to see Mother. He has waited so long for this moment!
The joy is overwhelming, of course he will sacrifice his own life for her, he
will do anything for her. As his desire grows, so does the influence of his
world (i.e. the strength of the psychic energy affecting people) and for a
short time draws in Frank Sunderland and Richard Braintree.
Walter climbs the stairs to the 3rd floor of Soth Ashfield Heights apartments,
carrying the Great Knife (that "heavy tool", which is mentioned in the game
and which we find in the secret room), the Obsidian Goblet ("an old-looking
bowl") and the 10 hears ("and a bag that was dripping blood"). In his world no
one can stop him and he finally enters Room 302. First and foremost he must
lock it with many locks so that nobody can enter and taint his mother with
human presence. Then he enters his secret room and performs the Holy
Assumption next to the "birthing hole" - he uses blood, the Goblet and the
White Chrism, cuts 11121 on his legs and literally sews his body on the black
cross with raven feathers (note that the "thread" looks organic in nature - an
umbilical cord? "magical cord"?). Finally! The Holy Assumption is complete and
now Walter can move on.
i) Division
In the beginning Walter was bound to the real world by his physical body. With
its death his consciousness continued to exist in his subconscious world. But
the division did not end here.
After Walter performs the Holy Assumption his identity is split in two: one is
the 24 year old Walter, and the other is the 6 year old Wally. The "real"
Walter still hangs in the secret room as a mixture of Walter's thoughts about
the ritual and his belief that it is his real body - "The souls of those who
had died suddenly BY SUICIDE or accident don't realize they're dead.". It is
unknown wether either of them knew that this world is not real, but it's
worthy of note that in the end young Walter says "I'm gonna stay with you,
forever.." - is this just a metaphor, or does he really know that they will
exist forever?
Thus, even two deaths did not stop Walter on his way to wake Mother - now he
continues the 21 Sacraments - "Now...he's become nothing more than an inhuman
killing machine...Well, he's dead now...but he's trying to complete...the "21
Sacraments."
j) Young Walter
This is the felicitative side of Walter's personality, which desires happines
and reunion with the Room. Note that Walter doesn't really care about the
Room, only about his own happiness ("Mom , let me in!!") - this is typical
childhood egoism. Also note, that young Walter uses words like "I", "me",
"my". Let's look at some quotes.
Henry's meeting with Wally:
"That's what everybody calls ME, but I don't really have a name." ;
"Yeah...but I never met 'em..." ;
"They left South Ashfield Heights right after I was born." ;
"But soon I'LL get to see MY mom." ;
"Yeah, of course -- right where I was born" ;
"Lots of people tried to stop ME." ;
"I gotta hurry." - during this one small meeting Walter mention HIMSELF 9
times.
Now let's look at Walter's meeting with little Wally:
"I'M going to see MY mom!" ;
"Stay outta MY way!" ;
"But that's MY name..." ;
Also, when we see Wally knocking on the door of Room 302, he yells "Mom, let
ME in!!" and in the 21 Sacraments ending he says:
"Mom , I'M home..." ;
"I won't let anyone get in MY way..." ;
"I'M gonna stay with you, forever......"
So, as we can see, his egoism is overwhelming. It's hard to blame a 6 year old
child for this - he wants happiness, of which he was stripped at birth (and it
was NOT his fault at all). His happiness is in finding a loving Mother, who
would care about him and protect him from the evil world. In other words -
Walter just wants peace.
Also interesting is the fact that Walter's memory split with his personality -
young Walter doesn't know anything about the 21 Sacraments ("And what are the
"21 Sacraments"?") but he remembers the basic scriptures of the cult ("It said
in the Scriptures that I'll be with her.").
k) Adult Walter
This is the destructive, yet altruistic side of Walter's personality - his
only reason to exist is the completion of the 21 Sacraments and the awakening
of the beloved Room, i.e. young Walter's happiness ("Hey there, little
Walter... Just a little longer now... ") - we see that adult Walter exists not
for himself, but for his young "half" (he says "I" only three times in the
course of the game - feel the difference!).
This is quite sad - to exist only for the sake of an imaginary world,
imaginary apartment, a childhood hope - but he has no other reason to exist
(reminds you of Maria, doesn't he?). Even sadder is the fact that he has no
future - he lives only to wake Mother and as soon as the 21 Sacraments are
complete and Wally attains his happiness, Walter's reason for existance will
be gone and he will disappear. That means that even completing the ritual
won't make him happy and even young Walter won't say a word of gratitude to
him, oblivious to his "brother"'s sacrifice. But Walter has already accepted
his fate - he must play his role in this, whatever it takes... he will
sacrifice himself and everybody else... for Mother, for a childhood dream.
Let's take a look at Walter in the 21 Sacraments ending. He is standing
against the wall, hands and head down - it seems as if he is asleep. Is he...
dead? After Mother's awakening he has no reason to exist. He has done all he
could - gave life to the Room, happiness to Wally. And got nothing in return.
There is only one thing left for him to do for his "brother" - leave Room 302
forever. And for little Wally he does, drowning into oblivion.
Here's a lullaby to close your eyes...Goodbye...
He has finally found the peace he longed for.
l) Physical Analysis
Let's start with the face. Look at his eyes, it seems that he is look
somewhere far away, not noticing anything\anybody around here (this is
especially visible in the final cutscene before the boss fight). This could
mean that he is a very distant person, and also means thoughtfullnes and\or
persistance.
An interesting point is his hair: according to the Victims List Sullivan is
100% blond, but in his world his hair is a much darker color. Why? As we
recall, his mother was a blonde (which means he inherited the hair color from
her) and Walter, believing in the Room and hating his real mother, tried his
best to erase her image and the fact that he is her son from his head. Thus,
the change of this color comes from his delusions.
Now let's take a look at Walter's long hair. Psychologists say that long
haired people are usually easy to hurt and\or are very persistant. That, or
Walter was a metallist (yeah, I can already imagine Walter shaking his head to
something like Cradle of Filth %)) ). Or maybe he just couldn't afford going
to a hairdresser...
Now the clothing. What does Walter wear? A coat. When do people wear coats?
When they're cold. In this case, the cloak is a symbol of Walter's loneliness,
or the coldness of his hear. Although, it could also symbolize his wish to not
"taint himself" with human blood. It is somewhat reminiscent of Claudia's
clothes, so the coat could also have some religious significance.
Next let us look at the color of the coat. It's dark blue. What is the meaning
of blue color?
-Blue is "deep". It never ends, draws you inside (think, think!). The meaning
of color is often underestimated. It creates a good atmosphere for
philosophical reflecting on life, searching for truth and reason... It doesn't
give any answers, though, but it can create a very melancholic mood and even a
kind of weakness. It provides not sensual, but spiritual experiences. Blue is
the color of persistance, loyalty, a solemn color.
-In many myth blue is a color of the divine, a mysterious color.
-Blue can symbolize LOSS OF REALITY, DREAMING, FANATISM - in one way or
another it means escaping reality. Fictional mages and sorcerers are often
clothed in blue, so it's not suprising that the "conjurer" in SH4 wears a blue
coat.
-Dark blue is the color of dreams ("Oh, man...What a dream... "). It is very
deep and can be depressing, summoning uneasiness, solemnity, sadness and
despair.
-Blue can create a physical desire to rest.
Professional psychologists often use a theory of "colored children", which
helps to determine a child's personality according to his or her favorite
color.
-Children that like blue are usually calm and like to do things thoroughly,
without haste
-These children think things through. They tend to be selfless because they
get more pleasure from giving than receiving. Appropriately, adult Walter
works to complete the ritual not for himself, but for Mother and Wally.
-Often children choose blue not because they are calm and peaceful, but
because they need peace at the given moment. Remember Walter's wish for peace.
-"Blue" children have a RICH INNER WORLD (remember SH4), are sensual and
artistic. They are also easily give in to outside influence and suggestions
(Dahlia's fairy tale)
As we can see, blue color is THE color for Walter Sullivan.
Walter's coat is stained with blood - this can have different meanings. On one
hand we have the blood on his victims, but on the other hand, if you look
carefully, you'll notice that most of the blood is on the upper part of the
coat, near his neck. And Walter pierced his neck with a spoon, so this could
be HIS blood. Summing it up, the coat means "despair and desire of peace that
lead to escape from reality through death", where "death" would mean either
his sacrifices, or his suicide.

m) Good Walter, bad Walter. Which one of the Walters is good and which one is
bad?
A good question, that has been discussed among the fans for a long time.
According to most fans, young Walter is the good guy. Let's take a closer look.
On one hand, Wally is quite an egoist and desires only HIS OWN happiness, but
on the other hand, let's remember Vincent's words: "I'm just looking out for
myself. Everyone does it.". So, young Walter acts quite ordinarily and thus
his link with reality is a bit stronger than that of the "altruistic" Walter.
Accordingly, Wally wants his Mother to wake, but his connection to the real
creates self-contradiction and he saves the only close HUMAN - Eileen Galvin.
Unlike Wally, adult Walter has distanced himself from the world so much that
he would kill anyone to wake Mother - even Eileen (although even he has doubts
- remember the conversation on the stairwell). Schreiber writes "Now...he's
become nothing more than an inhuman killing machine...". But is this really
so? Walter may have become a killer, he may not think of himself as a human
being anymore, but all he does he does not for himself - maybe "love" is not
the most appropriate word, but he really does love the Room and Wally and is
willing to sacrifice anything and anyone to make them happy.
"A game of turning white to black and black to white..."
Thus we come to the conclusion that the characters of the Silent Hill series
(in this case Walter and Wally) are too complex and rich too put into the
traditional bounds of "good" and "bad" (though Walter could be described as
"badass" %) - translator's note).
n) The secret meaning of the "Killing Machine".
In the final confrontation the player can get a clear look at the "Killing
Machine". It was "invented" by Walter when he was 6. Look at the child's
drawing near Room 105 - we see that a man was thrown into this machine and
chopped into pieces. This means that the Killing Machine was born from
Walter's hatred for people and its main purpose is to... well, kill. These
fantasies have found their place in his subconscious world - will Eileen be
chopped up, or does Sullivan still doubt his own decision and she can escape
the terrible fate?
Now let's take a closer look at the machine itself: several huge spiked rings
spin around a massive metallic core like pendulums. Anybody who approaches
this contraption probably won't live to regret this. In actuality, the Killing
Machine symbolizes Walter, who, after being rejected by the world, surrounded
himself with similar "spikes", so that no one could approach him and cause him
pain. And inside this Killing Machine the child (the core) can finally hide.
But to make it work, the Machine needs to be placed in a pool of blood. That
means that the Machine works as a sort of hydroelectric plant. Now, I think,
the meaning of the Killing Machine is made obvious.
o) Walter Sullivan and the Umbilical Cord.
One of the strongest of Walter's memories is that of the umbilical cord. He
thought that it was that very "magic cord" that linked him to the Room, but at
one point was cut, parting him with his mother ("There once was a baby and a
mother who were connected by a magical cord. But one day the cord was cut, and
the mother went to sleep. The baby was left all alone.") - thus, on one hand
the child should hate the cord, but on the other hand it is a symbol of being
close to Mother.
The real cord was taken by Frank Sunderland, but the memories of the "magical
cord" continued to live in Walter's mind - it even came to life in his
subconscious world!
It resembles a disgusting worm ("greedy worm"), probably because Walter blames
the separation from Mother on the stupid Cord. But it is not a monster and
never threatens Sullivan, Henry or Eileen (a non-dangerous monster? Hmmm... I
swear there was something like that in SH3...).
The Umbilical Cord used to link Mother with her child, so for Walter it is a
symbol of his upcoming reunion, a symbol of closeness to the Room. Hey!
Haven't we heard it before? Let's see:
-Valtiel - a symbol of closeness to God, non-aggressive. God as the primary
feeling\desire.
-Umbilical Cord - a symbol of closeness to Mother, non-aggressive. Reunion
with Mother as Walter's primary desire.
So, the Greedy Worm is the "Valtiel" of Walter's subconscious world.
p) The fetus.
Obviously you've noticed the giant monstrous creature in the final battle. The
location of the final confrontation is the "Mother's womb" and the creature,
that is literally CONNECTED to it is the Walter-fetus, the God of Walter's
subconscious world and the embodiment of his strongest desire, on the
psychoenergy of which this whole world is built - the desire to be reunited
with his loving Mother. Will his wish come true? And will it make him happy?
------------------------
If you still think that the creature is Walter's Mother, then I'm going to
burst your bubble now:
-When you hit WALTER, the Fetus feels pain.
-The complexion of the God is obviously male.
-Quoting the Crimson Tome: "you must bury part of the Conjurer's mother's
flesh within the CONJURER'S TRUE BODY." - in WALTER's body.
------------------------
Note: although the Fetus is anthropomorphic, there is something inhuman in its
appearance and behaviour, something demonic, that instills horror (also
remember the inhuman moan). This is the result of Walter believing himself to
be a child of an apartment. Also, according to the Crimson Tome the fetus is
Walter's TRUE BODY, i.e. his most true and strongest consciousness.
q) Idea analysis
The whole story of Walter Sullivan spins around "un-existance": a child that
spent his whole childhood in "un-freedom", rejects the world. And what happens
when he finally gains freedom? He was unprepared for the world and protecting
himself from it became his main wish - he cannot rejoin the world and as a
result he locks himself in a cage of his own making. He dreamt of the Room, of
eternal peace, gained with leaving the world behind and locking himself inside
his own prison ("Mom! Let me in!"). That would seem against human nature and
are signs of a self-destructive attitude (a.k.a. Thanatos), but further in the
game we realize that it is just a mind's way of gaining stability. A person
who has grown used to confinement (he was TAUGHT that - we can't put down the
society's role in the development of this problem) cannot accept freedom in
any way because it turns their world and system of values upside down. Thus,
Walter continues to seek his "un-freedom" (of course, "freedom" and
"un-freedom" are extremely relative terms, but I think you understand the
difference) and, having found the Room, can no longer accept reality, because
it would destroy everything he believes in and kept believing in his Mother
until the very end.
We see that when the much needed stability, associated with "un-freedom", is
unreachable (when there is "un-satisfaction" in the desire for stability), the
desire only gets stronger and is transformed into a desire of "un-existance":
in a sense, Walter has been enchanted by his "un-existance" for all his life
(even by his own death - here you have suicidal tendencies). People, obsessed
with an idea of leaving this world usually imagine the moment of their death,
but in Walter's case the "un-existance" is quite different - coupled with
infantilism and his nostalgic wish to go back to the past ("I want to go back
to that time... Things were so good then..") he associated it with the time
before he was born, where he "un-existed" in this world. Thus, death has been
replaced by "being born back", but despite the seeming difference between
those two wishes it's still easy to see that this is just a different
realization of suicidal tendencies, developed from Walter's unwillingness to
accept the fact, that his dreams are suicidal in nature.
And so, the natural desire of stability, which is in itself not
self-destructive, when unsatisfied, becomes extremely self-destructive. If
this desire becomes too strong it grows into a wish to stop existing, leave
reality and turn to "un-existance". There's a distinct logical link in Walter
Sullivan's image - "Peace=un-existance".
Actually, Walter's self-destructive ideas were associated with his definition
and image of his Mother (who, according to his views, could be reached through
"un-existance") and became the main idea of his life, leading to tragic
consequences in the end. Even when he is put into the Water
Prison("un-freedom") he still wanted to attain oblivion, peace and finally
finds himself trapped in a world of his delusions. And again this is not
enough for him - he still wants "un-existance", on the concept of which his
whole world is built. Thus, he is doomed to exist forever in this unending
circle.
Of great importance is the fact that in his world Walter kills himself in Room
302 (desire of peace+subconscious desire of "un-existance"\death+association
of peace with Mother+association of Mother with the Room=suicide in the Room).
Also interesting is the fact that Walter is, in a sense, giving his Mother
back the life she gave him. By sacrificing himself, he return Mother to life
in a different world, where she may be happy.
Completely different from Walter is Henry, who fights and goes at lenghts to
get out of Sullivan's prison, but, ironically, every time he escapes, he gets
trapped in another cage and this desire for freedom and existance finally
brings him to the same womb as Walter. Before the final fight, when these two
different people finally meet face to face we can see, that they have much
more in common than we may have imagined.
r) Victims List Info
Name: Walter Sullivan
Occupation: Unknown (though it is hinted that he worked in the sports store in
Ashfield)
Gender\Special Info: middle aged white male (died at 24)
Height\Weight: 190 cm, 84 kg
Hobbies: Unknown (in the game we find out that he's interested in religion and
medicine)
Other: Unknown
Motive: Assumption
Method: Suicide by stabbing himself in the neck with a spoon.
Place: Cell of Silent Hill Prison
Item left: Spoon
s) Miscellaneous info
Quote (Wally): "Mom! Let me in!"
Quote (Walter): "Hey there, little Walter... Just a little longer now..."
Metaphor: Child of delusions
Symbol: Umbilical Cord
Music: Room of Angel, Melancholy Requiem, Resting Comfortably, Confinement
Additional sources of info:
Mishima Yukio - "Newspaper"
Murakami Ryu - "Coin Locker Babies"
I am sure you will find a lot of similarities with SH4 in these books. They
may help you get a better look and feel of Walter's world.
4-2. Henry Townshend, the way of Henry.
Age: unknown, probably around 30
---------------------------------------------------
a) Victims List info:
Victim 21/21
Name: Henry Townshend
Occupation: Unknown
Gender\features: White male
Height\Weight: 185 cm, 85 kg.
Hobbies: Photography, travelling.
Other: Visited Silent Hill.
Motive: Receiver of Wisdom
Method: Unsuccessful?\Unknown
Place: Unknown ("Otherworld" would be suiting)
Item left: Unknown (Well, Room 302 is left after Henry - that is his item)
---------------------------------------------------
Before the events of Silent Hill 4 Henry was an open person: he was interested
in photography, loved to travel, visited Silent Hill numerous times ("I went
sightseeing there a few years ago" - "I visited Silent Hill a lot of times
when I was that age")... So, he could just enjoy his life and go on as a happy
person (he has a happy smile on his childhood photo). But 2 years ago
something strange happened. Something changed in Townshend's soul.
Henry decided to rent an apartment and, strangely enough, he chose South
Ashfield Heights. As he remembers: "I was immediately attracted by the outside
of the building, as well as the view from the window here. When I moved here
two years ago, I almost felt like I was being drawn here". Indeed, it was like
some unseen force lured him to one apartment - apartment 302, which was the
place, where all hopes and dreams of a man named Walter Sullivan lay.
--------------------------------------------------------------
b) Why did Henry choose Room 302?
Answer: Room 302 was the place, where Walter's feelings and memories continued
to exist unseen in an endless cycle of his subconscious world (it was the
center of his psychic energies. See Part I).
What were Walter's feelings towards the apartment? Love. So, when Henry was
near SAHapts, he became influenced by Walter's energies and he also became
attracted to this apartment.
--------------------------------------------------------------
A lot in his life has change since he moved. He started a NEW life (yes, "new
life" in the SH4 intro is not just pretty words). The life, which Walter
dreamt of... Or was it life anyway? Let's look at Henry's life during these
two years.
During these two years living in SAHapts Henry never met his neighbors. Only
Eileen knows him a little ("I know his name and face, but that's about it."),
while, for example, Richard Braintree, does not know him at all ("he guy who
lives here... What's he like, anyway?"). Seems like Henry just closed himself
off from the world, locking himself in Room 302 (wasn't that what Sullivan
wanted?). Left the world, like a hermit.
The superintendant of SAHapts - Frank Sunderland - was the only man in SH4,
who knew Henry at all. But, as we see, their friendship did not last long -
Frank wanted to establish friendly relations with Henry and, when he learned
about his hobby, gave him a photo ("I got this photo from Frank Sunderland,
the super here at South Ashfield Heights." - note, that Henry doesn't say "I
got this photo from my friend Frank...", but only "I got this photo from Frank
Sunderland" - a formal way of adressing means that they weren't really close).
But Henry never supported this relationshiop, probably keeping their
conversations at the basic "Hello-Hello" level.
And now let's look at Henry's comments. He says that several years ago he went
to Silent Hill, but he hardly ever says anything about his two years in
SAHapts. All his comments about the apartment could be boiled down to one
sentence: "Everything's as it was when I moved. I didn't change anything."
Henry brought books, but didn't read a single one. His boots were bought in
Silent Hill and he never changed them. A reasonable question - how long has he
been walking around wearing those? And has he been walking around at all?
Maybe he just doesn't need new boots because he only leaves the Room when he
really needs to?
If, for example, he dies, will there be something left to prove that he ever
lived those two years? What would he leave? A child? Art? Memories? Nothing.
Even his neighbor next door does not remember his face.
So, what was Henry's life like during these two years? I think the answer is
obvious now...
These were two years of "un-existance", two years, that passed momentarily, a
series of gray, monotonic, useless days, blurring together and leaving no
memories...
---------------------------------------------------------
c) What was Henry's occupation?
Answer: What's Henry's job? Oooh! It's a great mystery - even the Victims List
only mentions that he was interested in photography and travelling, but his
occupation is unknown. Makes you think, doesn't it? Maybe he doesn't work at
all? Look at the place where he lives! A wealthy man wouldn't live in a cheap
motel with bloody handprints and meat on the walls %)
We know, that Henry doesn't GO to work (else, Richard Braintree would know
him), and, looking at his complexion, it becomes obvious that his work does
not require physical exertion. Thus, even if he has a job, it involves art and
allows him not to leave the Room. Now, let's take a quick peek at Henry's
desk. A pen, a ruler, several sketchbooks and a few big tomes, that look like
dictionaries. Maybe Henry's a writer? Works in some magazine and just sends
them his new works.
Also, there are some brochures there - one with a photo of a woman, another -
an empty room. So, maybe he creates small brochures, like Roger Widmark in
SH2\3?
In any case, we can only guess here. I think Konami leaves the player to think
this up for himself - without official info any version is right.
d) Appearance analysis.
Henry's looks are simple - a shirt, jeans and boots. Looks like Henry doesn't
care much about fashion or how he looks. Why look after that anyway if you
know, that in your loneliness no one will be here to notice that? Messy hair
is a feature of an artful person (heh, just watch "Secret window, secret
garden" and note the main character's hair style - you'll see what I'm talking
about). Also, it looks like Henry hasn't shaved in quite a while. Of course,
in a state of "un-existance" one quickly comes to a state of "un-shaving" %)
Henry's colors are white and light blue. Accordingly, these are usually
regarded as colors of purity (or death - in Asian cultures). White has a
meaning in many religions (color of the final sacrifice?). Blue means
everything associated with peace - relaxation, sleep, descent into dreams,
escape from reality etc. - fits Townshend neatly.
By the way, note how Henry looks so much like young Walter - hair style,
facial features... Very similar. It is not coincidental - I will adress this
question a few paragraphs later.
e) What is Henry's typical day like?
Answer: "Oblomov-style". No, seriously. If we look at the Room, there are...
center-points. The TV - seems like Henry spent a lot of time watching it. The
second one is the most important - it is the bed. Here's a rough picture of
Henry's day: he woke up, spent some time procrastinating in bed, got up,
walked to his couch, watched TV. He may have done some work inbetween. Work,
and drinking - note the bottle of wine in the fridge. Sometimes he just spent
time thinking about Silent Hill.
Well, there you have it. A very active lifestyle.
f) Why doesn't Henry speak much?
Answer: Yeah, Henry's a very quiet person (unlike, for example, Heather, who
talked about everything she saw). The reason why he doesn't say anything about
himself we have already uncovered (what can a man, who spent the last two
years in an apartment tell about himself?). Let's see: Henry is living away
from everyone, closed to people. Does he even need words? Words are needed to
transfer information to other people. Who did Henry communicate with? Nobody.
He could only talk to himself, which would mean just thinking aloud.
g) The meaning of the globe
Note the globe in Henry's room. This is a sign of his past interest in
travelling... Before his change, Henry wanted to see the world, visit
different countries and make photographs of the places he visited to remember.
But now, everything is different. The wish to see the world gave place for the
wish to hide from it in the apartment, and the wish to make good memories (and
leave a memory of himself) was replaced with the wish to drown into a dream
and leave this world behind.
Thus one system of values replaced another. Henry was more and more influenced
by the spirit of the Room, Walter's feelings. But he was happy. "Henry was
happy and enjoying his new life. One other thing... He couldn't leave Room
302... "
h) What does the message on the door mean?
"Don't go out. Walter."
Answer: Remember the notice in the Wish House? "The Outside is filled with
dangerous things. If someone goes Outside without an adult's permission, the
Master is sad." That's just it. This thought, being one of Walter's strongest,
manifests itself in his world and Henry sees it when he is drawn deeper and
deeper into Walter's world. Thus, "Don't go out" became somewhat of Henry's
motto. He "lived" with it for the past two years and was happy. But when he
sees his lifestyle from a different angle (Walter's angle, horribly distorted
and scary), when he sees his "motto" written on the door, Townshend says only
"What the hell...?"
Indeed, "What the hell...?". Without leaving this "hell", not going out of
this "hell", Henry lived (lived?) happily.
i) Why does Henry talk when he knows he's alone in the apartment?
Answer: We often hear Henry talk to himself ("Oh, man... What a dream... "),
especially in the beginning of the game. Question is - why does he do that?
Nobody can hear him, nobody hears his yells for help, nor his screams of
despair... Now Henry Townshend is left in complete loneliness and complete
silence, in the Room of absolute peace. In the Room of complete "un-existance".
This loneliness is exactly the reason why Henry speaks to himself so much. In
the absence of real people, Townshend tries talks with an imagined person to
create at least a shade of an illusion of life. Left in complete silence, he
tries to break it, fill the emptiness. But can he fill his empty soul alone?
Can oppose Walter's crushing desire for peace?
--------------------------------------------------------
Henry is more and more influenced by Walter's feelings, desires, dreams,
thoughts, his world... And one of these gray and uneventful days Henry found
himself inside Walter's horrible world - this was when he started seeing the
nightmares.
Five days ago Henry realized, that his life has stopped (at 10:06) - outside,
life goes on, but for him it has come to a grinding halt, he is completely cut
off from the world - neither the TV, nor the phone work. Even the windows
can't be open or broken. And nobody would know, that his world has suddenly
turned inside out, nobody will even know if Henry dies in here. What's even
more strange - the door was locked from the inside.
Could there be someone INSIDE Room 302 other than Henry?
He says, that "Five days ago...My whole world has suddenly turned insane...".
But was it really 5 days? No. It was two years ago when Henry locked himself
away in his apartment, closing life off.
The Room is just a sad metaphor of his "happy" life in the past two years and
only after seeing it from a Walter's point of view, Henry starts to realize,
what has happened two years ago.
All this time, he could've just opened the door and walked outside, to freedom
- yet he refused this freedom and stayed in the Room, immersing himself in
"un-existance". And only when he is faced with a risk of never seeing freedom
again, Henry understands his true nature - finds his will to "be". This is how
people are: we only know the value of something when we lose it (Yeah, it's
too late to give up smoking if you already have... well, you get it. Just like
James - when Mary was healthy, he cared little about her - spent time in bars
etc. But she dies - and NOW all his world is centered around her!).
Accordingly, Henry recognizes his will to live, he wants to be with people.
But it is too late... Soon, he won't even be able to look at others through
his window, completely drowning in Walter's dark and lifeless "Paradise".
Henry did not find himself in time, couldn't escape Walter's influence in
time. "But now it's over... It's over... " The door leading to freedom is
forever closed.
In SH4 we first see Henry at the beginning of this realization - he's just
starting to realize, that he cannot continue this meaningless existance in a
sealed, isolated world, that he wants to hear somebody's voice again (the
scene with the phone), that he wants to see a human face again (Henry watching
Eileen through the peephole), that he wants to get out of the Room and return
to the human world. This "freedom" becomes the main goal of the former hermit,
it is what drives him and to reach this goal, Henry will do anything.
------------------------------
j) Scene with the phone
Five days of nightmares and realizing his own loneliness... Henry wanted to
hear another's voice so much... and, surprisingly, he receives a phone call!
But, ironically, Henry can't ask the caller to call the police, to free him...
Instead, he just says "Hello...?", hoping that the call is not just another
dream and that he will really hear a voice again. And how strange it is to
hear someone ask Henry for help. Moreover, the cord is cut. Just like the
umbilical cord was cut, severing Walter's connection to his Mother, the phone
cord is cut, severing Henry's connection to the world. This should've prompted
Henry to doubt his sanity. Maybe he wanted to hear a voice so much, that his
mind just made up this phone call? The answer, as always, lies in the world of
Walter Sullivan.
k) Henry's "voyerism".
What makes Henry watch his neighbor? What makes him wait impatiently for the
moment to see her? Before the realization of his confinement, he could've just
walked out of the Room, approach her and watch her all he wanted, talk to her,
give her flowers, ask her out on a date... But it never occured to him before
(or maybe it did, but he couldn't get himself to leave the peaceful world of
the Room?). And only now he finaly sees what he is losing. He wants to see
another living person just one more time (maybe the last time in his life...
). This "voyerism" gives double the pleasure, because seeing a human being
creates a hope of escape from this prison (yeah, and watching a girl is nice
in itself %) )
But, this also has a much deeper subtext. Henry realizes that he does not
live, can not live - but he WANTS to, despite all that. Thus, he tries to
compensate for his own "lifelessness" by watching the life of another.
Watching Eileen, he feels that he is living her life alongside her and is more
worried about her life than his own (remember the "Eileen's death" ending -
the saddest of all). And so, Henry begins to live the lives of others,
replacing his empty life with theirs. Just like a crazy soap opera fan %). A
sad picture, but that is all he can do.
------------------------------------

Oh, how Henry wants to escape his prison... And on the sixth day he finds a
HOLE in his bathroom. Impossible, such a HOLE cannot exist, there are no such
things in the world - the world of humans... But it is his chance - there's a
HOLE in his cell, there is Hope for him, Hope to escape confinement.
Note that when he sees the HOLE, Henry can't believe his eyes - he is shocked:
"What the hell?!". Maybe that is when he begins to doubt his own sanity? But
right after that he asks: "S-Somebody in there?" - there is doubt and fear in
his voice, but alongside them there is... hope. Henry wants to see somebody in
the HOLE, but we only see darkness. Darkness and void of the human soul
(yes-yes, "From the Darkness and Void, bring forth Gloom").
The HOLE's existance is unexplainable, it is against all the rules, it
contradicts common sense! But the HOLE is Henry's last and only Hope. If he
doesn't give in to this Hope, he can only embrace Despair and die, like
Schreiber did. And Henry makes his choice: "I wonder if I can get out this
way...?". The desire to live makes him try his last chance. Henry delves into
the HOLE...
-----------------------
l) Scene with the HOLE.
This scene is one of the most symbolic moments of SH4 and has at least three
meanings - it will be explained fully in the analysis of Silent Hill 4. For
now, let us look at it from Henry's side.
Armed only with his Hope [the bottle of wine and steel pipe don't count just
because I said so! - translator's note], Henry crawls into the HOLE - does he
believe that it leads somewhere? Wants to believe, yes, but his rationality
opposes it.
So, what does he see there? A weak light at the end of the tunnel - the light
of Hope. At first it is very weak, but as Henry gets closer to it, it gets
stronger and stronger. It's not only a representation of some sort of goal,
but also of Henry's Hope. Where will this blind Hope lead him?
-------------------------
Where does this desire to escape the Room lead Henry Townshend? To the outside
world, the scare outside world... of Walter Sullivan. From one cell right into
another - a world of an endless dream, an endless delusion, filled with the
twisted and disfigured spirits of Walter's victims and manifestations of his
fears. Maybe Henry should've take his advice and stayed in the Room? But no,
Henry can't stand it anymore. Escpecially towards the ending. He is willing to
walk through Walter's fears, to fight his desire for "un-existance" with his
desire for life, for freedom, for all that Henry had and lost.
-------------------------
m) Henry and the victims
At last Henry meets other people. People, drawn into the world of Walter
Sullivan. Can he even be sure that these are real people? It may be just his
dream... "It's just...a dream, right...?". What can a man, who has lost the
very ground under his feet, be sure of?
Nevertheless, Henry finally finds a person. Finds something, which he refused
himself for the past two years and which is what he want so much now. Notice
how through the course of the game Townshend displays disturbing, almost
inhuman altruism: he always tries to help the victims, tries to save them,
values their lives higher than his own... all for nothing. His Hope is
crumbling before his eyes - as soon as he finds love, it is destroyed. Little
by little, Hope gives place for despair and helplessness...
Note that the "story" of each world is built upon Walter's relationship with
the victim. Henry is just an observer. No matter how hard he tries, no matter
how much blood he spill, he can't change anything. He is unneeded, just as
Walter was in our world...
n) Self-preservation instinct.
Remember that episode of SH2 when James race with Maria towards the elevator
to save ONLY HIS OWN @$$? Well, you won't see anything like that in SH4.
It seems that Henry's self-preservation instinct has been replaced with
hyper-altruism (he even GRABS an electric chair, trying to save Braintree!).
What is it? A typical Hollywood-style SuperHero? Or is there something more
deep hidden in his character?
Let's look at his first encounter with the dogs. Henry is disturbed, he can't
believe his eyes, but we don't see any fear on his face. We never EVER see him
fear for his own life - "I wonder if Eileen is Okay" , "Eileen... Are you
still alive...? Eileen... ". He doesn't scream "Ahhh! Monsters! Help!". What
could that mean? Could that mean that he understands, that no one can help him
here? Probably not. Or does he think "It's okay...it's just a dream..." and
see the dogs as just illusions? Nope. Later he tell Eileen "if you get killed
here... Then you die in the real world too...". Yet, he protects her, risking
his own life. Yeah, that just it. What does Henry risk protecting the victims?
His own life. What life? The one he led for the last two years? Was it life at
all? A difficult question. But now, Henry would rather die, that continue this
confined existance.
p) Lost Memories
What did Henry's "life" in the past 2 years consist of? Mostly of memories
about the days spent in Silent Hill. He stayed in the past, going deeper and
deeper into the "un-existance". His interest in photography only puts emphasis
on how much he values his past. But look at how his comments change through
the course of the game. Henry's memories are being replaced by Joseph's (and
Walter's too) - Henry is losing what he values most and now has no past and no
future... The new owner of Room 302 is doomed to become a "blank paper" for
Walter's "wisdom" and dissolve in Sullivan's subconscious world.
q) Henry's influence on Walter's world.
Note how each victim (and other visitors of Walter's world) bring some feeling
and\or memory of theirs into Walter's world (Schreiber's diaries, Cynthia's
make-up and the other "items left behind", Frank Sunderland's diary, Mike's
diary etc.). But what is Henry's "contribution"? Some fans think that it is
the Toluca Lake, insisting that it is the representation of Henry's memories.
So, what did Henry bring into Walter's world? Or was he so "blank", that there
was no image or memory to manifest? Wrong. Room 302 is one big memory of
Henry's. Remember the 21 Sacraments ending - the Room is not an image from
Walter's or Joseph's mind. It is Henry's memory of his last living place,
still existing in Walter's world.
So, in the context of the "21 Sacraments" ending, the memory of the Room was
the strongest in Henry's mind, because in there he spent 2 "happy" years of
"un-existance".
r) Henry as the 21st victim.
As we know, the victims are associated with Tarot cards. The 21st card is "The
World", sometimes also known as "The Crown of Mages". It is a "positive" card,
that symbolises Wisdom, Love, prevailing over one's weakness etc. Accordingly,
Townshend is full of this Wisdom\Love\Altruism stuff - so full that it just
gets over the edge. That's why he became the 21st. Also, all the way we see
him fighting his main weakness - his attachment to the Room. Also, the meaning
of victim 21121 is reflected in the Halo of the Sun ( see Part 2-16).
s) Henry as the Receiver of Wisdom.
It is important to note, that in Walter Sullivan's mind the Receiver of Wisdom
was strongly associated with the next owner of the apartment (his "Mother")
after the Giver of Wisdom ("Whoever lives here after me... You'll be the 21st,
the last of the sacrifices..." - Joseph Schreiber). This choice stems from the
strange link between the Mother and the apartment in Walter's world. If try to
compare victims 15121 and 21121, we see that "Wisdom" was associated with
"Mother", which is in turn associated with "Room" in Walter's sick mind. Thus,
the next resident of Room 302 is the "Receiver of apartment"="Receiver of
Wisdom" and brings this "wisdom" into Walter's world in the form of his
memories about the apartment. The memories merge with Walter's world - voila,
Wally is free to reunite with his mom! %)
But, there are other hidden meanings to this.
Firstly, Schreiber, the Giver of Wisdom, researches Sullivan's personality and
"gives" this "wisdom" to Henry, the Receiver of Wisdom, in the form of his
letters (though Walter never expected him to do that).
Secondly, Schreiber's theme was Despair - so, the wisdom he is supposed to
give could be this very Despair? And Henry was supposed to receive Despair
through reading Joseph's diary and seeing all his hopes fall before his eyes.
Last but not least, something Walter never predicted and could not predict
anyways. Only by seeing Walter's world, Henry looks at his life from a
different angle - from Walter's angle. Henry's discovery of his real "self" is
triggered by Walter's influence ("Into the Depths of Self Discovery"). Only
when faced with losing freedom forever, he realizes how terrible it would be
to be left without others' attention and how dear he holds the world he risks
to lose now. Only in Walter's world he understands this. But isn't it too
late? Can this realization change his dark fate?
The answer to this question is the ending you get.
t) Comparative analysis of Walter and Henry
I think everyone has noticed, that Walter and Henry are similar in several
ways - it's even reflected in their appearance (Henry and young Walter). Let's
make a comparative analysis:
---Both are impressionable and artistic.
---Walter used to be an explorer - he went out of the orphanage to see the
outside world even though he knew he would get beaten, but under the cult's
influence he started to close off from the world. Finally, he created a prison
for himself.
---Henry was also a very open person, loved to travel. But when he gets under
the influence of Walter's world, he began to change and also closed off.
---As a result, both Walter and Henry arrive at the idea of "peace in the
Room". This similarity is what allows Henry to enter Walter's world so easily.
---Both are lonely. Both can't live in our world without support... Walter
tries to fight off this loneliness by creating an imaginary Mother. Henry
tries to convince himself of his own happiness.
---Just like Walter was taken away from his Mother ("But one day the cord was
cut , the mother went to sleep. The baby was left all alone."), Henry is taken
away from the world completely ("The cord's cut... ").
---Walter is struggling to help his Mother. Henry is struggling to help the
victims.
---Walter was unneeded in the real world. Henry is unneeded in Walter's world.
This could go on and on, but I think now it's visible, that Henry and Walter
are two sides of one coin. The coin is loneliness. Walter had nobody from the
start, while Henry was a little more lucky - his life with his parents (see
photo of little Henry with his parents) was filled with happiness, he enjoyed
life, wanted to see everything (the globe). But when he left his nest and
moved into SAHapts, he was left without support and started to distance
himself from the world.
-----------------------------------
If Sullivan really was an "inhuman killing machine", as Schreiber wants Henry
to believe, Henry wouldn't have a chance (a book in Silent Hill 1 states that
negative emotions are always stronger than positive ones). But there is doubt
in Walter. He can't make the final decision to sacrifice Eileen Galvin ("The
boy protected me from the man with the coat"). This is similar to SH1, where
Alessa could not decide wether she wants Samael to be born - wants the people
she so hates to die... we all know where she ended up. It is Walter's doubt
that gave Henry a chance to save Eileen - he gains Hope. This is really the
LAST Hope. And so, Henry Townshends sets out to brave the dangers of the
Hospital World. "Eileen... Are you still alive...?"
-----------------------
u) Henry and Eileen
Eileen has been living next door from Henry for two years, but he never showed
any interest in her (or maybe he was interested in her, but could not show it,
enclosed in his shell of un-existance). Only when Henry risks to lose her
forever does he realize how dear she is to him.
The nightmare brought the two people together: Eileen knows, that she cannot
escape Walter's world alone ("You're the only chance I've got... I'll stick
with you. ") and Henry feels, that even if he can make it out alive, he won't
be able to live without her - Eileen has become his closest person (Walter's
influence again?), so he makes all the efforts to keep her from being harmed.
Rephrasing James from SH4, "Without Eileen, I just can't go on." (or, straight
from the game texts - "I can't just leave Eileen."). So there you have it.
Eileen can't survive without Henry, Henry can't live without Eileen (remember
the "Death of Eileen" ending).
Well, now that Henry has Eileen, he gains Hope and his life now has some
meaning - something to defend against Walter's desire of peace with. Although,
he still has no Faith that Sullivan can be defeated.
v) The Ultimate Truth.
Through the second half of the game, Henry and Eileen make their way into the
depths of Walter's subconscious world, hoping to find the Ultimate Truth, that
will allow them to defeat him and end the nightmare. But what do they find?
What is this Ultimate Truth? Just another lie... Schreiber insists, that
Sullivan is just a mindless murderer ("he's become nothing more than an
inhuman killing machine..."), that ther's nothing human left in him (even
though we know that he has his doubts). So, why does Henry need this lie?
Because he needs Faith and Hope.
Schreiber tells him, that it is not too late to save himself ("Even now...it
may not be...too late..."), and tells Henry that he MUST kill Walter without
any doubts or regrets ("You must kill...him... You must kill him...
Kill...... Kill... Kill...... Kill......").
Now everything should make sense. After realizing his nature, Henry wants to
live, after meeting Eileen, his life gains a meaning and now he believes that
he can get out alive. It may have been a lie, just another illusion, but as
long as Henry believes in this illusion, he holds the pickaxe of Hope firmly
in his hands.
-----------------------------
In the end, his quest for freedom brings Henry to the same "Womb" as Walter.
The grand finale... We see the clash of two hopeless altruists - the adult
Walter, struggling to complete the 21 Sacraments for his Mother and his
childhood dream (he cares for Wally), and Henry, willing to sacrifice his own
life only to save Eileen, because without her his life will remain the gray,
lonely nightmare it was before.
Wish to live and wish to die, Eros and Thanatos confront each on the
battleground of the endless cycle of Birth and Death.
Who will win?
Will Walter win and sacrifice the lives of Henry and Eileen only to go into an
endless sleep ("Mom...... I'm home.. I'm gonna stay with you, forever...")?
Or will Henry prevail? But what awaits him if he loses Eileen? Was it all in
vain ("Eileen...")?
And even if Henry manages to save her, are they strong enough to begin a new
life and forget the nightmare? Will they find their happiness together, or are
they to continue their lonely lives in SAHapts, doomed to return to the dark
world?
-----------------------------------------
w) Ideological analysis of Henry Townshend.
Henry's image is not that of a hero or a maniac. Just an ordinary middle-aged
man. A lonely person, who closed himself from the world in his Room. His
neighbor is another lonely person - Eileen Galvin - whom he has no interest
in. Another neighbor of his is Mike - yet another lonely person, drowning in
his unrequited love for Rachel. Room 105 is the room of Frank Sunderland, who
has lost his son and wanted to find a friend in Townshend. Room 205 holds a
gamer, who, like Henry, never leaves his apartment. 102 - a woman, who loved
cats so much, that she never found a human being to love. And numerous other
instances of the same thing. This is reality - millions of lonely people,
languishing in their own cages ("coin lockers") and living their only life in
"happy" loneliness, dying little by little every day of this existance. Deep
down they want to find somebody to love, but this wish is always thrown back
by the walls of other people's hearts. People, forever locked in their
"cages", living in the gray world of a Room, afraid to open the door to the
world, believeing that nobody needs them and nobody can know their heart. Dead
ends, walls everywhere - no exit, no escape. There have to be alternatives -
but there are none. Looks like some sort of an existencionalist drama. A
drama, in which the sole actors are ordinary people, the residents of South
Ashfield Heights, Henry Townshend included.
Can this circle be broken? Can the walls be broken and freedom achieved?
Maybe, maybe... As we see from Henry's example, when one locks himself away,
the first step to freedom is realization of one's nature. But this cannot be
done alone - someone has to give them a push. For Henry this "push" was the
hell he walked through, the world of Walter Sullivan, a person, whose
personality is so similar to Henry's. Only after seeing his world, Henry
starts to see the futility of closed existance and makes his first steps on
what would be a long way to opening the door and leaving the Room of Despair
and Loneliness.
But even this realization will not have any results, if the others are as
closed, as you once were. You need to be understood by others. But, again,
they need to be set on this path before they take it.
Maybe the release of Silent Hill 4: The Room will be that push? Fans of SH
will follow Henry in realizing their true nature, recognizing their true
wishes and loves and use the Wisdom of Walter's failure to look at their own
life from a different angle. Maybe this game (as a trip to another world) will
turn somebody's life around and change them for the better? Maybe someone will
achieve true Wisdom with the help of this game? It depends on you - the push
has been delivered, now it's up to you to walk the path...
x)
Quote: "My whole world has suddenly turned insane..."
Metaphor: "Receiver of Wisdom"
Symbol: The Room
Music: Melancholy Requiem, Into the Depths of Self Discovery, Your Rain.
Name: The meaning of Henry's last name can be found in one of Eileen's lines:
"Hen...ry... Towns...hend...". Notice how she puts emphasis on separating
"Towns" and "Hend". Almost sounds like "Town's hand", doesn't it? Henry -
Town's Hand. Sounds funny and gives interesting associations, but I doubt
there's some real meaning here. The role of "Town's Hand" is more fitting for
Walter. But he and Henry ARE alike, so...
In reality, Henry Townshend is a musician and a singer - talk about artistic
persons.
4-3 Eileen Galvin
Age: Around 20
Occupation: Sexy nurse? %)
Before she moved into SAHapts, Eileen used to live with her (quite wealthy)
parents in North Ashfield ("I used to live in North Ashfield..."). She was
happy just feeling that she's not alone in the world ("She looked so happy
holding her mother's hand..."). But now it's all different - she left her
"nest", finished college ("I studied archaeology back in college") and rented
an apartment in South Ashfield. She keeps her childhood memories close to her
heart (doll key), but we don't see her communicating with her family (which is
strange - could they be dead?). Moreover, she doesn't even have a boyfriend
(well, there's Townshend, but only if you get the "Escape" ending), so she's
expecting the upcoming party as a good chance to "catch" somebody to liven up
her gray day-to-day life. This is an important point - it sets Eileen apart
from Henry, who, while also lonely, does not look for anyone and prefers to
lock himself in his apartment.
Eileen sees a simple party as some big event that will turn her life in
completely new direction (which makes you think - maybe it's her first
party?). Well, the evening does hold many surprises for her, but wether her
expectations will be fulfilled is up to the player. We all know what kind of
party she's going to get to.
------------------------------------------
a) Around 20 years earlier.
Around 20 years ago young Eileen was coming home with her mother to celebrate
her father's birthday. In the subway they met a homeless young man - Walter
Sullivan. He was out in the cold, lying in his tattered sleeping bag in the
South Ashfield subway station... He had no home, no parents to come to, nobody
to care for him (except from an imaginary Mother, who didn't even exist).
Eileen had it all. But what's more important is that she is a compassionate
person - she decided to help Walter and gave him her doll, a tiny piece of her
happiness. But even that was enough for Walter, who never had any joy in his
life. Even after all this time, he remembers it and it is what warmed his
heart all that time... "I got this from Miss Galvin a long, long time ago...
She was younger than me back then... She looked so happy holding her mother's
hand..."
b) Compassion
We all know that children are generally much more compassionate than adults.
With time, they become too busy with their own troubles and have less and less
time to care about others' problems. People change, it's a known fact. But did
Eileen change in these 20 years? Did the child in her heart, that wanted to
make Walter happy, disappear completely?
Let's look at the game facts:
---Eileen is the first to notice that there's something wrong with Henry. Even
though "They can't hear me...". Maybe Eileen was somehow able to feel
Townshend's pain and desperation?
---She cares about little Wally, even though the "man in coat" is ready to
kill her. "Hey kid... Thanks... Did you find your mommy...? This
place...it's dangerous... You need... Hurry and get out of here..."
---Eileen wants to help Walter when she learns about his terrible fate: "It's
terrible... That poor little boy... His parents just threw him away right
after he was born... Poor thing... He really thinks that Room 302 is his
mother... I've gotta...I've gotta help him..."
So we see that even after all these years, Eileen is still a "good girl", who
feels the pain of others and can't watch them suffer. Although, from the
example of Lisa Garland we know, that this kind of personality won't get one
anywhere good...
c) Robbie the Rabbit in Eileen's bedroom.
Through the peephole we can see a pink rabbit from Lakeside Amusement Park.
This toy could mean, that:
1) Eileen used to live in Silent Hill before Ashfield, or visited Silent Hill
with her parents, and now has sweet memories of that time.
2) Seeing as how she gave Walter a doll, he might have given her something in
return later. And what would a boy from Silent Hill give as a gift? Right, a
plush Robbie the Rabbit. This is further supported by the fact, that the
rabbit points at Henry, as if saying: "You're Next!".
d) Eileen and Walter.
Eileen was the only person that Walter felt was close to him... The memory of
her is his only happy memory, the only memory that connects him to reality.
Because of it he can't fully believe, that people can only bring suffering.
It's what prevented him from fully believing in the Room. "But now it's
over...". Now it's time to break all the chains and sacrifice all for the sake
of his Mother:
Denounce the truth ("You must defeat the One Truth. Do so and this door will
open"), to believe in the imaginary Mother-Room...
Sacrifice the people, who brought him only pain and suffering ("Offer the
Blood of the Ten Sinners")...
The life, spent in darkness and fear ("Be then released from the bonds of the
flesh")...
And offer one final sacrifice - Eileen Galvin ("separate from the flesh too,
she is who is the Mother Reborn").
Of course, the first three sacrifices are easy for Walter to perform, but
Eileen is not. But he must do it - and the "man in coat" puts aside his only
happy memory ("Here, I'll give it to you... ") and gets ready to complete the
"Mother Reborn". But the seed of doubt is still withing him - a part of his
consciousness cannot allow the death of a dear person ("The boy protected me
from the man with the coat...").
-----------------------------------------
So, after sacrificing Richard Braintree, Walter's psychic energy increases and
Eileen is drawn into his world ("I can see Eileen Galvin from here... I'm
pretty sure that's Room 303. What's she doing in this world?"), where she is
attacked by the "man in coat". But the 20121 sacrifice goes wrong due to
Walter's inner conflicts and Eileen is left alive. She is taken to St.Jerome's
hospital. Although, it's only her physical body that is taken there - her mind
is still trapped in Walter's world. This time, the Hospital World.
It is there that Henry finds her.
---------------------------------------------------
e) Eileen and Henry
Eileen feels helpless and vulnerable in Walter's world ("I just feel so
scared..."), she does not understand where she is ("This place...what is it
anyway?") and how to return home ("What am I gonna do?"). She can't survive
alone. And her last Hope is Henry Townshend, the Receiver of Wisdom, who knows
how to defeat Walter ("I might know a way to save you...").
The nightmare brought the two people together: Eileen knows, that she cannot
escape Walter's world alone ("You're the only chance I've got... I'll stick
with you. ") and Henry feels, that even if he can make it out alive, he won't
be able to live without her - Eileen has become his closest person (Walter's
influence again?), so he makes all the efforts to keep her from being harmed.
Rephrasing James from SH4, "Without Eileen, I just can't go on." (or, straight
from the game texts - "I can't just leave Eileen."). So there you have it.
Eileen can't survive without Henry, Henry can't live without Eileen (remember
the "Death of Eileen" ending).
----------------------------------------------
Together, they go on a search of the Ultimate Truth and Hope, hidden deep down
in Walter's subconscious. With time, Eileen seems to change...
----------------------------------
f) Eileen's metamorphoses.
Basically, Eileen undergoes the similar process Heather and Maria did.
The more damage she receives, the more her true identity is weakened and she
is more and more influenced by Walter. Soon, her memories are replaced with
Walter's (Obviously, the phrase "I used this subway all the time when I was
younger..." is about HIS past, not hers. By the way, a similar, but weaker,
effect we can see on Henry). Over time she becomes "posessed" by Walter ("I'm
cold... Help me..." , "Where's mommy??" , "Mommy... Wake up... Let me in.." ,
"And God said, thou must return to the wellspring of sin..."). This is also
noticeable in her appearance - her eyes turn red, which sends us way back to
SH1, in which it was established, that red is the color of memory, rebirth
and, uh... blood - three things, that are always connected in the series. It's
ironic, how a girl, who can feel the pain of others starts to feel all of
Walter's fears and sufferings ("Oh, my head hurts... Th-That boy...he's coming
in... His pain...I feel it... ") - somewhat reminiscent of Lisa.
g) Eileen as the 20th victim
As we know, the victims were chosen according to Tarot cards. The 20th card is
"Judgement", sometimes also known as "Rebirth". A group of people stand in awe
around an open grave, a man is looking at an angel, floating in the air with
horn. Next to the man, a woman is kneeling. People, awakened by the call of
the Angel's horn are walking out of the grave to a new life.
This is why Walter's memories and feelings are "reborn" through Eileen in
Walter's world and that is why the 20th sacrifice is called "Mother Reborn".
The meaning of 20121 is also reflected in the Halo of the Sun (see Part 2-16)
-------------------------------------
The further course of events is determined by your actions in the course of
the game and the "degree" of Eileen's "posession":
1) She begins to feel the pain and despair of Wally and decides to help him
("It's Walter... He's crying... Even finishing the 21 Sacraments... It won't
help that boy...") - after obtaining the Ultimate Truth, Hope and the
umbilical cord, she goes to the Womb to end Walter's unending nightmare
forever ("I'm going back, Henry...To the room where he is... We're the only
ones... The only ones that can stop him..."). In this case she won't be
walking so fast in the final battle.
2) Eileen becomes fully posessed by Walter's feelings ("Daddy...? Mommy...?
Why did you leave me? I'm scared... I'm so scared... It's dark, and I'm so
scared...") and believes in the awakening of the Room ("Mommy... Mommy......?
Are you asleep...? Mommy... I'll wake you up... I will..."). Obsessed with
young Walter's wish, she goes to the Womb to sacrifice herself for the Room.
In this case she'll be walking towards the "killing machine" faster, because
Walter's influence on her is much stronger.
-----------------------
h) The Final Battle
In the end, Eileen's compassion brings her to the same "Womb" as Walter
Sullivan, where his will takes her over and step by step she approaches her
death and the moment of the Mother's awakening. Deep down, she is in conflict
with herself. Her will to live stands against her wish to help Walter fulfill
his dream, supported by her kind nature and his influence (the progress of
this conflict determines her moving speed). Outside we see the clash of two
hopeless altruists - the adult Walter, struggling to complete the 21
Sacraments for his Mother and his childhood dream (he cares for Wally), and
Henry, willing to sacrifice his own life only to save Eileen, because without
her his life will remain the gray, lonely nightmare it was before.
i) Victims List info
Victim 20/21
Name: Eileen Galvin
Occupation: Unknown
Gender\features: White female
Height\weight: 170 cm, 68 kg
Hobbies: Unknown
Other: Gave Walter a doll around 20 years ago
Motive: "Mother Reborn"
Method: Beaten to death\unsuccessful
Location: Room 303 of South Ashfield Heights apartment building
Item left behind: Bag
j)
Quote: "It's terrible... That poor little boy... I've gotta...I've gotta help
him... "
Metaphor: "Mother Reborn"
Symbol: Doll
Music: "Your Rain", "Didn't know, didn't know"
Name: Eileen is a distinctively feminine name, emphasizing her personality.
And, personally, the name Galvin reminds me of Garland - there is similarity
between the two.
k) Bonus: Sexy nurse
After you finish SH4 for the first time, you'll have a chance to see Eileen in
a costume of a... sexy nurse. In this article, I'll try to seriously [! -
translator's note] analyze it. When they are drawn into Walter's world, the
victims begin to "play by Walter's rules" and even their appearance may change
according to that (yes, Walter believed that after death they would become
ghosts and voila - there we have geniune, grade-Am floating, moaning ghosts).
But why would Eileen appear as a nurse? For some reason in Walter's sick mind
she was associated with a sexy nurse. let's try to find this reason.
1) It is a known fact, that nurses have always been objects of sexual desire
of men and many erotic classics involve nurses [yeah, he watched them all!
This guy is THAT perverted - Translator's note]. If take into account Freud's
theories (and remember SH2 by the way) we may even assume, that such an
appearance is a result of Walter's fantasies involving Eileen. Mhhmmm, maybe
his feelings towards her weren't really "pure and uncorrupted"? %)
2) The main idea of Eileen's image is compassion - isn't that a characteristic
of nurses? If we compare SH1 and SH4, Eileen's counterpart would be Lisa, who
was a nurse. Maybe in Walter's mind Eileen's image was that of a kind-hearted
nurse? And the weird dress is, again, a result of his sexual unsatisfaction.
3) St.Jerome's hospital is close to SAHapts and Eileen's personality is
fitting for a nurse. If we put two and two together, the connection become
obvious.
4) Eileen is the "Mother Reborn" - she plays an extremely important role in
the Mother's awakening. Awakening=reanimation?
5) And, finally, the most probable version. It's the doing of the Great Dog -
the queen of Silent Hill fan-service! Or could it be Samael? Or did they
cooperate?
4-4. Frank Sunderland. The way of Frank (+a short history of SAHapts)
Age: around 60
Occupation: SAHapts superintendant.
Frank Sunderland has been the superintendant of SAHapts ever since it was
built and has seen his share of strange things in his life, but one thing he
will never forget... There was no place for mysticism, just ugly reality.
34 years ago Frank found an abandoned newborn baby in Room 302. Even though he
did all he could for the baby (found him, called an ambulance - he practically
saved the baby's life) this made a terrible impression on him, made worse by
the fact, that he had a young son of his own. For 34 years Frank could not
forget this ("Some things we forget and some things we can never
forget......") and for 34 years he has kept the umbilical cord in his room 105
as a sad reminder of the baby's life gone wrong from birth. What happened to
him? Did he find his parents? Is he happy? These questions assaulted the
superintendant's mind. Sunderland cares about other people, and he is very
self-critical and tends to rethink his actions (it runs in the blood, doesn't
it? Just look at James!), and, just as Eileen Galvin is, he is compassionate.
10 years ago another strange event took place in SAHapts: Frank saw a man in a
long coat climb up the stairs. He was carrying a heavy tool (Great Knife), a
goblet and a pack, that was dripping blood (what he really saw was the
subconscious image of self in Walter's world, just before he performed the
Holy Assumption). And Richard Braintree later reported seeing someone in Room
302 (it was the "White Noiz" - a result of Walter's psychic energy
concentrated in the Room). Well, "There are a...lot of strange things in this
world..."
But that wasn't the last thing. Around 7 years ago Frank's son (James) and
daughter-in-law (Mary) disappeared in Silent Hill (If you still don't
understand who are James nad Mary -- PLAY THE F***ING SH2 , DAMMIT!!! [Don't
mind him, he just hasn't been fed - Translator's note]). Now Frank is left
alone.
After all these strange events Joseph Schreiber moved into Room 302 and soon
disappeared without a trace (before that, strange sounds could be heard from
the Room) - when the door finally could be opened, no body could be found.
Truly, "There are a...lot of strange things in this world...". Maybe that was
the moment Sunderland started to suspect there was something wrong with this
apartment and the disappearance is somehow connected to it directly ("There's,
uh, somethin' wrong with this whole apartment...")?
In any case, six months later, a new resident moved into the Room... Henry
Townshend.
After losing his son, Sunderland longed for friendship and wanted to make a
friend in the new resident. When he learns about Henry's interest in
photography, he immediately gave him a photo. But Sunderland's naive attempt
shattered on the wall of Henry's heart.
Today, Sunderland had a strange dream (he saw Walter's world). In it, the man
in coat was crying, he was looking for his mother. And today Frank learns that
Room 302's door won't open again, and there are strange sounds coming from
inside - just as before. Today, Frank is going into Walter's world.
--------------------------------
Sunderland's Diary.
In the depths of Walter's world we can find Frank Sunderland's diary, written
ten years after Sullivan's death. Of course, a question arises: how could this
dieary get into Walter's world? As we know, the memos are either bits of
thoughts of the world's creator, or the thoughts of people, drawn into this
world (Schreiber's diary). So, that means Frank is also in this world? The
answer lies in the ending.
--------------------------
21 Sacraments: "Once again, we've got late breaking news...Five unnamed police
officers have been found dead, for reasons unknown, in the South Ashfield
Heights apartments, along with its superintendent, Mr. Frank Sunderland. All
other residents of South Ashfield Heights have been rushed to St. Jerome's
Hospital, many complaining of severe chest pains.These strange incidents are
similar to the ones which occurred in Silent Hill some years ago. More news to
follow."
The 21 Sacraments ending implies, that the world gained so much influence,
that Frank is drawn into it and his physical body dies, dooming him to become
a victim and "haunt this realm as a spirit". Just like that time in Silent
Hill a few years back...
There are a...lot of strange things in this world...
4-5. Joseph Schreiber. The way of Joseph.
Age: around 40
Occupation: Journalist
Joseph Schreiber has always believed that it is his duty to show the "Ultimate
Truth" and set people on the "Ture path" (quite similar to the cult's beliefs,
don't you think?). That is why he became a journalist. But can he really tell
truth from lies? Joseph believed he could. Around 10 years ago he decided to
uncover the dark deeds of Silent Hill's cult and published an article, telling
about the true purpose of the Wish House and about the dark side of the cult
in the Concord magazine. But, as we know from SH3, Claudia and Vincent could
care less about this article. The Cult disappeared later due to other reasons
(play SH3 and read Dying Inside to see what REALLY happened to the cult and
the town).
After the "strange incidents which occurred in Silent Hill some years ago" (as
we know from DI, Silent Hill is pretty much abandoned - drawn completely into
Alessa's world), Joseph moves to Ashfield and, ironically, rents a room in
SAHapts - Room 302. His life's somewhat old-fashioned - he listens to old
records, types on an old typewriter. Notice that there is no TV in his
apartment. And he's a JOURNALIST - a person, who's supposed to be in touch
with everything that happens in the world. It seems as if time has stopped for
him and he lived in the Room, closed off from the rest of the world.
But 7 years ago he learned something, that turned his life around. A murder
victim with the numbers 12121 on their chest has been found, marking the
second killing spree of Walter Sullivan. According to his own diary, Joseph
felt afraid ("Right away I had this terrible feeling and couldn't stop
shaking"), but he became greatly interested in the story of the maniac ("The
police think it's a copycat crime and are calling it the Sullivan Case Round
Two. But something about it bothered me..."), probably in no small part due to
the influence of Walter's memories.
With time he becomes more and more interested in the Sullivan case, an
interest slowly turning into a mania. He digs deeper and deeper, finds out
more and more info about Walter (guess what drives him ;) ) and starts his own
investigation of the recent murders.
------------------------------
a) Joseph's diary
April 4th - feeling, that his life is in danger, he starts a diary, in which
he writes down all he has found on Walter (basically, it is the "Wisdom" he's
supposed to give).
April 8th - Joseph believes, that the murderer is not COPYING Walter, but, in
fact, IS Walter ("I'm investigating two people. Or maybe I should say just
one.") and that the Sullivan case is connected to Silent Hill and the dead
Cult ("Although the cult itself is gone, I'm sure the spirit of it is still
alive. There are too many strange things happening in that town."). He wants
to get this "Ultimate Truth" no matter what.
April 10th (this is a secret memo, which can only be found on Silent Hill 4's
official site) - using his old connections, Joseph enters the Wish House and
finds the Crimson Tome.
Since then, no one has seen Joseph. At first he was thought to have gone
insane and locked himself in the Room (strange sounds) - but, after the door
was finally opened, nothing was found. From this we can say that Joseph never
returned from Silent Hill. It is unknown what fate exactly befell him in the
foggy town, but we know, that his consciousness existed in Walter's
subconscious world - he even continued writing his diary.
May - Schreiber still thinks he's in the apartment. He starts having
headaches, but continues his search for the "Ultimate Truth".
June - Schreiber thinks, that he goes to Silent Hill. Obviously, it's not the
real Silent Hill cemetary he comes to, but the one in the Forest World ("I'm
still in shock...There was no body in the grave... And on top of that, written
on the coffin were the numbers "11/21"...").
July - Schreiber is starting to realize that he's actually inside Walter's
world ("You've seen that world as well... That horrible nightmare."). He finds
Holy Medallions, Swords of Obedience etc. Soon it will come to him, that he is
just another ghost, trapped inside Walter's world.
August - Room 302 is locked. Schreiber tries to break throught the wall, but
to no avail - "The faint hope I had is slowly changing to despair.". Joseph is
slowly drowning in despair... Soon, the "victim" of Jimmy Stone will find his
way inside. But it doesn't matter... The real Joseph Schreiber is not in the
apartment (his body will never be found). Only bits of his consciousness still
flicker in the Room, reliving the moment of their "death".
6 months later Henry Townshend moves into Room 302.
Two years later Henry Townshend (under the influence of Joseph's memories,
concentrated in the Room) starts having a recurring nightmare - the last
moments of Joseph's conscious existance. Also, he starts to find pieces of the
journalist's memories and "receives" his "Wisdom" (the red diaries). Soon,
Henry will also be drawn into Walter's world.
b) The Ultimate Truth
Even after death, Joseph is still trying to show the "Ultimate Truth". Before,
he used logic and facts to do this. Now he relies completely on the Crimson
Tome ("Follow the...Crimson Tome... Stop him..."). As a prophet, he sets Henry
on the "True Path". It may have been a lie, just another illusion, but as long
as Henry believes in this illusion, he holds the pickaxe of Hope firmly in his
hands.
c) Ideological analysis of Joseph Schreiber.
Basically, Schreiber is just your typical ghost, who can't realize his own
death and continues to live in the Room - just as the occult magazine in SH3
said: "The souls of those who died suddenly by suicide or accident don't
realize they're dead. Sometimes they stay put and haunt that particular place.
These spirits have lost their human senses and memories and can only keep
replaying the pain and sadness of the moment they died."
Joseph Schreiber spent all his life uncovering the "Ultimate Truth". But Truth
often betrays people - it can be cruel and lead to Despair. In turn, sweet
Lies can give one Hope (remember James). Thus, this "Ultimate Truth" threw
Joseph into Despair (the truth was that he was just a victim - a pawn in
Walter's world). Now he exists not to find the Truth, but to give Hope, even
if it is through Lies ("Even now...it may not be...too late... Follow
the...Crimson Tome... Stop him...").
We see that the main theme of Jospeh is the connection between Truth and
Despair, Lies and Hope. Along with Wisdom, Schreiber brings Despair to
Walter's world, becoming a par t of it...
d) The Devil
As we know, all the victims correspond to Tarot Cards. The #15 card is The
Devil, also known as The Fatum and The Dark Side. It symbolizes the decay and
death of the spirit in a person. It can also mean, that the ideals the person
in question is pursiong are false and it's better to leave them now, before
they drag them in. Accordingly - Joseph's loss of hope, his Despair=death of
the spirit. His obsession with Walter's history brought him into the
nightmarish world.
Now let's take a look at the picture on the card. In the center we see the
"Devil". A man and a woman are standing in front of him. Remind you of
something? Namely, the meeting with Schreiber and the receiveing of the
Ultimate Truth. There you have it - Joseph Schreiber, whose Hope has died (see
the meaning of the #15 Tarot card), he is urging Henry and Eileen to KILL
Walter (killing is a mortal sin, as you know) and to follow occult
scriptures...
The man and the woman are Henry and Eileen... In the context of SH4, Schreiber
is the Giver of Wisdom. Now, how did Adam and Eve "receive wisdom"? Through
the serpent's (read - the DEVIL's) temptation.
e) Victims List info
Victim 15/21
Name: Joseph Schreiber (a.k.a. J)
Occupation: Journalist
Gender/features: Middle-aged white male.
Height/weight: 185 cm, 87 kg
Hobbies: reading, fishing (it's said that fishing brings peace to the soul.
Are you thinking what I'm thinking? ;) )
Other: An active and professional journalist
Motive: Despair
Method: Unknown (no body found)
Location: Unknown
Item left behind: Red Diary
f)
Quote: The faint hope I had is slowly changing to despair...
Metaphor: Despair
Symbol: Red Diary
Name: "Schreiber" means "writer" in German. Not surprising, that a journalist
was given such a name. Also, Joseph Schreiber is a fairly well-known
professor, specializing in pediatry. Ironic, that a man with such a name would
die in a world of childhood fears.

4-6. Cynthia Velasquez.

Age: 29
------------------------
a) Victims List info:
Victim 16/21
Name: Cynthia Velasquez
Occupation: Unknown (yeah, RIGHT!)
Gender/features: White female
Height/weight: 172 cm 86 kg
Hobbies: Unknown
Other: Has strange dreams
Motive: Temptation
Method: multiple wounds, inflicted with a knife-like weapons
Location: South Ashfield Street station
Item left behind: Make up
----------------------------------------------------
26 years ago Walter saw a little girl in the subway and caught her name -
Cynthia. Her parents called her Cynthia. It would seem that it's nothing
unusual, but for some reason, Walter remembered her. At an age of 3, she was
already very beautiful. And with such a name! That is why Walter watched her
for the next ten years in the subway. It was her favorite way of
transportation.
------------------------------------------------
b) A godly name (original text by DoVoD, edited by SilentPyramid, translated
by Darth_Blade).
I bet you're all just itching to know what is so special about the name
Cynthia. A little research will tell you, that it is another name for the
goddess Artemis! Why doesn't your confused expression change to that of
fascination, my dear reader? Oh, you're not familiar with Artemis? Okay then...
Artemis (Diana in Roman mythology) is the goddess of hunt, moon, fertility,
plants and innocence. She was supposed to be a patron of animals and pregnant
women. She was usually depicted with a tower-shaped crown on her head (or a
crescent on the same part of the body), holding a bow in one hand and holding
a deer by its horns with the other. But what's even more fascinating is that
Artemis was a virgin. She is also supposed to be accompanied by beautiful
nymphs.
So, we can assume that Cynthia's name and appearance made a false impression
on Walter. She was beautiful like Artemis, was always accompanied by other
girls (nymphs), of which she was the most beautiful. He also heard that she
spent a lot of time in night clubs (rests and dances with Apollon). And her
dress was short. Well, she didn't hunt any animals in his presence...
But was she really as divine as he thought her to be?
c) About 16 years ago (based on Another Crimson Tome)
Cynthia was only 13 years old and spent most of her time in adult company,
keeping her actual age secret. Obviously, she wasn't very self-restricing,
thinking only about parties and other forms of "adult" entertainment.
On this fateful day, Walter Sullivan has finally decided to approach her. He
was very shy ("e...excuse... me..."). Just thinking of how difficult it was
for him to do - he had been watching her for 10 years and was too afraid to
talk to the girl, whom he held equal to a goddess. For the first time in his
life he got over his fear of people. But Cynthia didn't want to have anything
to do with a bum ("Your clothes are so filthy and smell so bad... Do you think
that's the kind of thing a girl like me is into? No way!"). At first, she even
tried flirting with him a little, but after learning that he had been watching
her for 10 years, she snapped at him ("You're disgusting!!"). Could she
understand, that he just didn't dare approach her all these years?
Once again, Walter's illusion was shattered. The goddess turned out to be a
simple slut, one of many in this cruel world...
---------------------------------
Lately, Cynthia Velasquez had been having strange dreams, in which she found
herself in a strange world. She saw a man in a long coat. The man she saw in
the subway 16 years ago.
What was the reason for these nightmares? Her unhealthy way of life? ("I think
...I drank too much last night..."). Could she think, that it is something
more than just a nightmare ("Could the nightmare be awake?"). Although, she
preferred rational thinking and still looked at it as just meaningless
nightmares, thinking that she is just asleep and is seeing a sstrange dream
("This is just a dream", but "a really terrible one" - Cynthia wants to "wake
up"). And if it's just a dream that holds no threat to her life, she can even
try and gain some pleasure ("It's just a dream, so I might as well have some
fun..." - just like survival-horrors). She starts to feel nauseous (is it from
the alcohol last night or is it Walter's influence?) and stumbles into the
subway, where, as we can assume, she faints and her consciousness is drawn
into Walter's world.
-----------------------------
g) The phone call
When Cynthia feels that there's something wrong, there is a phone call in
Henry's Room (which is actually Walter's world). The plea for help in the
phone is the reflection of Cynthia's desire to be protected. A short time
later the resident of Room 302 also finds himself in the Subway World.
------------------------------
Cynthia doesn't like her new nightmare (she thinks that it is all just HER
dream - "This is MY dream") and she wants to get out of it as quickly as she
can, but feels uneasy staying alone, so she sticks to Henry, promising to do
him a "special favor" (notice that the moment when she puts her hand against
Henry's cheek is a replay of the similar scene with Walter 16 years ago). We
all know what kind of "favor" she's talking about. Also note the necklace
she's wearing - appartenly, she's not poor.
Soon, she starts feeling nausea again, runs into the women's toilet, leaving
Henry to face the Sniffer Dogs and then vanishes without a trace.
----------------------------------------------------
h) Why does Cynthia disappear?
As we can see, Cynthia sometimes vanishes from Walter's world. This is because
of the instability of her consciousness - her mind is jumping between reality
and Walter's subconscious world. Maybe, after throwing up, she felt better and
she returned to the real world for a short time.
----------------------------------------------------
The next time we meet her locked inside a train. Hmm, Sullivan's antics again.
His desire to be locked in has played an evil joke not only on Joseph and
Henry, but also on Cynthia.
From Cynthia's screams "Hurry! Help me! Someone's coming! Get me out of here!"
it becomes obvious that she is being pursued by Walter Sullivan.
Soon we hear her voice again on the intercom - she tells Henry that's she's
found an escape route ("..Henry, I found the exit. Come to the turnstile...").
Henry was supposed to protect and help her, but she found an exit herself and
even tried to help Henry, by transmitting the message - and ended up dead.
Sullivan has claimed his sixteenth victim.
When Henry finds her, it is already too late. Cynthia is lying in a pool of
her own blood, she is dying... But she still wants to believe that it is all
just a crazy dream ("It's just...a dream, right...?"). But it's all over, the
numbers 16121 are carved into her flesh and now she is doomed to roam this
nightmare forever.
--------------------------------------------
i) Temptation
Each murder has a specific meaning. The meaning of Cynthia is "Temtation",
which is determined by her sexual unrestrictedness. In this she is similar to
Maria from SH2 (SH2 even had a similar tablet - the tablet of the Seductress).
j) Why was Cynthia's murder more cruel than usual?
I think everyone noticed that in Cynthia and Eileen's cases Walter was very
violent. Cynthia had numerous pierced wounds and Eileen was supposed to be
beaten to death. The reason for this sadism is his hatred for women, which
grew from his hatred towards his mother, who abandoned him.
k) The Tower.
As we know, all the victims correspond to Tarot Cards. The #16 Tarot card is
The Tower. It depicts a tower, which is being destroyed by a lightning bolt.
It has not collapsed yet, but it has already cracked from top to bottom. At
the base of the tower a man is lying, also hit by a lightning. He is dressed
in poor and run-down clothes. Another man is falling from the tower - he is
dressed in rich clothes and is wearing a crown. This is a symbol of the
meaning of the 16th Arcane - the idea of failure and destruction. All that we
see on the picture is evidence of the existance of Fate and Divine Will: they
don't care about your part in society and the hierarchy of this world. When
time comes, you and your world will be swept away by the powers you have no
chance of taming. Undoubtedly, in the context of SH4, this symbolizes Walter's
wish to destroy this world with the "Power of Heaven".
And what does Cynthia represent? She is a creation of human world and society.
An innocent and pure child, that was comparable to a Goddess turned into a
slut by this world. A slut, just like Walter's mother. Can such a woman really
care about her child and make him happy? No, she will just continue the circle
of sin and suffering, upon which the Tower of the society is built. Someone
must find the strength to break the circle and raze the Tower, along with its
inhabitants.
The murder of Cynthia reveals Walter's hatred towards the real world, full of
dirt, sin and cruelty.
--------------------------------------------
On the same day the bloody remains of a woman were found in South Ashfield
Street station. The policemen saw strange numbers cut into her breast
(although, from the "Mother" and "Escape" endings we know that these weren't
real - just elements of Walter's world).
---------------------------------------
l)
Quote: It's just a dream, so I might as well have some fun...
Metaphor: Temptation
Music: Silent Circus
Symbol: Make-up
Name: In his earlier years, the name Cynthia was associated with divine purity
in Walter's world but later it is explained in a completely different manner.
Seeing as how "Cynthia" is phonetically similar to "Sin", we see the
connection: "Return to the Source through SIN's Temptation".
The last name is taken from the famous Spanish artist Diego Velasquez, many of
whose pictures showed scenes from the Bible.
So, "Sin-Temptation-Religion". I think no further explanation is needed.
m) Sexy-Cynthia (bonus)
During your second and further runs throught the game, we can encounter
Cynthia wearing a very... exotic costume. We know that when they get into
Walter's world, they start to "play by his rules", and what happens to them
depends completely on what the creator of the world believes will happen. But
who would expect Walter to have THIS kind of fantasies... freaky pervert. And
that rabbit tattoo on her spotted owl? We can only thank Walter for not
thinking up anything for Henry ^_^
Come on, kiddies! Gather around! Now, tell me, everyone... Aren't you sick and
tired of those ol' stupid bonus costumes?
4-7. Jasper Gein.
Age: 28
----------------------------------------
a) Victims List info
Victim 17/21
Name: Jasper Gein
Occupation: Unknown
Gender/features: Thin white male
Height/weight: 185 cm, 67 kg
Hobbies: Occult/ghost stories
Other: Friend of the earlier victims Bobby and Sein
Motive: Source
Method: Burned
Location: Wish House orphanage in Silent Hill
Item left behind: Bottle of chocolate milk.
-----------------------------------------
Jasper Gein was into paranormal things and was friends with Bobby Randolph and
Sein Martin, who shared his obsession. Together, they visited Silent Hill -
they liked the mysterious atmosphere of the town. Once they came upon the Wish
House and looked inside ("A, a l-long time ago...I, I wa-, I was c-curious,
so I, I took a look inside... "). They overheard a conversation, in which
someone from the Pleasant River University was compared to the "Holy Mother"
(obviously it was in the Wish House - where else could they hear such a
conversation?). It was said, that Walter's ritual will bring about the coming
of the Holy Mother - "By the Sacraments, the Holy Mother shall appear in the
countries of the world and shall bring salvation to the sinful ones.". Later
in the game we find a letter, asking about Walter's "progress". So, Jasper and
co. decided that the Holy Mother is the devil and that this student is the
"Devil's friend". Of course the wanted to meet him. Determined to find the
Devil, the trio went to Pleasant River University.
---------------------------------------
b) About 10 years ago (from Another Crimson Tome translated by excuse17)
"Hey, The Devil is your friend? He will come here soon?" - asked Bobby. Then,
the gentle student replied, "No... He is not my friend. Don't hide there. Come
up here guys." After hearing his calling, Sein showed up from the corner and
walked out to join them.
But Jasper could not join them because he was somehow scared and his legs were
shaking.
"C'mon, Don't you wanna meet the devil?" To Jasper, the man's gentle voice
sounded like a devil calling him.
And suddenly he heard Bobby's scream and then Sein's voice screaming "Help
me!!!" echoing all over the place.
"Hey, still hiding there? Come on up buddy... You came here to see me Jasper"
said the man.
Jasper was so scared that he started to run away from him. He stopped running
in front of a drug store in a town, thinking it's OK here since I made this
far. He turned back, but the scary devil was gone.
After the incident, Jasper's friends Bobby and Sein were missing for a while.
---------------------------------------
Later, the bodies of Bobby and Sein were found in the Pleasant River
University campus. Both were stangled and the numbers 02121 and 03121 were cut
into their chests. Gein started having strange dreams, in which he visited the
Silent Hill forest.
-----------------------------------
c) 2,5 years ago
"Th-There was another g-guy here before... A...a...a real nosy guy..." -
says Jasper. He means Joseph Schreiber. The two met 2,5 years ago in Walter's
Forest World. At this time Joseph still believed, that he came to the real
Silent Hill cemetary, but it was, in fact, the cemetary of Walter's
subconscious world. Standing in the cemetary of the Forest World, Gein says:
"Th-That n-nosy guy that WAS HERE". Nevertheless, Joseph was already
half-insane by that time (you try spending so much time in a serial killer's
subconscious - I'll look at you then) and spoke in riddles: "His home is the
orphanage in the middle. The lake is northwest. So the opposite is southeast",
"If you bring the dug-up key, you can't go back. Put it away somewhere before
you return there". Jasper didn't understand a thing from this. Of course,
Walter could sacrifice Gein back then, but his time hadn't come then.
-----------------------------------
Even after what happened to his friends, Jasper didn't abandon his hobby. Now
he is interested in the history of the natives, that lived in the area before
Silent Hill was founded ("I-I-In the o-old d-days, th-the n-n-natives called
it... "N-Na-Nahkeehona"... ") and their rituals ("...A...a...a c-ceremony
f-for t-talkin' to the dead..."). Which, by the way, gives an interesting idea
- maybe he wanted to resurrect his friends? Also, he is very interested in
Dahlia's variant of the Silent Hill cult - look at his shirt. Hey! It's our
old friend Samael from SH1, the God of Alessa's world, whom Dahlia worshipped.
We saw this image before - in the book Silent Hill's Ancient Gods: A Study of
Their Etymology and Evolution , About Syncretic Religions. Hmm... where could
he get such a cool t-shirt? Maybe some enthusiastic satanists restored the
cult and are making money on selling "holy" t-shirts? Or is it Walter's
fantasies again?
Jasper Gein worships Dahlia's God and waits for the Apocalypse -
"F-Finally...the Th-Third Revelation... Something big's gonna happen...
Finally, it's gonna happen!". But what are the reasons for this kind of faith?
We know that Dahlia had a VERY unhappy childhood, being a Jew during World War
II - she wants to end all the suffering of life. But Jasper... it seems like
it was considered "cool" to be into paranormal activity at that time. I think
that he didn't REALLY want to see the devil, or for the world to end - he just
wanted to hang out with Sein and Bobby. Anyway, the time for self-exploration
has passed - "Something big's gonna happen... Finally, it's gonna happen!" -
when Jasper comes to Silent Hill (probably, he felt that he MUST come to the
abandoned town. To meet the devil?) he is drawn into Walter's Forest World,
along with Henry Townshend.
--------------------------------
d) Why is Jasper thirsty?
When he came to Silent Hill, Jasper's throat always ran dry from fear. This
thirst is a sign of his fear and anxiety.
e) Why is Jasper stuttering?
He is cold. Scared and cold (could cold and fear be symbols of loneliness?).
Notice that he does not stutter when he is on fire. He's warm? %)
-------------------------------
In the altar room in the Wish House he finally meets the Devil. We see him
alive for the last time - the flame of hell is devouring him, but he seems
happy - his wish has finally come true. It is unclear, wether Walter set him
on fire, or Jasper did it himself after seeing "The Devil". But the fact
remains - he died the same death Dahlia did and he's now doomed to burn
forever in this endless nightmare. "And the Martyrs will Burn in the Fires of
Hell!!".
---------------------------------------
f) Source
Each murder in Walter's world has a meaning. Jasper's is - "Source", because
his main characteristic was his fanatical Faith (so fanatical, that he didn't
even know WHY he wants to meet the Devil and see the "Third Revelation"). The
main theme of the second visit to the Forest World is searching the dark wells
with a torch - a SOURCE of light, driving the darkness away. See the
connection? Faith is compared to light, illuminating the path in the pitch
darkness. Jasper is destined to become the Source of this Faith in Walter's
world by becoming a part of it.
g) The Star
As we know, all the victims correspond to Tarot Cards. The #17 Tarot Card is
The Star. It symbolizes Hope and Faith - aquite appropriate for Jasper Gein.
But we know, that his Faith was not real - he just followed his interest in
the occult, which, in turn, was a result of outside influence and his wish to
hang out with someone. Ironically, it was his fear of being left alone that
made him believe in Silent Hill's God. This Faith leads him right into
Walter's snare...
---------------------------------------
This day, a burned body of a man was found not far from Silent Hill.
Apparently, Jasper really did come to Silent Hill where he burned himself.
According to the newscast, the numbers 17121 were cut into his chest (we
already know about the reality of these numbers), so the police suspects
another copycat of the Walter Sullivan case.
-----------------------
h)
Quote: Finally... the Third Revelation... Something's gonna happen...Finally,
it's gonna happen!
Metaphor: Source
Symbol: Torch
Name: The last name is probably a reference to the famous killer Ed Gein, who
is referenced in all four games of the series. But apart from that there is no
real hidden mening in his name.

4-8. Andrew DeSalvo

Age: Above 50
---------------------------------------------
a) Victims List info
Victim 18/21
Name: Andrew DeSalvo
Occupation: Guard
Gender/features: Middle aged white male
Height/Weight: 168 cm, 98 kg
Hobbies: Unknown
Other: Watched children in the Wish House orphanage
Motive: Watchfulness
Method: Drowning
Location: Water Prison near Silent Hill
Item left behind: Bloody shirt.
--------------------------------------------
In Dahlia's time (around 30 years ago) the cult wasn't very popular, so there
were not enough cult members to keep watch in the Wish House. This prompted
the cult to hire non-believers. One of these was Andrew DeSalvo, who was
always drunk and violent. The children and other guards called him Fat Pig.
-------------------------
b) Around 30 years ago (from Another Crimson Tome translated by excuse17)
"Hey you punk! You wanna go out and play in the forest? I don't care about the
cult's teachings. You got the permission? I don't care. I'm the rule here. If
you play in the forest wuthout my permission again, you'll be sorry."
Shouthing like this, he hit the children.
"Hey, we got the permission from God, don't you know that?" asked the children.
"Don't talk back!!! You little kids." said Andrew. Andrew kept hitting the
children.
"You don't understand the words of God... Fat Pat will be punished by God."
murmured the children at hear, rubbing their swollen cheeks.
-------------------------
Andrew didn't care whether the children followed the rules or not. He beat
them up anyway, although this kind of behaviour went good with Dahlia's
teachings. Andrew could care less about the cult's teachings ("That kid,
Walter... He was really into that mumbo jumbo..." - DeSalvo wasn't really into
all this).
So, he beat Walter up with and without a reason ("I got hit agin I didnt do
anethin rong I wish he wuz ded") and probably even killed Walter's friend Bob.
He wouldn't leave him alone even in the prison - beat him up, made him drink
water with black things in it (leeches. Probably yet another attempt by the
cult to put an "Incubus" in the children). Not surprising that Walter wanted
to stick the Sword into his belly.
Now, the tables have turned. Now DeSalvo will be trapped in Walter's Water
Prison World, along with Henry Townshend.
-------------------------------------
d) DeSalvo in the cell.
We first meet Andrew in the cell, from where he screams "Get me out... Get me
the hell out of here... He's...he's gonna kill me! Walter's gonna kill me!".
Well, we gotta get used to the fact, that in somebody always gets locked up in
Walter's world.
------------------------------------
Notice, that when Andrew meets Wally, he kneels and mumbles "Oh my God, oh my
God". It seems that now he believes...
Later we find him dead in the Death Chamber, floating in the water with a
wound in his belly and the numbers 18121. Intersting that his ghost form
recites religious texts and looks quite happy. Maybe he has finally gained
Faith?
--------------------------------------
e) Watchfulness.
Each murder in Walter's world has a meaning. DeSalvo's meaning is
Watchfulness, which is obviously derived from his work in the orphanage, the
All-Seeing Eye of the Panopticon. Walter was always being watched ("I wanna
hide but I can't hide"). It was Watchfulness that he brought to Walter's world
by becoming a part of it. I'm watching you... I'm always watching you...
f) The Moon
As we know, all the victims correspond to Tarot Cards. The #18 Tarot Card is
The Moon, which can have a lot of meanings. One of the is Deception, mistrust
and anxiety. (the same card applies to Vincent, as stated in LM). DeSalvo
could be described as a very anxious person, and Watchfulness can also be seen
as a sign of mistrust.
g)
Quote: Scary...My god... Oh...oh, my god...
Metaphor: Watchfulness
Symbol: bloody shirt
Name: DeSalvo is an interesting name. On one hand "DeSa" reminds me of Marquis
de Sade. On the other hand - Salvo could be a derivative of Salvation, and
remembering his connection to the cult...
4-9. Richard Braintree.
Age: around 50
----------------------------------
a) Victims List info
Victim 19/21
Name: Richard Braintree
Occupation: Unknown
Gender/features: Middle aged white male
Height/weight: 178 cm, 76 kg
Hobbies: Unknown
Other: had "disagreements" with his neighbor Mike
Motive: Chaos
Method: Electrocution
Location: room 207 of SAHapts
Item left behind: revolver
---------------------------------
Braintree never like children and he didn't like Wally in particular.
Moreover, he wasn't angry because of something - he was just furious at Walter
merely for coming to SAHapts. Was it Walter's fault at all? No, but he still
suffered. But it wasn't just Walter that Richard hated. He couldn't stand
people in general ("I feel sorry for him, having to live under Braintree..." ,
"How can they even sleep with so many noisy kids? Besides that, they have to
live next to Braintree.") - even bought himself a gun to keep them away. It
looks like Richard didn't like anybody breaking into his seclusion, entering
his life and getting close in general. He wanted to be alone in a world of
Absolute Order. And of course, the appearance of a kid prevented this Order.
Maybe Walter and Richard had more in common, than most people think?
-------------------------------
b) Around 20 years ago (from Another Crimson Tome translated by excuse17)
"Hey, Richard's gone nuts again"
"He lost his temper this time"
"I'll bet next time will be even more fun"
The residents of South-Ashfield Heights enjoyed talking about him. He was
famous for his short temper.
The worst incident was when Mike, the resident of room 301, bumped into
Braintree's shoulder in the corridor of the apartment unintentionally.
At the time Richard was even more moody than usual. He yelled, "Who do you
think I am?" and dragged Mike by the collar of his shirt into his apartment,
room 207.
"Not again" said the crowd from the apartment, and they went to room 207 to
see what was going to happen. Suddenly, the door opened and a stark-naked Mike
came out of the room. Right after that, Richard came out of the room, holding
Mike's shirts and jeans soaked in blood.
"How do you like that, you sick little freak? You had it comin' to you!" said
Richard as Mike ran away from him. Richard threw away Mike's clothes and said
"These clothes are disgusting. Get'em outta my sight!"
Then, a middle-aged woman in the crowd said, "I know... It'll be perfect to
wrap his body in," and she took the jeans.
"Hold it! Hold it... I think I'll keep that one for myself..." said a drunk,
and he took the shirts.
After that, Richard took a look into the crowd and noticed a little kid among
the crowd and yelled, "You!! You snooping around again!? Get outta here before
you really piss me off!"
-----------------------------------
10 years ago.
Braintree never like new people, and neither did he like people in general.
10 years ago through the window in his room he saw an unknown man in a long
coat in Room 302. This made him suspicious and he asked the superintendant
about him. But the man was never found.
Today.
Richard learns that something strange is going on it Room 302 again. Just like
2,5 years ago, when a journalist, living there, went crazy and locked himself
in ("He got pretty crazy towards the end... Shut himself up in his room and
wouldn't come out...") and then disappeared.
The set order of things is broken again and Richard calls the superintendant.
--------------------------------------
c) Richard's a weirdo [the original title was a bit different, but... It's my
translation anyway, so I might as well have some fun - Translator's note]
Notice that when Eileen asks Richard "Hey, Richard. Can you see anything from
your window?" he says "No...everything looks pretty normal to me". Could this
mean he was watching Room 302!? We often see him looking out of his window and
he was the first to notice Walter in Room 302. It seems that he secretely
watches other people from his apartment. Is he looking for those, who break
the Order?
It's interesting, that Richard is trying to keep his Order, watches it and
calls Frank whenever something's wrong, but at the same time has a very short
temper and carries a gun. Maybe these two conflicting sides of his persona are
connected after all?
--------------------------------------
Soon, Richard finds a HOLE in his apartment ("That hole...and this freaky
world...") and through it he enters the Building World. Richard's
consciousness, that it - as we can see, his body is lying on the bed all this
time.
--------------------------------------
d) First meeting with Richard
When Richard finds himself on the roof of the Building World, he is attacked
by Walter's Gum Heads, who represent ordinary people in Walter's world.
Richard killing "people" - quite appropriate for his attitude towards people.
Finally, he is thrown off the roof and after a "lucky" landing meets Henry
Townshend - and the first thing he does is aim the gun at him. But, seeing as
how Henry is the first real person he met in this world, he puts it down ("Ah,
you're a real person..." - though he doesn't sound very happy). But if Henry
is in this world too, there must be something wrong with the whole apartment
building ("there must be something wrong with the whole apartment
building..."). Despite the danger, Richard walks off alone, leaving Townshend
to face the dangers of the Building World ("Anyway... I'm gettin' the hell out
of here. You should, too -- if you know what's good for you.").
e) Second meeting with Richard
We see Richard for the second time in the elevator - he has met young Walter.
Note - he is threatening him with his revolver - THREATENING A CHILD WITH A
GUN. This guy is obviously sick. Of course, Wally gets scared and runs away
and Braintree chases after him.
--------------------------------
Later we find Richard in room 207 on an electric chair. The numbers 19121 are
cut into his forehead. Henry tries to help him, but to no avail - again he is
too late to save a life.
------------------------------
f) Why an electric chair?
This is the result of his "disagreement" with Mike. Walter thought, that
Richard actually skinned him, that he is an evil murderer. That is why in
Walter's world Richard is executed by electrocution.
g) Chaos
Each murder in Walter's world has a meaning. Richard is Chaos. Even though
Richard has always cherished Order, the motive for his murder was Chaos. The
reason for this is because the image of Richard was strongly associated with
the day-to-day life of the SAHapts residents, whose lives Walter couldn't
comprehend and considered to be Chaos. Notice that the numbers are cut into
his FOREHEAD - this means the Chaos was in his head (his short temper as a
result). Richard brought Chaos into Walter's realm.
h) The Sun
As we know, all the victims correspond to Tarot Cards. The #19 Tarot Card is
The Sun. Let's look at the picture. We see two naked children playing in the
sun, a ruined wall in the background. This represents simple earthly happiness.
We see innocence and benevolence, which receive the world's light and warmth.
All this image is a reminder, that without these, any other action or thought
is doomed to a quick death. True happiness can only be attained by those, who
live simple and wise, without bothering too much with ambitions.
It was this very "Sun", that Braintree lacked. His wish for Order grew from
his wish to have this simple happiness. But because of the people around him,
this carefree existance was always ruined (a bunch of kids in one room and
lots and lots of loud music in another), which infuriated Braintree. He wanted
Order and happiness, but this could not be attained as long as Chaos ruled his
soul. Maybe he just had to perceive life as something simple, just like The
Sun card suggests. Maybe this was the way to his happiness?
Now we come to the negative meaning of the card. Turned upside down, this card
represents misfortune coming from ambitions. In other situations it represents
one's agressivness and problems in communicating with people, stemming from
one's inability to perceive life in a less sophisticated way.
As you can see, the negative meaning of "The Sun" fits Richard perfectly.
-------------------------------
On the same day Richard Braintree's body was found in his apartment. The cause
of his death is unknown, but one of the policemen noticed the numbers 19121
carved into his forehead ("Looks like another one, captain.. ...got
"1...121"... on his head...").
i)
Quote: You!! You snoopin' around again?! Get your ass outta here before you
really piss me off!
Metaphor: "Chaos"
Symbol: revolver
Name: being researched.
4-10. South Ashfield Heights apartments residents.
They spend every day of their life in their cage-rooms in the hollowness and
loneliness of "un-existance". These people have no lives - they only watch
their neighbors and discuss rumors about Mike and Rachel, and Richard's short
temper. Maybe by feeding off other people's lives, hearing rumors, they felt
as if they lived too, trying to forget about the meaninglessness of their own.
Then what is the difference between them and the lifeless "victims" of
Walter's world?
Let us take a look at the people that lived in SAHapts 28 years ago (notice
that Henry regards them in the past tense - "It's a painting by the person who
LIVED in this apartment..."). This is how they were left in Walter's memory.
a) Room 101
The "gun maniac". This person collected various weapons - tools for killing
people. I wonder what HE thought about his hobby? IMHO, such a hobby could
mean, that he was actually afraid of people ("That guy's dangerous..." - he is
afraid of Richard) and wanted to feel protected, which the massive amount of
weaponry gave him. Living next to 102, he suffered from allergy and once lost
it and killed a cat. As the "gun maniac" admits himself, he felt good when
doing it ("It was way cool."), which makes us remember Eddie from SH2. He
killed a dog - "Yeah, I killed that dog. IT WAS FUN! It tried to chew its own
guts out! Finally died all curled up in a ball". He made up an excuse for that
- said that the dog was making fun of him, as did all other people: "B,but...
it wasn't my fault. He, he made me do it! That guy... he, he had it coming! I
didn't do anything. He just came after me! Besides he was making fun of me
with his eyes! Like that other one... Just like that stupid dog.". The "gun
maniac" is just like him - did he really kill that cat out of pure
self-defense (from allergy) or because he WANTED to kill somebody? - makes you
think of the rise of violence, doesn't it?
b) Room 102.
This woman loved cats and missed her chance to marry. Now she is left alone.
Well, she has her cats, who replaced people for her. But 28 years ago one of
her beloved pets was killed by the "weapon maniac". It was a terrible loss for
the woman and she kept the body of her cat in the fridge, unable to find the
strength to part with him.
c) Room 105.
The superintendant, Frank Sunderland. See 4-4.
d) Room 202.
An artist and the boyfriend of Rachel the nurse. For some reason all his works
depict other residents of SAHapts. Could it be that he couldn't find the
inspiration in his life? Well, he was a lousy artist anyway.
e) Room 106.
Rachel the nurse. She worked in St.Jerome's Hospital, where Mary Sunderland
spent the last years of her life. Not long before dying, Mary asked Rachel to
give James her goodbye letter (probably because the Sunderlands also lived in
SAHapts), but soon this letter disappeared from the hospital (along with a
little girl named Laura) and soon the Sunderland couple disappeared too...
Rachel has a boyfriend, who lives in room 202 ("my darling's number" - the
call goes to 202) but 28 years ago Mike, a weird guy, began to stalk her,
sending her tons of love letters and watching her from his window. Of course,
she didn't like this kind of attention and his love found no response. This
situation was unintentionally settled by Richard Braintree.
It is known, that Rachel still lives in SAHapts.
f) Room 107.
Music fan. This guy prefers listening to music to talking to people. Look at
the stereo in his apartment. Ouch, I wouldn't like to be in Richard's place.
Because of his green t-shirt, many people think that this man is Jasper Gein,
but it is wrong. He lives in SAHapts even today. See the that epyleptic guy
under Richard's room? That's him.
g) Room 203.
Alcoholic. His only goal was to get drunk to the point of passing out as
quickly as possible. And when he couldn't reach that point he went nuts. But
if drinking becomes the meaning of one's life, could he even be considered
human anymore? Just like him, Walter wanted to go into an eternal slumber in
his Mother's womb. By the way, look at all these bottles in his apartment.
Impressive, isn't it?
28 years ago he witnessed Mike's encounter with Richard. He took Mike's bloody
shirt then ("Hold it.... Hold it... I think...I'll keep that one... for
myself...")
h) Room 204.
This woman is obsessed with food - she is always eating something. She is also
a good cook, though she is lonely, so no one can have a taste of her culinary
talents.
i) Room 205.
Gamer. He locked himself in his apartment and immersed himself in the world of
games. But deep down he didn't want to be alone, he wanted to communicate with
people. He recorded the voices of his neighbors on tape and watched them
secretely. 28 years ago he managed to record Richard beating up Mike -
undoubtedly, this record was one of the best in his collection. Now let's take
a look at his apartment. There are lots and lots of computer equipment. There
are also weights (and the gamer seems to be quite a muscular guy) - it seems
that apart from gaming, this guy also paid attention to his physical fitness.
But why did he need to watch after his body if he spent all his time with
games? Also note that the kitchen is closed off. Is this the manifestation of
the motto of all gamers: "Give up smoking, give up drinking, give up
eating"? %)
j) Room 206.
These people have many children. Whilst other residents suffered from
loneliness, these people had problems with many children ("How can they even
sleep with so many noisy kids?"). The kids annoyed Richard Braintree beyond
measure, which resulted in his hatred of children in general.
k) Room 207.
Richard Braintree. See 4-9.
l) Room 301.
Mike. A weirdo, who collects porn magazines - a clear sign, that Mike wasn't
very popular with women. Anyway, 28 years ago he fell in love with Rachel (the
superintendant even thought that he was her boyfriend) and started to send her
tons of love letters, watch her from his window (...love you...always
watching...window... protect you...ith love, Mike). Of course, she didn't like
this kind of attention and his love found no response. This situation was
unintentionally settled by Richard Braintree, who beat Mike up and threw away
his clothes ("Those were my best clothes.") along with one of these letters
("He took it along with my clothes."). After that Mike feared Richard and
didn't dare approach anyone in SAHapts.
2,5 years ago Mike caught strange sounds coming from the door of the apartment
next door, where a journalist, who gave him a rare porn magazine, lived.
Something strange was going on in Room 302...
In SH4 we find Mike's diary in Walter's world. What could this mean? I hope no
one will say that it's just Walter's imagination. Obviously the diary was not
real (it was as real as Walter's whole world was. Which depends on one's
definition of real.), but just a reflection of someone's memories in Walter's
world. Whose memories? Not Walter's for sure because he couldn't have seen the
diary - when Schreiber disappeared he was already dead. If it wasn't Walter
memory, then it was Mike's.
Now let's think about how these memories could appear in Walter's world. In
SH3 Harry's notes, left in Alessa's world, remain. In SH4 the Red Diary is
actually the representation of Joseph's thoughts...
This indicates that Mike actually was in Walter's world. It's not surprising -
he lived right next door and felt the influence of Walter's psychic energies
strongly. At that time, Joseph was drawn into Walter's world - maybe Mike was
drawn in for a short time too. The diary says July 1st and 2nd, but it
describes the events that took place 28 years ago and the events that happened
2,5 years ago (Joseph's disappearance - timeline is relative to SH4. For Mike
it was "today".). This is because the diary is a sort of conglomeration of
Mike's short thoughts, left in Walter's world - when he got there, his
thoughts became confused (not unlike what happened to Henry and Eillen. And
James.) and the events of different time periods became mixed up.
m) Room 302
Henry Townshend. See 4-2.
n) Room 303.
Eileen Galvin. See 4-3.
o) Room 304.
Old couple. Look at their apartment. There's a strange feeling of... serenity
to it. There are two bibles lying in the hallway... It seems to me that these
two people have already accepted death and prepared for it. They live in
peaceful wait for death. Anyway, if that was the thing 28 years ago, then now
they are dead already and their memories only live in Walter's world.
We see, that the main theme of the SAHapts residents is loneliness, emptiness
and lifelesness. They are all locked inside their rooms and living their lives
and going deeper and deeper into their worlds - worlds of strange hobbies
(guns, cats, games), unable to change this life and slowly dying inside. Can
Walter change this world?
In the context of the "21 Sacraments" ending, Walter's influence reaches
incredible levels and the residents have chest pains. Remembering SH1 and the
fact that everyone, who is drawn into somebody's world, will eventually die
from a heart attack, we can understand, that Walter's world began to influence
the whole building. Could this influence spread to the whole city? Does the
shadow of Silent Hill now loom over Ashfield?...

5. Characters of Silent Hill: Dying inside

NOW ANALYSING... PLEASE WAIT...

6. Characters of Silent Hill: Among the Damned.

6-1. Jason
Age: around 25
Occupation: Retired soldier
Jason has no family - he's an orphan. His only friend in life used to be
Aaron, also an orphan. They supported each other and replaced each other
family. They became like brothers. Both of them were in Silent Hill before
(maybe they even grew up in the cult's orphanage) and there, in the mountains,
they swore to be together forever and if Fate separates them, to meet in the
town, at that very place.
A few years ago both of them joined the army. A while later, their group got
into an ambush and was destroyed. Only Jason survived - his comrades and Aaron
sacrificed their lives to save his life. But why him? Why did so many die, so
that he could live?
Upon return, he was taken into a court martial to determine if he was a
traitor, but, of course, there was no evidence against him and he was let out.
Nonetheless, this trial left a deep scar in his soul - he protected his
country, survived a deathtrap only to become a suspect for trreson! Even after
some time, he still remember all the questions he was asked and these memories
enrage him ("Bastards... BASTARDS").
Jason escaped death and should now enjou life, but... He can't go on living,
breathing and tries to forget what happened. Does he know HOW to live? Even
though he wasn't a soldier anymore, the war went on in his soul. He was trying
to forget, but could not ("I want it to be a dream. But it's not. I KNOW it's
not"). In his nightmares, the memories of that tragedy still followed him,
making suffer again and again. They were always near... the ghosts of his dead
comrades...
Now Jason's life has turned into Hell - he has nobody to support him and no
reason to live ("I need a reason... to live"). He couldn't get rid of the
painful memories... Couldn't avoid survivor's guilt before his comrades and
Aaron ("Aaron... I'm sorry"). Because of his low self-esteem ("You worth ten
of any of us. You're the only one who could never see that, bro") Jason
couldn't understand why is was HIM, who was supposed to live on. He thought it
was unfair, that he was unworthy of living. He had the gift of life, but guilt
prevented him from accepting it. He just had to stop living, and the nightmare
would end. But if he kills himself, will all these death be in vain?
So Jason spent time dreaming of death - this was reflection even in his
dreams... But now it's time to end this. He comes to Silent Hill to commit
suicide. To the place, where he and Aaron swore to meet, should fate separate
them. The breathtaking view of Toluca Lake was the last thing he was supposed
to see. Maybe after death he will meet his friend again...
But Jason's dream was not to be fulfilled. On his way to the mountains his car
hits a girl and after that... The man with darkness in his heart starts to see
the worlds of Silent Hill. His own world, Dahlia's world and the worlds of
others, caught in Silent Hill.
He first meets his monsters in the police department. When he sees death,
feels danger, he finally understands that he doesn't want to die ("I know what
i wasplanning to do, but... Not like this"). He also meets a girl named Dahlia
- the missing icon of music and cinema, of whom Aaron and Jason dreamt all
their life... Now he has a reason to live - he must protect her no matter the
cost ("I'm gonna get you out of here") ("They can have me, but... not you").
But, when the tortures of Silent Hill are in the past, will Jason have this
reason still? Will he live on? As we see in the end of the comic, the two poor
souls, Dahlia and Jason, leave Silent Hill, which was supposed to become his
last resting place, but became a place of his spiritiual "second birth".
6-2. Aaron
Age: Unknown. It's all the same once you're dead.
Status: dead US army captain
Jason and Aaron both were orphans and became like brothers. A long time ago in
the mountains near Silent Hill they swore to always keep together and meet
there should fate separate them. They even joined the military together...
But the "brothers" were destined to separate. War separated them. Their group
got into an ambush and Aaron sacrificed his life to save his "brother".
We don't know what happened to Aaron after he was captured, but... In the SH
plot we learn, that one's soul can gain the "Power of Heaven" and continue to
exist in a subconscious world after horrible bloody rituals [i.e. much
suffering - Translator's note]. Aaron still exists in the place of his and
Jason's memories - Silent Hill. He still lives in the constant flux of the
"Otherworld" of merging subconscious worlds, thoughts and memories of
different people. Aaron became a ghost, just another shade of the town...
"Sometimes they stay put and haunt that particular place. These spirits have
lost their human senses and memories and can only keep replaying the pain and
sadness of the moment they died. The pain can get so bad that they turn to
humans for salvation".
So, maybe Jason's nightmares are not only a result of his past trauma, but
also the influence of his friend's psychic energies, him calling for help? But
what do the residents of the "Otherworld" need? What do they want from Jason?
They want him to see the alternate reality ("LOOK") and tell others about it
("THEN TELL THEM ALL"). All the residents of this world want Jason to go on
living. To tell the people of the foggy town ("He can tell the story") and
bring more people there... Aaron is not hostile to Jason, he protects him from
Dahlia's monsters and gives him the most valuable piece of advice - "Just keep
breathing".
6-3. Dahlia
Age: around 20
Occupation: missing star
Dahlia was an icon of music and cinema. She had fame, money and a whole lot of
fans, including Aaron and Jason. But despite all that, she saw no reason to
live this life. This emptiness she translated through her songs:
Somebody give me a reason,
Somebody give me just one reason, yeah...
I need a reason
To live...
We can speculate, that the secret to Dahlia's success was te fact, that she
fully opened up to the audience, showing off not only her body, but also the
darkes corners of her soul (Goddess, Whore... This is what I am for), taking
off the human mask each of us wears every day. Dark, but true... Scary, but
charming... After opening up to the audience time and again, Dahlia was left
with the feeling of inner emptiness?
Dahlia couldn't go on living like that and when she hears strange rumors of a
town called Silent Hill, she sets out in search of something, that could
change her life, give it a meaning.
------------------
a) Star goes missing
Dahlia didn't tell anybody about her trip - she just went off without even
leaving a note. The media caught the news quickly - "MUSIC & MOVIE ICON
DISAPPEARS". It was even suspected, that Dahlia killed herself. The star life
was over.
------------------
As soon as Dahlia arrives in Silent Hill, the darkness in her heart manifests
itself and she finds herself in her subconscious world, where monster abound.
But Dahlia sees the bloodthirsty creations of her mind as pretty...
-------------------
b) Alter-ego
Dahlia starts to succumb to her alter ego - the Goddess-Dahlia, a creation of
the girl's "starry" egoism. Maybe this is her true nature? Dahlia-Goddess,
Dahlia-Whore, desiring only pleasure and worship from the people around her...
Dahlia-Goddess is an idol in her world and a crowd of monster-fans worships
her - but their worship became twisted and evil - they literally want to tear
the idol apart... But she likes it ("I think they're preety").
-------------------
In the end Dahlia falls in love with her saviour - Jason. She gives her heart
to him - in the subconscious world it seems to be literally that - giving
heart to him. She has finally found a reason to live..
But what awaits her in the future?
-------------------
c) What next?
So, what next? Let's just speculate? What if Dahlia and Jason decide to start
a new life in Silent Hill. Then they will have a daughter, whom they will name
Alessa. Dahlia will find her place in life by that time. She will lead a
religious sect and will strive to summon God, who will end all earthly
suffering. This goal will become her "Reason to live"... One day she will lock
her daughter in the house and... But that is a completely different story...

7. Characters of Silent Hill: Paint It Black

CoMiNG ReaLlY SOON!
To Be Translated:
1-10. Miscellaneous characters
1-11. Name comments
2-19. Harry Mason and the jolly aliens.
3. SH3 Characters
3-1. Harry Mason
3-2. Heather Mason.
3-3. Douglas Cartland. The way of Douglas.
4-11. Jimmy Stone
4-12. Bobby Randolph
4-13. Sean Martin
4-14. Steve Garland
4-15. Rick Albert
4-16. George Rosten
4-17. Billy Lockane
4-18. Miriam Lockane
4-19. William Gregory
4-20. Eric Walsh
4-21. Peter Walls.
4-22. Sharon Blake.
4-23. Toby Archbolt.
4-24. Suguru Murakoshi
4-25. The mysterious ghost.
4-26. Miscellaneous characters.
7. SHPiB Characters.
7-1. Ike Isaacs
7-2. Joe
7-3. The bum
7-4. Phil
7-5. The Bengals
7-6. Cheryl
7-7. Cheryl's father.
7-8. Chrissie and Missy.
_______________________________________________________________________________
COPYRIGHTS.
_______________________________________________________________________________

This document is protected by international copyright laws. This document

Copyright (c) 2005 SilentPyramid [silentpyramid(at)mail(dot)ru] and Darth Blade
[Das.Zlo(at)gmail(dot)com] .
All characters and fictional content regarding the story discussed in the FAQ
are the property of Konami. All trademarks and copyrights contained in this
document are owned by their respective trademark and copyright holders. This
guide is for personal use only. Any other use is prohibited, except for the
guide being included on any non-profit or non-commercial site as long as the
following conditions are met and strictly adhered to first:
1) You ask for our permission first, contacting me (SilentPyramid) and Darth
Blade by the email address provided in this FAQ.
2) Affirmation to your request will depend on our reply and whether both of us
agree to it.
3) The contents of this guide must not be altered regardless the situation.

_______________________________________________________________________________
CREDITS.
_______________________________________________________________________________

The author would like to thank:

--Everyone who was patient enough to read the whole PA.
--Himself, for writing such an informative and detailed analysis.
--BAHEK, for single-handedly developing and setting up silenthillpa.narod.ru
website, for the info on SH1, ritual descriptions and other invaluable help.
--Darth_Blade, MadRushn and Stalker_401 for translating the PA to English.
--DoVoD for reading the runes, information about Satan's signature, the hotel,
translation of the Victims list and Another Crimson Tome to Russian, the idea
about Maria's hair color, the idea about Artemis and his help in writing the
analysis of Fukuro video.
--Sun for noticing the wallpaper in Amy's room and for the image of the
Abstract Father
--st-MK for showing Frank Sunderland's crossed-out photo and the great script
of SH4.
--Lita for the enormous help she gave and the info about the meaning of 312
--Hail Mary for everything
--Roman Divers for information about astral
--KeiN for help
--John Modest for ripping the text files
--Losti for the info about the real Brookhaven Hospital
--systemich for "White Noiz"
And also:
--Konami for creating the SH series
--All the fans, devoted to solving the mysteries of SH
--The fan-forums and their inhabitants
--IDW Publishing for publishing the comics
--Wall of Death and Excel for translating Lost Memories
--jYubei for translating the Victims List from Japanese
--excuse17 for translating Another Crimson Tome from Japanese
--Wialenove for the SH OST guide. Without your help I'd never have gathered my
collection.
--Conquerer for his detailed gameplay guides
--Desta for the script of SH2
--halo_077 for his SH3 Memo FAQ
--Niai Mitch for her script of SH3
--And everyone else I forgot to mention ^_^

_______________________________________________________________________________
CONCLUSION.
_______________________________________________________________________________
And so, the time has come to draw this guide to a close. As these words are
being written, the PA is far from finished - it will long hours of work for
the theoreticians and translators before they can bring you the actual final
version of this guide. For now - wait, think, analyze.
As the sun beyond my window sets, I once again ponder the unanswered questions
and try to fit it all together. Not today, not tomorrow, but some day these
mysteries will fall. But a theoretician must never rest - as of yet we are
expecting two new additions to the SH franchise - the movie and the fifth
game. All of them will contain mysteries of their own. Again we will spend
sleepless nights assaulting their bastions. This battle never stops, but that
is the way we like it.

---------------------
EOD (End of Document)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Submitted by *silentpyramid* - Created 5/23/05
See All *Silent Hill Walkthroughs
<http://faqs.ign.com/objects/003/003982.html> and FAQs
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