***********************************************************************
|+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++|
=======================================================================
| |
| ####### ### |
| / ### # ### |
| / ## ### ## # |
| ## # # ## ## |
| ### ## ## |
| ## ### ### ## /## ### /### ######## |
| ### ### ### ## / ### ###/ #### / ######## |
| ### ### ## ## / ### ## ###/ ## |
| ### /## ## ## ## ### ## ## ## |
| #/ /## ## ## ######## ## ## ## |
| #/ ## ## ## ####### ## ## ## |
| # / ## ## ## ## ## ## |
| /## / ## ## #### / ## ## ## |
| / ########/ ### / ### / ######/ ### ### ## |
| / ##### ##/ ##/ ##### ### ### ## |
| | |
| \) ------------------------- |
| P L O T A N A L Y S I S |
| ------------------------- |
| |
| ##### ## ### ### |
| ###### / #### / # ### ### |
| /# / / ####/ ### ## ## |
| / / / # # # ## ## |
| / / # ## ## |
| ## ## # ### ## ## |
| ## ## # ### ## ## |
| ## ######## ## ## ## |
| ## ## # ## ## ## |
| ## ## ## ## ## ## |
| # ## ## ## ## ## |
| / ## ## ## ## |
| /##/ ## ## ## ## |
| / ##### ## ### / ### / ### / |
| / ## ##/ ##/ ##/ |
| # |
| ## |
| |
=======================================================================
|+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++|
***********************************************************************
|A Plot Analysis for the "Silent Hill" Series by Konami |
|Written by: Orca782 and cvxfreak |
|Games: Silent Hill (PSone) |
| Silent Hill: Play Novel (GBA) |
| Silent Hill 2 (PS2) |
| Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams (PS2, Xbox, PC) |
| Silent Hill 3 (PS2/PC) |
| |
|Version 6.5 |
|May 13, 2007 |
|E-mail: Orca782[at]hotmail[dot]com (Orca782) |
| FireEmblemPride[at]gmail[dot]com (cvxfreak) |
***********************************************************************
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
C O N T E N T S
c o n t e n t s
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
1. Introduction
2. Version History
3. Silent Hill
A. A Synopsis of Silent Hill
B. Endings
C. Silent Hill: Play Novel
D. Characters
E. Angels
F. Metatron
4. Silent Hill 3
A. A Synopsis of Silent Hill 3
B. Endings
C. Characters
5. Silent Hill 2
A. A Synopsis of Silent Hill 2
I. Born from a Wish
II. Letter from Silent Heaven
B. Endings
C. Characters
D. Themes
E. Differences of Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams
6. The Town Itself
A. Cult Presence
B. The Drug Market
C. Silent Hill's History
D. Old Silent Hill
E. Central Silent Hill
F. Lakeside Silent Hill and Palevile
G. Southvale Silent Hill
H. Other Potential Areas
I. The UFOs
7. The Radio and Flashlight
8. Frequently Asked Questions
9. Conclusion
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
1. I N T R O D U C T I O N
i n t r o d u c t i o n
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Silent Hill is a series unlike any other. The storyline, in particular,
is extremely deep and thought-provoking. The series is easy and
difficult to analyze it at the same time. It's easy in a sense that the
games sometimes give the hidden meanings away. Other times, they're so
well hidden that it takes deep thought and actual outside research to
properly analyze them, and even then, there might be more than one way
to analyze a given message.
Therefore, another plot document for the Silent Hill series exists, in
addition to Dan Birlew's guides. There are so many ways to analyze this
series, and the authors feel this document is an adequate alternative,
not substitute, to other plot guides on the Silent Hill series. So
please enjoy this guide, and decide what views work best for you.
Orca782 originally started this document alone with only miniscule
support from cvxfreak, who became co-author after the initial version
was posted. The two authors had complimentary views and different
writing strengths, so they put their effort into one document.
Silent Hill is pretty much what YOU want it to be. It's discreet, yet
extremely clear (oxymoron or not). So, let's get on with this document.
Remember, this document contains spoilers, so you should play out all
the games before reading this.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
2. V E R S I O N H I S T O R Y
v e r s i o n h i s t o r y
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
------------
May 13, 2007
------------
Version 7.0
I added more information to the guide and fixed up anything else that
needed to be fixed.
--------------
April 22, 2007
--------------
Version 6.5
cvxfreak here. This plot analysis has not been updated in three years.
Well, I'm here to fix up any of the writing that needed improvements.
The plot summaries often omitted important details and were far too
brief; this new update restores them so they now have detailed and
accurate descriptions. The previous version also had some awkward
writing and grammar; these two have also been proofread and fixed.
I also removed the Silent Hill 4 section, as I do not plan on covering
that game in this guide anymore, and apparently neither does Orca782.
Silent Hill 0rigins, a prequel to the original Silent Hill, is coming
to the Sony PSP. Hopefully analysis for that title can be added into
this document, but no promises just yet.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
3. S I L E N T H I L L
s i l e n t h i l l
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Silent Hill was the game that innovated the survival horror genre.
Released in early 1999 for the original PlayStation, the game was met
with great acclaim and praise and earned a spot in many PlayStation
gamers' game collection alongside the Resident Evil series.
Immediately removed from being called a Resident Evil clone, Silent
Hill created a dedicated fanbase that follows the games very closely,
especially in regards to plotline. Silent Hill follows the adventures
of Harry Mason, as he arrives in Silent Hill only to see his daughter
vanish, and a nightmare of events unfold before his eyes.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A. A Synopsis of Silent Hill
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Written by cvxfreak, edited by Orca782
-
In a jeep on a nearly deserted freeway, Harry Mason and his daughter
Cheryl are approaching Silent Hill, a small resort lakeside town, at
night. Car trouble has pushed them behind schedule, hence the evening
drive.
As Harry drives the jeep, a female police officer drives passed his
vehicle on her motorcycle. Moments later, he sees the motorcycle on
the side of the road, abandoned, with the driver nowhere to be seen.
Harry looks at the motorcycle, wondering where the driver has
disappeared to, before focusing on the road once again.
Seconds later, as Harry's car finally reaches Silent Hill, he sees a
woman in a school dress crossing the road, and swerves the car, going
off the road and unexpectedly through a fence into a section of the
town.
He is loses consciousness for the rest of the night, and wakes up in
the morning, seemingly unharmed. It's foggy, and it's snowing out of
season. Harry looks to the passengers seat, and notices that Cheryl is
missing, with the passengers side door left open. Harry decides to look
for his daughter, and leaves the vehicle. He walks for a few seconds
before sees a shadow of Cheryl in the distance. After realizing it's
Cheryl, Harry approaches her, but Cheryl starts to run off. Harry tells
his daughter to stop, but Cheryl keeps running.
Harry chases Cheryl up a small, thin alleyway, and into a back area
past some gates and fences. As he gives chase, it becomes increasingly
dark. Suddenly, the skies become pitch black, surprising Harry. But
this ominous sign fails to stop him, so he takes his lighter out and
uses it to aid in his vision.
With just the slight illumination of his lighter, Harry proceeds down
the alleyway, where he sees increasingly disturbing scenes; an empty
wheel chair, a gurney, and larger and larger puddles of blood. The
fences go from normal metal to barbed wire with chunks of bodies and
blood hanging from them. He comes to a sight of a crucified corpse.
The surroundings disturb and trouble Harry, and he runs into a dead end
without seeing Cheryl anywhere. Harry turns around, and suddenly is
attacked by vicious looking, children-like demons that wield knives.
(note: In the Japanese version, the demon children are replaced by
those orange creatures with one eye and claws. However, demon children
make more sense as far as the plot goes, so I'm going with that.)
Harry, unarmed, can only endure the attacks by the demon children, and
falls to the ground, losing consciousness, as he is slowly killed...
Sometime later, Harry awakes on a cushioned seat in a cafe. He is not
alone; the police officer from the road is there too. She introduces
herself as Cybil, and asks if Harry knows what's going on with the
abandoned town and broken communications. (Harry doesn't question Cybil
about abandoning the motorcycle earlier)
He replies, of course, that he doesn't know what's going on, since he's
just a tourist that arrived recently. Harry remembers that his daughter
is missing, and asks Cybil if she has seen Cheryl.
Unfortunately, Cybil has not seen Cheryl, and tells Harry as much.
Harry then gets up to leave, in order to look for his daughter. Cybil
tries to stop Harry from leaving, warning him of the dangers outside
(unexplained dangers). But, Harry protests, and Cybil finally allows
him to leave. She gives Harry a handgun for protection, warning him
about the dangers of the weapon. Cybil warns for Harry not to shoot
her by accident (important later).
Cybil leaves the cafe in order to return to Brahms, the next town
over, so she can get backup. She vows to return as soon as she can,
leaving Harry alone in the cafe. Harry sees a few supplies that will
be useful to him on his search; a map, flashlight, health drinks, and
even a kitchen knife, in case he runs out of bullets. As he leaves
the cafe, a broken radio begins to emit static noise, and as Harry
examines the radio, a flying demon breaks through the cafe window
and knocks Harry off his feet. Harry uses Cybil's gun to dispose of
the creature.
It's at this point that Harry realizes just what kind of a situation
he's caught up in. He decides to take the radio with him, and finally
leaves the cafe. He decides to resume his search by beginning in
the alleyway he was in earlier. He uses his map to guide him there.
Returning to the alleyway, the area leading to the bloody mess is
blocked off by a wall, but on the ground are pages from Cheryl's
sketchbook that Harry bought her as a birthday gift.
On the front of the book is a scribbled drawing of Harry, and on a
page in large, red ink is written "to School."
Checking the map he found in the cafe, Harry locates Midwich
Elementary, a school in his vicinity, in southwest Old Silent Hill.
Attempting to head there, Harry notices that all possible paths to
the school are blocked due to mysterious chasms in in the streets.
He is also attacked by dozens of flying demons and demon dogs, but
Harry manages to dispose of them with Cybil's handgun.
Near one of the chasms, he finds more notes from Cheryl, and after
a goose hunt for some oddly themed "Keys for Eclipse", he finds a
path through a house which bypasses the chasms, allowing Harry to
reach Midwich.
However, as soon as he steps into the backyard of the house, the
town becomes blanketed in darkness once again, with the Keys for
Eclipse living up to their name. Instead of a lighter, Harry uses
the flashlight from the cafe, hanging from his front pocket, allowing
him to continue holding onto his weapons. More creatures attack
Harry, and in the darkness, they become difficult to see and attack,
so Harry runs as fast as his legs can carry him to the school.
In Midwich, Harry finds the place is deserted, with Cheryl nowhere to
be found, as Harry searches the empty classrooms and offices.
Harry, in order to advance, solves several puzzles related to time,
birds, a dissolution chemical and a boiler room. After solving all
these puzzles, Harry steps into the school's clock tower, now unlocked
thanks to completing the puzzles, and ends up... back in the school
courtyard, from where he entered the clock tower. But he couldn't have
ended up back in the schoolyard, because that's where he came from...
However, Harry looks onto the ground at his feet, and sees an odd,
circular image engraved onto the ground that wasn't there earlier. It
seems like a strange symbol with a meaning Harry doesn't seem to know.
In awe, he discovers that the school has become a mess hall, just
like the alleyway. Still eager to find Cheryl, he does continues
to explore.
In one room, Harry finds an open book about teenage girls and
poltergeist activity (important, read further). After some
unpleasant encounters, including a ringing telephone that emits
Cheryl's voice, Harry makes his way to the school basement. He
encounters a lizard with a giant mouth that Harry manages to kill
with a Shotgun he finds, thanks to a tip from a book he read as he
wandered through the dark school.
Killing the lizard apparently reverses the transformation of the
school. As Harry reappears in the school boiler room, he sees the
girl from the road, the one he almost hit. But before Harry could
say or do anything, the girl smiles at him and vanishes into thin
air, quite literally.
Harry wonders what just happened, and realizes the school has
returned to its relatively normal state. The darkness has also
disappeared, with the fog and snowing dominating the Silent Hill
air. Harry hears church bells ringing, and sees a Balkan Church on
his map, so he decides to try searching for who rang the bells.
More chasms attempt to block Harry from reaching the church, but
he lucked across a key when the girl vanished, and it happened to
be the key to access the back door of a house on Levin Street he
discovered in the school directory, allowing him to once again
bypass a chasm.
At the church, Harry sees an old woman in ragged clothing, walking
barefoot. Harry wonders just who this strange woman is, but all she
does is clue him to go to the hospital, after leaving him with
a pyramid-shaped relic, the Flauros. The lady leaves, with Harry
having little choice but to proceed to the hospital, located in
another part of Silent Hill, across the bridge, in Central Silent
Hill.
Using a key he found at the church, Harry lowers the bridge to
Central Silent Hill. Before heading to the hospital, Harry stops by
the police station to look for anything useful. He finds some
mysterious files that speak of some hallucinogenic drug called
"White Claudia". There seems to be a large market for them in Silent
Hill. But none of this seems to be relevant, so Harry proceeds to
Alchemilla Hospital in the southern portion of Central Silent Hill.
After Harry enters the hospital, he hears a bullet shot in one of the
rooms. Harry enters the room where the shot came from, and meets an
irritable doctor, Michael Kaufmann. Kaufmann, gruff in tone and nature,
just shot one of the flying demons. He also shoots his gun towards
Harry, but luckily misses, realizing Harry is a human.
Harry and Kaufmann speak, with Harry asking if he's seen Cheryl. Like
Cybil, Kaufmann hasn't seen her. Kaufmann explains that he went to
sleep in a break room, and when he woke up, he saw that the hospital
became empty, the weather out of season, and monsters everywhere. He
even asks Harry about his wife. Harry tells Kaufmann that his wife
died four years ago. Kaufmann decides to take his leave, Harry wishing
him luck as he explores the rest of the hospital.
The hospital is devoid of any life except for cockroaches in the
basement. In the director's room, he uses a bottle to scoop up some
suspicious-looking red liquid that had seemingly been dropped on
purpose. The rest of the room has been ransacked, and it appears as
if the liquid was the object of the search.
Harry restores power to the hospital in the basement. He uses the
elevator to reach the upper floors, but a search of the upper
floors is impossible due to jammed doors.
As Harry returns to the elevator, a mysterious fourth floor appears!
It's an ominous sight, but Harry has no choice but to take the
elevator up to this mysterious fourth floor. As Harry gets off the
elevator, he ends up in a dark, bloody hallway. The hospital, like
the elementary school and the alleyway, has transformed into darkness,
and Harry has to reverse this on his own.
Harry proceeds down this fourth floor, but he doesn't seem much,
ending up at a staircase that will take him to the third floor. He
encounters demon nurses that have weird, wiggling bulges on their
backs. Harry also sees demon doctors, and avoids or kills whoever
he runs into. He can't let any monster stop him from finding
Cheryl.
As with the school, Harry goes through fruitless searching of the
now-unlocked second and third floors. After unlocking a few doors
and reaching the basement, Harry pushes a shelf in the basement
storeroom, revealing a secret door. He enters it, finding another
passage guarded by metal grating.
Harry stumbles onto a hallway containing six rooms. One of the
rooms is a hospital room whose patient is identified by a photo
on a machine -- the same girl who Harry nearly hit on the road,
and saw appear and vanish at the elementary school. The name on
the photo reads "Alessa".
Alessa's hospital room contains a stretcher, her photo, and some
medicinal pills. Harry searches elsewhere, and finds another key,
one that leads him into the room he met Kaufmann in. But instead
of finding Kaufmann, Harry shines his flashlight at a woman hiding
beneath a desk, a panicked but human nurse. When the nurse realizes
Harry isn't a demon, she hugs him, looking relieved, smiling.
Harry chats with the nurse, who identifies herself as Lisa Garland.
Of course, she works at this hospital. Harry asks Lisa if she's
seen Cheryl, but as with everyone else Harry's met in Silent Hill,
Lisa hasn't seen Cheryl. Harry asks Lisa about the hidden basement,
but Lisa is ignorant of such matters, as nurses are instructed not
to enter the basement storeroom on strict orders. Lisa asks Harry
if he's seen anything, but before Harry can explain, he is hit with
a headache, and suddenly loses consciousness. Lisa tries to help
Harry, but Harry blacks out.
Harry ends up back in the room he met Kaufmann in, the hospital
having returned to its normal state. No lizards or other demons
to kill this time, apparently.
Someone enters the room. It's the old woman from the church, who
reveals herself as Dahlia Gillespie. Once again, she speaks
to Harry in cryptic language, explaining that the town is
being swallowed by darkness. Harry is clueless about this,
but does know about a circular symbol appearing all over town,
as he encountered it at the schoolyard. Dahlia explains that
this is the Mark of Samael, a symbol of evil. Dahlia commands
Harry not to let it be "completed". She leaves a key on the desk,
telling Harry to visit the "Other Church" of this town. She
leaves, leaving Harry alone again.
Harry looks at his map and cannot find any church on the map
except for Balkan Church, which he already visited. However,
the key Dahlia leaves behind is an antique shop key, so Harry
decides to find one.
Using a phonebook at the hospital, Harry finds an antique shop
in the northeastern part of Central Silent Hill, across town.
It's a long run, avoiding monsters amidst the fog and snow,
but Harry eventually finds the shop. Harry takes a flight of
stairs down from its entrance, and enters the shop.
Inside, Harry moves aside a shelf, finding a hidden, mysterious
tunnel in the wall. Before Harry could explore it, Cybil enters
the shop and begins to speak to Harry. She explains to Harry
that she was unable to find a way out of town due to all the
chasms in the roads.
Harry explains that he's still on his hunt for Cheryl, but
still hasn't found her. Cybil points out that she did see
a girl on Bachman Road, but the girl got away from Cybil
because the girl literally crossed over one of the chasms
leading towards the Silent Hill lakeside. Harry is shocked
at thus revelation.
He asks Cybil if she knows anything about Dahlia and the
darkness she spoke of. Cybil answers that the people of
Silent Hill were addicted to drugs, and that there was
trafficking going on. Cybil was investigating it, but all
leads have gone cold. Harry doesn't seem to see a connection
to the current situation, though. Although, he did read up
on drug trafficking in the police station...
He tries to tell Cybil about the dark transformations he's
experienced all over town, mentioning his meeting with Lisa,
but Cybil doesn't seem to know what he's talking about. She
thinks Harry is tired and imagining things, and Harry seems
to concur, uninterested in convincing Cybil to believe
something so strange and unbelievable.
Cybil asks Harry about the tunnel in the wall, and Harry
says he found it before she came in. Harry decides to have
a look, while Cybil, after protesting the logic of a cop
covering for a civilian. Cybil guards the entrance as
Harry explores. The tunnel is short, and leads to a simple
room with an altar, and a picture of a flying, naked demon.
Harry concludes this to be the "Other Church" Dahlia spoke
of. Harry sees an axe on a wall, and decides to use it for
a weapon. Harry finds a jammed door, but nothing else of
interest. He tries to return to Cybil, but suddenly, the
altar begins emitting fire from cups set atop the altar,
which surprises Harry.
Cybil, still guarding the entrance to the tunnel, calls
out to Harry, stunned by the silence in the room. She
decides to check the secret tunnel out for herself, but
as she arrives in the altar room, still flaring, she
sees no sign of Harry, wondering just what happened to
him...
Harry wakes up in the demonic hospital with Lisa. Harry
asks Lisa about Dahlia, and Lisa clues him in on the awful
occurrence with her kid seven years ago and of a weird
cult in Silent Hill. Apparently, Dahlia went insane after
her child died in a fire. The cult that existed in Silent
Hill apparently had been around for a long time, but when
the lakeside resort was built, younger people moved into
the town, all drawn in by drug trafficking. Lisa decides
that she's rambled on too much, and stops speaking
afterwards.
Harry wakes up in the antique shop again. However, it's now
become the dark, decaying environment Harry experienced at
the school and hospital. Cybil is no longer here, but Harry
remembers what she said about Cheryl crossing a chasm towards
the lake. But, with a chasm there, Harry can't access the lake
area. There should be another way to get there. Lisa should
know, so Harry decides to brave the nightmarishly transformed
town and return to Alchemilla Hospital.
The town has not been spared from the dark transformation to
evil. Chasms have appeared, trying to block Harry from
returning to the hospital. Harry goes through a mall, and as
he tries to reach the second floor, a set of television
screens turn on, showing Cheryl in a panicked, suffering
state, asking for her daddy to help her. The screens go blank,
prompting Harry to continue his search. After taking down a
type of larva creature, Harry manages to make a break for
the hospital, taking a hunting rifle with him for added
firepower.
Harry runs into Lisa again, asking her if she knows another
path to the sewers. Lisa tells Harry of a sewer waterworks
located next to Midwich Elementary School (in fact, Harry
had passed by it earlier). However, Lisa demands Harry to
stay in with her and keep her company. However, Harry needs
to find Cheryl, but offers for Lisa to go with him. Lisa,
unfortunately, finds herself unable to leave to the hospital.
Not arguing, Harry promises to come back for Lisa after he
finds Cheryl.
Harry leaves the hospital again, but chasms have blocked him
from getting anywhere except the rooftop of a building
across the hospital. On the roof, a giant moth has arrived
to attack Harry and prevent him from advancing. The moth
apparently evolved from the larva he fought at the mall
(Pokemon style!). Using his new rifle, Harry kills the moth.
As the moth collapses onto the ground, a light shines,
restoring Silent Hill to "normal" daylight. The chasms have
vanished, and Harry is free to return to Old Silent Hill.
After a long run, backtracking through the Gordan residence,
Harry arrives at the waterworks next door to Midwich School.
There's a padlock keeping the entrance locked, but being a
waterworks, the padlock has become rusty over the years,
allowing Harry to break it with the axe he found at the
antique shop.
Harry traverses into the sewers, and it doesn't take him
very long to find the way out, despite the presence of odd
lizard demons that harass him as he finds his way through
the long tunnels.
He ends up in an area not far from the lake, and it has
become dark again, but not actually in the evil, decaying
state.
Harry finds a map of Lakeside Silent Hill, and tries the
nearest building first, a nearby pool hall. As soon as he
enters the pool hall, Harry sees Kaufmann, the doctor from
the hospital, being attacked by a bear-like demon. How he
reached the lake before Harry is a mystery. However,
Kaufmann, on the ground, about to be bitten by the creature,
is saved when Harry uses Cybil's handgun to kills it.
Kaufmann, seemingly grateful to Harry, asks him if he's
found a way out yet. Neither of the two men have. Kaufmann
seems optimistic that help will arrive soon, and decides
to continue searching for a way out.
It seems that Kaufmann dropped a wallet, and Harry examines
it. Harry finds a motel key, and a store receipt. The
store receipt is for the Indian Runner shop nearby,
which Harry searches. In a safe, he finds drugs. Clues take
him to the motel, which he accesses using the key Kaufmann
dropped.
After uncovering a set of motorcycle keys, Harry uses them
on a motorcycle he finds in the motel garage, and then
uncovers the same red liquid he found at the hospital.
Kaufmann returns, and angrily snatches the liquid from
Harry. Kaufmann is irritated that Harry seems to have been
wasting time searching in places he shouldn't be searching.
Harry asks Kaufmann to calm down, but Kaufmann leaves,
warning Harry to concentrate on leaving town instead of
wasting time.
Harry wonders just why Kaufmann appeared so irritated.
He decides to concur with Kaufmann's message about having
wasted time, so Harry resumes his search for Cheryl. The
lakeside area is quite a bit smaller than the other two
sections of town, so Harry only has two places to look:
the lighthouse out on the lake, and the amusement park.
On his way, Silent Hill transforms into pure evil once
again. A chasm appears behind Harry, so he won't be able
to get back to the motel area or to the sewers anymore.
The path to the amusement park is blocked, so he decides
to try the lighthouse. On his way there, he sees Cybil
again, in a cruise boat. Cybil managed to follow Harry
by using the sewer tunnels, wondering if Harry was the
one who cut the fence. After confirming that, Harry,
having learned much since their last meeting, tells Cybil
of a demon taking over Silent Hill. Cybil is pretty
shocked, but Harry assures her that he isn't becoming
insane.
Dahlia enters the boat, telling Harry to go to the
lighthouse and the amusement park, as those are the places
where the Mark of Samael are to be completed. Cybil offers
to help Harry, and decides to go to the amusement park
while Harry runs for the lighthouse. Cybil leaves first,
while Dahlia reminds Harry to use the Flauros before
leaving herself. Harry attempts to ask Dahlia about what
Cybil would do without a Flauros, but she ignores him.
Harry reaches the lighthouse, seeing Alessa. Before he can
speak to her, she vanishes once again. Harry was too late.
Harry returns to the boat, realizing that Cybil hasn't
returned yet. Harry decides to follow Cybil to the amusement
park, returning to the main road. The chasm to the park is
still there, but Harry sees an open door leading to another
set of waterworks. It seems as if Cybil had gone that way.
As Harry enters the sewer tunnels, Cybil, a few paces ahead
of him, turns to check the next tunnel from a corner.
Suddenly, she is pushed forward by a strong force and knocked
out.
Compared to the first set of sewers, this second set is
linear, and Harry reaches the ladder at the end in no time.
He ends up in the amusement park, and searches the park for
signs of Cybil or Alessa.
On one of the rides, Harry encounters Cybil, but she is no
longer herself. Cybil, unable to speak or walk properly,
stumbles towards Harry, and begins attacking him. She seems
to have been taken over by the same symptoms that plagued
the hospital nurses and doctors, with a bulging creature
protruding from Cybil's back. Left with no choice, Harry
shoots Cybil with her very own gun, eventually killing her.
Harry mourns Cybil's death, having been unable to protect
the ally who had aligned herself to his cause to find his
daughter ever since they met. But, Harry realizes he can't
mourn forever, and searches the rest of the park, finally
discovering Alessa.
Harry tries to question Alessa, who doesn't vanish this
time. As Harry approaches Alessa, Alessa holds her arm
out, palm facing out, and knocks Harry back with some
kind of magic force. Suddenly, Harry's Flauros activates
itself, as it begins floating. Suddenly, the Flauros,
becoming brighter, shoots a ray straight into Alessa,
hurting her.
Dahlia appears, and speaks to Alessa, telling her that
she can no longer escape, or continue running away from
her. Alessa resists being captured by Dahlia, but now
that the Flauros attacked her, she is powerless again
Dahlia. Harry wonders what's going on and attempts to
intervene, but everything becomes dark once again...
Harry wakes up in the hospital again, with Lisa. He
speaks to Lisa, who admits she checked the hospital
basement after he mentioned it to her. Lisa admits that
there was nothing really strange in there, other than
the feeling that she had been there before. Lisa, now
uncontrollably emotional, runs away. With Cybil dead
and Lisa no longer a reliable ally, Harry leaves the
hospital room, now on his own.
Harry follows Lisa, but he realizes that he's in some
weird form of the hospital, a place he calls "Nowhere"
Nowhere seems to be randomly laid out, making a map
useless and nonexistent. It's dominated by the hospital
layout, but rooms Harry's explored throughout his
adventure appear beyond random doors. He finds a
classroom from Midwich, a jewelry store like the one
from the mall, the antique shop (without the secret
passage) and another hospital room, with a TV and VCR.
Harry found a VHS tape earlier, but he finally decides
to play it. On the tape is obviously Lisa Garland,
confessing her inability to stop a patient's wounds
from bleeding, as well as her drug addiction.
Harry finds Lisa again, but Lisa is no longer human.
She begins to bleed uncontrollably from all parts of
her body. She stumbles towards Harry, asking him to
help her, but Harry is just repulsed by the bleeding
Lisa. Harry leaves the room, and prevents Lisa from
getting out. Lisa tries to break through the door,
but Harry's push is too strong, and Lisa eventually
gives up and runs off. Harry returns to the room, to
find Lisa's diary, speaking of her addiction.
Harry explores the rest of Nowhere, and eventually finds
the hospital room Alessa had stayed in. There, he sees a
recollection from Alessa's life, with Dahlia, Kaufmann
and two other men looking over the incinerated and heavily
bandaged Alessa. Dahlia tells the situation they're in,
realizing that only half of a god's soul has entered
Alessa's body, wondering how to manifest the other half.
Harry travels some more, and encounters another struggle
between Alessa and Dahlia, before Alessa was burned. Dahlia
demands for Alessa to be a goodgirl and for her to cooperate
with Dahlia's orders. Alessa wishes for her and her mother
to just live a happy, simple life, but Dahlia resists.
Harry arrives at the bottom floor, the same place where he
fought the lizard at Midwich. He sees Dahlia and a burned
woman in a wheelchair, as well as Alessa, sitting on the
ground. Harry demands Cheryl back, but Dahlia tells Harry
that she's right there, just like she has been the entire
game.
Harry knows that's preposterous, but Dahlia explains that
Alessa is simply Cheryl restored to her former self.
Therefore, the Alessa sitting on the ground is actually
Cheryl, and the burned woman is the true Alessa. Suddenly.
a bright light emits through the whole room, and the two
girls, Alessa/Cheryl and the burned woman, merge to become
a beautiful angel.
Suddenly, Dahlia is shot from a distance, by Kaufmann.
Kaufmann screams at Dahlia, accusing her of not meeting
her end of the bargain. Kaufmann didn't expect to be
taken to a living hell. Dahlia responds that Kaufmann is
no longer needed in her grand scheme. Kaufmann planned for
a betrayal, and pulls out the red liquid Harry found at
the motel, which Dahlia calls Aglophatis. Kaufmann tosses
it straight into the angel Alessa, which causes Alessa
to scream.
Dahlia begins to laugh in an evil manner, and the flying
goat-like creature Harry saw in the painting at the
antique shop appears, emitting lightning bolts. One of
them strikes Dahlia, engulfing her in flames, perhaps a
kind of ironic, poetic justice.
Kaufmann steps back, while Harry uses every gun he has to
shoot the creature. Eventually, the creature falls to the
ground, dying. Alessa, the angel, reappears, and looks at
Harry. She then pulls a baby from her arms, and presents
it to Harry. Harry realized that Cheryl isn't going to
come back, but has to take care of this new child. Taking
the child, Harry is guided to a light by Alessa. The room
is collapsing, with debris falling everywhere. Harry runs
for the light.
Kaufmann attempts to join Harry in his escape, but Lisa
returns from below the metal grating, still bleeding.
She laughs as she grabs onto Kaufmann and drags him into
the abyss with her, Lisa finally having her revenge.
Harry escapes with the baby in his arms. He ends up in a
street, and looks up a lighted streetlight. He's made it
back into the real world.
++++++++++
B. Endings
++++++++++
This is a description of all the endings available in Silent
Hill. This section does not explain how to obtain them, so you
should check out the appropriate FAQs.
Good+ Ending
------------
In this ending, Cybil is alive and Harry found the Aglophatis
for Kaufmann. In the final confrontation, Cybil tries to confront
Dahlia, but she's knocked out by Dahlia's strange power. Harry
confronts Dahlia, and Kaufmann arrives, throws the Aglophatis
at Mother Alessa, and Harry kills the creature that comes out of
her after it burns Dahlia. Mother Alessa returns, gives Harry
the new baby girl, and runs off with Cybil, while demonic Lisa
drags Kaufmann into the flames of Hell. As of Silent Hill 3, it's
probable that this ending did not occur.
Good Ending
-----------
In this ending, Cybil is dead and Harry found the Aglophatis for
Kaufmann. Harry confronts Dahlia, and Kaufmann arrives, throws
the Aglophatis at Mother Alessa, and Harry kills the creature that
comes out of her after it burns Dahlia. Mother Alessa returns, gives
Harry the new baby girl, and runs off with Cybil, while demonic Lisa
drags Kaufmann into the flames of Hell. As of Silent Hill 3, it's
probable that this ending is the one that actually occurred.
Bad+ Ending
-----------
In this ending, Cybil is alive, but Harry didn't find the Aglophatis
for Kaufmann. In the final confrontation, Cybil tries to confront
Dahlia, but she's knocked out by Dahlia's strange power. Harry
confronts Dahlia and Mother Alessa arrives, burning Dahlia. Harry
kills Mother Alessa. He sobs about having lost Cheryl. Cybil wakes up
and slaps Harry, telling him to "go" (as in escape and move on with
his life). As of Silent Hill 3, this ending definitely did not occur.
Bad Ending
----------
In this ending, Cybil is dead and Harry didn't find the Aglophatis
for Kaufmann. Harry confronts Dahlia and Mother Alessa arrives,
burning Dahlia. Harry kills Mother Alessa. He sobs about Cheryl
again. We cut to a scene in Harry's jeep, where's he's bleeding over
the wheel, possibly dead. As of Silent Hill 3, it is impossible for
this ending to have occurred.
UFO Ending
----------
Harry finds this jewel called the Channeling Stone and he uses it
throughout Silent Hill. When he uses it at the lighthouse after
Alessa vanishes, aliens come, Harry asks them if they've seen Cheryl
and the aliens zap Harry and take him away.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
C. Play Novel: Silent Hill
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
When the original Game Boy Advance model launched in Japan in
March of 2001, one of the launch games was Play Novel: Silent Hill.
The game didn't sell too well due to being in a niche genre, but some
people picked it up and played it.
The game is not like Silent Hill for the PSone. It takes many
photographic images from the first Silent Hill and places
Japanese text over them, presenting the game in a storylike
"Play Novel" format.
Due to the niche genre this game falls in, it was never released
outside of Japan. It does contain important plot elements, but
unfortunately without a proper translation, only Japanese readers
will know what the plot is about,
+++++++++++++
D. Characters
+++++++++++++
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Harry
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
First, I'd like to make it clear that Harry is a lowly writer few have
heard of. This is stated somewhere in the game or the booklet. Harry
is the adopted father of Cheryl, and after finding her raises her
lovingly with his wife until his wife dies. He then goes to Silent
Hill, for a vacation, and crashes into Alessa (who has made it the dark
world, unbeknownst to him). Alessa is searching for her sister, and
Harry is now in Silent Hill. He becomes Dahlia's servant, finding
Alessa, because he thinks she has Cheryl, while Dahlia herself really
does. He then saves all of humanity however, when he eradicates
Samael's incarnation in Alessa. Alessa/Cheryl is pleased with her
father, knowing he meant well, and aids him to the normal world again.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alessa Gillespie
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Alessa is actually in a hospital, or in Dahlia's home at any point in
time, but she is metaphysically in her realm. She is hurt, and she was
burned at an early age, so she does not really know what is happening
to her, she is just hurt and confused.
In Silent Hill 1, there is a text in the school that explains
poltergeist activity. Studies (real studies) also show that teen-aged
girls are the most able to project telekinetic energy into real forces.
This explains the crashing of windows Harry often heard, and it
explains a lot of the weird occurrences. If a poltergeist is strong
enough, members of the household may hallucinate, and see different
things than any other given person. This is because they live near
the teen.
Because Alessa holds in her half, or more than half of Samael, her
telekinetic powers are enhanced, and she is also in pain, which will
add power to her telekinesis. Her telekinetic power is once again
demonstrated when she pushes Cybil backwards at the conclusion of the
game. She is Dahlia's gate to eternal power, and a new, darker world.
Appearances
Road:
-----
Harry is driving into town, and almost hits Alessa. She is here,
because she senses the presence of her sister, and wants to see her.
It is not to complete Samael, but it is partially that, because
Samael inside of her wants completion (reunification).
School Basement:
----------------
She appears here, after Harry beats the lizard. Alessa, as a child,
is pleased that Harry killed one of her nightmares, but Samael inside
of her is angry because Harry have defeated his minion. Thus, Alessa
somewhat smiles at you as she disappears.
I like that theory of Alessa being happy that Harry destroyed her
nightmare. It explains her "gift," the Gordon Key.
Entrance to "Other" Church:
---------------------------
I'm really not sure why they put this cut-scene in. It seems
really worthless, but it might not be. It may be a foreshadowing
of the "Other Church's" importance in the game, or it might simply
tell you (the player, since Harry doesn't seem to realize this
scene is taking place) to go in there after Dahlia gives Harry
instructions because it may be too confusing to find the place.
Anyway, Alessa's entering the building, which is basically it. She
could be going there to get something, or to hide from Dahlia.
Lighthouse:
-----------
She appears here, knowing that Harry is after Cheryl, and not wanting
him to take her. The symbol on the ground is symbolic of Samael, and
thus at this sighting, the darker side of Alessa has sway.
Carnival:
---------
Alessa appears here because Harry was getting too close to her, and
Cybil, who she has taken control of, failed to stop him. She has to
deal with Harry herself, and this is when Metatron's essence comes
in, and defeats the evil inside of Alessa momentarily. However, Dahlia
is allowed into Alessa's darker realm because of her momentary
weakness, and recaptures her. Dahlia then takes her away.
If you're wondering why Alessa attacks Harry, it's because he's
following orders from Dahlia and harboring the Flauros. As opposed to
seeing her at the school, he was out on his own quest. But since it's
really Dahlia who Harry's working for at that time, she sees a
foresight to attack Harry, despite him being Alessa's (Cheryl's)
father.
Stairs in Nowhere:
------------------
Alessa is a child at this moment, and it is just a view of Alessa right
before her mother was going to burn her. This is the last time she is a
child. She yells "no, no, I don't want to," because she already is
confused, but knows her mother is going to hurt her.
Final Room:
-----------
Here, Alessa is back in her realistic form, her power being drained by
Dahlia. Her dark realm remains, but Dahlia is in control of it, with
Alessa's own power. She is once again bandaged fully, for the puss and
blood still leak from her body. When forced to fight, she either does
so because of her mother's power over her, or she falls, as Samael is
brought into existence before his time.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Lisa Garland
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
She was the nurse of Alessa, and Cheryl, and she was addicted to the
drug, White Claudia, which caused hallucinations similar to dark Silent
Hill.
She only appears in the dark world of Silent Hill, so one can wonder
how she got there. The answer is most likely that Alessa remembers her
as a kindly caretaker, and has placed her soul into her dark realm.
She was probably killed by Dahlia for her insubordination, and her soul
is kept in dark Silent Hill, where her soul went immediately after
dying. Besides Cybil, Lisa is the only other ally in Silent Hill of
Harry's. I wish she lived to escape the horror, but as mentioned,
she died at some point.
Appearances
Hospital:
---------
Here, Lisa first appears to Harry. She is hiding in a room, under a
table. She is unsure of how she got to where she is. She is, however,
a memory, a soul, brought back by Alessa's will. This is why Harry
will only see her in the darker realm of Silent Hill.
Hospital:
---------
After passing out in the antique shop, Harry wakes up here, with
Lisa. She has almost a demonic look in her eyes as Harry comes to.
This is because she was just about to drink Harry's blood, or suck his
power, or whatever it is that the other nurses do to Harry, but then
Harry regained consciousness.
She has to restrain the evil urges within herself, brought on by Samael,
and become human again. She tells Harry that he were having a bad dream,
because she doesn't know what's happening, and to her, Harry were asleep
when he was in the other world, but intangible until he entered that
realm completely.
Hospital [Nowhere]:
-------------------
Here, after having gotten through the dark realm of the town, to the
hospital again, Harry finds her, in the same room. She is relieved to
see Harry, but cannot leave the room, because of Alessa's control over
her. Alessa does not want one of the other monsters hurting her.
Nowhere:
--------
Lisa is here, as Samael's power is weakening, and she has made her way
here. She realizes what she is, that she is no different than another
Animated corpse in this realm. However, she is different, because she
has a soul, and the other monsters are soulless. She then goes for
Harry, not to attack him, but for security and safety (a hug). She
falters, and dies, partially because her physical form is falling
apart, partially because Harry is afraid, and can offer no friendship.
Final Room:
-----------
Depending on the ending, she appears here to drag Kaufman to his doom
(as Harry and maybe Cybil make their escape). This is a double
meaning, because Kaufmann is more than likely the one that killed her
(or Dahlia, as mentioned earlier, but they're one and all). He has no
qualms with using a gun, and she became too much of a trouble, as seen
in the opening CG where she shakes off his hand. So, this is revenge.
Also, Alessa does not want Kaufmann there, because he caused her much
pain, by throwing the Aglophatis at her, and by burning her.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dahlia Gillespie
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dahlia is the head of a cult that worships angels, particularly fallen
ones. She is the one maintaining the evil. She wants Samael's evil
power, and she created the two children. She created Alessa, but one
human form was not enough to hold the dark power, and so she had to
create another child, after getting everything from Alessa that she
could.
During the game, she wants to get to Alessa, and eventually does
through Harry and Metatron. She is playing both sides of good/evil,
a real schemer. Her realm is maintained even though she dies. She
also sells White Claudia in order to finance her cult, and to get aid
from lesser members. She is the "bad guy" of the first game, and
overall she starts the whole problem with the town that we know and
love, Silent Hill. She gets Cheryl to come to her, by drawing on her
as a mother, and then she uses Cheryl to bribe Harry to move faster,
try harder to get to her, thus to get to Alessa. Dahlia also takes
control of the darker realm of Silent Hill after Alessa comes under
her control again.
Appearances
Church:
-------</pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
This is her preliminary meeting with Harry. She is here to give him
the Flauros and the key to continue his mission. In a bad sort of
way, she is there to help Harry along, because in the end it means
she accomplishes what she wants. Jesus on the cross is symbolic,
because it represents the suffering of Alessa. Meeting in a church
is also an interesting place to first meet, perhaps so Dahlia
could make Harry think that she means well by using a house of God
to speak out to him and guide him.
Hospital:
---------
Dahlia comes in person, having called Harry from the darker Silent
Hill, to urge him onward and move faster. She is becoming more
impatient as Harry makes relatively little progress.
Boat:
-----
Once again, Dahlia is impatient, and urges Harry to move faster.
She reminds Harry of what to do when she encounters Alessa.
Carnival:
---------
Dahlia has finally succeeded because you have found Alessa for her.
She takes Alessa, and leaves. However, she has unwittingly released
Metatron by giving you the Flauros, and now he is here, to counter any
excessive evil.
Stairs in Nowhere:
------------------
Dahlia's essence is trapped in a rendition of her, right before she
burns Alessa, wanting more power from her. This is an early view of
Dahlia.
Nowhere:
--------
Dahlia is about to raise Samael, but it is either too early, or
Kaufmann steps in, depending upon your ending. She has both children,
and she is planning upon starting the ritual. Depending upon your
ending, Cybil is there also, trying to stop whatever is happening.
Then, Kaufman steps in and throws the Aglophatis at the "Mother,"
(Cheryl and Alessa joined) and Samael is finally born into the real
world.
Either way, Harry beats the incarnation. What is not guaranteed is
whether Harry gets Cheryl as a child from the "Mother." Kaufman shoots
Dahlia, or she is killed by the "Mother," but either way she dies.
Strangely enough, she dies happy as she laughs maniacally, thinking
she had accomplished her goals.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Kaufmann
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
He inseminates Dahlia (ugh), and sells the drugs to tourists. Besides
being in the cult, he is left in the foggy Silent Hill, being summoned
there by Dahlia because he is an important member of her cult. However,
she neglects to tell him this, and he sees it as a quick trip to Hell.
He is unhappy with his transition from normal Silent Hill to fog Silent
Hill, and thus uses Aglophatis to end Dahlia's spree, if Harry saves
him. He is in the hospital trying to find out what happened when Harry
finds him, even thinking Harry is another monster he shoots towards.
Once he finds Alessa and Dahlia, Alessa summons Lisa to do away with
him, for aiding in her torture.
Appearances
Hospital:
---------
Kaufmann first appears in the hospital, not knowing what is happening.
Dahlia has brought him to her fog realm, and he was at work when it
happened. Now he is just confused and unhappy. His stash of Aglophatis
has all but been destroyed, and he's angry at Dahlia because of the
situation he's in.
Annie's Bar:
------------
He is here, about to be killed as he is attacked by a teddy bear
creature. Harry saves him, and he leaves, thankful. It doesn't explain
why he was in the bar, of all locations, but he was probably here in
order to find a few items he may have needed.
Bates Motel:
------------
He appears when you find the Aglophatis bottle in the motorcycle.
This is his secret stash, and the fact that you are messing with it
angers him. He threatens Harry, and leaves in order to find Dahlia.
Final Room:
-----------
Dahlia has control of both dark Silent Hills now, so he can make his
way to this darker basement, and use the Aglaophotis on "Mother," to
stop it. However, Samael is only birthed prematurely, and Harry has to
fight him. Kaufmann is then brought to Hell for what he did to Alessa
and Lisa.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cybil Bennett
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cybil is in Silent Hill not without purpose. She was accidentally
brought into the fog town by Dahlia when she came in at the same time
as Harry. Dahlia realizes that there is a use for her, when she draws
Harry into the town. She is there to help him on his search, and when
she leads Harry to Alessa, Alessa takes matters into her own hands and
controls and then attempts to kill Cybil. Overall she is not meant to
be where she is. She was working together with the Silent Hill Police
Department to investigate the drug trafficking, but of course could
find no evidence.
Appearances
Intro:
------
Cybil passes you on the road, on her way to investigating the lack
of communication coming from Silent Hill. You later see her motorcycle,
which leads Harry to wonder what happened to her. In the process of
bringing Harry to Silent Hill, as she was also in the vicinity, her
abandonment of her motorcycle likely shows she was transported to
the hell-like Silent Hill by Dahlia.
Cafe:
-----
She is here, having saved Harry from the child demons. She makes no
mention of it, in order to not scare him. She also gives Harry a gun,
and advice, telling him to stay near. She doesn't know what is
happening, and as an officer, she is only trying to protect Harry as
a regular citizen.
Antique Shop:
-------------
She finds Harry here, after having followed him inside. She wants,
once again, to help Harry. When Harry go into the secret passage,
she loses him again, and goes off looking on her own.
Boat:
-----
She meets Harry here, trying to help him with Cheryl, and to find out
what is going on. She goes to the amusement park while Harry checks the
lighthouse. When he gets back, she's not there, and Harry decides to
look for him..
Carnival:
---------
Here, Cybil has been taken over by Alessa, because she was helping
Harry find Alessa. So, Alessa plays them off against each other, and
Harry can only save her with the Aglophatis. If he saves her, she and
Harry talk about why this is happening, giving Harry the opportunity to
explain to Cybil that Cheryl was actually adopted.
Final Room:
-----------
Cybil is here, trying to stop whatever is going on. However, she is
quickly knocked aside by Alessa.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cheryl Mason
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cheryl was born X-Gallespie-Kaufmann (aka Dahlia is her mother and
Kaufmann *might* be her father). After she was separated from the
cult, Harry found her and raised her as his own. Dahlia eventually drew
her back into Silent Hill. The pain of her sister also draws her in,
because she is still a good person, due to the love Harry gave her,
as opposed the pain Alessa received. Cheryl/Alessa is reborn, depending
upon the ending that you get, and Harry, we assume, takes care of her
as well, and she is raised as a normal child, once again named Cheryl.
However, her story continues in Silent Hill.
Appearances
Jeep:
-----
When you start the game, Cheryl is just a happy little girl with her
sketch book. She looks like an ordinary child and there's nothing
apparently special or unique about her.
Crashed Jeep:
-------------
Harry sees a shadow of Cheryl in the mist, and goes after her.
Dahlia is already drawing Cheryl to her and Alessa, who are her mother
and sister. She is safe in both realms though, due to the realms'
keepers desires to keep her safe.
School:
-------
Cheryl is calling Harry from a phone, because Dahlia wants to meet
with him, and Cheryl is with Dahlia. Though Cheryl is with Dahlia,
Dahlia can force her image and voice into this realm via phone or TV.
Town Center:
------------
The screens on the wall show Cheryl, asking where her father is and
for him to come help her. This is once again Dahlia's work, trying to
get Harry to try harder and move faster, because she relies on him to
find Alessa, while he wants to get his daughter.
Final Room:
-----------
This room has Cheryl already in her original form for the creation of
Samael. She looks like Alessa, because she is actually the other part
of Samael. Alessa is also in the room, wrapped in bandages due to being
badly burned.
+++++++++
E. Angels
+++++++++
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Samael
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Also called Sammael, Samael is a dark and fallen angel. It has been
said that he is the devil himself, but not for certain. In any case,
he is the evil in Silent Hill, and it is he that was summoned into
Alessa's form. However, after being defeated in his physical form,
because he was premature, and weak, he can now only watch over the town,
and only has the power to suck the sinners into his realm. He cannot
take the souls of the innocent, because Metatron also guards the town.
The cult that Dahlia was the head of worshipped angels, darker ones at
that. Older Hebrew rituals were said to have been able to raise angels
to do commands, which is where this may have started. Dahlia's
ethnicity is revealed through her clothing. (Not at all a negative
statement towards any ethnicity or religion, just interpreting the
game as I see it). These angels, though not appearing in the game,
are referenced many times within the game. The referenced angels are:
Hagith
Phaleg
Ophiel
Bethor
Aratron
Och
Phul
These angels are the angels of the planets, and thus they also
represent some of the Greek Gods. My info came from the Dictionary of
Angels, by Gustav Davidson. The names, and the symbols are mentioned
in his book. I believe the original source was The Magus, an older
book. Anyway, these angels are of course viewed as wicked, and of
the occult, but really it is just another branch of a religion.
+++++++++++
F. Metatron
+++++++++++
Metatron is called upon by the tetrahedral item that Dahlia gave Harry.
It was the essence of the Archangel Metatron. Unwittingly, in her quest
to get dark power, Dahlia overstepped herself, and this item of light
broke through Alessa's dark power over the evil in Silent Hill. It is
he who looked out for Harry and James, and in some ways makes the
darkness of Silent Hill equal in lightness in the real town. He comes to
the town to battle evil, as an Archangel, not out of personal gain for
Dahlia. Though Metatron has been stated as one of the greatest, if not
the greatest angel, he is the power of good in this town, and will
counteract Samael if need be.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
4. S I L E N T H I L L 3
s i l e n t h i l l 3
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Silent Hill 3 is obvious the third game in the Silent Hill series. It
stars Heather, a 17 year old girl who ends up in Silent Hill to
discover the circumstances of her birth, as well as a death in the
family. Silent Hill 3 is far more up front than Silent Hill or Silent
Hill 2 is about its plot, and thus isn't nearly as deep as those games.
It's the direct sequel to the first Silent Hill, which is fitting.
The game nearly explains itself through the files and dialogue, so not
much analysis is needed.
Please note that the Silent Hill 3 section is meant to come before the
section on Silent Hill 2. Silent Hill 3 is the true sequel to the
original Silent Hill in nearly every aspect, while Silent Hill 2 really
stands on its own or with Silent Hill 4.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A. A Synopsis of Silent Hill 3
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A girl named Heather is strolling through a dark amusement park. As she
arrives, she explores the park, encountering monsters and such (you
know the drill). As she finds her way to the tracks of a tall ride, she
is run over by a track car. As Heather is hit, the screen blacks out...
Suddenly, Heather wakes up in a burger shop at the mall. The amusement
park was just a nasty dream. Noticing that she fell asleep and needs
to be home, Heather gets up and leaves.
Outside, she calls her dad, telling him she didn't fullfill his errand,
but reassures her love for her father. As she hangs up, she sees an
older-aged man looking straight at her. She offers him the phone as
Heather walks away. The old mans shakes his head, not needing to use
the phone, and follows Heather.
Heather is naturally creeped out, and the man introduces himself as
Douglas Cartland, a detective. He wants a little of Heather's time
to tell her about her birth, but Heather's not interested. Heather
walks away, and Douglas follows. Heather is now just irritated. She
walks into the women's bathroom as Douglas waits outside, in order to
get away from him.
Heather, wanting to avoid Douglas, leaves the bathroom through a window
leading to the side of the mall, and she runs toward the exit.
Unfortunately, a truck blocks the way out, so she takes a door back
into a different area of the mall, but far enough away from Douglas.
There, she finds her way through the mall, only to find that it's
filled with all kinds of monsters. In a clothing store, she finds a
gun to defend herself with.
As she wanders, she meets a woman named Claudia. Claudia says that the
"Hand of God" caused all this and that Heather seems to be needed.
Heather is hit with a hangover as Claudia walks away. Heather tries to
follow her. But Claudia's gone, so Heather gets into an elevator. As
she rides it down, she finds a radio emitting static when monsters are
near.
The elevator takes her to an alternate version of the mall. There are
more monsters everywhere and the mall doesn't look like a mall anymore.
Heather is naturally astonished and afraid, noting that even a child
couldn't believe the world she's now in. Heather wanders the mall
again, avoiding various monsters, running for her life. She finds a
bulletproof vest for protection, though it slows her down.
Eventually, Heather meets up with a worm boss. She shoots directly into
it's mouth and kills it. After the worm dies, the mall returns to
normal and she sees Douglas again. Douglas wonders what the hell just
happened, and Heather associates Douglas with Claudia. Douglas says
that Claudia hired him to find her. Not wanting to deal with him,
Heather runs off.
Afterwards, Heather decides to head home using a train station below
the mall. Unfortunately, the train station is infested with monsters
but she finds the appropriate street. She jumps on a train which locks
her in and takes her to a sewer system. After that, she wanders through
it, avoiding all the monsters that come after her.
Heather then reaches a construction site. There, she runs her way
through the building, killing monsters, trying to find a way out.
After examining a bathtub, the building becomes another hellhole.
Shortly after the office complex becomes an alternate realm,
Heather meets Vincent. Vincent says he's on Heather's side, and
demands Heather not to associate him with Claudia. Vincent talks about
Heather's father, Harry, and Heather is angered at Vincent's negative
comments about him. Heather sees something wrong with Vincent, too,
and runs away from him.
Heather reaches the bottom floor of the office building. She sees a
creature blocking the exit. She also runs into several pages of fairly
tales. She reads the story, about a village of people trying to kill
a guardian monster using a special command phrase. Heather recites the
command phrase, which is composed of the Latin words "tu fui, ego
eris." Like the story, the monster blocking the exit vanishes upon
the recital of the phrase.
Heather escapes the building and finds her way to her apartment,
among the dark streets of the town she lives in. The alternate
reality has vanished once again. At her apartment, she sees her
father dead, having been stabbed in the chest by a huge blade.
Heather cries over her father's dead body, and as she cries, she
sees a trail of blood leading to the roof of the building. She
sees Claudia, and Claudia says admits that ordered the monster to
kill her father. Heather vows revenge on Claudia, and Claudia says
that she's heading to the town of Silent Hill. Heather manages to
kill the monster, called the Missionary and, returns to her
apartment.
Douglas is there, praying for Harry. Heather is angry at Douglas,
thinking this is his fault, but eventually she regains her senses
and calms down. Heather covers Harry in his bed with a sheet and
flowers, saying that no one's around to give him a decent burial.
Heather then vows to go to Silent Hill and kill Claudia herself,
in order to have her revenge. Douglas offers to take Heather and
gets his car ready.
Heather says her final goodbye to her late father, and heads
outside. Douglas has the car, ready to go, but Douglas tells
Heather that he just met Vincent. Vincent told Douglas to go
find a man named Leonard, and gives Heather the Silent Hill map.
Heather is suspicious of Vincent, but decides to just ride in
the car.
They get in the car and drive on the long journey to Silent Hill.
During the car ride, Heather speaks to Douglas about her past.
Her father, Harry Mason, found Heather after he defeated a god of
Silent Hill. Harry raised Heather as his very own daughter and
always loved her.
Heather then repeats the events that occurred 17 years ago in
Silent Hill (see below, and above). Douglas is amazed at
this story, and mentions that he has heard nasty rumors about
Silent Hill over the years. He also was there once to look for a
missing person, but never found him.
They reach Silent Hill, ending up in the same part of town James
Sunderland visited in Silent Hill 2. Their base location is Jack's
Inn, near Rosewater Park. Douglas decides to go search Leonard's
house, while Heather searches the hospital, which is Brookhaven
Hospital. Douglas and Heather exchange remarks about being afraid
of what is to come, but they realize they have to face their
fears. They each leave the motel towards their destinations.
Heather travels across the still-foggy streets of Southvale Silent
Hill, and looks for supplies in the bar of Heaven's Night. After
that, she enters Brookhaven Hospital. It's not exactly the same
as when James Sunderland and Maria explored it, but there are still
evil nurses about, ready to kill Heather. The hospital definitely
doesn't look as old as it does in Silent Hill 2.
As Heather explores the insane asylum, she finds a doll in several
locations with files written by a patient named Stanley Coleman.
Stanley seems to know Heather and is obssessed with her. Heather
eventually finds a phone and answers it. It's Leonard. Leonard
thinks Heather is Claudia and speaks about an irresponsible woman
named Claudia. Heather says she's not Claudia and that her name is
Heather. Upon hearing this, Leonard apologizes for the confusion,
and mentions Claudia is his daughter.
Leonard sends Heather to release him from his prison on the
hospital's second floor. She heads there, and she finds a familar
red mark, not like the marks she's been seeing (the save points).
It's the Mark of Samael, and when she examines it, a video of Lisa
Garland pops up; it's the same videotape Harry viewed 17 years ago.
Heather, now that she knows that she has memories of Alessa,
remembers about Lisa's kindness (and strangeness, as a result of
her drug addiction).
Heather finds herself in a maze that definitely doesn't fit within
the hospital geography, and she finds herself in alternate
Brookhaven. This isn't the first time Brookhaven took on a hellish
alternate form, but it's VERY different from the one James
Sunderland experienced. Heather finds another phone and some guy,
who isn't Leonard or Stanley, tells Heather it's her birthday
and hangs up. Of course, it isn't actually Heather's birthday.
Astonished, Heather finds her way to an altar and pours blood that
she finds on it, revealing a passage below the hellish hospital.
She meets Leonard, but he's not a human being. He's a monster (big
surprise!). Leonard attempts to explain to Heather about his
beliefs, but when Heather reveals her lack of interest in the topic,
Leonard feels that Heather has betrayed him. Leonard then suspects
that Heather only wanted his seal, proving Leonard is obviously a
member of the cult. Leonard attacks Heather, but Heather manages
to kill him. Upon Leonard's death, the hospital restores to normal.
Heather finds a round coin called the "Seal of Metatron", which
Leonard previously held. Done with her search, Heather leaves
Brookhaven and returns to Jack's Inn to meet up with Douglas.
In the actual room, Claudia and Vincent have a conversation about how
Heather was sent to Leonard, as well as the fact Leonard, Claudia's
father, abused her, and made her cry, which is why Claudia now
believes in the cult's ideals. She feels that god is needed to
reverse her abuse as a child.
Heather reaches Jack's Inn and then sees only Vincent inside.
Vincent tells Heather that Douglas left her a message, to explore
a church in northern Silent Hill, passed the amusement park. Heather,
still astounded by Vincent, leaves for Northern Silent Hill.
In the streets, she spends time heading northwest on Nathan Avenue. She
reaches the amusement park and it becomes hell on earth, just like her
dream at the beginning of the game. She reaches the ride she walked on
in her dream, and shuts it off before getting on. As she walks, the ride
is repowered and a car is about to run her over. This time, she jumps
off the tracks to avoid being run over...
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the park, Douglas confronts Claudia. Claudia
says that Douglas fullfilled his job and isn't needed anymore. Douglas,
in order to end the ordeal, is about to shoot Claudia...
Meanwhile, Heather recovers, over a trashcan near the ride. To
get elsewhere, she goes through the standard haunted house of the
amusement park.
The haunted house is merely only meant to scare Heather as she reaches
other sections of the park. After finding her way, she meets Douglas,
and finally seems to accept Douglas as an ally, telling him not to die
on her. Douglas mentions to Heather the story of his son, who robbed
a bank because Douglas was too poor to support his family. Heather
is sympathetic, and thanks Douglas for his help, knowing that he is
not at fault for any of this.
She reaches a portion of the park where Harry Mason was, and finds
notes left by him 17 years ago (in the first game's save points).
Heather gets onto the same carousel where Harry killed Cybil. Cybil
isn't around, but a clone of Heather, with black hair, greets her.
Heather kills four of the clones, and then proceeds to the church
Vincent spoke about.
Claudia's there and Heather threatens to kill her and finally avenge
her father's death. However, Claudia leaves. Heather follows her,
and reaches a confession box and listens to a woman confess her sins.
Thinking Heather is a priest, the woman begs for her forgiveness (fork
in the plot road). Heather either forgives the woman or doesn't.
Heather proceeds to meet Vincent in an old library and Vincent wonders
if Heather took the Seal of Metatron from Leonard, discovering she did.
Heather then explains to Vincent about the monsters she's been seeing,
but Vincent questions her. Apparently, they aren't monsters to him,
which causes Heather to panic, as she may have been killing real
people. But Vincent was only teasing her, and lashes out at Heather
because of the killing streak she's been on. Vincent then takes his
leave.
Claudia is at the church again, when Heather sees her with Vincent.
Claudia and Heather speak of the whole cult and the God, and Claudia
stabs Vincent twice after he tells Heather to use the Seal of Metatron
(which proves to be useless). Heather decides to get her revenge on
Claudia. Heather takes her necklace and drinks the red liquid in it.
Heather then regurgitates out a little humanoid fetus, which is the
god she's been harboring for 17 years. Claudia takes it and swallows
it before Heather can kill it, and she becomes the bearer of the God.
Heather, tired and vengeful, kills the creature after a hard-fought
battle. To make sure its dead, and for her to completely end the
thing's miserable existence, Heather steps on its head a few times
after it falls. Heather then sobs, because she managed to get her
revenge, but her father is still dead...
++++++++++
B. Endings
++++++++++
Normal Ending
-------------
Heather returns to the amusement park where Douglas is at. She acts
posssessed, with a knife, and nearly kills Douglas. However, at the
last second, she startles him. It was a joke. Douglas says Heather has
bad taste. Heather tells Douglas to call her "Cheryl," which is
Heather's real name. Douglas then makes a comment about Heather's dyed
hair, saying that blondes have more fun. At the end, Heather is looking
over Harry's tombstone, where Harry is finally at peace.
Possessed Ending
----------------
Heather, after she kills the god, returns to the amusement park. A
demented woman, she stabs Douglas with her pocket knife several times,
killing him. Heather examines her knife, wondering what she just did,
seemingly without regret...
Revenge Ending
--------------
If Heather obtains the Heather Beam weapon in a replay game and kills
at least 30 enemies with it, then when she visits Harry's Apartment, a
new ending will occur, where Harry is still alive (although obviously
possessed by the aliens from the last two Silent Hill games). Heather
tells Harry what happened to her, and Harry vows to get his "revenge"
on Silent Hill. (During the whole encounter, James Sunderland is in the
background). The UFOs fly to Silent Hill, and blow the place up.
Literally. The UFOs fly away, and Japanese music plays. This ending,
like the last two UFO endings, is a joke at best and isn't true,
because Silent Hill gets blown up but returns in Silent Hill 4 (unless
it's a prequel).
+++++++++++++
C. Characters
+++++++++++++
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Heather Mason
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Heather is the 17-year old protagonist of Silent Hill 3. Much younger
than Harry or James, she's drawn into the world of Silent Hill through
a nightmare she has while doing errands for her father. She seems to
possess a grouchy, carefree attitude and lacks sleep. As you play, the
fact is revealed that Heather is Alessa from the original Silent Hill.
Or, more appropriately, Heather is the little baby Alessa gave to Harry
at the end of the first Silent Hill.
Heather is essentially drawn into the nightmare that Claudia created
for her. When Heather has a dream, it's because Claudia is finally
close by and senses Heather. Much of the information about Heather's
past is essentially what happened to Alessa. Alessa was a tortured,
abused little girl because she was due to be the sacrifice of Dahlia
to give birth to the god.
So Heather is Alessa, which means that Heather is Cheryl because Cheryl
was Alessa. But how can that be? Didn't Mother Alessa die? Shouldn't
Heather be the daughter of Alessa? Not necessarily. It's implied in
Silent Hill 3 that Mother Alessa's spirit and memories were transferred
into the baby she gave to Harry. Why it is done isn't officially
explained, but I (cvxfreak) tend to believe that it was for her spirit
to be saved and to grant the polite man, Harry, a new daughter and a
new beginning. It's not a bad assumption, since one would assume that
with Dahlia dead and Silent Hill abandoned, the cult would have died
out. But Silent Hill 3 and 4 prove this to be incorrect.
What also is a conflict of question is how Heather now possesses the
god even though Harry killed it. You'll notice in the original Silent
Hill's final battle, that when the goat-like creature, Samael, fell to
the ground, it immediately transformed back to Mother Alessa. So, if
that visual cue is correct, the spiritual transfer from Mother Alessa
to Baby Alessa carried Samael along with it. Intentional or not, it is
never explained.
But Heather is definitely Harry's Cheryl and the "original" Alessa
combined, because before the final showdown of Silent Hill 1, they
combined, so in a way, Dahlia accomplished one of her goals. Toward the
end of the game (Silent Hill 3), Heather uses Aglophatis that was
stored in the pendant Harry gave her, and released the baby god (a
physical baby god). Now that Aglophatis has been applied to Heather,
she is no longer harboring a demon, or god of some sort. So, in theory,
Heather's troubles are over.
Despite not being Harry's biological daughter, Heather lived a happy
life for 17 years. That love easily caused the god inside of Heather to
be dormant for 17 years. As Claudia would later mention, filling
Heather's heart with hatred would nurture the god. Clearly that makes
sense, as this god Claudia and Dahlia worshipped is clearly not the god
everyone would have in mind; in fact, it's the opposite. Samael is one
of the names for Satan, and obviously, Satan's not the nicest man ever.
As long as Heather was happy, Samael or the god couldn't become
nurtured.
This is why Heather has those weird headaches and body transformations
toward the end. Her hatred and need for revenge against Claudia has
clouded her good mind, and has clearly started nurturing the god.
However, it obviously hasn't been long enough. So, when Heather
released the little fetus, it's not quite as powerful as it could have
been.
Silent Hill 3 ends with the god finally destroyed and the cult
officially gone (hopefully). Heather finally lets her father rest in
peace, and we can only assume the options she has from here. She could
get adopted by Douglas, or enter foster care as she's about a year too
young to be on her own.
It's finally revealed that Heather's real name was Cheryl, as Heather
was given the alias "Heather" to hide from the cult.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Douglas Cartland
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
An 50+ year-old detective, Douglas meets Heather in a mall. He tries to
get Heather to go with him to have a conversation about her birth, but
Heather refuses. Douglas definitely knows something about Heather, and
is also very persistent. Claudia Wolf hired Douglas to find Heather.
Over the course of the game, Douglas and Heather become friends and
allies in this nightmare.
Douglas also had a son, and if he had a son, he had a wife/girlfriend.
Where his wife/girlfriend went is not explained, but we can assume
she's dead since Douglas clearly mentions that if he died, no one would
cry for him. Douglas' son was killed trying to rob a bank because
Douglas was poor and penniless, so his son went to the bank for money.
From there, we can assume Douglas joined law enforcement to be the
opposite of his son, and to finally have a real money-making career.
Appearances
Shopping Mall
-------------
Douglas walks to Heather after Heather finishes her phone conversation
with her father. Douglas asks for some of Heather's time, and Heather
clearly isn't interested. Douglas says it's about Heather's birth, but
that isn't good enough to interest her. Douglas follows Heather but can
only go so far as Heather enters the bathroom.
Shopping Mall (After Splitworm)
-------------------------------
Douglas finds Heather after she kills the Splitworm. Heather acuses
Douglas of being in on it with Claudia, but Douglas is just as shocked
as she is. Douglas wonders what the monster was, and Heather decides to
head home using the subway.
Harry's Apartment
-----------------
After praying for Harry, Douglas calms Heather down and they lay him in
bed. Douglas says he feels partially responsible and offers to take
Heather to Silent Hill. He heads to get his car ready.
Outside Apartment
-----------------
Douglas greets Heather, saying Vincent gave him a map and told him to
go look for Leonard upon arriving in Silent Hill. Douglas gives Heather
the map and they get in the car.
Car Ride
--------
Douglas and Heather discuss about the nasty rumors of Silent Hill, and
Heather/Alessa's past. Heather also recaps the events of the first
Silent Hill.
Jack's Inn
----------
Douglas and Heather discuss about being afraid to be alone. Douglas
admits to being afraid, and then heads for Leonard's house.
Amusement Park
--------------
Douglas speaks with Claudia and is angry she deceived him. Claudia once
again explains her whole plot, and Douglas, like everyone else,
disagrees and mocks her. Douglas points his gun at Claudia, but
whatever happens after causes Douglas to break his leg.
Amusement Park 2
----------------
Douglas' leg is broken, and Heather arrives. Douglas tells Heather she
reminds him of his son, and also tells Heather, as she leaves to
confront Claudia, that if killed her, it'd all be over. Heather doesn't
feel offended, and continues on her way.
Amusement Park 3
----------------
After Heather kills Claudia, she pretends to be possessed and startles
Douglas before nearly stabbing him. Douglas says Heather had bad taste,
but Heather interrupts, telling Douglas to call her Cheryl.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Claudia Wolf
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
An old woman with long hair, and clothing similar to what Dahlia wore.
She definitely knows a lot about Silent Hill, Alessa and the cult
itself. Claudia is a force to be reckoned with, stopping at nothing to
summon the God of Silent Hill. As a young girl, she was friends with
Alessa. Her father, Leonard, abused her and made her cry when she was
young, although she eventually had him committed to Brookhaven
Hospital. The abuse she endured as a child reinforced her belief in
the cult, believing that her suffering would be reversed upon the
arrival of the Samael god.
Appearances
Mall
----
She sees Heather, and tells her of her destiny to fulfill her duty to
summon and give birth to the Silent Hill God. She tells Heather to
remember her "true self" as well as herself.
Daisy Villa Apartment Rooftop
-----------------------------
After Heather follows bloody footsteps to the roof, she sees Claudia
who commanded the mercenary boss to kill Harry. Claudia says that Harry
had to die to continue the plan for Heather, and tells her that she's
going to Silent Hill. She then leaves.
Jack's Inn
----------
Claudia and Vincent chat about Leonard and Heather visiting him.
Claudia says that the torture she received from Leonard is a reason why
God must save them all. Vincent once again disagrees with Claudia and
mocks her, and Claudia responds saying Vincent and everyone else
doesn't understand the whole plan.
Amusement Park
--------------
Douglas speaks with Claudia and is angry she deceived him. Claudia once
again explains her whole plot, and Douglas, like everyone else,
disagrees and mocks her. Douglas points his gun at Claudia, but
whatever happens after causes Douglas to break his leg.
Church
------
Claudia once again explains her plot to Heather, and leaves.
Alternate Church
----------------
Claudia kills Vincent after they have yet another arguement about the
cult and everyone's motives. Heather meanwhile uses the Aglophatis her
father gave her to take the fetus God out of her (since the Seal of
Metatron is basically worthless when Heather tries to use it). Claudia
swallows the fetus after explaining her plan _AGAIN_ and becomes the
God. Heather kills the God afterwards.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Harry Mason
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Harry is the hero of the first Silent Hill (please check on him in the
Silent Hill section). He's Heather's father, and gets killed by
Claudia's soldier mercenary.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Vincent
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Vincent is another cult-member with his own agenda. He seems to favor
the whole cult, but seems to be a bit more realistic than Claudia is -
that he's glad to believe in the religion and all, but he opposes the
summoning of the god as it would mean the end of his world as he knows
it, a world he enjoys thanks to money and mundane pleasures. He opposes
Claudia, manipulates Heather to take the Seal of Metatron from Leonard,
and gets killed by Claudia. He was a church father for whatever
religion they believed in. Vincent's also a bit of a hypocrite,
opposing the cult for removing his pleasures, while favoring the cult
in principle.
Appearances
Construction Building
---------------------
Vincent explains that he's Heather's ally and Claudia's enemy, and
wonders why Harry Mason didn't tell Heather about her past. Heather
sees Vincent as weird, and leaves.
Outside Harry's Apartment
-------------------------
Vincent gives Douglas instructions to go to Silent Hill, and a map. He
tells Douglas to look for Leonard at Brookhaven Hospital upon their
arrival.
Jack's Inn
----------
Claudia and Vincent chat about Leonard and Heather visiting him.
Claudia says that the torture she received from Leonard is a reason why
God must save them all. Vincent once again disagrees with Claudia and
mocks her, and Claudia responds saying Vincent and everyone else
doesn't understand the whole plan.
Jack's Inn (2)
--------------
Vincent directs Douglas to the church on the north side of the lake.
Jack's Inn (3)
--------------
Vincent directs Heather to follow Douglas to the church after she
returns from her Brookhaven search. Heather then leaves for northern
Silent Hill.
Church Library
--------------
Vincent explains to Heather the Seal of Metatron, and hands her a book
about the ancient Gods. He also has a personality change, saying that
Heather's the "worst person in the room." He leaves after explaining
more to Heather.
Church Finale
-------------
Claudia kills Vincent after they have yet another arguement about the
cult and everyone's motives. She stabs him twice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Leonard Wolf
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Leonard is Claudia's father, and he's mentally insane. He was a cult
member before being committed to Brookhaven Hospital. He abused the
young Claudia. He might've wanted to stop the cult because he carried
the Seal of Metatron around, which, as you saw in Silent Hill 1, a tool
Alessa used to stop Dahlia.
Appearances
Telephone
---------
Heather talks to Leonard who says he's trapped in the hospital. He
mentions that he's Claudia's father, and mentions that he has the Seal
of Metatron.
Brookhaven Sewers
-----------------
Leonard feels that Heather only wanted his seal, since he thinks that
Heather wants to kill God. Heather and Leonard duke it out with Heather
as the winner. Heather takes the Seal of Metatron afterwards.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
5. S I L E N T H I L L 2
s i l e n t h i l l 2
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Although officially the second saga of the Silent Hill series, Silent
Hill 2 appropriately belongs after the section about Silent Hill 3.
Although Silent Hill and Silent Hill 2 are very different games in
terms of themes and story, they can be analyzed in the same document
because of their intertwining messages and related themes.
Silent Hill 2 is the story of James Sunderland, who receives a letter
from Mary, his wife who had died a few years before. After reading the
letter, James travels to Silent Hill, where he and Mary went before
her death. Upon arrival, James' conscience takes over as he wanders
around Silent Hill, and encounters many new demons, as his guilt is
out to get him, as well.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
A. A Synopsis of Silent Hill 2
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
-------------------
I. Born from a Wish
-------------------
Written by cvxfreak, edited by Orca782
-
NOTE: Born from a Wish takes place before James arrives in Silent Hill,
or possibly when James has just arrived. It is for that reason that
Maria's short scenario is documented before James' scenario.
The mini game begins in Heaven's Night, a nightclub with Southvale
Silent Hill, on the other side of the lake, and one of the buildings
Heather Mason visited on her visit to town.
A woman sits in a chair; her name is Maria, and she just woke up and
cannot find anybody else in town. She holds a revolver in her hands,
and considers suicide due to her sense of loneliness.
However, she decides to leave and go look for another person. In the
main room of the strip club, she grabs a Chinese cleaver for a
secondary weapon, since her revolver only has 1 bullet in it, not
quite enough for what she's about to encounter.
Outside, Maria passes by Brookhaven Hospital, an insane asylum, but
she doesn't seem to have any business there, so she keeps going down
the street.
Unfortunately, the only way she can go is up the street by the Blue
Creek Apartments. Barricades have blocked her from reaching the
main roadway. As Maria travels, she sees monsters that are coated in
blood, and is forced to either run from them or try fighting them
with her weapons.
The only open door she finds leads to a mansion, called the Baldwin
Mansion. It is a fairly big house, with many rooms to explore.
She begins searching the upper floors.
Maria comes upon an unlocked door. She tries to open it, but the door
is forced shut by someone behind it. Maria knocks to get the person's
attention; she then hears a man's voice behind it .
Maria and the man converse; Maria is pleased to have finally found
someone else in town. The man refuses to open, and at first doesn't
want to cooperate with Maria, but eventually he begins to tell Maria.
Ernest ponders if it's not the town that's insane, but her and Maria.
Maria tells the man her name. The man's name is Ernest, as he reveals
to Maria. Maria then mutters the surname "Hemmingway?", a reference
to the late author. Not finding the joke funny, Ernest says his last
name is Baldwin. Maria tells Ernest that she'll return soon.
Past Ernest's door, on a landing, is a white board with holes in it.
Maria continues her search downstairs, and finds a hidden ladder
inside a fireplace. She finds an oddly located mini-cemetery with a
puzzle to solve. Using the red board, white board and black boards
she finds, she solves a puzzle and grabs an acacia key. It unlocks
the door to another area of the house, in which Maria also explores.
A hallway leads to a child's bedroom. She finds matches that might
be useful. She then finds her way to an attic, where a mysterious
voice says something cryptic; a girl falls from a window and her
parents are wondering what just happened.
She finds a birthday card and hears another voice, telling her to
take the birthday card to Ernest. She does just that, but Ernest
still refuses to open the door after Maria discovers that Ernest
was a father to a girl. Ernest realizes the truth. He finally
realizes why his daughter, Amy, was in the attic, and how she met
her doom.
Maria apologizes for reminding, but Ernest never forgot the
incident. He says that some things just cannot be forgotten, even
after ten years. Ernest then says something cryptic, about how
Maria can see (or sense) him. Ernest then says he can hope for a
miracle.
Ernest asks Maria to get a white liquid for him in the nearby Blue
Creek Apartment Building. Maria at first wonders why Ernest just
couldn't get the liquid himself, but eventually doesn't bother to
force it on Ernest, who claims that if he could get it himself, he
would have done so already. Ernest unlocks the stairway door,
allowing Maria to reach the apartment building.
Maria searches the complex, and makes it to room 105. James hasn't
been there yet, so the drawer in room 105 is still locked. (James
probably is still at the cemetery talking to Angela, or is in the
apartment building next door, which would explain Pyramid Head's
presence there.)
She finds the white liquid after a short search, and returns to
Ernest's mansion. She delivers the liquid, and Ernest thanks
Maria for her deed. When Ernest finally knew about the white
liquid, he says that he was no longer able to leave the house.
Ernest then tells Maria that the gods are in Silent Hill, and
that Maria was born in the town.
Ernest asks Maria if she believes in fate, and she says no. Maria
asks to enter the room, but Ernest says it's no use. Maria then
wonders what would have happened if she said she did believe in
fate.
Ernest simply responds that "James" is a bad man. James is
looking for the Maria that isn't actually Maria. Maria then
wonders what Ernest knows, but decides he doesn't actually know
anything. Maria finally opens the door, and in the room, no
one is there, except the birthday card from Amy. Maria realizes
that Ernest was only a ghost, which is what he meant by not
being able to leave the house to get the white liquid himself.
Maria leaves the mansion. As she walks down a street outside
Rosewater Park, Maria looks at her revolver, contemplating
suicide once again. She points the gun to her head, ready to
pull the trigger. But she slowly eases the gun away from her
head, before throwing it over a stone wall. She turns around
and begins walking towards Rosewater Park, whispering James'
name...
-----------------------------
II. Letter from Silent Heaven
-----------------------------
Written by Orca782, edited by cvxfreak
-
James Sunderland's wife died 3 years ago from a disease (most likely
cancer). After thinking about her for all that time, and moping around,
he receives a letter. The writer's name is... Mary. He gets in his car
and drives to Silent Hill, where they used to spend a lot of time. Mary
had told him that she wanted to come back to that town; that it felt
special and sacred, but she died before he could take her again. The
letter said to come for her; she was waiting in their "Special Place."
First James shoots for the Rosewater Park, which is where they went
often. He can't enter town because of car trouble, so he walks into
town on foot. After stopping and thinking about his last few years with
Mary, he heads off. He sees a frantic woman named Angela in a graveyard
(possibly the one in the beginning cinematic of Silent Hill 1), and she
points him toward town.
He finally enters town. Upon entering, it's extremely empty, but he
sees several blood trails. He suddenly finds a monsters and a radio, as
well a wooden plank for his defense. He kills the creature and moves
on. After a few ominous clues in the empty town, he goes through an
apartment complex first, coming in contact with 2 people, Eddie
Dombrowski, somewhat of an overweight resident who's currently vomiting
in an apartment toilet. James also meets Laura, a child who is
apparently somewhat of a brat, and a resident of Silent Hill. He sees
Angela from the graveyard again, where this time she's just become
suicidal, holding a blood-stained knife and acting very irritated and
tired. Angela gives James the knife and runs off. He eventually escapes
the apartments, shortly after a meeting with "Pyramid Head," a menacing
existence who seems to be somewhat of a guardian at Silent Hill.
Once in Rosewater Park, James is startled to come across.. his wife
Mary! Or so he thinks until the woman he has met turns, and explains
that she is named Maria. She asks if "She looks like his girlfriend."
He tells her shortly of his quest for Mary, and she asks if she "Looks
like a ghost." (important). Finally James decides to take Maria with
him for safekeeping, and he ventures off again for the Hotel, his only
other "special place" with his wife.
He and Maria make their way to a bowling alley, where Maria stays
outside and James goes in to find Eddie, and Laura running out the
back. He leaves Eddie eating a pizza, and goes in chase of Laura.
Maria joins him outside, saying she chased but failed to catch the
child. They follow her path down an alley, to a locked door. Laura
has squeezed through a tiny passage, whereas Maria and James journey
through a gentleman's club, "Heaven's Night," where Maria was earlier.
They then see Laura run into the resident hospital, Brookhaven.
After searching for awhile in the hospital, Maria grows nauseous and
sits down. James leaves her taking her pills, and goes off on his own.
He makes his way to the roof, where he is attacked by Pyramid Head.
The huge sword luckily hits James with the flat side, and knocks him
off the roof, through the ceiling into a containment area. James goes
off for Maria again. Instead he finds Laura in a room, playing with
her tEddie-bears. She leads him to another room, claiming there's a
letter from Mary in "the way back." (Had to see this one coming a mile
away). James, being eager, goes into the room, where Laura promptly
locks him in, and runs off. James is knocked out by some of the less
friendly residents, and then is wheeled away to safety by what sounds
to be either Mary or Maria.
He awakes in a courtyard. The hospital is now a much less habitable
place. He finally finds Maria in the basement, but is disappointed that
it's not Mary. Maria has had enough, and explodes. "All you care about
is that dead wife of yours," she screams at him. "I've never been so</pre><pre id="faqspan-3">
scared in my whole life." James shrugs it off, and they keep going.
After some time, they reach the true basement. It is a long snaking
passageway, and when they are part of the way down it, James turns to
approaching footsteps... Pyramid Head has found him. Now armed with a
short spear like weapon, Pyramid Head goes for Maria. After laying down
some heavy fire on the entity, they both run. Upon reaching the
elevator, with Pyramid Head in close pursuit, James gets in and the
doors jam, leaving only a crack, for Maria's hand, and the gruesome
visage of Maria being mauled by the creature. The hand goes limp. The
doors close, and James sinks to the floor.
Having failed Maria, James vows to find Mary. He sees Laura once again
and takes off for a museum at the edge of the vicinity. To get there,
he circles back across town on a wrench hunt, which lets him find the
key, unlocking the museum entrance. Upon reaching the museum, he finds
that it used to be a prison in the Civil War, and that atrocities
occurred there. Eddie is there as well... and there are dead people all
over his area. Eddie takes off after some crude jokes.
James goes down a broken wall and into the ancient prison. From there,
he makes his way even deeper into caves under the prison. He finds
Angela in a room, about to be attacked by a demon. James destroys the
demon, and Angela screams at it to leave her alone, below). He finds
Maria, alive, and unhurt. After a strange personality change, she
speaks to him as Mary would. She is in a jail cell unfortunately, and
he leaves to find another route to Maria. Upon getting there, her body
is beaten beyond recognition, and she is but a corpse. Again he is
mollified, and leaves. Finally he emerges in a meat locker, where Eddie
confronts James.
Eddie has decided that James hates him, and has called him fat. Up to
now James had only suspected, but now he knows that the bodies around
Silent Hill with bullets in the brain are the work of Eddie. After a
short battle with James as the victorious, James wonders again what is
happening in this town, and leaves the meat locker, and Eddie's corpse.
He finds a rickety boat and rows across the foggy lake to the only
landmark he can see, the lighthouse. It turns out to be a single light
on the dock of his Hotel.
Upon journeying through the Hotel, James again comes in contact with
Laura, who sweetens up and gives him a letter from his wife, that she
gave to Laura. It is a birthday letter stating that she wished Laura a
happy birthday. It is dated not one week ago. James is in uproar.
What could this mean? Laura leaves, and again he goes in search of
Mary. Finally he comes to the room they used to stay in, and he uses
the VCR to play the tape he has of them together which he found in
storage safe earlier. It shows Mary, happy as usual, and then it cuts
to a chaotic shot of James, smothering his wife with a pillow.
James is once again amazed. How could this be? Laura enters the room
and discovers the truth, and in anger, runs off. James leaves, seeking
answers. The hotel is now not as clean a place, and in the basement he
finds Angela. She is still speaking of her father, and walks into a
burning room at the top of a flaming staircase, and eventually gets
engulfed herself. Finally James finds a room with Maria in it, strapped
to a rack. Two Pyramid Heads are there, and once again, Maria is
killed. James defeats the Pyramid Heads and leaves. At the top of a
caged area, he finds Maria, dressed as Mary (/Mary dressed as Mary).
She is angry (see above) and turns into a demon, which James destroys.
Then the ending CG starts, and explains how James turns out (different,
see below).
++++++++++
B. Endings
++++++++++
Leave Ending:
-------------
After defeating the Maria demon, James will speak to Mary in her
sickbed. Mary will tell him to go on with his life. After Mary reads
the full letter, James will follow Laura through the graveyard where he
first met Angela, ready to adopt her and start a new life with her. If
you spend as little time with Maria as possible throughout the game,
you'll get this ending.
Maria Ending:
-------------
Right after defeating the final demon, James goes back to Rosewater
Park where Maria greets him. James decides that he needs Maria, even
though she isn't Mary. James and Maria travel back to James' car as
Mary reads off her letter. Just before they get in, Maria starts
coughing again, like Mary did. James tells her to do something about
that cough.
In Water Ending:
----------------
After defeating the final demon, James speaks to Mary. He really,
really wants to be with her, and to be with her forever, James drives
his car into the lake, committing suicide. As this happens, Mary reads
off her letter once again.
Rebirth Ending:
---------------
After destroying the final demon, James takes four of the ritual items
he's found on his stroll through Silent Hill. Those items are the White
Chrism, the Book of Crimson Ceremony, the Book of Lost Memories and the
Obsidian Goblet. He uses them, according to President Evil and the
content in the books, to revive the cult that was wiped out in the
first game.
DOG Ending:
-----------
In a replay game, James finds a DOG Key outside Rosewater Park. He uses
it in the Observation Room at the hotel, and he finds a big screen with
a map of Silent Hill, with James and Maria's faces on them. Controlling
it is a dog, and James realizes that the dog did it the entire time.
James speaks Japanese to the dog, and then we are treated to special
credits with images of every character goofing off. This ending should
not be taken seriously unless Orca can analyze. Perhaps this dog was
the one that mocked Eddie.
UFO Ending:
-----------
Well, the rumors are true. Using the Blue Gem found in a Replay game,
you can achieve the UFO Ending. Use the Blue Gem in the following
locations, in order:
1. Garden, Evil Brookhaven Hospital
2. The dock next to the boat after killing Eddie
3. Room 312 of the Hotel, before viewing the tape
A new ending will appear, and here is the description. After the UFO
appear in front of the window, some greets James, in the form of a
comic picture. It is none other than Silent Hill's Harry Mason (and the
same polygon model from his game, too). Apparently, he is still be held
captive by the aliens, and asks James if he's seen a "little girl,
short, black hair." Obviously, Harry is still looking for Cheryl. James
doesn't know who he is talking about, and James asks Harry if he's seen
Mary. Aliens come and zap James, and Harry and his alien friend take
James away.
+++++++++++++
C. Characters
+++++++++++++
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
James
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
James killed his wife after 3 years of a painful disease. He then
feels guilty, and makes up a story of his own in his mind, which he
then convinces himself of, and goes to Silent Hill after getting a
letter in the mail from Mary, sent by the nurse at the hospital most
likely. After Mary died, the nurse sent the letter. James then drove
home, having convinced himself of the story he had made up, received
the letter, and then you find him as he is in the beginning of the
game: incredulous that a dead wife has written to him. He did love his
wife, but when she grew sick, he did not know how to deal with it, and
it began to anger him that he could do nothing for his wife, and that
she was helpless herself. In confusion, he killed her, hoping what he
had done was right. Depending upon your ending, he justifies his
killing in different ways.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mary
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mary was James' faithful, loving wife. She grew sick, and she stayed
alive for the full 3 years expected of a dying person with her disease.
(There is a statement somewhere in the game of a doctor saying she
could live anywhere from 6 months to 3 years). We do not know the
disease, but we can assume that it had no cure, and that it was a
wasting away disease (similar to the plague). When she grew ugly, she
felt ashamed, and lashed out at James when he tried to act helpful.
They were both confused and helpless, and thus she acted ungrateful
often, but really she was just sad to die, to leave him, and not
wanting his or her pain to be prolonged.
Appearances
James' Picture:
---------------
Here is a picture of Mary, and we all know a picture is 1000 words. She
is not a superstar, but she is attractive, and she has the bearing of
an average loving female. She dresses meanly, and her smile portrays a
lot of love for James.
James' Letter:
--------------
Here is the traditional intro that we all know. "In my restless dreams
I see that town, Silent Hill...special place." This is only the first
half of the actual letter (or the first 1/6 or 1/8, considering how
long the other half is).
Conclusion:
-----------
Depending upon your ending (2 of the normal 3, Water/ Leave) you will
get to talk to Mary for a short time. Depending upon your ending,
Jamestreats her in different ways. If you got the water ending, James
is so glad to see her, that when she dies, James is once again thrown
into darkness, and he commits suicide, by driving into the lake. If you
get the leave ending, James is glad to see her, but he is a bit
cautious of how she will feel about what he did to her. She reassures
him that she is happier now that he killed her, and the fact that he
came after her shows he really cared, and that he is a good person.
Final Letter:
-------------
James receives this no matter what ending he gets. It shows that though
he may have been inhumane, Mary's intentions were always noble. She
explains that she did treat you badly, but that it was because of the
sickness, and her inability to stop her oncoming death. She loved
James, but depending upon your ending, James may not have loved her.
Either way, Mary comes out with almost saintly proportions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Angela
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
She was abused and molested, along with her mother, by her father. She
is also schizophrenic because of her need to put the damage done on
someone else, leaving her other personality harsh and angry. Though the
game seems to point to Angela having killed her father, there is no
concrete fact within the game, so I revert to criminal and sexual abuse
studies, which point out that in this situation, it is much more likely
that Angela's mother killed the father, not Angela herself. Then Angela
took the knife, having seen her father dead, and holds onto it,
thinking it is the last she will remember of her father, and also it
represents safety to her from her father, as well as the last resort to
life itself.
She says at one point that her mother says she is bad, or wrong, or
something to that nature. What her mother is saying is that she
deserved what her father did to her. She is not saying that Angela
killed her father. The mother too was afraid of the father, and thus
she had to justify his violent tendencies, and she justified them by
making Angela into a bad child in her own mind (the mother, this is).
People often tell me that the gravestone in the second cemetery shows
that Angela is guilty. I don't believe this. I think that it shows
that similar to "The Matrix," Silent Hill allows the people in it to
feel exactly how they want to, and if Angela FEELS guilty, then she
gets to go to the darker Silent Hills, because she THINKS she has done
something wrong. Sex crime victims often feel that they are to blame,
not the offender, especially if the offender is a family member.
Appearances:
Cemetery:
---------
Angela is actually the first character we meet in the game. She is in
a cemetery on the outskirts of town, looking for the grave of her
Father. She tells James however that she is looking for her father and
mother and brother in the town, as if she did not know that her father
at least was dead. Angela is still in denial at this point that her
father is dead. She has the knife at this point, but it has not yet
made its appearance, because this is the most sane Angela ever gets.
She is looking for her father in the town because part of her wants to
believe that he is not dead, but another part knows that he is dead,
and is trying to prove the other part of her wrong by finding the
gravestone.
West Wing Apartment:
--------------------
Angela is in a passive state in this meeting. She is holding the knife,
probably having remembered that her father is dead, and that she is
safe as long as she has the knife. She is already seeing the fires
around her now, but there are no monsters in the room, so she does not
see her father in this room. The tEddie bear outside the door shows
that Angela is thinking of her childhood. She is looking in the mirror
to determine who she really is, because she honestly doesn't know.
Room in the Labyrinth:
----------------------
At this point, Angela sees the thing James sees as a monster to be her
father. She is practically catatonic with fear in a corner, and she
sits still while James kills the creature. She says "No daddy,
don't," which is a key clue to realizing that Angela was very young
when her father abused her, and that he most likely sexually abused
her, because telling someone who's angry "don't" will get you nowhere,
but if he is acting friendly towards her, in order to violate her, her
saying "don't" can be construed as a request of a friend, a plea if you
will. After you kill the creature, she drops a TV on the creature,
which symbolizes her hate of what her father did to her. However, she
then falls to the floor and retches, which shows that just that act of
hate is enough to make her queasy. Then she addresses James, and
becomes suddenly violent in attitude, in order to defend herself from
anyone she sees as a danger, I.E. any male figure. James has saved
her, so she looks up to him, but the only other male that she looked up
to was her father, so James reminds her of her father, and she gets
very defensive.
Hotel Burning Hallway:
----------------------
This is the final encounter with Angela, so it attempts to sum up her
meaningfulness in the game. She knows that whether it was her, or her
mother who killed her father, she will never live in peace again. She
asks James if he thinks he could protect her, of if he would just force
her, like "he" did. She then realizes that James cannot help her, and
she walks off into the blaze, most likely to her death. If you zoom the
camera and watch Angela walk up the stairs, the fire eventually engulfs
her. She's murdered by her own insanity that is Hell.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Eddie
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Eddie is not a victim. He is crazy, and more specifically, he is more
or less a sociopath, a provoked sociopath, but a sociopath. He killed
a dog out of desire to see it die, and then his evil mentality led him
to the darker realms of Silent Hill. After finding that killing made
him feel strange (not guilty, because sociopaths do not feel guilt), he
decided that he needed an excuse. He wanted to see the dog die, and
after that he wanted to see people die. After that, he makes it clear
that he is making people in Silent Hill, and then killing them. He
finally attacks James off a single remark, because secretly he wanted
to attack James too, and James kills him in self-defense.
Appearances:
Apartment Bathroom:
------------------
Eddie is found vomiting in a bathroom, in an apartment with a dead man.
The man has been shot. We can assume that it was Ed who killed the man
in 208 as well, and he who filled the room with the carriage in it with
shell casings. He is sick because he feels strange about the killing,
not bad. It is just quite a change for him. He is excited as well, at
the fact that he has completed what he wanted to do: kill a person.
Though they were not actually people, they were people in his mind, and
he killed them in reality, because the town manifested the images in
his mind into reality.
Bowling Alley:
--------------
Eddie is here with Laura, eating Pizza, in whatever mysterious way he
got it by. He feels good around others, because it makes him feel less
strange, like he feels when he is alone. He feels different when he is
around other living beings than he does when he is alone, which is why
he feels the need to kill. He treats Laura well because he enjoys
smaller children, especially their innocence.
Prison Cafe:
------------
Eddie is here, having killed more people, but his glee is short lived
when James falls into the room. He suddenly realizes that he is not
supposed to be doing what he has done, and he makes up excuses. Here he
is holding the gun, and we get to see his transition as he realizes
that what he did is wrong. He then runs out, not wanting to have to
face James's questions. It's also symbolic that Eddie is in a prison, a
place for convicts, and he is in the cafeteria, which sums up his
excuses, and maybe he even makes up the excuse here.
James' Grave:
-------------
Eddie has finally overstepped himself, and has killed a lot of people
without guilt. He tells James another excuse when James seems unhappy
with his explanation. Then, of course, he realizes that he doesn't
want to have to deal with James' probing questions, and his questions
about his own morality, and he attempts to kill James. Eddie, by some
sixth sense, knows that James is in this town for his wife, which he
killed. He then calls James a hypocrite, and he tells him that he's not
guiltless either. However, more than being true, this is just more
justification of what he is doing, hoping that James will think as he
does. Eddie then dies after being shot to death by James, and James has
to think to himself about what he has done.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Maria
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Maria is a creation of James' imagination. He needs to feel less guilty
About what he has done, and creates a fantasy women similar to Mary.
She fawns over him, yet also asks biting questions. Every time he sees
her, he pretends to want to see his wife more than her, to make his
facade even greater (to himself), but he must see in the end that Maria
is of his own making. He must let her go in the end, and realize that
his wife is gone. Maria says, "I am, if you want me to be," which
brings up the point that she will do whatever he thinks of. She has
the key to the strip club because that is as far as his fantasies go,
whereas many males today would go much farther. It is important to
remember that James created Maria, and she does what he subconsciously
wills her to do, which is why she keeps coming back.
(Note: I didn't feel up to analyzing Maria in her side quest, as the
entire thing is on appearance. Basically it is her being turned from a
normal shade of a person into an evil shade who is out to hurt James.
Either way, you can check the Ernest analysis to see her dealings with
him, or read on to see about what happens to her in the main game).
Apparently, while James is running around the Apartment buildings,
Maria is on her quest to find another person. Perhaps this shows that
James doesn't exactly know he's creating and controlling Maria.
Appearances:
Heaven's Night (Born from a Wish):
----------------------------------
She has a gun in her hand, and seems to want to shoot herself. She
knows that the town is becoming weirder and weirder with each passing
moment. She sets off to find another person.
Outside Ernest's door:
----------------------
She finds another person, but the guy won't flash his face. She decides
to find something for Ernest.
Outside Ernest's other door:
----------------------------
She gives Ernest the White Liquid. Then Ernest tells of a story, and
she finds out Ernest was just a spirit, a hurt spirit due to the death
of her daughter.
Child drawing wall:
-------------------
She decides to kill herself, but suddenly she changes her mind,
throwing the gun over the wall, walking away, to Rosewater Park.
Rosewater Park:
---------------
This is her first appearance, because this is where James expected to
meet his wife, but he knows that in reality she is dead, so he creates
Maria here, to pretend he still does not know that his wife is dead. It
should rather be that James WANTED her to be here, since Maria already
exists at the beginning of the game. He pretends to think that Maria is
Mary, then be unhappy when he finds her not to be. Silent Hill has
turned James' desire to see a female in the park into reality, and she
bears all the things James wants in a woman, which include Mary's
looks, though the clothing is a bit more risk. She knows that James is
going for the hotel, and she knows everything that Mary knew, because
she is an incarnation of Mary, through James.
Mental Hospital (S3):
---------------------
Here Maria waits, knowing what will happen to James when he goes
downstairs. She takes some pills, because she is almost the same as
Mary in James' mind, so she too has a disease.
Mental Hospital (C2):
---------------------
After James' battle with the feet, he is wheeled out into the outside
area on a gurney. Maria is responsible for this, and she calls his
name, in order to simulate him dying, and being wheeled to an emergency
room. However, she is doing the opposite, leaving him outside, to show
that he is getting the opposite of help, he's getting left behind. In
James' mind, Maria has to fight the image of Mary, or else he will be
regretful, and remember what he did. So Maria does this in order to
show that if Mary were in his position, she would hate him too, so what
he did was justified, and he deserves to have Maria instead of Mary.
Mental Hospital (basement):
---------------------------
When James finally finds Maria here, in order to keep up his facade of
looking for Mary, he has to pretend he is sad it is not her when he
finds Maria. Maria however, has to fight for James affection, so she
acts angry in order to get him to want her more than Maria. She then
acts concerned for Laura, because Mary too would have acted concerned
for a child.
Mental Hospital (long hall):
----------------------------
When James is running, and Maria dies, one of the evils of the town, a
Pyramid Head, kills Maria. This is done by Samael in order to make
James feel even worse about killing his wife, because it is like it
happening all over again, and he is a bystander this time and cannot do
anything. He has to keep up the facade that he loved his wife, so this
strikes a great emotional blow to him. He sees himself in the past as
the Pyramid Head, and it is like watching himself kill Mary, so he
agonizes over it.
Labyrinth Cell:
---------------
Maria is alive again, because James once again has need to believe that
he is actually searching for his wife, instead of just running around
on a goose chase. Maria this time however almost becomes Mary, in order
to get James to appreciate her more than Mary. James wants to like
Maria more than Mary, so he has to have her image do this; act as
though she is a continuation of Mary, but better. She also says a dead
giveaway about her being created of James' imagination here "I am, if
you want me to be. I'm here for you James, see? I'm real." This is the
real clue that she is made by James, and that she is too good to be
true, yet she is.
Labyrinth Cell (2nd time):
--------------------------
Now Maria is dead. She has suffered severe trauma to the head, and
there is blood on the bed suggesting internal bleeding. She has been
killed by Samael in order to drag James back to the reality that HE
killed his wife. James smothered his wife, and thus she suffocated. If
a person suffocates, their lungs work harder to get air, until they
burst, causing internal bleeding. Maria's face is also marred, which
represents James holding the pillow over Mary's head. The blood would
leak out of the mouth, causing a lot of the facial blood.
Dark Hotel:
-----------
Here, Maria is on a rack, as if sentenced to destruction. James' mind
has feebly conjured one last vision of Maria to prove his innocence,
but Samael destroys it, showing him that he is not innocent at all. She
will no longer be able to replace Mary in James' mind. He realizes this
also however, and realizes that he must live without her*. She is then
impaled, and she dies. This is not symbolic of James killing his wife,
as Maria's last two deaths were, because now he has realized the truth.
Final Room:
-----------
Depending upon your ending, you will find Maria here. She will either
tell James that he will never get Mary back, and that he should be
happy with her, or that she will not allow him to kill himself. At this
point, Maria has ceased to be an incarnation from James' mind, and has
become quite evil. When he kills her, and she keeps crying out his
name, she is once again referring back to Mary calling to him from her
sickbed.
Rosewater Park (2nd time):
--------------------------
If you got the Maria ending, James has decided that Maria is worth more
than Mary, and he decides to forget about Mary altogether and take
Maria with him to live with. She will be the perfect wife, and he
leaves the town with her. This is an ending showing that the evil of
Silent Hill has gotten the better of him, and that it's not the last
time he will visit hell.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Laura
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Laura is innocence. She does not see monsters, and thus they cannot
affect her, even though through her connection with Mary she is brought
into both the foggy and dark worlds of Silent Hill. Samael will not
hurt her, because being innocent, Metatron has full protection over
her, and she traipses around as she sees fit. She was a patient at the
hospital with Mary, and Mary wished her a happy birthday right before
she died. She has a letter from Mary for her birthday which she
eventually gives to James. One may be lead to believe that she herself
is dead, but I rather the idea that she is living happily in the real
Silent Hill.
Appearances:
Apartment 3rd floor:
--------------------
James is reaching for a key when she kicks him and runs off. Laura
knew Mary, and (call it child's intuition) knows that James is
responsible for Mary's death. She knew Mary, and thus she was around
when James would visit, and she would know that he was not really
acting with affection. She thus is angry with James for acting coldly
to Mary, and she kicks the key away, in order to slow his progress.
However, she does not act in spite, but in childish play. She knows
nothing of real hate.
Wall outside of apartment:
--------------------------
She is here singing, or humming. (She was singing "Ring around a Rosie"
in the original game, but it was deleted due to content). It is
commonly known that "Ring around a Rosie" refers to deaths due to the
Black Plague. It is meant to make you think when she is singing about
death, yet she knows nothing of it. This is the part that clearly shows
you that she is innocent, and makes it clear that she sees no evil in
Silent Hill. She also has the birthday letter, which she has taken from
Mary. She asks James if he's blind, meaning that there is no reason for
a little girl like her to be in a normal American town, but on a
symbolic level she is also asking James why he is clouding the truth in
his own mind. She then walks away, stating what James has only
reinforced in her mind; that he does not love Mary.
Bowling Alley:
--------------
Laura is here, talking to Eddie. She has to put forth that she is
tough, and independent, so she asks Eddie if he has killed anyone.
Eddie is in a calm state of mind, and he knows that he cannot tella
little girl that he did. All children desire to be self dependent and
tough. She has asked him if he has seen Mary, because she is looking
for her, having not seen her since a week ago in the hospital. When she
hears James coming, she runs, not wanting to be with someone who was
not friendly to her friend. This is common practice to children,
running rather than deal with someone they dislike.
Outside Hospital:
-----------------
She is once again playing around outside the hospital, but James sees
her in the dark Silent Hill, while she is actually physically still in
the light Silent Hill.
Hotel Restaurant:
-----------------
She is here, once again playing around, trying to scare James, who to
her seems always a little too on edge. (The fact that he his holding a
weapon does not bother her however). She is beginning to accept James,
seeing as he follows her through Silent Hill. She tells him that she
got a card from Mary a week ago, for her 8th birthday. This is a clue
to James, and he instantly knows that something is wrong.
Hotel Rm. 302:
--------------
Laura has finally found what she is looking for, Mary's home in Silent
Hill. Once here, she gives James the her letter, because he is now
worthy of it, having accepted what he has done. She has no more
problems with James, and he tells her that she will in all probability
never see Mary again. As a child, she dismisses it with little thought
to the matter, and leaves.
Graveyard:
----------
Laura walks across the graveyard where James met Angela at the
beginning of his adventure. She is leaving Silent Hill ahead of James
because she knows now the truth about Mary, and about James, and
decides to live her life with James.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pyramid Head
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pyramid Head's are the evil minions of Samael, and they do his bidding
and physical work. They are created of evil souls of the past that
inhabited the town. They subjugate the weaker creatures, and they chase
sinners through the town, harassing them and killing them if need be,
for fun. They do however follow Samael, and are thus subject to
Metatron's wrath. In this manner, when they have overstepped their
bounds, Metatron controls them into their suicidal state. I would have
to say that even though they seem the least likely for the job, Pyramid
Heads seem to me to be the comic relief for the game. All the other
characters that seem like they are, are actually underlying messages
and unhappiness.
Pyramid Head is just like one of those cartoon characters who runs up
and pokes the sleeping dog, then runs away laughing hysterically,
though a little more evil. The evil spirits that compose Pyramid Head
are limited to lesser evils, because they have died. However, if they
accidentally kill James in their fun, it matters not to them. However,
Pyramid Heads are actual monsters not created by James mind, and they
are the only such monsters in the town. There could be any number of
them, so we could assume that it was the same Pyramid Head following
James all the way until the end, when he was joined by a friend, or we
can assume that each and every Pyramid Head James sees is a different
one. It doesn't really matter, because they are all the same. They
have one of 2 weapons, the giant knife or the spear, and when you find
a giant's knife in the labyrinth, it is because a Pyramid Head just
switched to the spear.
Appearances:
Apartment Hallway:
------------------
Pyramid Head is standing out in the hallway, simply taunting James,
attempting to throw him off. The main reason Pyramid Heads are in
Silent Hill is to taunt and hurt James, but not to kill him. They are
evil, but a bit of a lesser evil, and they only accomplish larger
evils, such as killing Maria, at the behest of Samael.
3rd floor Apartment:
--------------------
Pyramid Head is here, amusing himself, and tormenting lesser demons. He
then sees James, and wonders whether to continue with his current
activity, or to bother James. He does a little of both, gesturing
wildly at James, but after James fires at him, he figures he's scared
James enough, and leaves.
Article about killings:
-----------------------
The killer of the 2 children says he was driven to it by a red demon.
This is of course Pyramid Head, but all Pyramid Head did was draw him
to what he already wanted to do. He was already an evil man, but
Pyramid was there when he committed the evil deed, so he had something
to blame it on.
Hospital Roof:
--------------
Pyramid Head once again decides to pay James a visit, and sneaks up on
him, and throws him from the roof, knowing that he has not killed him.
Feeling quite satisfied, he leaves.
Long Hall:
----------
Pyramid Head has been ordered to really remind James that he is in the
town because he is looking for his wife, and that he killed her.
Pyramid Head stabs Maria, and Samael holds the doors closed to the
elevator, just allowing James to see the ensuing carnage. This is
showing James basically what he himself did, by killing a person.
However, Samael wants James to feel that what he did is truly evil, so
he causes Maria to cry out in pain, and the killing to be gruesome,
rather than a mercy killing, as James would (depending upon your
ending) have wished it.
Prison Gallows Plaque/ Picture of "Justice":
--------------------------------------------
Here two/one Pyramid Head(s) are portrayed as executioner(s). Since
they executioners were evil men, for killing possibly innocent people
(as illustrated in the labyrinth puzzle) their souls stayed in the
town, and compose some if the population of Pyramid Heads.
Labyrinth:
----------
Pyramid Head appears 2 times in the labyrinth, and the first time he
has just switched weapons, so you find his knife, the second time he is
just messing around with the locals. He attacks James both times, but
only if he gets in the way.
Dark Hotel:
-----------
Here 2 Pyramid Head's confront James, after being ordered to kill Maria
by Samael. That was James' final attempt to create a vision of Mary,
and Samael immediately eradicates it because James knows the truth, and
cannot go back. Then, as James is getting near to leaving the town,
Samael orders him killed. At this point, however, Metatron steps in.
Side Quest Characters:
----------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ernest Baldwin
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ernest appears first, or is heard first from behind a door in a
Victorian style mansion that Maria has entered. An important aspect to
Ernest is to remember that the only person that interacts with him is
Maria, and from above we know that she's not even a reality. Therefore
my take on Ernest is that he is an incarnation of Samael, taking
Ernest's soul/form to guide Maria to his bidding. Maria was created
from James thoughts of his wife, but Samael wants Maria to follow him,
and hurt him, and be hurt, so as to cause pain to James. To do this, he
has to guide Maria somewhat as a newborn child to her cause. Hence
throughout her entire side quest she is told James is evil, and she
needs to trouble him. However, a thread of Ernest hangs on, and
desires his letter from his child. Therefore, Ernest gets what he
wants, and so does Samael, a mutual gain relationship.
Appearances:
Top of Stairs behind Door
-------------------------
Here Ernest first greets Maria, and gives her the rundown on himself.
He's a quite guy, who strangely enough doesn't want to be seen. This is
because, being half Samael, he's not entirely corporeal. Basically he
just shunts Maria off at this meeting.
Study--Behind Door
-----------------
Here, Maria already has Ernest's daughter's card, and she brings it to
him. Ernest's true self steps in and tells her how he is sad about his
daughter, and that he's never forgotten her. Then Samael steps back in
and prompts Maria to go get the first item of the ritual for rebirth,
the White Chrism. Maria goes.
Study--Behind Door (2)
---------------------
Maria has come with the liquid, and this time Samael really prompts her
as to what she should be doing. James is evil. She needs to know that.
Also he states that they are the same, noting that she and Samael are
ethereal, and that both are against James. Both are also lost in this
town for good, with no hope of escape. That statement alone clued me in
as to Samael being in Ernest's form. Finally when Maria opens the door,
Samael has vanished into shadow.
+++++++++
D. Themes
+++++++++
Silent Hill 2, and most likely all Silent Hill games are full of
unsettling emotions and 'themes' that add to the game. It isn't enough
to shock the audience every so often in a horror game, to be truly
frightening you have to play upon their own fears and dislikes. With
all the unhappiness going around in Silent Hill, one of these themes is
sure to get most anyone who plays it.
Guilt:
------
At least guilt shows that the person is showing some signs of sorrow
and penitence though it also goes to show that something irrevocable
has taken place. Primarily, when James rediscovers the fact he killed
Mary, he starts feeling guilty, and as he couldn't anything about it.
Eddie, on the contrary, feels no guilt in the adventure, but that's
what makes you wonder more and more about him until you find out what
he's truly about. Besides that, Harry feels guilt when he kills Cybil,
wishing there is something he could have done. Often what's more
unsettling than guilt is how the characters do not feel guilt. Such as
the man that killed the children (Walter Sullivan) saying he wasn't
responsible.
Suicide:
--------
Suicide is a constant possibility in Silent Hill, exemplified very well
by Angela. When James sees her with the knife the first time, he knows
what's going on and does his best to get the knife from her. Later,
she asks for it back but James refuses. In an ambiguous end, she walks
into the fire. At that point however she may or may not be walking
into an illusion, and CVX even thinks she may have been walking into
Hell itself. There are several other references to suicide, notably
when Eddie puts his own gun to his head, and I thought at least one of
the corpses had a note that said it was suicide. Eddie clearly didn't
intend to commit suicide, but he was getting across the idea once again
that it did happen. And any of the carcasses you found may have chosen
suicide over what may have happened to them.
Deception:
----------
Deception is a large issue in that everything Maria does is a
deception. She was sent upon her way by Ernest, and seems a lot like
Mary to James. She is trying to deceive him the entire game long into
believing that she is just as good as Mary and that he should just
stick with her. Also the town itself is deceiving in how it changes.
It will lure you into one place that looks safe and in the blink of an
eye it's far worse then where you used to be. Just about everything in
Silent Hill is deception, but it may not be consciously so. Such as
Cybil saying it isn't safe outside, but not every telling Harry the
extent of it not being safe.
Mental Issues:
----------
Eddie and Angela both have clear issues caused by past experiences.
They each killed someone or many people to find relief to their
problems. Eddie, in particular, took it way too far, shooting and
endlessly taking people's lives just for the fun of it, showing that
he's lost his sanity. Angela, on the other hand, may have killed her
father because she was abused, but she seems to be having muted and
changing thoughts about it. James isn't crazy per se, but the way he's
imagining Maria and the monsters might prove he's not quite right in
the head. I'd place Eddie more as a Sociopath, where as Angela has
issues with Schizophrenia in that she is sometimes herself, and
sometimes her mother.
Denial:
----------
Just about everyone in Silent Hill 2 suffers issues of denial. James
clearly has forcefully forgotten 3 years of his life, which Silent Hill
all too brutally makes him remember. Eddie doesn't believe that he's
killed the people he kills, until he completely flips and then he's
just doing it for fun more or less. Angela isn't quite sure about if
she killed her father or not, but she denies that she did it sometimes,
and she is in denial about her mother.
Anger and Hate:
---------------
This is an easy one because everyone gets angry some time or another.
But in Silent Hill it is often pulled to extremes. Before I go on and
explain how everyone in Silent Hill 2 was hateful, I'd like to note
that Harry was always composed and I think this says a lot for him.
James was angry at Mary for taking all his time while she lay sick.
Depending upon the ending, he may have killed her because of this hate.
When Angela embodies her mother, she has nothing to say but spiteful
words, because she has grown so distrusting of men. Eddie hated being
called fat, to the point where he snapped and started killing people,
even when only he envisioned them as insulting him.
Abuse:
------
Eddie and Angela were abused. However they are on almost opposite
sides of the spectrum, because Eddie was just called fat too many times
and he couldn't take it, whereas Angela was physically and most likely
sexually abused and she only killed her father, if that. Eddie used
the abuse as an excuse, which many people condemn these days. While
the abuse is guaranteed to cause problems for a person, it is always up
to them as to how to deal with it. Eddie took a very violent path,
whereas characteristic of a female Angela took the abuse for far
longer, and when she finally did do something about it, she always
considered it as her fault, and couldn't live with herself.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
E. Differences of Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The main differences between Silent Hill 2 and Silent Hill 2: Restless
Dreams lie in three aspects: the features, the new ending, and Maria's
mini game. Silent Hill 2 only contains James' game, Letter from Silent
Heaven, while Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams contains James' scenario
as well as Maria's scenario. Silent Hill 2 contains five endings,
Leave, In Water, Rebirth, Maria and the DOG Ending. Silent Hill 2:
Restless Dreams contains those 5 endings as well as a sixth ending, the
UFO ending. In Silent Hill 2, you must beat the game once to gain the
extra options. In Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams, they are unlocked
from the beginning.
Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams is available for the Xbox. Although they
do not contain the subtitle "Restless Dreams," the Greatest Hits
PlayStation 2 version and the PC version of Silent Hill 2 are the same
as Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams.
Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams goes by the following names in various
countries, with the systems named afterward:
Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams (Xbox, North America, Europe)
Silent Hill 2 GH (PlayStation 2, North America)
Silent Hill 2 (PC, North America)
Silent Hill 2: Director's Cut (PlayStation 2, PC, Europe)
Silent Hill 2: Saigo no Uta (Xbox, PlayStation 2, Japan)
Silent Hill 2: Inner Fears (Xbox, Australia/New Zealand)
All the above names are names for the same game. The ONLY version that
IS NOT Restless Dreams (i.e. does NOT contain Maria's scenario or the
UFO ending) is the PlayStation 2, NON-GREATEST HITS version released
for North America, Europe and Japan.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
6. T H E T O W N I T S E L F
t h e t o w n i t s e l f
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
++++++++++++++++
A. Cult Presence
++++++++++++++++
Silent Hill was and is a normal resort town, perfectly similar to any
other town, except that it is home to a small cult that sells
narcotics. There are 3 towns, normal Silent Hill, Dark Silent Hill, and
Fog Silent Hill. In the original game, it is made clear that the cult,
headed by Dahlia Gillespie is after raising a demon, one of the old
Gods, Samael. He is an eagle-winged beast with winged ears and a dog's
snout, legs of a goat and arms of a strong man.
Members of the cult include Dahlia Gillespie, Dr. Kaufmann, and two
others, one Asian doctor and another man (probably Norman, the owner of
the Young Motel). Dahlia, in charge of the cult, learns that Samael can
be raised in an unborn infant, and proceeds to do ancient rituals to
get her baby, conceived with Kaufmann, to be that infant. She fails
however, and only gets half of the angel, resulting in Alessa. She then
decides that she will try again, for the other half, and has Cheryl.
Neither of these children is normal, and thus cannot be assumed normal.
Alessa is burned alive, in an attempt to raise her power, so that the
cult (Dahlia) can draw off of it. She never heals, and in order to tap
the power, must be kept alive.
Kaufmann does this, but he needs an assistant; enter Lisa. Lisa works
for the cult for a little while, seven years, then decides that it is
evil, and puts the new baby, Cheryl on the side of the road. Alessa,
being angry, and imbued with great power, creates dark Silent Hill.
She hides her soul in this world, from her mother, who cannot enter
this realm. However, as her power comes from Samael, Samael is now in
the town, and his presence will never be fully erased. Thus even after
Alessa is killed, the town retains the power to be black and evil, or
foggy, depending upon the person entering the town, and their
character. Dahlia also gains her dark power from Samael, which she uses
to create fog Silent Hill, where she hides from society to do her
worships.
She summons Cheryl to this town, along with Harry, so that she will
reach Alessa, and get the other half of the god. She believes that
Cheryl, the other half of the god, will be drawn to her sister's pain,
and thus Dahlia will find Alessa, and make the dark god whole. After
Dahlia dies, Samael retains this dimension as well. Harry eventually
comes in contact with Dahlia in her foggy realm, and gets the Flauros,
an item able to summon the light power of the Archangel Metratron.
When Harry finally confronts Alessa, she is matured in her dark power
more than Cheryl, and so she fights for what Harry sees as evil,
whereas all Alessa is really trying to do is escape the pain she is
inflicted with. Harry uses the Flauros, and Metatron comes to counter
the evil effects of Samael.
Now that Metatron has entered the town, his essence too will never be
fully removed. Dahlia finds Alessa thus, and brings her together with
Cheryl, whom she has taken. (Not truly by force either, because Cheryl
is drawn to her sister). Then Harry finds Alessa and Dahlia, and he
puts an end to Alessa/Samael. Samael is evil and thus Alessa is bent on
destruction, due to the evil his power is used for. Once his form is
destroyed, he is weakened, but his essence remains. Only evil people
are allowed to enter this darker realm of Silent Hill. The town is
somewhat of a smaller world in itself, because it is good and evil.
Once Samael was summoned into the child, and Metatron was summoned to
do battle, they both retained a special place in their hearts for
Silent Hill, because it is somewhat of a battlefield for good and evil.
In this manner, each person coming into the town is either allowed into
the normal, almost saintly town of Silent Hill, or the darker realms.
The normal town is a resort town, and it used to be a sacred area, says
Mary.
The normal town is still imbued with happiness and light, and this is
why Mary wanted to go to the town again, and overall it is a wonderful
place to be. It becomes even more so when the darker realms are
separated from the light, leaving almost Heaven on earth. Neither good
nor evil can outdo one another, but they can make sure that the other
does not overstep their bounds. The history of the town also lends
itself to a Jihad, because of the evil that had occurred in the past.
Then James enters, having left only a week prior, but now he has a sin
on his soul. James gets into Silent Hill, and is thus brought to Hell
for his wrongdoings.
++++++++++++++++++
B. The Drug Market
++++++++++++++++++
Silent Hill had its own market of drugs which Cybil and the Silent Hill
P.D. investigated. She never solved the case, but Silent Hill reveals
that Kaufmann was behind the marketing to the drugs to the tourists.
White Claudia was one of those drugs. Lisa was addicted to the drug.
The drug also played a vital role to the Silent Hill cult. White
Claudia is only grown in Silent Hill, according to a newspaper article.
The drugs are thought to have killed Silent Hill's mayor as well as a
police officer named Gucci. It seems that the drug influence was a
large part of what happened in the town, but was not fully responsible.
The drugs were just a part of the cult, and while Kaufmann worked the
marketing, Dahlia used the drugs to enhance her control over the cult
and get what she wanted. Where the real life issues with drugs and
possible supernatural happenings in Silent Hill end and begin, I cannot
say. But it is good how they are tied together...
The drugs bring out the guilty pleasures in people. People clearly know
that drugs might not be the best choice in life, and an example is
smoking, but people do it anyway because their minds are too weak to
overcome it. Lisa fell under that mind or lack of it. Lisa had a chance
to escape Silent Hill, but in the end she could only save the second</pre><pre id="faqspan-4">
baby the cult created by leaving it to be found by Harry and his wife.
Clearly, the world in real life has demonstrated that abusing something
will not be good for you. Too much time relaxing gets you lazy. Eating
too much causes you to become overweight and can be rather unhealthy.
Drugs are the same. Too much can eventually harm your ability to think,
and create unhealthy needs. Had Lisa been able to control herself, she
could have escaped Silent Hill.
The drugs exemplify several of the major sins of mankind, and bring
perspective to how this cult is working. The Greed for money, and
Gluttony on peoples parts to get the drug only aided the cult. Because
the drugs also weakened the peoples minds, it made them all the more
malleable for Dahlia.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
C. Silent Hill's History
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Silent Hill has had some bad occurrences in the past. There was evil
all the way back from the Civil War, where a garrison was formed, and
the town turned into a prison. Prisoners were all executed, regardless
of crime, by either hanging or piercing. The guards and inhabitants who
allowed this inhuman treatment to go on were evil, and their souls
still haunt Silent Hill, a sort of purgatory if you will. They now act
as minions of Samael. There have been several accidents in the town as
well. A boat on Toluca Lake disappeared, and it is assumed it sank,
with no survivors. The lake used to be a swamp, and it is where the
prisoner's bodies were dumped. The water would be murky red. There was
also persecution even before the war, of a Christian woman, and there
have been traitors and killers in the town off and on. There was a
killing of two small children, and the perpetrator was sentenced to
life, but committed suicide with a spoon, 2" deep in his jugular vein.
Despite being a lakeside town, it evolved like most towns do.
Technology evolved the town, obviously, since the town is up-to-date
with radios, TVs and definitely has that modern look to it. Given the
description above, one might think that the town will seem old-like,
but it obviously isn't. (True, modernity is more evident in SH2 than
SH, but SH exploration was more indoor based than outdoor based, and
they were in elder territory, another minus. SH2 does the best job at
it.)
++++++++++++++++++
D. Old Silent Hill
++++++++++++++++++
This is the northwestern-most area of Silent Hill we all know about so
far (there could be territory to the west). As the name implies, this
is mainly a residential area for people who lived in Silent Hill for
quite awhile. The only non-elderly feature is the elementary school,
but its location makes sense as it cannot be placed in the shopping
district or the tourist area. Lakeside Silent Hill borders the southern
area and across the river to the east in Central Silent Hill. This is
the most traditional aspect you get when you think of Silent Hill.
Small town houses on each side of the road, tilted mail boxes, and old
hatchback cars. There are old shops here, and no apartments etc. This
is a small town area.
++++++++++++++++++++++
E. Central Silent Hill
++++++++++++++++++++++
This is located across the river east of Old Silent Hill. This isn't
too much of a residential area like Old Silent Hill. This is a shopping
area. There are many shops here, a small police department and a local
hospital. There are also many restaurants, and little boutiques. This
is an area where vacationers want to go when they aren't out on the
lake relaxing. The Alchemilla Hospital is located here.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
F. Lakeside Silent Hill and Palevile
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Located south of Old Silent Hill is the lakeside resort, north of the
Toluca Lake. This is a vacationing area. For lower-income people is the
Young Motel, and the hotel bordering the amusement park is for the
higher-class folks. There is an old viewing lighthouse on the lake,
as well as an island. The lake is also used as a dock, with warehouses
on it. The amusement park and hotel are in a smaller sub-district
called "Palevile."
++++++++++++++++++++++++
G. Southvale Silent Hill
++++++++++++++++++++++++
On the southern side of the lake is Southvale. There are 2 parts to
Southvale: East Southvale and West Southvale, but just Southvale is
fine in terms of generalizing. Southvale is a district of town still
in development, as evidenced by the amount of construction still being
done on the town.
It is basically a combination of Old Silent Hill with a pinch of
Lakeside Silent Hill, topped with some Central Silent Hill.
There is a park to look at the lake, a fire department, and a lot of
restaurants. Apartment buildings provide cheap housing, and those who
cannot afford to stay at the big hotel by the Amusement Park can opt
for Jack's Inn. It's basically for the younger people to go to.
There is another hospital here, Brookhaven Hospital, but it is a
mental institution rather than a physical treatment hospital.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
H. Other Potential Areas
++++++++++++++++++++++++
While Silent Hill now seems quite large, there are still other
places that need to be covered, perhaps in future areas: there is no
high school or middle school around, and there doesn't seem to be a
city hall anywhere.
+++++++++++
I. The UFOs
+++++++++++
In the universe as humans know it, there are 2 forces, good and evil.
But this is a somewhat comic approach by Konami, but not entirely
comic, to show a 3rd force. The aliens, strangely enough, are always
summoned with a jewel, or amulet that looks quite valuable. This shows
that they know human's well enough to put out an item that they know
will be used. Since the opposite of following most religions is lust
for money, the aliens have somewhat used this against humans. Any human
who uses the "Mammon" will be captured by the aliens. (Mammon is a term
used in old English to refer to money, the opposite of holiness). The
aliens simply wish to learn of the human existence. Since this is a
comedic side-quest to both Silent Hill games, it has little symbolism
in the bigger picture. But the fact that the aliens used jewelry as
bait is notable.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
7. T H E R A D I O A N D F L A S H L I G H T
t h e r a d i o a n d f l a s h l i g h t
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
The Radio is the thing that keeps making noise when a monster is
around. It makes a white noise full of static, but barely anything
seems to come out of it that is understandable, except the messages
from Mary, or that ominous contest message in the elevator at
Brookhaven Hospital. Really, the radio is really meant to scare you,
because it pretty much forces you to keep the volume up. It's really an
ingenious trick by Konami. If you turn it off, you never know when
Pyramid Head might come by, but if you turn it on, James or Harry will
get a new sense of fear inside them, as well as you, the player.
-CVX
Now that we have our technical aspect from CVX, I'll add my thoughts on
the Radio as to why it is in Silent Hill story-wise. First off, you get
partial messages through it. These help you keep your goal in mind, and
get you going on your journey. Secondly, it's a long shot, but it could
be a Holy Artifact sent to protect you (yes, a long shot indeed). Other
than that, I'm going to say that it keeps the user in touch with
reality, and that when it goes static, it is like a normal radio going
static, you are loosing contact with your music, your reality. This
means a monster is near, and your character is venturing back into
haziness, the unreality that is Silent Hill.
The flashlight is also a symbolic element if you ask me. What does it
do? It provides light in dark areas. Again it seems as if the
flashlight is just barely keeping you in touch with reality, it's light
keeps you from fading into complete darkness. Each character has had
one, and if you notice they don't seem to ever run out of batteries
(except James' conveniently timed light failure in the bug room).
Again, I would say that this is more than a normal flashlight, and
maybe it doesn't even exist, but the knowledge that the protagonist
thinks that he/she has it is enough for them to see clearly what they
want to, and to disregard what is in the dark. Also, though all other
horror games have put the flashlight as an item that requires one hand
to use, as an actual utility flashlight, Silent Hill characters have
always kept it near their body, specifically their heart. Interpret
that as you will. Seems kind of nice to me.
-Orca
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
8. F R E Q U E N T L Y A S K E D Q U E S T I O N S
f r e q u e n t l y a s k e d q u e s t i o n s
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Q. Where is Silent Hill?
A. It is somewhere in America, but no specific detail and location is
given. There are lots of towns with lakes within them, but any outside
features noting them would be nice, like a forest zone, mountain,
river, etc. America will just be fine, though the northern accent
in America is more common, making it seem like it wouldn't be somewhere
in the south.
Q. Who where those two guys with Dahlia and Kaufmann during the
flashback in Nowhere?
A. I'm willing to bet money that one of them was Norman, the Young
motel owner. Norman was working with Kaufmann and Dahlia in getting
drugs around Silent Hill, and hiding them as well. These people
were there primarily to show that the cult was no two-bit operation; it
was a large underground organization that had people such as doctors
involved in it.
Q. Can we explore Old, Central and Lakeside Silent Hill in SH2/SH3?
A. No, unfortunately, we can only explore a little bit of Lakeside
Silent Hill by exploring Paleville. The amusement park in Silent Hill 3
is the closest we'll get to the SH1 areas. However, the upcoming
Silent Hill Origins for the PSP allows us to explore Old and Central
Silent Hill once again.
Q. How do Cybil, Kaufmann, Laura, Eddie, Angela, Vincent, Douglas and
Claudia get around town with all the blocked roads and chasms?
A. Why ask, that's part of the fun of the game. Anyway, as I've said
before there are different Silent Hills, and getting around one of them
is entirely different than getting around another version. Laura more
than likely was just walking around a very nice town having a good
time. As to the other characters, they probably either knew their way
around, or (this is a reach) had teleporting devices (it was a magical
mystical cult and all that). Anyway, as I said this shouldn't be one
of your concerns, all that matters is how you get around. Dark and
foggy Silent Hill are more illusions of reality than actual reality, so
how people got places isn't an issue. As of Silent Hill 3, the
roadblocks aren't really an issue in this game. Getting around isn't
much of a problem.
Q. Who is Ernest Hemingway?
A. Ernest Hemingway, who Maria jokingly accused Ernest Baldwin of
being, was an author of many stories with very discreet, but deep
meanings. Ernest Hemingway married several times, and killed himself in
1961. He held many kinds of beliefs in the world, all of which can be
found here, where I got a bit of this information:
http://www.ernest.hemingway.com/page9a.htm
Q. Why does it snow in Silent Hill but not in Silent Hill 2/3?
A. I do not know, really. Silent Hill 2 was essentially the foggy town
itself while SH was fog and snow. It can be a lot of factors, from a
different internal presence of the town to the limitations of the
hardware the developers were using to develop SH2. Also notice that
though it snowed it never actually collected snow anywhere (due to the
limits of the PSone). So this may have been just to show that there
was turmoil in the atmosphere of Silent Hill and that the snow was a
result.
Q. What is it about James that makes Samael want to torture him?
A. It's never fully explained WHY Silent Hill wants to hurt James so
badly. Harry is understandable, but not James. There could be a number
of theories. Mary could have been addicted to White Claudia, causing
her illness, she could have been part of the cult, or she could have
been someone Samael just liked having around, but it's never explained.
More than likely Samael wants to get at James for his denial of what
he's done. That's his dark little secret, and Samael loves prodding
him about it.
Q. Which is the best version of SH2?
A. Pretty much any versions that have the Maria minigame. They're all
identical, though the PC version might lag behind in some aspects
because of reported glitches. The Xbox game has a terrible framerate
and blurrier CG. The PS2 version has less dynamic lighting. Pick and
choose, people.
Q. Where can I buy ALL the Silent Hill games?
A. All videogame stores will carry Greatest Hits versions of Silent
Hill and Silent Hill 2, and most will carry Platinum Hits versions of
Silent Hill 2: Restless Dreams for Xbox. The Silent Hill: Play Novel is
a rare item nowadays, even in Japan, so try Ebay. Silent Hill 3 and 4
have become rare over the years, so check Ebay or your used game store.
Q. What are film inspirations of the Silent Hill series?
A. The games were really inspired by any films. The game writer
(Akihiro Immamura) said that he liked watching all sorts of horror
films, but that he wanted his to be original. If anything, Silent Hill
resembles the style of the movie "EraserHead" by David Lynch. Most any
horror movie will resemble Silent Hill in one respect or another, but
there are a few that look more like it, such as "Jacob's Ladder" or
"The Ring," in a sense that "The Ring" just never ends unless you do
something right. "Session 9" also held the atmosphere of the game for
awhile. And who knows, maybe "28 Days Later" with its post apocalyptic
feel will be a bit like it.
Q. Why was Silent Hill 3 released in PAL territories first?
A. Silent Hill 2 sold very well in Europe, while sales fell slightly
in Japan compared to the original game and were consistent in North
America. Therefore, Konami placed top priority in the European version
of the title.
Q. Why do you choose for Cybil to die in Silent Hill?
A. In Silent Hill 3, Heather's pendant contains Aglophatis. She
obviously received it from Harry, and Harry only acquires Aglophatis
once in Silent Hill. If Harry saved Cybil with it, then Heather
couldn't end up with a sample (Harry discards the bottle after he uses
it). So, Harry escaped with his scooped up sample because didn't know
to use it on Cybil. Him not knowing what to do with the bottle made
sense, because no one actually told him what the stuff was for.
However, he witnesses the power of Aglophatis when Kaufmann uses it.
His suspicions of the god still residing in Heather caused him to give
her the pendant with the Aglophatis in it. Also, Cybil is never
mentioned in Silent Hill 3. It's quite unfortunate because Cybil was a
good character.
Q. How does Silent Hill Origins fit into the plot?
A. It's a prequel to the original Silent Hill, and features Alessa.
Alchemilla Hospital is one of the locations, providing a good tie-in
to the original game (and to SH3).
Q. Will you cover Silent Hill Origins?
A. Maybe, but no guarantees.
Q. Does the movie tie into the games?
A. The Silent Hill movie was based on the original Silent Hill with
elements from the other games, but didn't follow the plot exactly the
same. Therefore it should not be considered in the universe of the
games.
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
10. C O N C L U S I O N
c o n c l u s i o n
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Thanks for reading this guide. We hope it was a useful resource for
information on the first three Silent Hill games.
cvxfreak would like to thank:
-Family and friends
-Orca782 for letting me add to this document
-President Evil (Dan Birlew) for a lot of inspiration and ideas
-CJayC for accepting this at GameFAQs
-Stephen, Jon and Hilary for putting this on IGN
-Konami for making Silent Hill
Thank you for reading this guide, I hope it helped you understand this
tremendous game. I am always here for questioning about the plot guide
section, whereas I'm sure CVX is far more up to date on the technical
aspects and such of the game. I'd recommend emailing me for questions
on plot, and email CVX with game questions, game version questions,
etc. Thanks a lot. -Orca (
[email protected])
Orca782 would like to thank:
-Gustav Davidson: Dictionary of Angels
-GameFAQs: Cool site
-Konami: Very ambiguous game.
-President Evil: Some material in my guide, and his idea of a plot
guide.
-cvxfreak: For lots great stuff in here, and his help/allowing of my
help on other guides.
End of document.
---
