So I keep trying to start new articles on subjects, then finding that I need to stop and go back over a point because it’s an assumption I have made about the series that perhaps other people haven’t. So figured I’d make this – glossary, kind of. I’ll go into more detail about every single theory here, but this gives the bare outline of what I assume to be true and what I’m basing my theories on.
Definitely beginning to think I should just put this at the top of the website. However specifically, spoilers for Silent Hill 1, 2 and 3.
The Multiple “Worlds”
Generally speaking, there are three “worlds” in Silent Hill. You’ve got the “Real World”, which we actually don’t see much of at all. This is the physical town of Silent Hill, that exists in this plane of reality. We know it’s there, and that people live in it, from verbal clues from various characters through the series (Douglas mentions investigations happening in it, James and Henry both visited there when nothing bizarre was happening, etc.)
Then we have the “Misty World”. A vast majority of our protagonists’ time is spent in the Misty World. It is – well, misty – you can’t see more than a few feet in front of you. It is also deserted, apart from other people trapped there, and fairly derelict. And it contains monsters.
Finally we have the “Otherworld”. A world of someone’s nightmarish delusions come to life. This is always different depending on the protagonist, but generally speaking you’re talking a lot of blood, rust, and terrifying stuff going on. The place doesn’t just look deserted and derelict, it looks out right wrong. Traditionally heralded by the sound of air raid sirens, particularly for Harry and Heather.
These worlds hold true for basically all of the games, in one form or another. 1, 2 and 3 don’t really deviate from this, but the other games all have their own spin on it – the Shattered Memories Otherworld is made of ice instead of rust and blood, for example.
The Town’s Purpose
It’s generally accepted that the town of Silent Hill exists to punish wrong-doers and force them to take responsibility for their actions. This is first established in Silent Hill 2 where we have not one but three people who have done bad things “drawn” to the town. In Origins, Travis gets mixed up in some conflicting events, but he is forced to relive bad memories in the same manner as James et al in 2. Homecoming and Downpour are about punishment as well.
The Order’s Purpose
This is not the same as the Town’s purpose. It’s very important to make this differentiation. The Order probably couldn’t exist without Silent Hill’s dark powers and purpose, but they are not working towards the same goal.
Whereas it is the Town’s goal to punish evildoers, it is the Order’s goal to do evil. In Silent Hill 1/Origins, we see this plain and clear. Dahlia, with the help of the Order, burns her daughter alive in a ritual to birth a dark God. In Silent Hill 3 Claudia kills Heather’s father in cold blood to deliberately try to get Heather to hate her. That is exactly the sort of behaviour the Town punishes.
Alessa (and her “offshoots”) certainly has a strong magical power, which she uses to create her own Otherworld to trap people in. And it is almost certainly true that she would not be able to do that without the Town’s own powers to tap into. But that is the thing – Harry, Heather and to some extent Travis gets caught in Alessa’s Otherworld, not their own. They aren’t being punished. They are caught up in Order mess, not drawn there by the Town.
*Yes, I know I mentioned Origins in both explanations. And I haven’t mentioned The Order’s role in Homecoming. That is because both of these, especially Homecoming, are just a mess of lore that I need to pick through. I’ll get to it, don’t worry*
Alessa/Cheryl/Heather
This is often a confusing point for newbies to the series, but it is quite simple really.
Alessa is Dahlia’ daughter, born with latent magical powers and therefore deemed a suitable vessel to birth the Order’s God. At age 7, the ritual to set the birth in motion involved burning her alive, but Travis came along and interrupted the ritual. Alessa can’t die, despite the normally fatal wounds, and instead either because of the God or her own power, is kept alive in constant pain and agony.
To try and combat this, and thwart The Order, she creates Cheryl – a baby, who is created from half of Alessa’s soul. The film actually explains this relatively well – but get rid of any thoughts of “Good” and “Bad” Alessa. There is just 7 year old Alessa, and baby Cheryl. Neither is worse than the other, though Cheryl is unaware of her nature and “true self” so could be seen as the “innocent” half.
Cheryl is found by Harry and his wife, and is brought up as though she was their own. However, with Alessa’s soul not being “whole”, The Order find they are unable to birth their God as they want to. So they basically deliberately torture Alessa for 7 years because the pain of it will lure Cheryl back to her.
The events of Silent Hill occur which culminate in Cheryl and Alessa combining once more into a being called the Incubator. After the final boss fight, this being hands Harry a child containing the fused soul of both Alessa and Cheryl. This child is Heather.
I believe that there is still a part of Alessa left in Silent Hill – perhaps adding to the Town’s strength (hence why it can reach further in Homecoming) and affecting Heather’s adventures when it comes to it. But that I can go through in more detail elsewhere.
Homecoming
I have to say that when I’m talking about the history and lore and theories of Silent Hill as a whole series, I generally disregard Homecoming. As briefly touched upon earlier, it is a total mess, combining The Town’s penchant for punishment with The Order’s penchant for brutally murdering all in its path in the name of its crazy religion. I will go into more detail with it at some point, really rip it to shreds, but in the meantime if you read one of my essays and think “Wait, Homecoming debunks that idea” just bare in mind that I’m ignoring it. I genuinely think that Shattered Memories has more bearing on the Silent Hill mythos than Homecoming does.
Origins is a bit of a mess too, in that respect, but can be explained pretty well with a bit of research and hand waving.
Oh and I don’t actually know much about The Room in all honesty – could never get into it. But I’m going to give it another go, and in the meantime the Wiki is my friend.
I think that’s everything for now. I’ll keep adding to this post as things come up anyway.
Silent Hill Essays 