Whenever life gets boring, I always enjoy a good horror movie to make things exciting again. Silent Hill is the staple of survival horror when it comes to psychological elements. This is due to the horrific monsters and creatures that lurk this purgatory. I say purgatory because me and my friends took a great deal of time to analyze and understand what exactly is Silent Hill.
Whether it be in your mind or right in front of your face, Silent Hill has a creature to represent what you hide deep within. It was a deep subject to tackle, but I found the identified that top 13 creatures in Silent Hill and what they symbol or mean to the story.
Sad Daddy - Silent Hill Origins
Sad Daddy can be found in room 500 of the Riverside Motel. Sad Daddy is a malicious entity that contrast with Travis Grady's real daddy Richard. Sad Daddy is a huge mass of human flesh that covers the north wall. The main body hangs from the ceiling similar to his dad that committed suicide by hanging. When Travis first encounters his father, he has a flashback that manifest in the room he currently stands in. His younger self finds his father committing suicide and hanging from a noose. Richard tells his son, Travis, that he "won the game". Richard ask Travis if he would like the quarter that he still holds.
Symbolism- The creature is a manifestation of Travis memories and symbol of his guilt. Upon being told to wake up, Richard replies that he was never asleep, and Travis knows this. Richard tells Travis that remaining with him for so long was unhealthy. At this point, Travis snaps out of his flashback, and tells his father that this is insane. Richard tells him that is time for Travis to face up to his responsibilities, and that he and his mother will see him in heaven. There was a lot of analysis here. Mostly it meant, Travis was affected by his father's suicide. Travis suffered from trauma of seeing his father hanging himself, which caused his life to spiral out of control. Overcoming the grief would be the challenge to set him free from his memories. Travis being informed that his parents await him in heaven is an attempt to set Travis mind at peace with his parents gruesome deaths.
Asphyxia - Silent Hill Homecoming
Travis encounters Asphyxia, a manifestation of Judge Margaret Holloway's vengeful and childhood memories of Nora Holloway. This one was the saddest creature because it was created by the sacrifice of a child to please the pagan beliefs of a cult. Nora returns as a near invincible boss, but she has one weakness that is a reference to her favorite childhood story. Asphyxia is a mass of female body parts arranged like a centipede or caterpillar. This creature was created by Nora's interest in
Alice in Wonderland's character the Blue Caterpillar. Asphyxia's scream is similar to how the Blue Caterpillar blows hookah in the book.
Symbolism - Both the name and the appearance of Asphyxia is a symbol of how Nora Holloway was murdered. Numerous hands reflect choking and suffocation Nora felt moments before she was killed and the picture of the body as her family abused her. You defeat her by giving her the oxygen she needed to breathe in order to live. Her mother, Judge Margaret Holloway, strangled in order to sacrifice to appease God Dark Order and protect Shepherd's Glen.
The Mannequin - Silent Hill 2
James encounters The Mannequin in room 205 of the Wood side apartments. It springs to life immediately after James retrieves a "flashlight" from a mannequin which a reference to a sex toy. The first Mannequin is dressed in Mary Sheppard Sunderland clothes. The clothes are actually made of human skin! The Mannequin is an armless creature without a head and legs in place of human arms. When on the attack, they rub their legs together like an insect mandibles.
Symbolism - The mannequin is a manifestation of Jame's sexual frustration with his wife's aliment. Pyramid head's introductory scene has it abusing two mannequins. It is possible that the mannequin is an image of female innocence and helplessness being misused or oppressive by a masculine force. A symbol that is touch upon when Jame's finds the tablet of "The Oppressor"in Toluca Prison. When James finds the tablet in the 7th cell and tries to leave, the door to the cell is locked. It was confirmed by Konami that the scene symbolized the guilt James and his atonement for the sin of murdering his wife.
Connections to James
It is possible that Tlazolteotl represents
Mary Shepherd-Sunderland, as she forgives James's sin of murder at the end of the game and is the one who ends his journey in
Silent Hill, so that he is able to move on with his life. Since Tlazolteotl in the goddess of filth, this may connect to Mary's disease. Overall, both Mary and Tlazolteotl could represent filth and forgivers of sin. Her expression in the tablet could represent Mary's struggle with her disease.
The Aztec man could represent James, who is trying to have Tlazolteotl (Mary) forgive him of his sins. As the man appears to be trying to touch Tlazolteotl's breasts, this could represent James's desire and lack of sexual activity with Mary (but he was unable to because of her disease). The symbolism of the
Mannequin monsters also allude to this.
The tablet is also found by James inside one of the prison cells, symbolism of James being mentally imprisoned over his guilt for killing Mary. In fact, when James attempts to leave the cell, the door is broken and he must attempt to open it several times before it finally does. This furthers the symbolism of James being trapped and unable to move on with his life.
Numb Body - Silent Hill 3
Heather Mason's first encounters the Numb Body in Silent Hill 3. The whole purpose of Heather is to birth a God, so the Numb Body is foreshadowing what is to come. Its name is derived from its slow and clumsy movements and the fact that its body appears pale as though frozen.
It appears undeveloped, as to represent the premature state of
God in Heather's womb. The larger Numb Bodies could symbolize God growing. The fetus of a child in the womb develops what resembles a tail, but it loses this attribute in the later stages of development; the Numb Body is one of the few enemies not associated with animals that has a tail, and suggests the underdevelopment of God as a type of fetus. They only appear in the first half of the game, further adding to this theory. They emit lamb-like, distressed cries when Heather causes them to collapse. The creature's head resembles a cervix, further relating to maternity and femininity, as do many of the game's monsters.
The cracked skin of the Numb Body is similar to the effects of the congenital disease
harlequin ichthyosis.(WARNING: Images of infants suffering from Harlequin Ichthyosis are very disturbing. Please do not click the link if you think the pictures will upset you.) This feature can relate to body horror and women's fears of problematic pregnancies.
The Numb Bodies emit lamb-like cries they give off once fallen. Especially within a game of occult matters, this may be a mild nod towards the Christian
Lamb of God, which is meant to symbolize the sins of the world being eliminated. The Lamb is typically seen as a beloved, peaceful creature of Jesus, but in context to the game, hearing such agonized, lamb-like sobs may be considered an inversion to its Christian meaning, morphing it instead into a blasphemous occult understanding;
Claudia Wolf even states the coming of God will "forgive everyone of their sins", something the Lamb is meant to symbolize.
The Order has roots in various modern religions, Christianity included, so this also provides evidence for its sound-oriented symbolism.
The cries of the Numb Body could also be likened to that of a bear cub, especially when compared to the sounds the larger versions make, and is possibly symbolic of the mother-daughter relationship that neither Heather nor Alessa had in their childhood. I came up with a theory myself after watching the Silent Hill 2 movie. Is the Numb Body linked to a teenage pregnancy that Heather had? She had a relationship with a boy in the movie, and she spent a lot of alone time with him that could have given her the opportunity to "make a baby". Perhaps the child is a result of an unwanted pregnancy that came into existence in the alternate world of Silent Hill.
Lurker - Homecoming
Alex Shepherd first encounters the Lurker in his flooded basement, from where his
mother had recently left. They are semi-aquatic, found both underwater and on land. Lurkers appear as bald male humanoid monsters with huge claws, resembling mermen. Their legs are fused together or bound by layers of dead skin, so they drag them uselessly behind them. Their faces are blank save for a huge, vertical slit down the middle of their heads, filled with horrific teeth. Most notably, their wrists are severed and a series of three, sickle-like blades are grafted on to the stubs of their arms. They use their arms to crawl and attack.
Lurkers may represent the restraint Alex felt throughout his life and the lack of love from his family. Similarly, it may represent Alex's feelings of incapability when it comes to finding his brother, being restrained or held back by those around him refusing to tell him the truth.
It could also symbolize Alex's intended fate by drowning, and his subsequent avoidance of it. Their legs are tied up, possibly hinting
Adam Shepherd planned to tie Alex up and dump him in the lake. On the same note, they could also possibly represent the death of his brother
Joshua, as Joshua drowned and Lurkers have an appearance similar to a twisted version of a mermaid. Its claws also highly resemble tools of torture.
The mouth of the Lurker is reminiscent of
vagina dentata, suggesting Alex has possible gynophobia, a fear of vaginas. Considering how Alex has been hospitalized in a mental hospital for four years, there is a strong possibility Alex is a virgin, unfamiliar with female genitalia.
As well, similar to the
Schism beast, Lurkers hold a more obscure symbolism to being "split"- upon observing a Lurker's chest area, the player can notice that the flesh appears to be sewn together vertically, possibly suggesting that it was once split open. The fact it is now sewn shut may allude to Alex's repressed memories of how Josh died.
Their significance can be further expanded upon after obtaining the
Kneeling Man Plate, which in the puzzle signifies penitence. If the tablet is examined, the picture displays a kneeling man in prayer whose upper body looks exactly like the Lurker when its body is at its most upright; this could imply that they mainly symbolize Alex's regret and need for penitence after what he did to Joshua.
Much like the Lurker, Alex's memories lay hidden just below the surface. When they emerge, they bring with them only pain and suffering.
Trivia
Defeating a Lurker for the first time while playing the Xbox 360 version of the game will award the player with the achievement "Lurk no More".
If the player decapitates a Lurker with the
axe, it is very likely that the monster won't die immediately.
It may swipe and even succeed in injuring Alex, or it may pursue him for a few moments and attempt to lunge at him before actually falling dead.
Well that was a lot of information, and there is a lot more to go so i will break this series up into 3 parts of more if needed.
