VIII:  STRENGTH

Power of the Town

Just what is the effect of the mysterious power of this town that was revered 
as a sacred place?

Originally Silent Hill was a holy place to the area's former inhabitants.  It 
would seem that although the power of the town was not evil in nature, due to 
a number of factors including the spread of an epidemic and executions at the 
prison, the power that this place held was greatly distorted.  Furthermore,
due to the large-scale shift to the otherworld that occurred in the first 
game, the town has become a great catalyst for the manifestation of peoples' 
unconscious minds.  It appears to have become a place that beckons to those
who hold darkness in their hearts. 

IMAGE:  Mary from the video in the opening movie
Silent Hill was once revered as a sacred place.  That power has been completely 
twisted over the course of history.

SECTION TWO:  Embody

The materialization of the darkness that sleeps in peoples' hearts

In the town of Silent Hill, a power exists that gives discernable form to 
peoples' innermost thoughts.  As for the otherworld that appears in the series, 
the town is not merely showing the characters their nightmares, but actually 
manifesting elements of their unconscious minds.  

IMAGE:  the otherworld in the chapel from the third game 
If the subject's mind is in a state of turmoil, the state of the otherworld will
be chaotic as well. 

SECTION THREE:  Calling

Those who have guilt are summoned

Due to the appearance of the otherworld on a massive scale in the first game, 
the town has come to be a place that calls those who hold a profound darkness in 
their hearts.  It seems that people with afflicted minds are easily drawn to the 
otherworld.

IMAGE:  Eddie says to James, "This town called you, too."
The town calls to those who bear the weight of some crime and shows them what is 
in their hearts.

SECTION FOUR:  Link

Transcending time, minds are connected

It would seem that in the otherworld, time and physical limitations are transcended 
and peoples' thoughts are communicated.  In accordance with this are the enigmatic 
phone conversation and Stanley's letters in the third game, as well the director's 
letters, among other things, in the second game.  

IMAGE:  Heather receives a strange phone call in the locker room
It seems that in the otherworld, the flow of time has no continuity.

SECTION FIVE:  The darkness of Silent Hill transcends the boundaries of the town?

In the third game, the otherworld appears even in the shopping mall and subway,
outside of the town called Silent Hill.  It is possible that this is due to 
Claudia's abilities.  However, if one imagines that the human mind is where the 
otherworld dwells and holds power, then perhaps the shift to the otherside could 
occur regardless of the location.

IMAGE:  the magazine from the subway
The occult magazine that was dropped in the subway has an article regarding 
lingering thoughts.

Creator's Commentary:  The shift to the otherworld that takes place outside the
town depends entirely upon a unique power.  The power that absorbs and reflects 
what people hold in their hearts is established as being exclusive to the town 
of Silent Hill.

-Hiroyuki Owaku




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